Festival International de Jazz de Montréal 2008

[Freetoojazz]

Next Edition:

June 26 to July 6 2008

Schedule:

Programming for the indoor concerts will be announced on Tuesday, May 6 2008, 11 a.m.

Programming for the free outdoor concerts will be announced on Tuesday, June 3 2008, 11 a.m.

http://www.montrealjazzfest.com/Fijm...ccueil_en.aspx

[Freetoojazz]

You can purchase some tickets for:

Saxophone Summit with Lovano, Liebman & Ravi Coltrane;
Coral Egan;
Omara Portuondo;
Charlie Haden Quartet West;
Steely Dan;
Aretha Franklin;

Tickets go on sale this Thursday, March 6 at noon

http://www.montrealjazzfest.com/Fijm...e_2008_en.aspx

[Pete C]

I hope to be there 7/2-5. I wonder how expensive Aretha tickets will be--I've never seen her live.

[Frisco]

Steely Dan?
Yeesh!!

[Freetoojazz]

Here the news:

A Festival prelude with three nights at PdA!
Leonard Cohen
returns to a Montreal stage
for the first time in 15 years!

Tickets go on sale this Thursday at noon!
Montreal, Tuesday, March 11, 2008 — This summer, the Festival International de Jazz de Montréal has the immense privilege of welcoming legendary Montreal poet and singer Leonard Cohen. It’s a rare and long-awaited visit from the internationally acclaimed singer-songwriter, who will perform three preopening concerts for his fellow citizens as part of this 29th edition, on June 23, 24 and 25, in Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier, Place des Arts. Tickets go on sale this Thursday, March 13 at noon.

Last night, Cohen was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in a ceremony at the Waldorf Astoria in New York—and it was about time, too! At 73, Montreal poet, novelist, songwriter and singer Leonard Cohen truly merits the label “immortal”: an icon of song as well as literature, he is considered
one of the most important and influential songwriters of our time! A great humanist, his songs explore the issues of spirituality, religion, sexuality, power, loneliness, interpersonal relationships—simply put, the human condition. His profound exploration of these mysteries probably inspired his retreat to a Buddhist monastery from 1994 to 1999.

Faced with our attempts to categorize his music—is it folk with a touch of country or jazz?—Cohen offers the title "European blues." In fact, Cohen’s work is itself a category: through 40 years of song, classics such as So Long, Marianne, Bird on a Wire, Hallelujah and Everybody Knows have forged a resolutely unique, inimitable body of work. We’ll be reminded of this soon enough, because four years after his last album (Dear Heather, 2004), the singer with the singularly deep voice is talking about a new release for
this year. Back in Montreal, the native city that still holds his friends, his house, and his heart, Cohen will grace the Festival with new songs as part of his tour—the first since The Future brought him to the Forum
in June 1993!

A living legend? The facts speak for themselves! Renowned for his poetry and novels since the 1950s, his songs and albums have marked our collective memory forever, making him one of the most famous Montrealers on the planet. Cohen has had an immeasurable influence on succeeding generations of songwriters. Onstage, on record, or in the documentary tribute Leonard Cohen: I’m Your Man by Lian Lunson, they line up to sing his praises: from Judy Collins—who scored a hit with Suzanne, inspired by the wife of Cohen’s friend, sculptor Armand Vaillancourt !—to artists from every genre, including
Françoise Hardy, Johnny Cash, Rufus Wainwright, Joe Cocker, k.d. lang, Our Lady Peace, Tori Amos, Neil Diamond, U2, Peter Gabriel and Nana Mouskouri! All told, there are over 1,200 cover versions of his songs! That, ladies and gentlemen, is a universal and immortal musical signature!

Tickets on sale this Thursday, March 13 at noon
Tickets for these new concerts go on sale this Thursday, March 13 at noon. Tickets will be available at the
main box office at Métropolis (59 Ste. Catherine St. E.) and the Place des Arts box office (175 Ste.
Catherine St. W.), at 514-842-2112 or at laplacedesarts.com and from Admission, at admission.com or at
514-790-1245.
To get the jump on the crowd, sign up for the Spectra Newsletter and have the scoop on the Festival
International de Jazz de Montréal, the MMIS and the Montreal Guitar Show emailed to your inbox. For more
information, call the Bell Info-Jazz Line at 514 871-1881, toll-free at 1 888 515-0515, or visit
montrealjazzfest.com.
— 30 —

[Gary Sisco]

Yeah, as soon as I think about jazz, it's Leonard Cohen who comes to mind.

[Frisco]

No man, Steely Dan.
You know:
"I learn to work the saxophone"

[Freetoojazz]

Here the press release:

James Taylor, Katie Muela, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Return to Forever with Corea, and others...

http://www.equipespectra.ca/communiq...313%5B2%5D.PDF

[Chaz Longue]

Originally Posted by Pete C

I hope to be there 7/2-5. I wonder how expensive Aretha tickets will be--I've never seen her live.

60 or 90 bucks.

There are some nice pop/rock shows the MJF offers - for my money though, there's a problem: I miss too much other music, because they tend to be long shows, sometimes even with opening acts

For instance, seeing Paul Simon, I missed Guinga/Mirabassi and a couple of other things. At least the rest of my family was happy that night. For what It's worth, I actually enjoyed the free outdoor Tribute To Paul Simon show, featuring a dozen people doing his stuff, the night before...

David Beckett

[Lois Gilbert]

Renowned film director Woody Allen will appear at the Montreal International Jazz Festival on June 30 with his New Orleans Jazz Band.

Tickets for the show at Place des arts go on sale on Saturday.

Allen, 72, will play the clarinet in what will be his first appearance at the jazz festival.

Allen, who has been a clarinetist since the age of 15, occasionally shows off his talent at the Cafe Carlyle in New York City.

He toured Europe in 1996 and played in various places including Venice, Barcelona, Athens, Monte Carlo and Paris.

[jazzy mary]

You're not missing anything, Pete. I saw her a few years ago. She barely performed. Mainly she modeled (if you want to call it that) her "Scassi gowns". She'd leave for a long time, come out in a new gown, talk about it, do a song & then leave again.

She was at Radio City a week ago, maybe. Nate Chinen reviewed it in the Times this week or last.

[Pete C]

Originally Posted by Lois Gilbert

Allen, who has been a clarinetist since the age of 15, occasionally shows off his talent at the Cafe Carlyle in New York City.

From what I hear, that amounts to two chords. I know a guy who played with Allen's band for about 25 years. He said it was the most unchallenging, rudimentary early New Orleans jazz--but it was a steady paying gig. Apparently Allen never talked to the guys in the band--they were the hired help.

[gonzo]

its all about his name(allen) as opposed to his talent, or lack there of as is the case.

[hornplayer]

Originally Posted by Lois Gilbert

Renowned film director Woody Allen will appear at the Montreal International Jazz Festival on June 30 with his New Orleans Jazz Band.

Tickets for the show at Place des arts go on sale on Saturday.

Allen, 72, will play the clarinet in what will be his first appearance at the jazz festival.

Allen, who has been a clarinetist since the age of 15, occasionally shows off his talent at the Cafe Carlyle in New York City.

He toured Europe in 1996 and played in various places including Venice, Barcelona, Athens, Monte Carlo and Paris.

wonder whether he will wear another moth-eaten sweater for this gig. I saw him a couple of times back when he was at Michael's Pub, and he was repulsive..... dirty, and wearing moth-eaten clothing. If he weren't Woody Allen, no one would pay to hear him play clarinet, either.

[Pete C]

Originally Posted by hornplayer

he was repulsive..... dirty, and wearing moth-eaten clothing.

The young chicks go for that.

[Chaz Longue]

Friday's announcement is actually as interesting to me as the gigs announced so far.

Evidently, the FIJM is (finally, after a huge false start/announcement a few years ago) creating a new venue. Seems the city is coughing up 9M to renovate the Blumenthal Building which it owns (8 story building, 60000++ sq ft at the corner of Bleury and Ste Catherine). The the Jazz Festival (Equipe Spectra?) is to invest a million and raise 3 more, for equipment and improvements to the site, public access and so on.

The plan calls for a new 300 seat venue, (!) and a Jazz Fest themed restaurant, bar etc. They are also renovating space for operations, archives, and (gulp) press room in the new building. They've been using it as dressing rooms and equipment/production space for a while now. I hope they doesn't mean the end of the press balcony entirely, although I thought the bleachers they used for viewing the GM stage worked pretty well.

If this is done right, it could take a bit of the sting out of losing The Spectrum I suppose...

David B.

[Chaz Longue]

Plus...The Off Festival lineup looks terrific this year. They are using the lovely old Lion d'Or again and offering one full day's worth of great performances for free.

They really put a lot of heart and soul into this...

http://www.lofffestivaldejazz.com/en...ion/index.html

David B.

[Pete C]

I'll be there 7/2-5.

[xroper7]

Will be in Montreal 6/26 - 7/6... mostly for the outdoor free concerts.

[Chaz Longue]

...looks like a weird 3 part invitation series this year.
4 nights of Hank Jones, 3 of McCoy Tyner, 2 of Brubeck.

...well, I'll get to see La Gambarini. Haden/Jones too.

DB

[Pete C]

Originally Posted by xroper7

Will be in Montreal 6/26 - 7/6... mostly for the outdoor free concerts.

Don't expect much jazz, then.

[Pete C]

Originally Posted by Chaz Longue

...looks like a weird 3 part invitation series this year.
4 nights of Hank Jones, 3 of McCoy Tyner, 2 of Brubeck.

...well, I'll get to see La Gambarini. Haden/Jones too.

DB

Did you get a press release? Any more details? If it's in that order, I'll be around for part of Tyner, I think. Not interested in Brubeck, unless he's playing with Konitz and Braxton

Let's aim for a meal, eh?

[Freetoojazz]

Originally Posted by Chaz Longue

...looks like a weird 3 part invitation series this year.
4 nights of Hank Jones, 3 of McCoy Tyner, 2 of Brubeck.

...well, I'll get to see La Gambarini. Haden/Jones too.

DB

Where did you get this information lucky man? Jones will surely be there with a duet with Lovano.

[Chaz Longue]

Originally Posted by Pete C

Did you get a press release? Any more details? If it's in that order, I'll be around for part of Tyner, I think. Not interested in Brubeck, unless he's playing with Konitz and Braxton

Let's aim for a meal, eh?

Absolutely! After the Brubeck/Tyshawn Sorey/Wm Parker trio date.

[Chaz Longue]

Originally Posted by Freetoojazz

Where did you get this information lucky man? Jones will surely be there with a duet with Lovano.

Lucky enough ;-) But they may all be at that weird, steeply sloped room in Place Des Arts in which they used for Birelli Lagrene, Mike Stern, Richard Bona... I forget the name of the place...I miss Monument National!

There's also a guitar workshop/meet-n'-greet series this year I believe, (Don Ross, Martin Taylor, Jim Hall, Pierre Bensusan, ...many more)

...trade you two Lovano's for a Gambarini

[Pete C]

Originally Posted by Chaz Longue

Lucky enough ;-) But they may all be at that weird, steeply sloped room in Place Des Arts in which they used for Birelli Lagrene,

I saw Lagrene & DeFrancesco at Theatre Jean Duceppe. The acoustics were really excellent.

Spill the beans about the invitational schedule, would ya?

[Chaz Longue]

Originally Posted by Pete C

I saw Lagrene & DeFrancesco at Theatre Jean Duceppe. The acoustics were really excellent.

Spill the beans about the invitational schedule, would ya?

That's the place. I really enjoyed Birelli. I'm going to try to sit in the center of the room this time.

Sadly I only know a little. I'll post more when i know.

The other room which I was unfamiliar with until recent years, is Cinquieme Salle (?). Another somewhat unusual venue.

It's going to be really odd without The Spectrum this year.

And the new building with the new press room in it will take some adjusting to. I liked having it close to the hotel bar/lounge and balcony. I found it useful to have places to sit and talk in the area near the bar. I hope the new building has similar places.

[Pete C]

Renaud Garcia-Fons will be playing on July 2, 8PM. When I saw he was playing Toronto & Ottawa, I checked his itinerary. I'm really looking forward to seeing him.

[kymani]

July 3, 2008
Montreal Jazz Festival, Montreal, Canada
McCoy Tyner Trio featuring Christian Scott

July 4, 2008
Montreal Jazz Festival, Montreal, Canada
Christian Scott Quintet

[Chaz Longue]

Originally Posted by Pete C

Renaud Garcia-Fons will be playing on July 2, 8PM. When I saw he was playing Toronto & Ottawa, I checked his itinerary. I'm really looking forward to seeing him.

Great news, Pete. Thanks.