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actuelleradioJean Derome et les Dangereux Zhoms • résidence: Montréal, Québec Pierre Cartier • Jean Derome • Guillaume Dostaler • Pierre Tanguay • Tom Walsh
Articles sur Jean Derome et les Dangereux ZhomsLes critiques de disques se retrouvent dans les pages de chaque disque (via l’onglet «discographie»).
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Jean Derome et les Dangerous Zhoms + 7par John Kelman in All About Jazz (ÉU), 22 mai 2008 |3562|
«Derome’s two pieces were a fitting opening for the
festival, demonstrating the boundary-busting, genre-defying breadth of Musique Actuelle.»
Montreal-based saxophonist Jean Derome has been on the bleeding edge of the contemporary blending of complex, cued composition and unfettered free improvisation for over twenty years. For his performance — which kicked off FIMAV’s 25th edition at the Cinema Laurier — he brought an expanded edition of his Dangerous Zhomes quintet, fleshed out with an additional seven musicians, premiering two new pieces, the 35-minute Traquenards and the shorter, but no less challenging Plates-formes, named after Productions Platforms, the organization behind FIMAV. It was an expansive palette, featuring reeds, strings, voice, guitar, bass, drums and turntables. Contemporary classicism reminiscent of groups like Univers Zero juxtaposed with moments of chaotic collective spontaneity, with a sonic landscape reliant equally on conventional acoustic sounds as it was the unorthodox, most notably from vocalist Joane Hétu, who brought her own multi-media project, Filature, to the final day of FIMAV 2007. More about texture than melody, Hétu comes from the same school as vocalists like Meredith Monk and Sidsel Endresen, but has her own unconventional slant to making the voice guttural, percussive and, at times, akin to white noise. Traquenards took full advantage of the potential for subsets within the group, with pianist Guillaume Dostaler and trumpeter Gordon Allen creating a lulling sense of ease before suddenly being engulfed in a flurry of reckless, anarchistic free play from the entire twelve-tet. Rock beats from bassist Pierre Cartier and drummer Pierre Tanguay — another Montreal actuelle mainstay, whose 2007 performance at the Ottawa Jazz Festival with bassist John Geggie and viola da gamba player Pierre-Yves Martel was a highlight of that festival—alternated with dark, complex ensemble passages where clarinetist Lori Freedman meshed with Derome’s various saxophones and flute along with Nadia Francaville’s violin and Jean René’s viola to paint a chamber music soundscape at once appealing and foreboding. Guitarist Bernard Falaise ran the gamut from scratchy tones to wild feedback, contributing sonic colors alongside turntablist Martin Tétreault, last heard at FIMAV 2005 with Michel F Côté. Derome’s two pieces were a fitting opening for the festival, demonstrating the boundary-busting, genre-defying breadth of Musique Actuelle.
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Le comfort food de John Zorn [extrait]par Alain Brunet in La Presse (Québec), 17 mai 2008 |3583|
«On a eu droit à toute la palette de ce très doué compositeur, déployée sur deux fresques
de musique actuelle de chambre.»
[…] Un peu plus tôt jeudi, ont sévi les Dangereux Zhoms de Jean Derome, enrichis de sept autres musiciens — dont trois femmes. On a eu droit à toute la palette de ce très doué compositeur, déployée sur deux fresques de musique actuelle de chambre. Je garde l’impression que Traquenards est plus achevée et plus cohérente que Plates-formes, présentée pour la première fois. Quelques ajustements, et la seconde fresque aura la force et la pertinence de la première…
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Jean Derome & Dangereux Zhomes (FIMAV)par Mathieu Bélanger in Panpot (Québec), 15 mai 2008 |3580|
«One of the nicest moments of Plates-formes occurred when he
directed the ensemble to alternate between duos of Walsh’s
trombone or Hétu’s vocals with Tanguay’s drumming and blasts of white noise by the other nine
musicians.»
Very few musicians and musical events share a history as intimately related as that of Jean Derome and the Festival International de Musique Actuelle de Victoriaville. In this regard, the Montreal-based saxophonist, flutist, composer and core member of the Ambiances Magnétiques collective seemed like a natural choice to open the 25th edition of the FIMAV. For the occasion, Derome presented a project called Jean Derome et les Dangereux Zhomes + 7, that is the long-running then-sextet-now-quintet of Derome, trombonist Tom Walsh, pianist Guillaume Dostaler, electric bassist Pierre Cartier and drummer Pierre Tanguay augmented with seven musicians. More specifically, the original Zhoms were joined on stage by Joane Hétu on vocals, Lori Freedman on clarinets, Gordon Allen on trumpet, Bernard Falaise on electric guitar, Martin Tétreault on turntables and electronics, Jean René on viola as Nadia Francavilla, the latter probably unknown to most “musique actuelle”/jazz/improvised music listeners, but better-know for her work with the Quatuor Bozzini. It was meant, not without a pun, to describe this project as Derome’s special commemoration project. Indeed, it was first put together in December 2007 to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Traquen’art, a Montreal-based improvised music and world music production organization. The second ever concert happened as part of the FIMAV whose 2008 edition was, as mentioned above, its 25th. As a matter of fact, Derome himself seems to have marked the pun with the titles of the compositions performed. The first was premiered at their debut concert and is called Traquenards. The title of the second is Plates-formes, for the organization behind the festival is called Productions Plateformes. At around 30 to 35 minutes each, both Traquenards and Plates-formes were actually suites more than pieces, meaning they consisted of multiple sections lasting from 5 to 10 minutes. They reflected the eclecticism of Jean Derome’s musical universe for they suggested through references of jazz, rock, contemporary music, electronic music or even noise, but also integrated some of these styles’ formal characteristics. It is also worth mentioning that the ideas of trap (English for the French word “traquenard”) and platform (the English translation of the French word “plate-forme” as one will have already guessed) acted as inspiration for the writing of the two suites, although this was not always obvious judging from the music, but it probably was not always meant to be, either. Derome’s use of the 12-musician ensemble as a whole was diversified. One of the nicest moments of Plates-formes occurred when he directed the ensemble to alternate between duos of Walsh’s trombone or Hétu’s vocals with Tanguay’s drumming and blasts of white noise by the other nine musicians. At other times, the 12 musicians played Derome’s themes at unison. However, there still remained room for each musician to demonstrate his/her craft. In this respect, one section of Traquenards consisted of Dostaler starting something on the piano until Falaise, Hétu or Tétreault made a noise, at which point he had to start something else. Needless to say they had a little fun with the concept, either forcing Dostaler to change very quickly or leaving him to develop some material for longer than he would normally have. Oh, and before anyone asks, the balance and volume level was great in the Cinéma Laurier so the music could be appreciated in all of its details. In conclusion, if anyone has a 25th anniversary coming up, he definitely should consider asking Jean Derome et les Dangereux Zhoms + 7 to play. You’re likely to hear some pleasant music, just like the spectators did on that evening of May 15th.
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Ces Zhoms de Derome qui aiment le dangerpar Alain Brunet in La Presse (Québec), 15 mai 2008 |3560|
«Pour ceux qui le connaissent depuis le début de sa carrière, c’est-à-dire plus
d’une trentaine d’années, il est aisé d’affirmer que Jean Derome est un barde redoutable.»
Un portrait signé Dyane Raymond (éd Varia) le décrit par l’expression «homme musique». Pour ceux qui le connaissent depuis le début de sa carrière, c’est-à-dire plus d’une trentaine d’années, il est aisé d’affirmer que Jean Derome est un barde redoutable. On ne peut qualifier le compositeur, leader d’orchestre, flûtiste, saxophoniste voire multi-instrumentiste de dangereux personnage. Sa musique, toutefois, peut fréquenter le danger. Et le mélomane qui ratisse le champ gauche, ne lui est-il pas essentiel de mettre ses certitudes en péril? Voilà ce à quoi nous convient ce soir les Dangereux Zhoms de Jean Derome, en ouverture du 25e Festival international de musique actuelle de Victoriaville. «Le 13 décembre dernier à La Sala Rossa, rappelle le musicien, j’ai présenté une longue pièce intitulée Traquenards pour célébrer les 25 ans de travail des Productions Traquen’Art — spécialisées dans les musiques d’avant-garde. Michel Levasseur, directeur artistique du FIMAV, y était. «Il s’est montré intéressé à reprendre le concept tout en me commandant une autre pièce que j’ai intitulée Plates-formes, en lien avec les Productions Plateforme qui organisent le festival de Victo et qui célèbre aussi ses 25 ans. Chaque pièce fait plus d’une demi-heure — 35 et 32 minutes. Fait à souligner, on ne jouera pas le matériel du dernier disque des Dangereux Zhoms (To Continue), paru en décembre.» Il faut également indiquer qu’un quintette forme le noyau du concept: Jean Derome aux saxophones et flûtes, le contrebassiste Pierre Cartier, le pianiste Guillaume Dostaler, le batteur Pierre Tanguay, le tromboniste Tom Walsh. Or, dans le cas qui nous occupe, les fresques au programme requièrent sept musiciens supplémentaires: aux Zhoms de Derome se joignent la saxophoniste Joane Hétu, le trompettiste Gordon Allen, le guitariste Bernard Falaise, la violoniste Nadia Francavilla, l’altiste Jean René, la clarinettiste Lori Freedman, le DJ Martin Tétreault. «C’est donc une occasion de poursuivre le projet, j’ai deux autres pièces en banque pour cet ensemble. Donc, l’équivalent de deux concerts complets. Le problème à venir n’est pas tant le répertoire disponible que l’embauche de 12 musiciens! Mais… il y a le plaisir du compositeur qui dispose de plusieurs crayons de couleur! Finalement l’idée me plaît, les Dangereux Zhoms peuvent avoir leur configuration «de luxe».» À travers Traquenards et Plates-formes, Jean Derome estime avoir dressé une sorte de bilan de la musique actuelle. «J’ai voulu en présenter les différentes approches: jeux d’improvisation, parties écrites, références au jazz contemporain, bruitisme, etc. C’est assez composite, mais je pense qu’il y a une unité. Par ailleurs, je me suis inspiré des titres des pièces pour en nommer chaque partie. Ainsi, pour Traquenards, il y a Trompe-l’œil, Malentendu, Attrape-nigaud, etc. Pour Plates-formes, il y a Plateforme continentale, Dérive des continents, Plaques tectoniques, Plateforme électorale, etc. Ces pièces me semblent consistantes, les musiciens sont très concentrés. C’est beau à voir!»
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Portrait: Jean Derome et les Dangereux Zhomspar François Couture in All-Music Guide (ÉU), 1 juin 2002 |2099|
«… in the Ambiances Magnétiques roster it stands as the most
popular act abroad.»
In the mid-’90s, Jean Derome et les Dangereux Zhoms was Montreal saxophonist Jean Derome’s prime project. The group released three albums from 1994 to 1998. Although activities have slowed down, it continues to perform around the world -- in the Ambiances Magnétiques roaster it stands as the most popular act abroad. 1992 was a good year for Jean Derome. He recorded the final (and best) album by his duo Les Granules with René Lussier and the first by his trio Évidence, among many other projects including music for dance and theatre. He was touring like crazy and began to keep a travel diary in which he jotted down musical impressions. It appeared to him that this “road music” screamed for a band of its own. Drawing from all of his activities, he put together Jean Derome et les Dangereux Zhoms (“Jean Derome and the Dangerous Guyz,” to pick up the intentional misspelling in the last word). The group, conceived as a road band just like the music, consists of the avant-garde jazz trio Évidence (Derome, bassist Pierre Cartier and drummer Pierre Tanguay), plus Les Granules (guitarist Lussier), plus two of Derome’s regular sidemen, trombonist Tom Walsh and keyboardist Guillaume Dostaler. For this unit Derome penned a repertoire of pieces that blend avant-jazz, avant-rock and free improv, focusing on jazz stylings Évidence derived from Thelonious Monk, the saxophonist’s idiosyncratic contrapuntal writing and the warped stage humor that was the trademark of Les Granules. They gave one hell of a dynamite show. The Dangereux Zhoms began to perform in Montreal and the East Coast. A first CD, Carnets de Voyage (“travel diaries”) was recorded and released in 1994. Navré came out a year later. The group continued to tour extensively, in the US and soon in Europe too. By the end of 1997, tensions between Derome and Lussier had reached new heights and the two parted ways after two decades of close collaboration. The group was put on hiatus and Derome produced a live album from tapes recorded at the Théâtre La Chapelle in Montréal in February 1996. Torticolis was released in 1998 and the three Dangereux Zhoms CDs were packaged together as the box set 1994-96. The chapter was closed… or so it seemed. In 1999 Derome reactivated the unit, minus Lussier. Local performances have been sparse and limited to special events (like a two-week Derome residency/retrospective at the same Théâtre La Chapelle in 2000), but the group still performs regularly outside Montréal and has appeared at jazz festivals in Guelph and Vancouver and at the 2001 RingRing festival in the Czech Republic.
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Critiquein Octopus (France), 1 juin 1999 |1730|
«… 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.
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Compactpar Vincent Collard in Ici Montréal (Québec), 15 octobre 1998 |1739|
«Un beau mélange de maturité et de folie.»
Déjà un troisième CD pour les Zhoms. Cet album, enregistré live au théâtre La Chapelle, impressionne en premier lieu par la qualité de la prise de son signée Pierre Léger (on n’aurait guère mieux en studio), ensuite par la solidité des musiciens {dont la callaboration remonte à bien plus loin que la naissance du band), qui passent avec une tranquille assurance du jazz le plus sage au bruitisme le plus violent, en passant par tous les rythmes rock, latins, funk ou dixieland. La construction des pièces est savante, ce qui n’empêche pas les solos d’être complètement éclatés. Un beau mélange de maturité et de folie. autres textes dans
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