Montreal Gazette

Local musicians headline outdoor shows at Festival Internatio­nal de Jazz de Montréal

- RICHARD BURNETT

Montreal has had a love affair with Bran Van 3000 ever since the local music collective released their smash hit Drinking in L.A. in 1997. That’s why tens of thousands of concertgoe­rs attended their reunion concert, a free outdoor show at the 2008 Festival Internatio­nal de Jazz de Montréal (FIJM). It was also a memorable night for Bran Van 3000’s soul singer Stéphane Moraille, whose powerhouse vocals anchor Drinking in L.A. “What a show that was!” said Moraille, whose new solo album Daïva features Pi Wo, an irresistib­le house track. There are more than 300 free outdoor shows by local and internatio­nal headliners at this summer’s 39th edition of FIJM, which runs from June 28 to July 7, and Moraille is just one of many Montreal acts headlining one of these much-coveted concerts. “I’ve been playing at the Jazz Fest since 1991 — from the smallest to the biggest stage,” Moraille said. “It doesn’t matter if I play in front of 100 people or 50,000; if my show can help someone forget their problems for even just a minute, then I’ve succeeded. There will be a lot of singing and dancing at my show.” Moraille performs on the Scène Rio Tinto outdoor stage on July 4, the same night Montreal guitar god Steve Hill — who conquered the blues world with his one-man band, singing and playing guitar, as well as bass drum, snare drum and hi-hats with his feet — headlines the Scène Hyundai CBC/ Radio Canada. “I remember going to the Jazz Fest as a kid and thinking: ‘One day I’m going to play here,’” said Hill, fresh from a U.K. tour cross-promoting his new live album The One-Man Blues Rock Band. Hill made his FIJM debut playing guitar for the Bob Harrison Blues Band. “Last time, in 2017, I opened for Buddy Guy and Charlie Musselwhit­e,” Hill said. “This year, I’m back on the outdoor blues stage where I played 25 years ago. Full circle. I’ve always loved playing on that stage.” The Jazz Festival has given Moraille, Hill and other local musicians career boosts over the years. “While musicians from around the world perform at our festival, Montreal itself has always been an important component of our festival,” said Laurent Saulnier, FIJM’s vice-president of programmin­g. “There is a lot of talent in the city; we get a lot of foreign visitors to our festival, so this is an excellent opportunit­y to showcase and promote locals in front of the world.” Saulnier has nothing but praise for Steve Hill. “He is an extraordin­ary guitarist and terrific singer, but he has really raised the bar — right now, Steve is the best one-man-band in the world,” he said. Saulnier is also a big fan of Stéphane Moraille. “She is an exceptiona­l singer,” he observed. “I remember her festival performanc­e in 2009, when she released her debut solo album Florida Water. It makes us happy to support artists like Stéphane.” Other Montreal bands headlining outdoor shows at this year’s festival include reggae warriors Inus Aso on July 2. “They’ve been around for 25 years and are one of the city’s great reggae acts,” Saulnier said. Another much-anticipate­d show is by Afro-Canadian Pierre Kwenders on July 6. The Montreal sensation’s 2014 album Le Dernier empereur bantou was longlisted for the 2015 Polaris Music Prize. “Pierre is a pioneer of what we call World 2.0, mixing world and electronic music,” Saulnier said. “He is a true Montreal original and will always have a home at our festival.” Created in 2004 in order to participat­e in a Havana hip-hop festival, Montreal’s legendary hip-hop collective Nomadic Massive raps and sings in English, French, Creole, Spanish and Arabic. Unbelievab­ly, Saulnier said their July 2 concert will be “the first time they play at the Place des Festivals. They know how to groove, with a variety of voices and killer tunes.” In all, nine outdoor stages will host a variety of concerts, including the opening show on the Scène TD stage on June 28, and closing concert by Philadelph­ia-based indie rockers The War on Drugs. Each music-filled day will close with the FIJM’s Nightcap Heineken indoor series in the intimate M2 hall (formerly the Savoy) in the MTelus venue. Two popular Montreal music collective­s — Kalmunity (June 29-30 and July 1) and #LeCypher (July 5-6-7) — will anchor this free-admission latenight series. “Kalmunity know how to groove intelligen­tly and have a great diversity of voices,” Saulnier said. “And this is the third year we ask #LeCypher to close the festival. They are prodigious talents; they program a different theme each night, with various rappers and singers, and never cease to amaze.” The Festival Internatio­nal de Jazz de Montréal runs from June 28 to July 7. For more informatio­n, visit montrealja­zzfest.com.

 ?? PHILIPPE RICHELET ?? Pierre Kwenders is performing at this year’s Jazz festival in Montreal.
PHILIPPE RICHELET Pierre Kwenders is performing at this year’s Jazz festival in Montreal.
 ?? FRANÇOIS NADEAU ?? Singer Stephane Moraille is headlining one of the Jazz festival’s outdoor shows.
FRANÇOIS NADEAU Singer Stephane Moraille is headlining one of the Jazz festival’s outdoor shows.

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