martha and rufus
![© Spectra by Victor Diaz Lamich](volume_images/jazz-rufusmartha-3.JPG)
2016 MONTREAL INTERNATIONAL
JAZZ FESTIVAL
by Nancy Snipper
__________________________________________________________________
JAUNT
TO THE JAZZFEST
Now in
its 37th year, Montreal’s
International Jazz Festival is the hottest
ticket during summer. Certainly one of the world’s largest
of its kind, the festival features over 800 dazzling concerts
performed by outstanding musicians from all over the world. Audiences
from here and beyond Quebec’s borders enjoy the rich array
of vibrant genres that spill out onto the festival’s seven
free outdoor stages and 12 indoor venues that require tickets.
For tickets and info, visit:
montrealjazzfest.com
One exceptional
part of this accessible festival is the inclusive school program
that allows great talent to shine on one of the outdoor stages.
I was bowled over by the astounding performance of the band from
CÉGEP André-Larendeau CEGEP. The 5-year music program
is renown in Montreal. Certainly the calibre of playing of this
pop/jazz boisterous ensemble was anything but “schoolish.”
Directed by Benoît Rochefort, this now famous band walked
away with the Golden Mickey Mouse Award for “Best Jazz Band”
in Disneyland, Orlando. Performing on the Rio Tinto stage on July
1st embodied the sprit of Canada day. Each student was a master
of technical virtuosity and musicality – trombone did not
take second place to trombone, trumpet, piano and electric guitar.
The incredible blues vocals of Phyulia Yatchou impressed the crowd.
RUFUS
AND MARTHA WAINRIGHT PRESS CONFERENCE
Attending
the press conference for Rufus and Martha Wainwright was a rare
and humbling experience. Hosted by Olivier Robillard-Laveaux and
co-festival-founder, artistic director André
Ménard in Salle Stevie-Wonder, Maison du
Festival, the interview gave us an up-close and personal view
of these two brilliant artists. It was rare to have them both
sitting together for an interview time, and Mr. Olivier Robillard-Laveaux
took full advantage of the sister-brother pairing. His candid
questions really shed light on how these two felt about one another’s
musical careers, but also about their own family personal relationship.
Martha
started the interview making a joke. Speaking in fluent French,
she said, it can be unnerving; he (bro’ Rufus) is so amazingly
talented, but she noted that his generosity to share the stage
with her on so many occasions touches her.
Rufus
recalled his performance in the tiny Café Sarajevo Club
-- a wonderful underground nook. Rufus had asked Martha to join
him for on number. “Then it became two, then three.”
I saw she was developing in her own course, less boisterous than
me. I wanted to begin my career with a family element behind it.”
Fast forward, when Martha took the stage with him at Covent Gardens
in London during his performance of his opera Prima Donna
(Jazz Fest performance is on July
2nd and the 3rd). “She surprised us all by
suddenly appearing in a tutu and ballet hoses. It was a cross
between Stormy Weather and Swan Lake.” Both recently
shared the stage at Carnegie Hall, and so their mutual respect
and love of each other’s music is obvious. “Martha’s
the most impressive woman I have ever known in my entire life.
One element that astounds me is her song writing; it is completely
her own voice – her own world.”
Martha
likewise, returned the compliment, saying she is so touched by
him bringing her into his life and his performance. The host asked
several questions to Rufus about his opera writing. The singer
replied that at the age of 13, his mother, the late, great Kate
McGarrigle had brought home Verdi’s Requiem, and
at that moment he “developed a fever for opera.” The
year was 1987, and it was in 2009, that Rufus wrote his Prima
Donna. He spoke at length about the exceptional people involved
in the opera spectacle, including Zaldy, Cirque du Soleil’s
costume designer and photographer and Cindy Sherman who performs.![© Spectra by Victor Diaz Lamich](volume_images/jazz-rufusmartha-2.JPG)
In 1982,
Rufus heard Nina Simone perform at the jazz festival – a
career shaker for him. “She was the first artist whom I
listened to and understood what I could do. I could combine classical
music with jazz and pop.”
Martha
is performing with her sister Lucy whom she describes as the comic
of the pair, with a voice like a bell. This concert will feature
Songs in the Dark, initially recorded at their grandfather’s
cabin in Saint-Sauveur on the cuff. It worked. They are stepping
back into the nursery rhymes of their childhood. Martha said it
is both sad and depressing. Nostalgia for a time gone is something
we can all relate to.
Footnote:
I had the pleasure to live with Rufus and Martha. I was asked
by their mother, Kate, to teach Rufus piano as a live-in baby
sitter while she and her sisters were on tour. I humbly share
this little fact with you because at the press conference, Martha
revealed as kids, they fought. “There were stitches.”
I laughed. I knew them to be the sweetest kids to ever wanted
to take care of. I am sure they do not remember our 3-week-long
séjour together, but it is a memory I cherish. I could
see these two siblings were waiting in the wings to make music
their raison d’être.
Photos by Victor
Diaz Lamich