Mannouche Swing Quintet

It turns out that the band we saw playing in the park was actually a Montreal staple who have a couple of albums out. We wound up seeing them in a club called Upstairs Jazz. They are called Mannouche Swing Quinte.

I shot this video of one of the tunes they played. This place serves food and wine and the people don't talk while the band is playing. What a concept!

Maestro! (continued)

Paco

The canta or singers were two guys who seemed to be “on” this night. Especially the older one. After two songs Paco had someone bring him a towel and he explained, “I buy new pants today. Very slippery. Cannot play.” Then he put the towel on his leg so the guitar wouldn't slip anymore. The entire hall erupted in laughter!

They had some tuning issues and after a few songs or about an hour and he told the audience they were all out of tune and needed to go back stage and re-tune, “We come back.” he said. Then the house lights came up and we had about a thirty minute intermission. Which no one could tell if it was scheduled or not. It didn't matter.

Everybody pretty much came back and sat down on their own and they turned the lights back down and the band came back onstage. They started out, all eight, together on a very recognizable tune but I don't know the name of it right now.

Toward the end of that song the dancer finally got up and started doing his routine on a slightly raised platform in front of the musicians. He actually really got the crowd into it and the band seemed to kick into high gear feeding off the crowd.

So the last forty-five minutes or so were highly charged and you could feel the duende flowing through the room. It was nice to see the way that the flamenco unit actually functions. When the singers come in the guitars lay back and if the singer really gets a good line off Paco throws in a rapid Spanish strum to sort of put an exclamation point on the end of the sentence. Then they pull it back down like a pulse and the singer steels himself to get ready for the next line of canta. Then he inhales and fires out the line loudly, forcefully and they thrust their arms down by their sides when the sing. Very theatrical.

I never like to listen to canta very much, but it takes on a different aspect when you can see it live. It all makes a lot more sense when you realize that it is sort of like a group of performers working together during the performance.

Sometimes the bass will throw a little run in after a line of canta too. Then they come back to the main melody and it's kind of pulsating and a little terrifying at the same time. When it's time for the dancer to get up he expresses himself a lot in the same way as the singers. He waits for the band to come down and get into the pulse then he starts tapping with his heels and getting a beat going. He builds it up and then he explodes with a strong flourish and he might do a couple of spins to cap it off, along with some real strong stomps and all the singers shout “ole, ole!” and the band comes back in on the main melody and they go through a progression then they lower it back down again and the dancer starts again tapping.

The audience really enjoyed this immensely and the band was smiling all around. Paco would typically give each musician a little room to solo while they kept the pulse going the whole time with the singers clapping a tempo and the guitars half muting the melody.

Everybody got a chance to showcase their skills, but it was the harmonica player who really got the crowd going the best. Every time, they would start out real low and gradually build up until everybody was going full bore and the room would pulsate with the ebb and flow of the music.

When the soloist was into his long runs the sound man was panning the mix so it was going from left to right and back again giving a cool stereo effect. And I think the harmonica player may have been playing with two harmonicas sometimes.

The people in the audience were there to see Paco. They were all pilgrims like me and you can bet that 80% of the audience were guitarists so everybody was really focused on the music and did not talk during the show, or had the decency to whisper.

Of course Paco played solos during all the songs too. He seems to have mellowed some from his recordings and everybody realized that we weren’t watching a forty year old Paco, but the old Maestro is still able to tap the duende and played some amazing runs that brought cheers from the crowd. He seemed content though to let the band do the heavy lifting and probably at this point he feels that he doesn’t have anything to prove anyway. It was a great performance and I feel privileged to have been there.

A View from the mountain

A view of Montreal from the top of Mount Royal. It was a tough climb but we made it!

The Chalet at the top of the mountain.

Observation deck on Mount Royal.

Stairs leading up the mountain.

Maestro!

Maestro! Paco de Lucia was incredible. Band members came out one at a time beginning with the percussion. All told he had an electric bass, a keyboard/harmonica player, a rhythm guitar two singers and a dancer. The keyboardist colored the songs with some synth/string sounds which I wasn't sure I would like but it did not detract from the music. He also played lots of harmonies on the harmonica with Paco in place of the flute that is heard on most of Paco's recordings. (more to follow)

Parc La Fontaine

The coolest part of Montreal is Parc la Fontaine  which is just a short walk up the street from the b&b we are staying at. The park is a fairly large park and has two lakes. The people here love the park and they come out in droves to sit by the lake and sunbathe or play music or Bar-b-que or throw frisbees and ride bicycles. Bicycling is biggg here! Everyone rides a bike it seems like. You can even rent bikes at this thing called Bixi.

In the park young and old intermingle all along the walking paths and bike paths and footpaths. It is very bohemian and free, but not really quite hippy although there is a little bit of that. Mostly the preponderance of people seem to be mostly middle class folks just getting out and enjoying nature.

Lots of musicians gather and play all around the park. Also troops of actors hold improtue shows in the middle of the park. The smell of marijuana is ever present. Though it isn't legal according to the locals the police don't care if people smoke it. They only go after the dealers. It's totally out in the open. Open containers of alcohol isn't an issue either as practically everyone is having some kind of beverage or another. It's really refreshing to see. Overall though it is a very relaxed, very laid back. Just like everyone said it would be. But it isn't like you are at a Grateful Dead show or anything like that, it's legitimate and uncontrived.  

Jean Paul Gaultier exhibit

The Musee des beaux-arts was having a temporary exhibit of Jean Paul Gaultier.
Gaultier designed the outfits for Madonna on her Blonde Ambition tour with the huge conical shaped bra. There were lots of original sketches and Polaroids of Madonna and her band trying out the costumes.

The cool thing about the Montreal museum is that they let you take pictures in the exhibit as long as you turn off the flash. So I was able to get some cool photos. The coolest stuff were the sketches from the Fifth Element pre-production. You can tell that they know Bruce Willis has the Corbin Dallas role from the sketch of his costume. But the Lelou model did not look like Mila Jojovich.

Gypsy Jazz

Today we came back from being on Mont Royal and we walked back through Park La Fontaine. We stumbled upon a group of guys playing gypsy music at the main portico. These guys were real good and we listened for a solid hour. It was better than anything I've payed money to see in the last few years. It was really a good time and lots of people stopped as they were pedalling by to listen for a few minutes. And they weren't really out passing the hat around for tips or anything, they were just playing for the fun of it.

Chat Noir

Here in Montreal at our bed and breakfast the Sur la Route de Berthier there is a cat that lives upstairs. His name is Cain. It's pronounced something like Cah-ahn, but I call him Cane. He doesn't seem to mind. The house is really cool and our hosts are called Pierre and Guillme. Montreal is very laid back.

Toronto

Union Station

We arrived in Toronto this afternoon around 5 oclock. So far it is a very cool city.

Aldershot, Ontario, Canada

So I'm goin' to ride this train Lord until I find out 
What Jimmie Rogers and the Hag was all about 
- Ronnie Van Zant, Railroad Song

Niagra Falls, Canada

We've arrived in Canada and are presently on the train to Toronto. This train is slooooowww.....

Paco receives honorary doctorate from Berklee

The guitarist and composer Paco de Lucia has received a doctorate honoris causa by the Berklee College of Music.

Paco de Lucia (Algeciras / Cádiz, 1947) thus becomes the first Spanish guitarist to obtain a recognition that other musicians such as David Bowie, Aretha Franklin, Chick Corea,  George Benson, Duke Ellington, BB King, Quincy Jones, and Pat Metheny  have received.

The guitarist from Cadiz was sworn in May 8th, "his music and his artistic vision has influenced generations of musicians and helped to spread flamenco between international audiences. "

The Guitar Trio

In the 80's Paco teamed up with American Al Di Meola and Englishman John McLaughlin. They formed a trio that gained tremendous notoriety. They recorded three albums together.

It's my opinion that neither Di Meola or McLaughlin belonged on the same stage with Paco, with McLaughlin being especially lost. Di Meola played the entire time using a pick and a steel string guitar.

It's clear though when listening to the album "Friday Night in San Francisco" the audience response to Paco is overwhelming. And whether it is rhythm or lead playing Paco's mastery over the others is clearly on display.

Di Meola is no slouch on the guitar by any means, but coming from an electric guitar style background his lead runs on the record just do not have the same fluidity or depth that Paco's leads have. The Ovation steel string guitar also gave his notes a kind of tinny sound.

Di Meola has been regaled and sometimes criticized for playing fast just for the sake of playing fast. His style was satirized by Frank Zappa in the song Packard Goose, where near the end the vocals say "Sounds like an Elegant Gypsy" (Elegant Gypsy was the title of Di Meola's 2nd album) while Zappa plays sarcastically staccato runs.

Zappa did later invite DiMeola on stage to jam with his band.

Paco and Camerón

In 1968, Paco began a collaboration with the singer Camerón de Isla. During the seventies they were among the biggest celebrities in Spain.

Together they recorded ten albums. His haunting homage to Cameron on the 1998 album Luiza is one of my favorite songs. It is Paco singing at the end of the song.

Camerón died in 1992.

Cool Cameron vid

Who is Paco de Lucia?

Born in Algeciras (Cádiz) in 1947, de Lucia first broadcast a performance on Radio Algeciras when he was 11 years old. His father, his brother Ramon de Algeciras and master Nino Ricardo were his main influences. At 12, he began playing with his brother Pepe in a group called Los Chiquitos de Algeciras. Shortly after winning a prize at the International Flamenco Contest in Jerez in 1962, he and his brothers were hired by the José Greco Company, with which they toured the world. Encouraged by Sabicas and Mario Escudero, he began composing. His first records, guitar duos, were recorded with Ricardo Modrego, a member of the Jose Greco Ballet, and Ramón de Algeciras. 

A Very Fortuitous Coincidence

My wife and I planned a trip to Canada. Little did we know at the time that very same week Paco de Lucia was performing in Montreal as part of the Montreal Jazz Festival.

It was by sheer coincidence (or was it) that I found out Paco was playing at the festival. The last time Paco played at the festival was ten years ago. He will perform at the theater Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier on Jun 25th.

Travelling North

Sometime last year I began looking at airfares to Canada. I've never been there before and the exchange rate with the Euro is not favorable and airfare to South America is exorbitant. I figured that it was the perfect time to visit our neighbors to the north.

The timing for the trip hinged on my wife's vacation schedule which she has to make out the November before the next year. So it's kind of like throwing darts at a calendar in terms of the weeks to choose throughout the upcoming year.

She ended up with a week during June and we decided that would be the best time to head north. We had no advance knowledge of what we were to discover next...

Paco de Lucia

About ten years ago I stumbled by accident onto the greatest flamenco guitarist and arguably the world's greatest, Francisco Sanchez aka Paco de Lucia.

Paco's career has spanned over forty years, but the pinnacle of his career was probably in the 1970's. So for this reason being able to see him play live has become a decreasingly likely probability. Especially since I only became aware of him around 2001 or so.

There was a tour around 2004 for the Cositas Buenas album, but with the Bush administration being in power and their propensity for ridiculousness Paco's bass player was not allowed a work visa because he was Cuban.

I think that because of the bitter taste that left with Paco none of his subsequent tours have had dates within the U.S. So, I'd pretty much given up hope of ever being able to see him live...until now.