by LEN DOBBIN | More FIJM: Highlights of the free outdoor shows

The Montreal Jazz Festival’s 27th edition kicks off today at noon, and ends at 11 p.m. on July 9, and in between are so many concerts—indoor and on the various street stages—that there’s more than enough to please most any music lover. If the time is there, these would be the ones I would not like to miss.

Let’s begin with the free concerts (with the caveat that the sound at the outdoor stages is as variable as the weather). If you fancy vocalists, there are a number worthy of your attention. There’s Juno winner Sue Foley, comfy in both the blues and jazz genres, and Chantal Chamberland, who seems to have found a new maturity with her third CD. Toronto-based Melissa Stylianou, who studied at McGill, returns to the fest, and there’s also the adventurous Tena Palmer, a Lee Konitz student. Staying with singers, we move to the indoor concerts where, despite the Tony Bennett postponement, there are some very interesting bookings that should prove musically enriching. They include Badi Assad, the wonderful singer/guitarist from Brazil, as well as CeU from that same country. In that Voix du Monde series, I would also suggest Elisabeth Kontomanou, who sounds wonderful on her debut disc, and who’ll be joined by pianist Jean-Michel Pilc.

I really can’t recommend Matt Dusk to the jazz fan, but I certainly can tell you that Sara Gazarek, who’s opening for him, is a new jazz voice that you should hear. Last but far from least, there’s Dorothee Berryman, doing this year’s boat cruise with two shows nightly over six evenings.

Italian stallions

In the instrumental department, there is much to delight the jazz fancier. Outdoors we have pianists including Montreal-born Richard Whiteman and Cuba’s David Virelles, both of whom now call Toronto home, Michelle Grégoire, also a composer of note, and the very musical Daniel Lessard—best known as one of our great bassists, though his piano is also worth checking out, as is his guitarist, Carlos Jimenez.

There are so many excellent Canadian bands worth your attention. Some that have been impressive in recent hearings are bassist Roberto Occhipinti from Toronto and the sextet of trumpeter Joe Sullivan, also a favourite arranger of many Montrealers. There is a series at Gesu featuring Joel Miller, his wife Christine Jensen, Steve Amirault and Julie Lamontagne. Pianist Jean-François Groulx gets two well-deserved nights in the piano series that includes the not-to-be-missed Enrico Pieranunzi and Pilc.

On to the headliners! Schedule permitting, I would suggest hearing John Pizzarelli’s big band, Detroit’s veteran Yusef Lateef joined by Stephane and Lionel Belmondo, a McCoy Tyner super-band with Eric Alexander and Steve Turre and the Romano-Sclavis-Texier trio—in fact, I recommend all of Aldo Romano’s appearances, especially the one with young reedman Mark Turner. Then there’s Cuba’s Gonzalo Rubalcaba, joined by David Sanchez and guitarist Pat Martino in a tribute to Wes Montgomery, Don Byron’s Ivey-Divey trio and Joe Lovano, one of the great living musicians, with James Weidman on piano.

One should really also check out the many wonderful Italian musicians at this year’s fest—Gabriele Mirabassi with Brazilian guitarist Guinga, the Egea Orchestra and the aforementioned Pieranunzi. This year’s Invitation series has Romano splitting the concerts with guitarist Bireli Lagrene. If I were to pick one outdoor and one indoor item, I would go with Lessard and Lovano.

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