Three-Toed Sloth

Random Notes from the Tail End of the Montreal Jazz Festival

Attention conservation notice: I know nothing about music and have no taste.

Unsurprising observation: all the performers here are, in fact, really good. Two highlights, neither of which I'd heard before:

Nomo

Wonderfully lively and coordinated music, played without any explanation of or apology for the fact that the party is clearly taking place somewhere out beyond the orbit of Saturn. Embarrassingly, I never heard them while I was in Ann Arbor.

Room Eleven

Had a huge audience eating out of the palm of their hand. Couples started dancing in the crowd to a song about doing the dishes.

— I am liking Montreal on my first twenty four hours' acquaintance; it seems friendly, civlized and enjoyable. The fact that my hotel has a combination bookstore-bistro on the first floor, and there is a 24/7 fresh produce stand down the block, has something to do with this. (This looks like it will be useful.) So does anticipation of the conference, conveniently not interferring with the jazz festival, which ends tonight.

Update, 8 July: two additional recommendations from the last day of the festival: Manouche (locals) and the Elizabeth Shepherd Quartet (not trio!). Disappointingly, the on-site record store did not have CDs from any of these groups (though they did have some Didier Lockwood).

Postcards