Joëlle Léandre and Phil Minton. Léandre-Minton. Few musicians possess the spontaneity and sheer presence of French bassist Joëlle Léandre and English vocalist Phil Minton. Here the two senior masters meet on a Paris stage in October 2016, delivering a three-part concert Si, lence/ Is/ blu, ish. Léandre is a master of[...] Read more

Recordings Stuart Broomer Issue 129

Political Ritual. Political Ritual. Political Ritual, the eponymous release by the Québécois electronic music duo of Maxime Corbeil-Perron and Félix-Antoine Morin, presents itself as a mystery, white print on a grey cover, a series of lighter, vertical oscilloscope intrusions appearing almost possibly[...] Read more

Recordings Stuart Broomer

Festival de International Musique Actuelle de Victoriaville, 33rd Edition. Festival de International Musique Actuelle de Victoriaville (FIMAV) has defined itself by diversity, crossing genres to present fresh, unexpected music, whether intimate or epic, and maintaining a tradition that touches on classical, pop, and jazz. The festival is a major event, mounting[...] Read more

Concerts and Events Stuart Broomer Issue 128

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