It’s the 32nd annual Festival International de Jazz de Montreal. MAGNET’s Mitch Myers translates the action.
I know that I’ve been hard on bassist Dave Holland’s performances at the Montreal Jazz Festival this year, but both of the first two nights of his Invitation Series—one of duets with pianist Kenny Barron, the other showcasing his own quintet—felt just a little too well-behaved to hold my interest. Thankfully, all that changed on Holland’s third and final performance, where he gracefully transitioned with the festival’s next Invitation host, Tunisian oud player Anouar Brahem. Freed from the constraints of his own group and clearly inspired by the great abilities of Brahem and master reedist John Surman, Holland finally played the stand-up bass like something important was at stake. These three musicians have recorded for the storied ECM label separately and together, and there was a strong and immediate confluence found between the old veterans. Playing some new things as well as tunes from their beautiful CD from 2000, Thimar, the threesome’s joint effort was intimate but still big enough to fill the audience-packed Théâtre Jean-Duceppe. Brahem’s poignant oud work set a haunting mood, bringing an Arabic feel to the trio, while Holland strummed his bass with a Spanish tinge and Surman lurked around the bottom of the spectrum adding sonic coloring with his bass clarinet and soprano sax. Participating in this passionate collective experience with his driving improvisation, Holland truly played his ass off and showed exactly why he’s been considered one of the top jazz bassists for decades. The man still has it. Brahem has it, too, and he’ll be taking it to the stage in Montreal for the next couple of nights. Perhaps I’ll even be in the mood for some oud.
