A JUNO nominee, ADISQ nominee and Prix Opus finalist, Marianne Trudel presented her newest work in collaboration with singer Karen Young to a standing-room, captivated audience at L’Astral as part of the Festival International de Jazz de Montreal.
One of the most versatile and creative pianists in Montreal, Marianne Trudel is best known in the jazz community for her beautiful improvisations, colourful harmonies and innovative approach to composition. Marianne’s work blends styles and influences throughout all of her musical compositions. Her previous collaborations include many brilliant artists who have all made an impact on the Canadian jazz community, including Ingrid Jensen, Robbie Kuster, Jim Doxas and L’Orchestre Nationale de Jazz de Montreal.
Also based in Montreal, Karen Young started her professional career as a singer in folk music, but branched her style into jazz in the mid 1970s. She began to also began venturing into musical theatre in the 1980s, before recording an album with Michel Donato (“Young & Donato”) which was nominated for a JUNO award in 1985. The duo won a Félix award in 1988 for their album “Contredanse”. Throughout Karen’s lengthy career, she has worked in world, classical and jazz styles, ranging and developing into traditional, Latin and contemporary jazz. She has also experimented in medieval and electro-jazz as well in the last ten years.
“Portraits – Songs of Joni Mitchell” came about when Marianne and Karen connected over working at a music camp in Lac St. Jean, where they were assigned to the same cabin for the duration of the camp. From there, their mutual enthusiasm of the songbook of Joni Mitchell, as well as the drive to delve deeper into her music, led to this beautiful and meaningful collaboration.
This album (“Portraits – Songs of Joni Mitchell”) brings popular hits as well as lesser-known music from throughout Mitchell’s career to audiences, re-inventing and using it as a basis for improvisation and creation of a newer work that never loses its foundation in Mitchell’s original performance, while still a refreshing take on the music by Trudel and Young.
Performed live at l’Astral as part of the 40th Festival International de Jazz de Montreal, the performance featured many well-known works and collaborations of Joni’s, notably the hit “Dry Cleaner from Des Moines”, which was originally performed by Mitchell as a collaboration with Charles Mingus. Other notable re-imaginings of Joni Mitchell’s music included Sunny Sunday, Borderline, Last Chance Lost, and Men from Mars.
Throughout the performance, Trudel’s improvisations and re-working of Joni Mitchell’s music on piano in a way that blended so very tastefully with Young’s voice was nothing short of virtuosic. The harmonies, colours imagined by Trudel, together with her quick agility and impeccable technique on the piano, complimented Young’s stunning vocals and performance of Mitchell’s poetic lyrics, demonstrating a deeper understanding and exploration of the lyrics and interpretation for this project. Trudel and Young’s collaborative arrangements and approach to the music, felt full and complete, yet with tasteful use of space and chord voicing and interpretation in Young’s vocal approach. The music never felt empty or lacking, and the whole performance showed Trudel and Young’s deep collaborative bond and understanding of the music, through the process of performances, recording and now presentation at the Montreal International Jazz Festival.
Notable re-imaginings of Joni Mitchell’s music included Sunny Sunday, Borderline, Last Chance Lost, and Men from Mars. Throughout the performance, Trudel’s improvisations and re-working of Joni Mitchell’s music on piano fit tastefully with Young’s voice, in a way that was sublime for the listener. The harmonies and timbral colours imagined by Trudel, together with her quick agility and impeccable technique on the piano, complimented Young’s stunning vocals and performance of Mitchell’s poetic lyrics, demonstrating a deeper understanding and exploration of the lyrics and interpretation for this project.
Throughout the performance, Young did her best to address the audience in French, which was much appreciated by all in the room. The duo shared great stories of how the album came about and how this project came to fruition. The artists also spoke about the challenges and struggles of producing an album independently, without grants or a label–using music that isn’t their own as a basis for improvisation and development into their own creative works. Trudel and Young shed light on the difficulties for independent artists to survive when streaming applications are providing artists’ work for free.
After hearing this album in a live concert, this album is heartily recommended as required listening for fans of Joni Mitchell, of contemporary jazz, jazz-folk and new popular music.
More information is available at www.mariannetrudel.com, and “Portraits: Songs of Joni Mitchell” is available from the artist’s website, as well as through iTunes and other online providers.
