FAT and the Masters of Haha. Formed in 1982 in Montreal, FAT features Eric Rosenzveig on guitar, Jeff Noble on bass guitar, and Phil Giborski on drums and samples. The trio was influenced by the era’s DIY-punk aesthetic, as well as the musics of Ornette Coleman and Cecil Taylor, but remained distant from both[...] Read more

Recordings Lawrence Joseph Issue 123

JOYFULTALK. Muuixx. Muuixx recalls that fecund period during the 1990s when some notable electronic music was celebrated for its eccentric intrepid quality. But JOYFULTALK, the latest project of Nova Scotia resident Jay Crocker, isn’t nostalgic; rather, it leans toward creating something indelible. What[...] Read more

Recordings Nick Storring Issue 123

Hard Rubber Orchestra. Crush. Like bears awakening refreshed after an extended hibernation, the members of Vancouver trumpeter John Korsrud’s Hard Rubber Orchestra (HRO) have come forth with a rousing CD after a dozen years of silence. Although mostly devoted to Korsrud’s jazz-influenced compositions for the[...] Read more

Recordings Ken Waxman Issue 123

Festival International de Musique Actuelle de Victoriaville In 2014, FIMAV celebrated its thirtieth edition—a testimony to founder and artistic director Michel Levasseur’s vision and pragmatism. He has built a loyal audience, secured firm community, government, and industry support, and developed a team that year after year delivers[...] Read more

Concerts and Events Stuart Broomer Issue 123

Allison Cameron and Contact. A Gossamer Bit. On my first few listens to the four pieces included on Allison Cameron and Contact’s A Gossamer Bit, I felt that two of the compositions were quite good—so good, in fact, that I decided a fifty percent average wasn’t at all bad and started questioning how good[...] Read more

Recordings Kurt Gottschalk Issue 123

Alexander MacSween. The Squiggle Game. The Squiggle Game is that rarest of beasts, the free-improv disc you can air-drum along to. Its absorbing rhythmic heft, especially on tracks like the lead-off “That Gum You Like,” is unsurprising when you realize that it’s the brainchild of a drummer. Alexander MacSween[...] Read more

Recordings Jonathan Bunce

Colin Stetson and Sarah Neufeld. Never Were the Way She Was. Never Were the Way She Was is as robust as you would expect from a collaboration between Colin Stetson and Sarah Neufeld, two members of the ever-fertile Montreal music community whose instrumental prowess seems as much a product of virtuosity as extreme physical endurance. Their solo work[...] Read more

Recordings Jonathan Bunce Issue 122

Anne-F Jacques. Sable ou Sel. Anne-F Jacques is a Montreal sound artist who plays acoustic noise-music on invented instruments. Mechanical loops are created when various objects are attached to spinning motors amplified by contact mikes, assemblies that Jacques categorizes as her “rotating devices.” Unlike[...] Read more

Recordings Lawrence Joseph Issue 122

Kris Davis. Save Your Breath. Consolidating her considerable musical gifts, Canadian-born, New York-based Kris Davis organized a uniquely constituted octet here to premiere or propogate her compositions. Confirming her range, the eight tunes are breezy and animated in spots, while looped around a dense, metal-like core.[...] Read more

Recordings Ken Waxman Issue 122

Susan Alcorn. Soledad. Astor Piazzolla’s eccentricity as a composer is overshadowed by his reputation as one of the foremost exponents of tango music. The ostensible genre designation tends to mask his poignant and peculiar mixture of forlorn sentimentalism, tense dissonances, and covert use of noise. Susan[...] Read more

Recordings Nick Storring Issue 122

Festival of New Trumpet Music: 2nd Edition. Featuring the instrument in all imaginable contexts, the Festival of New Trumpet (FONT) Music was founded in New York City twelve years ago by Dave Douglas and the late Roy Campbell, Jr. FONT Music Canada is now in its second year, imported north by former Montrealer Aaron Shragge (who helps[...] Read more

Concerts and Events Lawrence Joseph Issue 122