Nuits gra-twee

>> A weekend of fun at Place Émilie-Gamelin

by RUPERT BOTTENBERG

No Montreal summer music fest-and there are more every year-is complete without a solid dose of cost-free outdoor performances. Nuits d’Afrique choose to compress theirs into a mere three days, at one convenient location. Place Émilie-Gamelin (which maybe you call Berri Square) is smack dab in the middle of Montreal, right outside Berri metro, so getting there’s easy. What follows are a few highlights.

Friday, July 19, sees Trini-grena-dadian trio Jab Jab, kung fu masters of most any Caribbean style you can name, backing up Haitian bluesmeister Patrick Ross at 5:40 p.m., followed at 6:50 by Guadeloupe’s Van Lévé. These cats bring a 20-year history to the table as they get the drum thunder rolling. 9:25 p.m. is when Yerba Buena hit the stage. NYC-based Cuban transplants, this 10-piece outfit salutes the Orishas with bonus hip hop, funk and Afro-beat touches-may well deliver what King Changó promised.

Saturday morning, July 20, the dance and percussion workshops kick off at 10:30 a.m. Trinidad’s Glen Clark will be fine-tuning your thump functions, while Guinea’s Oumar N’Diaye and the gang from Guadeloupe’s Ka-O-Ka will pass on some wild dance moves (check with your chiropractor first). Oh, and zany make-up for the kids from 2–5 p.m.
3: 10 p.m. is showtime for the double whammy of Cuban songbird Barbara Ruiz and Convoy Cubano, two guys spicing their rap flow with elements of son, montuno and old-time guajira. 4:20 p.m. (4:20? You know what to do) is when Moto & Warafiki roll out the hoops, light the torches and let loose a Congolese fire-dancin’ frenzy. At 5:30 p.m., Algeria’s Syncope (with guest Zohra) scare up some Sahara flair with their trad-based rap-raï business, before Chad’s H’Sao take the stage at 6:40 p.m. Three-time winners at Cuba’s Egrem awards, Afro-Cuban jazz rockers Sintesis follow at 7:50 p.m.

More workshops on Sunday, July 21, with Morocco’s Nazir Bouchareb filling the drum-learnin’ slot. At 4:20 p.m., Antillean zouk sensation Senaya does her thing, and at 5:30 p.m., El Nino hits. Spare the umbrella, it’s just this boss Cuban salsa-man, whom you may have seen with Ricardo Lemvo’s Makina Loca band. At 7:50 p.m., Koffi Koffiento shakes you awake with a fine blend of rumba, zouk and salsa, Congolese style. :

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