Gabi Hartmann
Studio TD, June 28
The long line at 6 p.m. for this free concert is a testament to the enthusiasm for Gabi Hartmann. There’s no doubt about it: her first visit to us, at Casa Del Popolo not so long ago, left a strong impression. Even if the comparison with Madeleine Peyroux may seem easy, the singer draws from the same folk source orchestrated with gentleness. Oscillating between cottony pop and the work of a song craftswoman, the music of the French singer, who accompanies herself on acoustic guitar, is savored by taking your time. Each title is part of a harmonious whole, the references are noble, everything is carefully woven, the seduction comes first of all from the quality of the accompaniments and arrangements. We will not hide our pleasure in hearing the bass clarinet invite itself into the proposition. After the Ottawa-Montreal-Quebec triple in three days, one certainty: Gabi Hartmann will come back here.
Cory Wong
TD scene at Place des Festivals, June 28
We knew he was quick on the uptake. We were once seduced by the undulating wah-wah of his guitar at Club Soda, then astonished by his sudden adrenaline rushes. Benefiting from great weather, the American funk and soul guitarist with Asian roots destroyed everything in his path with his eternal band of ten musicians, a real squadron of killers with four brass instruments that “punch” where it feels good. If he threw the dynamite from the start with Flyers Directhis sharp music of riffs vicious, slicing everything into thin strips and layering pleasure in the name of original funk, fulfilled all the promises. The deployment of a proven stage force added to the experience. The immense crowd lapped it up. It was a big funk night on Friday, since Corey Henry was treading the same stage earlier with his imposing band. The mothership has landed, to use the words ” funkadelics” by god George Clinton.
Ekep Nkwelle
Molson Pub, June 29
The rain had calmed down by late Saturday evening. A few hundred people came out of nowhere to discover the 25-year-old American singer of Cameroonian origin, on the program of this superb jazz-jazz poster at the Pub Molson. The verve of the young lady with Nana Mouskouri-style glasses, a graduate of the Duke Ellington School of Arts and a Julliard scholarship recipient, recommended by none other than Wynton Marsalis, was beautiful to see. From Radio City Music Hall to the Kennedy Center to the Pub Molson on the Esplanade Tranquille, the classical double bass-piano-drums trio that supports her performed brilliantly. And the audience reacted warmly. While she does not avoid all the pitfalls of jazz singing, Nkwelle is gifted with a clear tone and impeccable delivery, and she even manages to establish some vocal feats, especially on See See Rider.
Cedric Burnside
Rogers Stage, June 30
PHOTO BENOIT ROUSSEAU, PROVIDED BY THE JAZZ FESTIVAL
Cedric Burnside
Coming from the royal lineage of northern Mississippi blues, son of the late drummer Calvin Jackson and grandson of his highness RL Burnside, who gave us little gems of primitive blues on the Fat Possum label, the 45-year-old drummer-guitarist-singer appeared alone on stage at 7 p.m. in front of a large audience and in a very family atmosphere, with the scent of grilled meats and Neapolitan pizzas to match. During three solo songs delivered with the same vocal quality as a Keb Mo but with a soul power that crosses the grassy space of the Parterre symphonique, we quickly understood why his latest album, Hill Country Lovewon the Grammy Award for Best Blues Album. With its ancestral chords that allow us to escape the turpitudes of the city with epic realism, Burnside has put us on the Shake Em on Down repeating: “What is this howling?” Smile, Funky, Coming Real to Ya And You Got to Move were launched into the Montreal sky like healing incantations. A drummer and a bassist came to support him, to our great delight.