From the fertile Montreal improv scene, the long-collaborating Mercury duo of double bassist Nicolas Caloia and clarinetist Lori Freedman on b-flat and bass clarinets are heard in eight rugged dialogs captured live as they seemingly flay the body through visceral dialog with titles including "Eyeball-Eyelid"; "Teeth-Tongue-Throat-Lip"; or "Ass-Brain".
Upbeat retro-future jazz with a bit of an acerbic wit, from the organ trio of Finnish saxophonist Mikko Innanen, Danish drummer Stefan Pasborg and French Hammond organ player Cédric Piromalli, in nine diverse pieces from funky swing to lush balladry, with Canadian improviser Lori Freedman providing sharply inquisitive narrative on two pieces.
Collaborators in Montreal projects including Ensemble Supermusique and Ratchet Orchestra, bass clarinetist Lori Freedman (Queen Mab Trio) and trombonist Scott Thomson (Monicker) have also worked as a duo for more than 15 years, starting with the Barnyard Record album Plumb, their long history allowing flexibility in unusual dialog and utterance that captivates naturally.
Hand selected by Montreal clarinetist Lori Freedman and assembled during a 2022 residency in Berlin, the BeingFive quintet brought together ea-improvisers Yorgos Dimitriadis (percussion), Axel Dorner (trumpet), Andrea Parkins (accordion & objects) and Christopher Williams (double bass) for a workshop approach to creating sonic environments of incredible depth and expressiveness.
Four compositions written between 2000-2019 from Joane Hétu: a duo between bassist Nicolas Caloia & bass clarinetist/vocalist Lori Freedman; a work with Hétu & Jean Derome plus the Quaturo Bozzini string and Quasar saxophone quartets; a composition for 20 electric guitars; and one movement from "Préoccupant, c'est Préoccupant performed by Ensemble Supermusique.
A profound contemporary work integrating improvisation into composed forms from Montreal composer and percussionist Isaiah Ceccarelli and performed by an ensemble of 16 Musique Actuelle improvisers and performers, beautifully balanced between diverse instrumental passages and texts inspired by different poetical and musical forms of the past; sublime.
Compositions for violas, bass clarinets and flutes performed by Vincent Royer, Jill Valentine, Jason Alder, Chris Cundy, Tim Hodgkinson, Yoni Silver, Lori Freedman, Carla Rees, Karin de Fleyt, Thanos Chrysakis, Katrina Lauder, with compositions from Gerard Grisey, Iancu Dumitrescu, Thanos Chrysakis, Niels Rasmussen, Salvatore Sciarrino, Lori Freedman, and Tim Hodgkinson.
The Montreal-based Chorale Joker ensemble directed and conducted by Joane Hétu, Danielle Palardy, and Jean Derome, who are also participants, is one of the most unusual and fascinating improvising vocal ensembles active, heard here in a concert coordinated with Productions SuperMusique at Le Vivier, Amphiteatre du Gesu, Montreal in early 2020; indescribably fascinating!
Joker brings together 12 vocalists, many core members of the Ambiances Magnetiques/Musique Actuelle collective including Joane Hetu, Jean Derome, Diane Labrosse, Michel F Cote, Lori Freedman, &c, performing unusual works of voice and narration composed by Joane Hetu.
Ensemble SuperMusique devotes itself to Montreal's "Musique Actuelle" and free improv community in assemblages of some of their finest players, here in a live concert in 2016 at Amphitheater du Gesu in Montreal with a stunning set of performers presenting the work of 4 composer.
Active since the early 90's, the superb Montreal super-group Ratchet Orchestra under the direction of Nicolas Caloia with 19 performers presents 10 works including the title track, with soloists including Jean Rene, Lori Freedman, Jean Derome, Ellwood Epps, Sam Shalabi, Craig Petersen, Yves Charuest, Joshua Zubot, Scott Thomson, Isaiah Ceccarelli, &c.
Montreal's true supergroup since 1998 with many of the city's essential Musique Actuelle performers and composers, directed by Danielle Palardy Roger and including Jean Derome, Joane Hetu, Scott Thomson, Lori Freedman, Alexander St. Onge, &c. &c., as they take on a piece by Quebec composer Symon Henry, performed in an exceptional concert in the Chapel in Bon-Pasteur.
Bridging contemporary and improvised music, Montreal double bassist Nicolas Caloia wrote these pieces for textured and impossible rhythms; blending pieces by Nancarrow and Grand Master Flash; and manipulating poems by Genevieve Letarte; with supporting improv from Jean Derome & Lori Freedman.
The counterpart to Montreal bass clarinetist Lori Freedman's album "Excess" of recordings from her 11-city North American solo tour "The Virtuosity of Excess", this CD "Solor" was developed after that tour allowing Freedman to focus on her past and current creative work, presenting 5 of her solo compositions, 3 of which were written for the album, plus two improvisations.
With many participants from Ensemble Musique and the Montreal Musique Actuelle scene, composer and multi-instrumentalist Jean Derome directs an ensemble into the exploration of electricity and "Resistances", blending electronics, turntable, 60 Hz hums and other electronics into an orchestra of improvisers executing his dynamic 16 movement composition.
Bassist Nic Caloia (Ratchet Orchestra) with his Montreal based quartet of pianist Guillaume Dostaler, drummer Isaiah Ceccarelli and Jean Derome on baritone sax and bass flute, in an album of great compositional mood and creative playing.
A rich work for clarinets, bass and drums orchestrated for six musicians including Actuelle core players Lori Freedman, Pierre Tanguay, and Lepage himself, through 14 works that may have something to do with a swamp.
The Ratchet Orchestra is a large ensemble of 30 fringe musicians from Montreal headed by director Nicolas Caloia whose compositions allow for improvised chamber jazz and showcase the talents of the orchestra's most passionate players.
Montreal creative guitarist Tim Brady and his Bradyworks (Lori Freedman, Karen Young, &c) performing 6 duos for electric guitar with other instruments, and 12 compositions for electric guitar (with and without effects pedals).
A specially priced box set bringing together all three CDs from Joane Hetu of music about the winter: Musique d'hiver, Nouvelle musique d'hiver and Recits de neige.
Percussionist Isaiah Ceccarelli's work for percussion, two voices, two bass clarinets and viola da gamba, woven from the delicate fabric of the tension between darkness and light.
Bass clarinetist Freedman, with help from pianist Brigitte Poulin, interprets the works of modern composers including Giacinto Scelsi, Georges Aperghis, Monique Jean, &c.
Jean Derome's extended Dangereux Zhomes opened the 25th Victo Festival in 2008, adding Joane Hetu, Lori Freedman, Bernard Falaise, &c. for an incredible and expressive orchestra.
Guitarist Falaise (Klaxon Gueule, Les Projectionnistes) in pieces that reference Aksak Maboul, Braxton, Beefheart, Donatoni, Les Granules, Nancarrow, Stravinsky, & Wyatt.
"Blindfolded" manipulations by Labrosse of recordings from an amazing set of Montreal improvisers to create eight flashbacks to a bygone daily sonic life.
Beautiful, mysterious improvised compositions with spoken interludes, recorded live in March 2003 at the first Montréal/Nouvelles Musiques (MNM) festival.
A series of 20 short tracks by cellist Melanie Auclair that combine music with ambient sound with players such as Lori Freedman, Antoine Berthiaume, Luc Sicard, etc.
Clarinetist Lori Freedman brought together 3 distinct trios over the course of 3 consecutive nights with a total of 6 other Montreal musicians for live encounters of improvisation.
A collection of 14 excerpts taken from five different concerts between 1998 and 2004 by Ensemble SuperMusique that include improvised and composed music as well as improvisation frameworks.
"The quality of an album roughly depends on material for 75 percent; the other 25 percent is pacing. Rub Harder scores a hundred. The Hard Rubber Orchestra's first CD (Cruel Yet Fair, 1998) suffered from improper inclusions, a lack of fo...