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3 May 1996
By François Couture in All-Music Guide (USA), May 3, 1996

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“Leader Claude St-Jean has succeeded in creating a new sound somewhere between fanfare marches, jazz-funk and avant-garde stylings.”

L’Orkestre des Pas Perdus’ first CD was released in 1996 on Ambiances Magnétiques, a label devoted to avant-garde music. T’auras pas ta pomme (the phrase itself means very little, it is used as an onomatopoeic expression for a drum roll) presented a very original recipe. Leader Claude St-Jean, a trombone player, has succeeded in creating a new sound somewhere between fanfare marches, jazz-funk and avant-garde stylings. The instrumentation of trumpet, trombone, two saxophones, sousaphone and drums can pack a lot of energy into four-minute tunes. Most pieces follow the fanfare-funk trail and, to some extent, are interchangeable: a groovy beat, a tutti riff, horn cues and solos. The music gets close to Maneige on La marche à Marie B. thanks to a very pied-piperesque piccolo melody. Elements of dissonance and free improvisation are integrated into La salle des pas perdus, but T’auras pas ta pomme is mostly one hot lick after another. The last piece, Acide cirque, takes the band sound’s into circus music. L’Orkestre des Pas Perdus’ follow-up album Maison douce maison will be more accessible and focused than this one.

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1 May 1996
By François Couture in All-Music Guide (USA), May 1, 1996

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Les Fleurs du Tapis is bassist Pierre Cartier’s first album for Ambiances Magnétiques, his third as a leader. Credited to the Pierre Cartier Ensemble, this is one of the jazziest items in the Montréal label’s catalogue. Cartier’s main influence is Thelonious Monk (with a bit of Mingus too) and it can be felt throughout the album, especially in the harmonies (lots of minor seconds). One must also understand his ensemble has the same line-up as the Monk-tribute trio Evidence (Pierre Tanguay on drums, Jean Derome on saxophone), with the addition of saxophonist Jean-Denis Levasseur. Cartier’s music leaves little place to free improvisation, but it is not rigid: it flows uncertainly, mainly because the bass always seem to be wandering between tonalities (something obvious in Tortue marine), but Tanguay’s drums never move far away from the beat. The traditional free jazz head-solo-head structure appears frequently. The dual voices of the saxophones constitute the main feature here, complementing each other, playing off each other. Cartier’s melodies are inhabited by soulful sensibilities when the mood is soft (the beautiful theme in Thème pour Maurice B.) and by the urgency of free jazz when the pace gets faster. But, not unlike the man himself, his music tends to be self-effacing. It doesn’t impose itself. His project Chansons de Douve is more ambitious and memorable.

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