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Torticolis
Saafelden, 3m54s [excerpt]
Track 1 from Torticolis
CD: Ambiances Magnétiques (1998) AM 061
1 August 2000
By Jérôme Langlais in Tow Letter #4 (France), August 1, 2000

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“Derome joue la musique dans tous les sens du terme.”

Qui a déjà vu Jean Derome sur scène, seul ou accompagné de la perceuse d’oreilles Joane Hétu, sait que l’homme refuse l’ennui. Sur ce 3ème disque en compagnie de ses Dangereux Zhoms il porte l’improvisation musicale à ses limites: jouer live pour l’honorer au maximum (la notion de «risque» dans cette discipline est plus forte en public), et tutoyer la composition (certaines structures complexes sont préétablies et fixent parfois le point de départ des passages free). Ainsi naît un jazz déboité, tellement fourré de polyrythmiques, qui élude volontairement l’aspect sombre et trop sérieux souvent employé en improvisation. Derome s’amuse, prend du plaisir à jouer cette musique pourtant trés précise où l’aléa introduit par les partenaires (ici entre autres: René Lussier, Tom Walsh, Pierre Tanguay, Pierre Cartier… ) peut déstabiliser l’ensemble à tout moment. Derome joue la musique, dans tous les sens du terme.

blogue@press-1334 press@1334
1 March 2000
By Nick Mott in Audion #42 (UK), March 1, 2000

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Torticolis documents Jean and various cohorts live in concert. It veers towards some New York acts like Curlew or Material, as a very rhythmical and percussive brassy rock, transmuting to more subdued jazzy parts with some "swinging" bass-lines.

blogue@press-1277_006 press@1277_006
1 November 1999
By Frank Rubolino in Cadence #25:11 (USA), November 1, 1999

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“Derome’s alto solo on Really Sorry was one highlight of the forceful set.”

Two groups enjoyed the honors as the main events for the evening. Jean Derome’s et Les Dangereux Zhoms opened with a boisterous set that exerted plenty of muscle, mainly through the vigorous drumming of Pierre Tanguay and raw trombone blasts from Tom Walsh. Derome’s compositions set up a vaudevillian, almost circus atmosphere with heavity composed material played in a very unstructured and freewheeling way. The compositions, which often were woven into extended suites, were intricate, often blurring the line between written and improvised. The band often ignited into wondrous, freely spun passages behind the pulsating beat from Pierre Cartier on bass and Guillaume Dostaler on piano and keyboards. Derome’s alto solo on Really Sorry was one highlight of the forceful set.

blogue@press-1379 press@1379
1 June 1999
in Octopus (France), June 1, 1999

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“… ses improvisations sont celles d’une avant-gardiste et festive fanfare hissant très haut les couleurs d’un «jazz» canadien…”

Aprés Navré et Carnets de voyage,Torticolis est le troisième album de Jean Derome et ses Dangereux Zhoms (René Lussier au saxophone et à la guitare, Tom Walsh, etc)enregistré live au Théâtre La Chapelle à Montréal. Fortement rythmées, les cadences infernales de ses improvisations sont celles d’une avant-gardiste et festive fanfare hissant très haut les couleurs d’un «jazz» canadien dont les représentants les plus caractéristiques seraient Joane Hétu, Diane Labrosse, Robert Marcel Lepage et Martin Tétreault.

blogue@press-1730 press@1730
1 May 1999
By Richard Moule in Exclaim! (Canada), May 1, 1999

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“Cracking open a new Jean Derome CD is equivalent of savouring a new box of truffles… This is serious fun from some musicians who are serious about their fun.”

Cracking open a new Jean Derome CD is equivalent of savouring a new box of truffles. The sensation is a joyous reminder to your taste buds of how much you have missed indulging your passion for these sweets. This is not to suggest that the music of this Montréal actuell-ite is in any way saccharin or simply meant for short-term pleasure. Far from it. It is just any record from this reed and wind player and his quintet is a delightfully special occasion. As usual, these adventurous genre-busting players adeptly hop, skip and zigzag all over the musical map. Avant rock, improv jazz, cool jazz, modern classical and funk are merely jumping points for these playful, imaginative excursions. The follow-up to 1995’s Navré, this live recording from Feb. 8 and 9, 1996 at Montréal’s Theatre La Chapelle finds this ensemble in fine form. Jean Derome’s heated alto sax playing and circular breathing and René Lussier’s cutting guitar solos are equally matched by the sonorous blasts of trombonist Tom Walsh and the precise chops of drummer, Pierre Tanguay, bassist Pierre Cartier and keyboardist, Guillaume Dostaler. This is serious fun from some musicians who are serious about their fun.

blogue@press-1076_101 press@1076_101
1 April 1999
By BLG in Downtown Music Gallery (USA), April 1, 1999

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Jean Derome is a wonderful saxist/flutist and composer from Montréal who I have long admired. From the first time I heard his grand quirky duo with guitarist René Lussier - Les Granules at my first Victo fest over a decade ago, through his work with Fred Frith’s Keep the Dog, his excellent Monk tribute and many other projects often with René, I knew that both of these players were special. Now that both Jean & René have about ten releases a piece on their Ambiances Magnétiques label, my Victo buddies & me look forward to each new project with much anticipation. This is the third release by Jean’s band -DZ and is also part of a three cd set. This is an all-star Canadian ensemble that includes René on daxophone & el. guitar (he is also found in Frith’s Guitar Qt. ), Tom Walsh on trombone, Guillaume Dostaler on keyboard (a new name to me), Pierre Cartier on el. bass & Pierre Tanguay (from many projects) on drums. Both Walsh & Cartier have had their own units play at Victo in the past. Both Jean Derome’s playing & composing are always on a high level. The music here is a fine blend of progressive/jazz/rock, both stimulating compositions & improvised sections. I hear bits of the best of Frith in there at times. So nice to hear the rarely utilized daxophone from René, with its twisted vocal-like presence. This music has a most uplifting, positive quality to it, never the darker side of prog. His sly sense of humor never hurts, either. Check out Québec’s finest. Downtown Music Gallery 1999

blogue@press-1732 press@1732

Other texts in

  • Etch #5:3 (USA), June 1, 1999
  • Coda Magazine #269 (Canada), May 1, 1999
  • Blow Up #12 (Italy), May 1, 1999
  • emoRAGEi #6 (Québec), March 1, 1999
  • Margen #16 (Spain), January 1, 1999
  • Informator “Ars” 2 #24 (Poland), November 1, 1998
  • Montréal Campus (Québec), October 21, 1998
    “chaque pièce recèle un monde à découvrir, une histoire à inventer. Du cinéma pour les oreilles.”
  • Ici Montréal (Québec), October 8, 1998

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