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Mardi Spaghetti : Improv on the rise
Article by Eric Thériault for Panpot.ca
While the name evokes black & white television westerns with scenes of shootings and hangings— Mardi Spaghetti is a weekly music series— firing new shots of unity in a community of improvised players.
GROWTH can be a wonderfully exciting thing. For a small yet widening Montreal community of improvisers and off-kilter experimental musicians, things are looking up, and in a variety of new directions. Thanks in part to a rallying of forces, and especially some warm dedicated spaces to perform and develop— there is clear optimism, a new tangible sense of purpose.
Despite widely differing traditions and musical backgrounds among this growing group of musicians, a weekly evening event known as Mardi Spaghetti— every Tuesday night now for the past six months— has proved to be a fertile rassemblement, and a happening source of immeasurable inspiration. The official stomping ground is Café Cagibi [5490 St-Laurent], a small and cozy establishment at the border of Plateau Mont-Royal and Mile-End districts, where more than 100 players from nearly 50 groups have assembled on arguably one of the smallest stages in the city. "We didn’t know in the beginning that it would grow into a long-term thing," says trumpeter Gordon Allen, one of the organizers alongside partnering musicians Josh Zubot, Pierre-Yves Martel and Philippe Lauzier. "The stable home is doing wonders for the growth of the music."
Although Allen concedes that every week is a highlight, and that "there are no stars," all four above mentioned curators have welcomed musicians and dancers from Montreal, Toronto, Norway, Mexico, and the United-States into the fold. "Generally we have 2 groups per night playing improvised music. Sometimes the players know each other well, other times they are meeting on stage for the first time." Such exciting combination possibilities was the focal point of a recent spaghetti incident on September 9th, when talented New York City-based alto sax slayer Matana Roberts joined in the participating pool, alongside long-time Montreal percussionist John Heward, and cellist Rémy Belanger de Beauport, not to mention Gordon Allen himself. And naturally, that’s just one example of the widespread and diversified nature of this growing experimental family.
Contrary to popular belief, there were no specific or distinguishingly apparent gloomy issues circling around the Montreal-based improv movement before the first days of the Mardi Spaghetti series, such as the inability to find affordable spaces to play. "It’s not hard to find a place to play, but it’s rare to find somewhere as friendly and supportive as Cagibi," confesses Allen, "where we can do something every week for such a wonderful audience in a room that feels and sounds so good. It feels like home to us."
All of this new fuel for fire has resulted in some noticeable changes, such as the opening of a new improv establishment called L'Envers [185 Van Horne], which just last week was raising funds to get its hands on a gorgeous old piano, or at least funds to offset the cost of "moving, tuning, and maintaining the beast." Alongside the ever-continuing work of instigator Gordon Allen, the venue is booked and operated by like-minded artists Sam Vipond, Etienne Lebel, and Philippe Battikha. Not predicated on the economy of a bar, L'Envers' raison d’être is to present creative music, film, dance, performance, and visual arts, with a particular focus on improvisation. As Allen further points out, "the level of activity for improvised music in Montreal is on the rise, and both places are part of a network of creative venues in the neighborhood," which is good news for anyone with a passion for creative music and originality. "There is definitely something in the air."
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