Quartetski. Quartetski Does Bartók: Béla Bartók / Mikrokosmos. Quartetski has devoted itself to transforming well-known classical pieces through radical shifts in instrumentation, improvisation, and recomposition. The Montreal quintet has recorded works by Stravinsky, Prokofiev, and Mussorgsky, and here they take on Béla Bartók’s[...] Read more

Recordings Stuart Broomer Issue 125

Festival International Musique Actuelle Victoriaville, 32nd Edition. The Festival International Musique Actuelle Victoriaville (FIMAV) arrives with the late,  brief spring of Quebec’s central region, an energizing jolt between winter and summer that sees the flowering of older vines and new life bursting through the earth. This year’s[...] Read more

Concerts and Events Stuart Broomer Issue 125

Ensemble SuperMusique. Les accords intuitifs. Les accords intuitifs is the fifth CD by Ensemble SuperMusique, a large Montreal-based group that performs compositions that are conceptual explorations. The core group consists of reed-players Jean Derome and Joane Hétu, guitarist Bernard Falaise, and percussionist Danielle Palardy[...] Read more

Recordings Stuart Broomer

Ken Aldcroft. Mister, Mister. There’s something special about fully realized solo improvisation. Layers of consciousness, kinds of memory, and impulses of intent impinge on one another, revealing fresh possibilities and meaning, as if improvisation, in the absence of an immediate community of players, begins to[...] Read more

Recordings Stuart Broomer

Tony Wilson. A Day's Life; A Bowl of Sixty Taxidermists. Tony Wilson is both a versatile and distinctive guitarist. While he’s played across a spectrum of idioms—from jazz-rock fusion to folk and free improvisation—he’s maintained his own voice, a forceful, lyrical style filled with subtle nuances. As a composer, he’s[...] Read more

Recordings Stuart Broomer 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

Lina Allemano's Titanium Riot. Kiss the Brain. The Toronto-based trumpeter Lina Allemano has created a substantial body of work with the quartet she calls Four, releasing five CDs over the past decade. The last four (since 2006) have included the same musicians—alto saxophonist Brodie West, bassist Andrew Downing, and drummer Nick[...] Read more

Review Spotlight Stuart Broomer

30th Festival International de Musique Actuelle de Victoriaville. The Festival International de Musique Actuelle de Victoriaville (FIMAV) celebrated a milestone this year, presenting its 30th festival of musique actuelle—that unique French descriptor covering improvised music, chance, electronica, the avant edges of jazz, rock, folk, and world, and[...] Read more

Concerts and Events Stuart Broomer Issue 120

Jean Derome, Malcolm Goldstein, Rainer Weins. 6 improvisations. Saxophonist Jean Derome, violinist Malcolm Goldstein, and guitarist Rainer Wiens are pillars of Montreal’s improvised music community who retain their sense of whimsy and their willingness to test the limits. Frequent associates in varied contexts, they meet for the first time as a[...] Read more

Recordings Stuart Broomer Issue 119

Susanna Hood, Scott Thomson. The Muted Note: Songs Based on Poems by P. K. Page. The songs on The Muted Note are an outgrowth of work made by trombonist Scott Thomson and singer-dancer Susanna Hood as part of The Rent, a Toronto quintet that was initially dedicated to performing the music of the late saxophonist and composer Steve Lacy—including his extensive[...] Read more

Review Spotlight Stuart Broomer Issue 118

GGRIL. Combines. The GGRIL (Grand Groupe Régional d'Improvisation Libérée) is one of Canada’s few large improvising ensembles, a feat made more improbable by their location in relatively isolated Rimouski. From a population of 46,000, bassist Éric Normand has managed to[...] Read more

Recordings Stuart Broomer Issue 118