With over 3.5 million residents, Montréal is a large island on the St. Lawrence River, and the second-largest city in Canada. A place where French is the official language but most people speak English as well, this is also one of the most culturally diverse tourist attractions in Canada. A unique city that is equally rich in cultural, historical, and natural attractions, you’ll find everything from ancient churches to the lavish Casino de Montréal. There is a European flavour to this special metropolitan, a place that exudes splendour and substance non-stop. Did I mention you can still smoke in public and bars are open until 4 am, conveniences banned elsewhere in Canada?
Much smaller in size than Toronto, Montréal has a concentrated population and is a better city for pedestrians. Rapid transit is reasonably quick. For shopping try the Complexe Desjardins mall with its 120 shops, boutiques, and restaurants. My pick for the food court at Desjardins is without question Il Panini Méditerranéo, where the food, service, and price were refreshing. If malls don't interest you, step outside to Rue Ste. Catherine, Montréal's main street, lined with shops, restaurants, and crazy and beautiful people.
All That Jazz and More
Going in with high expectations, I found the Montréal International Jazz Festival of 2005 even more spectacular than I had anticipated. As a traveller from Toronto, I arranged a two-night Duo Jazz package with festival organizers, a convenient tourist package for festival attendees unfamiliar with Montréal.
The Duo Jazz package, valued at approximately $550 per person, features two nights at the four-star Hotel St-Paul and a six-course gourmet dinner at Europea restaurant, tickets for two greats shows, a souvenir album, a t-shirt, a 2005 jazz compilation CD, a $20 cash certificate for the Casino de Montréal, and daily perks.
The ultra-modern Hotel St-Paul, a 20-minute walk from the festival site, was most memorable. The suite was royal, the service friendly, and breakfast a majestic variety of cheeses, pastries, fruit, and juice.
(3504 x 2336 px, 350 dpi)
The gastronomic experience that is Europea is located at 1227 rue de la Montagne. It is a paradise for those who seek creative fine dining—and I mean fine. With prices ranging from $9 for desserts to $35 for mouth-watering main courses to $70 for novelty appetizers, your meal promises to be full of delectable surprises, from lobster cream cappuccino made from the creature’s shell to a plate of Quebec’s finest cheeses with pineapple chutney, small beet salad, and figs carpaccio. After dabbling in a plethora of dishes including unforgettable pasted prunes wrapped in scrumptious bacon, I graduated to the main course with a succulent, tender red snapper filet. Dessert was an engaging vanilla whipped cream macaroon adorned with juicy raspberries.
The festival CD turned out to be worth buying, and also contained the Friends of the Festival card that included special privileges such as access to the Movado Jam Sessions at the Salon Jean-Mance in the Hyatt Regency Hotel. It was there that musicians from all over the world gathered to improvise. Hosted by a great piano player named Thuryn von Pranke, these jam sessions were very well-attended and consistently entertaining.
Pat Metheny Everywhere!
If this year’s festival were a film, Pat Metheney would be the star. From the press room to the Hyatt jam sessions, everyone was asking, “Were you at Metheny?” and sighing. The world-renowned guitarist was hard to miss as he appeared in duo, trio, quartet, and octet settings, alongside Charlie Haden, Dewey Redman, Me’Shell Ndgeocello, and Toots Thielemans. The Pat Metheney Group—winners of an unprecedented seven consecutive Grammies for seven consecutive albums—closed the festival with a memorable free concert to be broadcast on Radio-Canada on July 24.
(1945 x 1450 px, 72 dpi)
The screaming fans at Métropolis were endlessly thirsty for Medeski, Martin & Wood. The trio shared the spotlight equally, like brothers. The boisterous crowd of beer-guzzling twenty-something groupies hollered as if it were a rock concert—not the response you would expect for an instrumental jazz trio.
An evening spent with the Bill Charlap Trio can remind an audience why American songs of the early twentieth-century are still called jazz standards. Clearly the capable storyteller chose his non-original material carefully. From “Glitter and Be Gay” to “Nobody’s Heart," Charlap’s assorted repertoire was full of obscure titles from the American interwar years.
Canadian vocalist Sophie Milman released a worthy self-titled debut in 2004. She has sold 15,000 copies to date in Canada (considered a huge number here). The production is excellent owing to producers Bill King and Danny Greenspoon, and features saxophone player Pat Lebarbera. Sophie was a hit at this year's festival.
I didn't see enough of Sonny Rollins because I had really bad Chinese food—don’t eat at Tiki Ming—and needed to lie down. His signature tone and interesting musical ideas have not faded; waddling may have been the only indication of his age. I was there for an atypically bright version of “A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square.” Sonny Rollins has made has made significant contributions to jazz, and is always worth seeing.
The highlight unquestionably for this reporter, both in concert and in person, was the man who made the harmonica a jazz instrument, Toots Thielemans. Now 83 and still sounding like a virtuoso, his playing has deepened in mood in recent years. In Montréal he played to a sold-out show with Kenny Werner, featuring special guests Pat Metheney and Paolo Fresu at the Theatre Maisonneuve in the Place des Arts. The astounding hall, with exquisite lighting design, offered a sweet bonus by reflecting the artists’ giant silhouettes onto the walls opposite to the stage.
Toots and Kenny have a special musical relationship. Thielemans compared it to “two lovers getting together after years apart. We don’t get to play together so much, so when we do it’s a treat.” Indeed, during their performance, the audience resisted applause between solos in fear of interrupting the thrilling energy and chemistry when the two played together.
City and Festival – Both Unforgettable
Undoubtedly, le Festival International de Jazz de Montréal is one of the best jazz festivals in the world. It’s more than just well-organized; it’s about a city’s people coming together to welcome tourists in. Everywhere I went people were friendly. Festival audiences were unpretentious and enthusiastic. The festival is still worth visiting even if you're not a jazz fan—there are hundreds of groups from all over the world performing different kinds of music. In addition to ticketed events there are plenty of free daily outdoor concerts.
If you're thinking of visiting Montréal, visit www.montreal.com. If you're considering visiting during the festival and like luxury, see www.montrealjazzfest.com. Be sure to book well in advance, as this already huge festival is growing every year.
Feeds