Bonjour! Musings to share from a recent trek to Montreal, one of my favorite cities. Back in November, after the election, I thought the future would bring us at least one strange military parade around independence day, and while I got the exact date wrong, it was still a good idea to spend some time north of the border, spend my money there, and simply chill out. So, I booked about nine days, to return to some favorite haunts, discover some new ones, and take in a lot of great music as part of the Montreal Jazz Festival, which is, fun fact, the largest of its kind in the world.
This set of snaps Is from the Fourth of July itself, which was the loveliest of days. I hiked Mount Royal, past Lac aux Castors, up the path to the Chalet du Mont Royal. The park itself was designed by Frederick Law Olmstead; the chalet by Quebec architect Aristide Beaugrand-Champagne. It was my second ramble of Mount Royal during my visit; so instead of looping around, this time, past the Give Peace a Chance sculpture, through McGill University, over to a groovy used bookstore called the Word. You know, John and Yoko recorded Give Peace a Chance at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal, hence the sculpture.
In the evening, I had a great vegan dinner at Lola Rosa and took in more of the festival, specifically, the Oscar Peterson Centennial show at Maison Symphonique, a ticketed show and a highlight among the 13 or 14 shows I took in while I was there. Oscar was from Montreal, it was the 100th anniversary of his birth and his daughter was there to emcee.
For the first half, a small combo, with guest vocalist Paul Marinaro, covered that part of his career, heavy on piano chops and swinging grooves. The second half featured a 17-piece jazz orchestra conducted by John Clayton performing his epic Canadiana Suite. Then, his piano player from back in the day, Oliver Jones, came up from the audience, to speak and give out the Oscar Peterson Award. Then he sat down at the piano and with the orchestra, played a beautiful composition of Peterson’s titled “Hymn to Freedom.” Moving is an understatement. Beyond the Canada pride moment, it was nice to see the deserved props for Peterson, a heavyweight player who collaborated with everybody – Basie, Getz, Dizz, Ella, Satch, etc. A collection of Peterson’s photographs were also on display outside the Places Des Arts.
It was a grand day
(top picture, me at Belvedere Kondiaronk, Mont Royal – bottom pic – Oscar at the overlook, back in the day. )
Doug Hoekstra 