WEFT 90.1FM (Illinois)

WEFT 90.1FM in Illinois played our track "Mountain" this morning on their Jazz, Folk, World music morning mix, "Early Dementia." Thanks!

Montreal Jazz Festival notes (Part II)

Andreya Triana, Bonobo and Mr. Scruff - July 3 @ Metropolis
Andreya Triana's opening set was tastefully arranged, and led up to an effortless drum & bass conclusion that reminded us who invented the genre. Bonobo's "Black Sands" was my album of the spring and the band delivered a great rendition. Nice also to hear older tracks in this new orchestration. Mr. Scruff is at the top of his game.

Marc Atkinson Trio - July 4 @ Scene du Festival
Some laid-back but kick-ass playing in this acoustic trio.

The Lost Fingers - July 4 @ Scene TD
Quite engaging and clearly a crowd-pleaser. I particularly enjoyed their AC-DC medley.

Gypsophilia - July 5 @ Scene du Festival
Great players, great compositions, and a very diverse variety of moods, often in the same piece.

Nomo - July 5 @ Scene Bell
They get props for using two instruments I haven't seen before. Some kind of breath-controlled synth? An electric kalimba? I liked how their sound varied from entirely organic (full-on Afrobeat) to synth-led electronic atmospheres.

This rounded out the festival this year for me. Good stuff!

WSCA 106.1 - Portsmouth, New Hampshire

We were played on WSCA 106.1's morning world music program, "Mundo Mondays" yesterday morning alongside Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and the Upper Egypt Ensemble.

Montreal Jazz Festival notes (Part I)

Like many music freaks in Montreal, I've been attending the Montreal Jazz Festival pretty much every night. I missed two nights so far, so I don't get my official badge this year, but they were for good reason.

In one case my ears just needed a break, and in another we were rehearsing. New Arboreal Quartet material on its way!

So far I've enjoyed:

Shad - June 25 @ Scene Bell
Wow, what a creative guy, with smart, self-reflexive lyrics, engaging stage presence. I had the real sense that he's moving the art of hip-hop forward in a meaningful way. His success is well-deserved.

Nils Petter Molvaer - June 26 @ Gesù
I've been enjoying his album "Khmer" for many years, but haven't been staying up to date with his evolution. I knew things were moving in an experimental direction and this show was definitely on that tip. The combination of musical and visual exploration really made for a sense of journey.

Omar Souleyman - June 28 @ Scène Bell
Very infectious beats from Syria. Love the sound production. The weather was particularly dramatic during this set.

Slavic Soul Party - June 30 @ Scène TD
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I have a new bass hero. Years ago at the Festival I was blown away by the bass stylings of beatboxers Bauchklang and haven't been bassed out as much until now. With a mohawk, kilt, and giant bass amplifier driven by a tuba, this guy is serious business. Very engaging rhythms and top-notch playing all around.

Darren Sigesmund - June 30 @ Scène CBC/Radio-Canada
A 6-piece group led by trombone, with sax, guitar, bass drums and (mostly non-verbal) vocals. For their second set of the evening, the sound balance had been smoothed out and I really got into their compositions. I'm definitely going to look into this group further. Tasty stuff.

Exclaim! magazine - up to #3 on Jazz chart, July 2010 issue

The July 2010 issue of Exclaim! magazine became available in Montreal yesterday, and we've moved up to #3 in their top 5 Jazz chart.

This represents campus/community airplay for the month of June, meaning we also appear at #3 on !earshot's monthly jazz top 20.