Ab Baars Quartet-Casa Del Popolo, Montreal, Apr. 29

[Felix]

I had heard a lot of good things, here and elsewhere, about Baars' latest album "Kinda Dukish", and so I looked forward to hearing the project live, which I did last night. The Casa was pretty packed (well, that's not really hard...) for the first set. Cover was $10 (Can)! I bought the album at the door (I figured the guys wouldn't get much otherwise...), and by intermission, they were sold out. They kicked off with "In A Jam", played all the tunes from the album, plus others ("Sonnet For Caesar" and an amazing variation on Lawrence Brown's solo on "Rose Of The Rio Grande", notably). While Baars might not be the most exciting soloist I ever heard, this band is an ideal setting for him (although I saw him a few years back with ICP and retain good memories from that show too). There was a moment where, over thundering bass and drums, he would play mostly long tones on tenor. Unusual. I think he's more at home on clarinet, although his solo "Solitude", on tenor, was pretty efficient. Buis, the trombonist, and De Joode, the bassist, were both consistently impressive. Buis conjured trombone sounds from all over the ellingtonian spectrum, from Charlie Irvis to Lawrence Brown, from Tricky Sam Nanton (he did a great mute bit at some point) to Britt Woodman. De Joode was amazing in "Jack The Bear". Maybe he could've played a bit less arco and a bit more pizzicato, but he was overall excellent. Van Duynhoven was great support, but his range seems somewhat more restricted. He kept the hi-hat's "click-click", à la Art Blakey, during his solo feature, and could have been more subtle in some passges. But these are all minor quibbles. I had a great time hearing rarely covered Ellington tunes like "Jack The Bear", "Mr. Gentle and Mr. Cool", "Half the Fun", etc., all done in an original manner. A good example of how to use the tradition in a creative manner instead than making it a museum piece. Highpoints: a rousing "Caravan", "Perdido" (where they played only Jimmy Hamilton and Clark Terry's written "solo" as a reference), Buis on "Rose of the Rio Grande" and De Joode on "Jack The Bear". And, unexpectedly, as an encore, they played a polka (Ellington's "Klop")!

[Chaz Longue]

Sounds like a terrific night, Felix.

I'm hoping to come up for Trio Derome Guilbeault Tanguay.

That's probably the only trip I'll get to make before The Montreal Jazz Festival...


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[Felix]

Hi Chaz. Is that the June 22 show? I might just be there too. I'll try to catch the Arkestra and The Thing during Suoni Per Il Popolo. I just learned yesterday that Aldo Romano, Louis Sclavis and Henri Texier will be at the Jazz Fest, July 3, I think, and that Joost Buis' group (The Astronauts?) will also be there, as part of the Jazz Contemporain series. The official indoor schedule should come out this week. Also, I ordered tickets to see Alberto Pinton in Ottawa, as I'm gonna be camping in that area in late June. So far, it looks promising for jazz this summer in Montreal!

[Gary Sisco]

Jealous now. I'd have loved to get up there for that show but just couldn't swing it (no pun intended).