Montreal Bslakirev

Decca Classics and the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal are proud to present the world premiere recording of the chamber version of Leonard Bernstein’s ‘A Quiet Place’, adapted by Garth Edwin Sunderland. It is conducted by Kent Nagano and will be released on 22nd June, ahead of the Bernstein centenary on 25th August 2018.

The Japanese-born violinist Ayana Tsuji was 18 years old in May 2016 when she won first prize in the Concours Musical International de Montréal, but you wouldn’t know it from her debut recording. Perversely, for a release intended to celebrate a major new talent, the booklet contains no biographical information about Tsuji, although we do get a photo of her wearing all six of her gold medals and beaming, as well she might.

Recorded on the opening night of the Festival International de Jazz de Montreal as part of an eight-concert series paying tribute to Charlie Haden. While the other evenings all featured stellar musicians and wonderful collaborations, this one is special because it features Haden in a trio of players not usually associated with him: drummer Al Foster – fresh from Miles Davis' band, and the late tenor giant Joe Henderson. In fact, Haden has subtitled the set, "Tribute to Joe Henderson." There are four extended tunes on the set, the shortest of which is the opener, a gorgeous, wide open rendering of Thelonious Monk's "'Round Midnight," on which Henderson begins to display some of the same modal soloing traits he employed on his Blue Note recordings Mode for Joe, and Inner Urge.

Roger Hodgson is the voice of Supertramp. Co-founding the band in 1969, he was the lead singer and writer of nearly all their hits throughout the band's heyday in the seventies and early eighties. Since leaving Supertramp in 1983 he has had a series of critically acclaimed and successful solo albums and come through a major accident in the late eighties that threatened his entire career. This DVD, the first live release from either Roger or Supertramp, was filmed in Montreal and catches Roger Hodgson at his very best.

This 1980 concert film captures blues legend John Lee Hooker performing at the Montreal Jazz Festival. The man performs close to a dozen songs including "One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer," "Boom Boom," "I'm in the Mood," and "Chicken and Gravy." The DVD release of the film includes additional footage of the guitarist. ~ Perry Seibert

Les Boréades is a new ensemble to me, but Manfred Kraemer is not a new name; indeed, everything I've heard him play has had that little something extra that sets his performances apart. There's something of Fabio Biondi about him, but none of the mannerisms - here, the greatest care is taken with phrasing. A micro-second of space before starting that idea, a slight delay on a cadence, a subtle inflection of the melodic line - and all the players do it.

The music of Marc-Antoine Charpentier has a moderate range and a deceptively simple harmonic framework that lead a wide variety of performing forces to attempt his works. The little Messe de minuit was a Christmastime favorite even in the years when French Baroque music was almost unknown otherwise. But choirs can get in over their heads, and that happens here even to Le Studio de Musique Ancienne de Montréal, a group that has released fine recordings of music by Carissimi and other Baroque composers.

Known as the "King of Mambo," Tito Puente is one of Latin music's most loved performers. The rhythms are hot as Tito's band effortlessly bridges the gap between Latin music and jazz with his own compositions such as the Santana classic Oye Como Va and the captivating Latin-style scat of Tito's Especiale. A true legend with a lifelong passion for music, Tito in concert is a joy to experience!

Since the break-up of Canadian fusion group UZEB in the early 1990s, the only member to continue evolving in the direction set by the group has been bassist Alain Caron. Outside of his short-lived horn and percussion-centric Wild Unit, guitarist Michel Cusson has chosen to work in the area of television and film scoring, while drummer Paul Brochu has turned to more acoustic work with artists including saxophonist Jean-Pierre Zanella. Caron spent some time in New York, recording/performing with guitarist Leni Stern and touring occasionally with her husband Mike (with whom he still works a few times a year). He also was part of fusion guitarist Frank Gambale's uncharacteristically all-acoustic project Natural High (Wombat, 2006).