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Ville-Marie lane closure
In local news, getting around by car this summer is about to become an even bigger challenge in Montreal. That's because, starting Wednesday, Transport Quebec is closing lanes along one span of the Ville-Marie expressway.
The lane closures will affect both directions and are due to more roadwork scheduled for the next four months. Transport Quebec announced the lane closures on Tuesday.
One lane heading west will be closed between Panet St. and the University St. exit. One lane, and in some areas two lanes, heading east will be closed between the entrance of the Ville Marie tunnel and Panet St.
Work at Beaver Lake
In local news, the city of Montreal announced on Tuesday that it will start work around Beaver Lake. The work will include rebuilding the stone wall around Beaver Lake, improving the water circulation and cleaning up undesirable plants.
The city has also announced that it will renovate the parking lot and install lighting, as well as new park furnitures. Rowboats will be replacing pedal boats.
The renovations will start in 2012, and most services and activities will still be running while the work is being done.
Cop cars are not for sleeping
The Laval police have launched an inquiry into the behavior of their officers. Photos of two of their officers sleeping in their police cruiser were sent to local media. The patrol car was parked under some trees behind Tourism Laval on Saint Martin Boulevard on Saturday morning.
The department’s spokesperson said sleeping in a patrol car outside work hours does not violate the code of conduct. But it does go against the department’s work ethic.
The inquiry was announced in a news release issued Tuesday evening.
Another similar incident occurred in February on a Highway forty ramp. Motorist Maxime Carpentier pulled over after seeing two Sureté du Québec officers lying down in their cruiser. He recorded video on his cell phone which woke up one officer who then issued a one hundred and fifty-four dollar ticket for parking on the highway. His fine was dismissed after the video went viral on youtube.
Jazz Fest: Francois Bourassa Quartet @ Gesù
Thursday, June 30th at Gesù, lauded Canadian pianist François Bourassa proved that, without a doubt, Quebec is home to some of the finest jazz musicians on the planet.
Fronting an incredibly talented quartet of home-grown musicians in saxophonist Andre Leroux, bassist Guy Boisvert, and drummer Philipe Melanson, Bourassa put on a contemporary jazz clinic. The evening's program consisted almost exclusively of tunes from the quartet's brand new album Idiosyncracie. Not "straight ahead" by any means, Bourassa's compositions aren't catchy. They hover on the fringe of memorability, forcing the listener to press forward into exciting musical territory rather than linger on phrases already played.
Each musician in the ensemble possesses a unique role. Leroux is charged with the bulk of the melodic foundation, weaving intricate lines in and out of the harmonic framework laid down by Bourassa. Melanson's drumming and percussive work is as much textural as it is rhythmic, with the aforementioned manipulating his drum kit in a variety of interesting ways providing a wide range of timbral effects. Boisvert's impeccable timing and rock solid groove serves as an anchor in an otherwise swirling rhythmic soup. The result is a perfect mélange of emotion and intellect fueled by the E.S.P.-like connection shared between the four.
Interesting to note was Bourassa's mention of contemporary classical composers Karlheinz Stockhausen, Gustav Mahler, and Alban Berg in advance of his three-movement "Suite Allemande". These were some of the most forward thinking composers of the twentieth century, and that influence was readily apparent throughout the evening.
While not flashy, Bourassa's quartet displayed exceptional prowess and emotional range, both in improvisation, and group interplay. The evening was capped off by an energetic rendition of Bourassa's "Rasstones", the only tune of the night not found on Idiosyncrasie.
To sum up the evening, it was an immaculate foray into contemporary jazz that kept the audience engaged from the opening note. The François Bourassa Quartet proved that you don't always have to search far and wide for jazz heavyweights; sometimes they're right in your own backyard.
-Gordon M co-hosts The J-Spot every Tuesday from 4-6pm
Jazz Fest: Afrodizz @ Club Soda
Montreal’s own Afrodizz came on Saturday, July 3rd to perform at Club Soda for Montreal’s annual Festival International de Jazz. The group was looking formal, all wearing black pants, white button up shirts, and black ties. Their music is a cross between afrobeat, jazz, and funk. They opened the show with “Yayaya”; it started the show off immediately with an explosive and energetic vibe. On stage stood the main singer Gabriel Aldama and the seven-man band that included instruments such as saxophones, a trumpet, a cowbell, guitar, bass, bongos, drums, and an interesting instrument called a shakira, reminiscent of a maraca but larger and looks like a vase. They performed their new album called “Sounds from Outer Space”. The sound was a bit hectic and the image of the group didn’t exactly match their musical quality. I actually found it more pleasurable to close my eyes.
-DJ MissChief hosts Greedy Graffiti on Thursdays from 1-2pm
5 Year Old Boy Killed in Alberta
Tragedy struck a small Alberta reserve Monday morning when a five-year-old boy was shot to death.
RCMP were called to the Hobbema reserve about 80 kilometres south of Edmonton around 3 a.m. after receiving reports of shots being fired. After entering the house police found the child’s body.
The boy has been confirmed as the grandson of Samson Cree Chief Marvin Yellowbird.
A woman who was inside the house suffered non life-threatening injuries.
Police are investigating whether reports of shots fired earlier, around 1:30 a.m. are also linked to the incident.
The Samson Cree First Nation reserve has suffered from drug and gang problems for many years. In April 2008 a 23-month-old girl was shot in the spine as she ate dinner.
Harper given ceremonial title
Stephen Harper can now add honourary tribal chief to his resume. The prime minister was given the title of Chief Speaker at a ceremony in Stand Off, Alberta on Monday. There he posed for photos donning a massive feathery Aboriginal hat and yellow face paint.
The Blood Tribe say they are honouring Harper for his apology for residential schools in 2008. But Harper has been criticized widely for his policies towards First Nations. There was a large campaign condemning the Olympics on stolen Native land. And many advocacy groups have pressured the Harper government with human and environmental rights abuses affecting natives due to Alberta tar sand excavation. In 2009, Harper also said that Canada has no history of colonialism.
Harper will join the company of three other Canadian prime ministers who have been named honourary tribal chiefs.
News: July 11th 2011
Read and produced by Sofia Gay.
Stories by Chris Hanna, Sofia Gay and Jacqueline Di Bartolomeo.
Canada to boycott UN disarmament conference
Canada is expected to boycott the United Nations conference on disarmament in protest of the UN’s choice of North Korea as conference chair. A senior government official says Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird will announce the decision on Monday.
So Se Pyong is North Korea's ambassador. Baird was a vocal critic of the ambassador’s appointment as chair last week. He called the appointment ‘‘unacceptable’’ given North Korea’s track record with regards to disarmament. North Korea pulled out of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty in 2003 and has threatened South Korea with military action.
Baird hopes other countries will be prompted to follow Canada’s lead and join the boycott.
Jazz Fest: Bootsy Collins + Trombone Shorty @ Metropolis
Tuesday, June 28th's double billing of Trombone Shorty and Bootsy Collins at Metropolis promised to brand Montreal as "the funkiest place on earth". It did not disappoint. Troy "Trombone Shorty" Andrews and his group Orleans Avenue kicked off the night with their sizzling brand of funk infused with jazz, rock, hip hop and soul.
Playing several tunes from their Grammy nominated 2010 album Backatown, Shorty and co. brought the funk from the opening note. Orleans Avenue provided funky horn lines, and an impeccably tight rhythm section, while Andrews displayed masterful proficiency on both trombone and trumpet. Shorty also showed off his vocal prowess on Allen Toussaint's "On Your Way Down" and Marvin Gaye's "Let's Get It On".
The highlight of the evening was undoubtedly during a surprise rendition of the jazz standard "On the Sunny Side Of The Street" (dedicated to Louis Armstrong) in which Andrews used circular breathing to hold a single note on the trumpet for several choruses, electrifying the crowd.
The group ended their show with an encore that began with a N'awlins funk rendition of "When The Saints Go Marching In" followed by a Blues Brothers-like performance of Solomon Burke's "Everybody Needs Somebody To Love". The grand finale saw the band swap instruments (Andrews hopped on the drum kit) for one impressive final funky foray.
After a lengthy intermission, Bootsy's band took the stage and tantalised the audience with "We Want Bootsy" before the grand marshal of funk finally graced Metropolis with his star eyed, gold lamé clad presence. Backed by a goliath ensemble of 14, Collins hammered the crowd with P-Funk favourites, though the spectacle of his stage show overshadowed the musical aspect of the evening. It didn't help that the grooves would often fade into kick drum driven spoken word interludes that slowed the momentum of the evening. Add that to Collins' two lengthy absences (costume changes), and it was difficult to maintain any kind of musical flow.
The highlight of Bootsy's set came when he launched himself into the crowd to be mobbed by his adoring fans. After thanking everyone within a ten mile radius, Collins capped off the night with "P Funk (Wants to Get Funked Up)."
From an entertainment aspect, Bootsy and friends delivered in spades, but all musical fulfilment came from Trombone Shorty and Orleans Avenue.
-Gordon M co-hosts The J-Spot every Tuesday from 4-6pm
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