The Tam-tams du mont Royal have lost their founder. Percussionist Michel Séguin passed away on Tuesday, leaving behind him an immense legacy for the Quebec music scene.
His son, who also bears the name of Michel Séguin, confirms the sad news. “It’s a big loss for the drum in Quebec. It was he who brought the first djembes to Montreal in 1973, he recalls. If everyone has djembes in their living room, it’s because of my father. »
A true pioneer of percussion, he worked all his life to give legitimacy to this instrument, first brought back from Jamaica. “In 1973, he went to join the Guild of Musicians. The guy who was in charge laughed and banged on his desk saying anyone could do that, which he did…”
Michel Séguin was undeterred and began offering djembe workshops in parks. The noise then disturbed the neighbors, who called the police. It settled in the late 1970s around the statue of Sir George-Étienne Cartier and, since then, the “Tam-tams du mont Royal” gathering has attracted tens, hundreds, even thousands of people.
“In one summer, in 1979, it grew so much that it became an institution,” said his son. We find [une mention de] this gathering in tourist brochures as an event not to be missed in the Quebec metropolis. »
However, it was not his father’s intention at the start, to create a gathering that would cross cultures. It was his generosity that snowballed, according to Michel Séguin fils. “To passersby, he gave a cowbell, a tambourine, a shaker. “If you want to play with us, play this.” That’s how it started. »
Play with the older ones
Michel Séguin’s legacy does not stop at Tam-tams. He was the percussionist for several local stars. He is responsible for the drums on the album YELLOW by Jean-Pierre Ferland. He has collaborated with Renée Claude, Robert Charlebois, Louise Forestier, Claude Dubois, Zachary Richard, among other big names.
“In the early 1980s, jazz ballets were very popular. My father wrote two pieces to choreograph on it, ”adds his son.
Michel Séguin has traveled across Africa, Latin America and Hawaii to nurture his art. “At the time, to learn these rhythms, you had to stay with the people who played these rhythms. It’s an art, there is a thousand-year-old tradition behind it, we don’t play it just any old way, ”says his son, also an African drummer.
Over the years, Michel Séguin senior stopped going to the foot of Mount Royal, delegating the responsibility for the event to his son and his friends. He deplored in recent years the anarchic side of the gathering.
“Over the years, Michel found that it had lost a bit of harmony,” remarks Éric Lafontaine, a percussionist who was his student for a few years. “At first, he held it with an iron fist. It seems that with his wand and his whistle, he kept it tight. He wanted there to be musicality. He was a music lover first and foremost. He honored the djembe. »
Several relatives of Michel Séguin promise to pay tribute to him during the next Sunday meeting. They also intend to ask the City to install a statue in his homage where Montreal’s musical fauna comes to vibrate every Sunday in summer.