Bringing you the issues since 1986 
Musical gems culled from three centuries played in small-group formations by top-tier performers—that and some first-class jazz is in the cards during the month-long Montreal Chamber Music Festival that gets underway this month. Talking about it with festival founder, cellist Dennis Brott, I returned in my mind to the marvelous [...]
North American Jazz Alliance; The Montreal Sessions (Challenge Records) The accordion never threatened the dominant place of the saxophone, trumpet or piano in jazz combos, but virtuoso Art Van Damme (1920-2010) was the instrument’s leading exponent. In the 1960s and 1970s, he created a unique group sound in combining his [...]
by Kristine Berey The worlds of musical theatre and jazz will intersect on the Segal Studio stage this month as iconic singer Ranee Lee opens the fifth season of its Power Jazz Series. “I’m a big movie buff, and I’ve done plays, movies, drama and musicals,” Lee said. “This will [...]
BY IRWIN BLOCK The irrepressible Vic Vogel was on the phone from his home near the Jacques Cartier Bridge, searching for words to explain what he does with Cuban music. Words failed him, so he put down the phone, went over to the piano and played a few bars of [...]
BY IRWIN BLOCK Jazz fan or not, there is a tremendous range of music in free outdoor venues and paid indoor ones to satisfy most tastes at this year’s Montreal International Jazz Festival. The first of hundreds of daily shows starts Wednesday, June 27, and continue until Sunday, July 7, [...]
What you said