Masada Marathon @ Theatre Masonneuve, Montreal 7/1/10

Theoretically I could have made it to both the 6pm and the 9:30 shows, which were different. But, I had to get my bearings and get my advance tickets to everything. That took a couple of hours to figure it all out. I did get to the entire amazing 9:30 show, which went til midnight. I saw people coming out of the 6pm show at 8:30.

Here's the listing for the 6pm show I missed:
Bar Kokhba
Jamie Saft Trio
Ben Goldberg Quartet
Mycale
Erik Friedlander Solo
Masada Sextet


Here's the show I saw at 9:30:
Mark Feldman and Sylvie Couvoissier Duo
The Dreamers
Uri Caine Solo
Masada String Trio
Electric Masada

The duo was as stellar as ever. They played for about 25 min. At first, I was completely mesmerized by Feldman. I started paying more attention to Sylvie during her solo time. They are so fantastic.

The Dreamers is so amazing. I forgot how much I love Kenny Wollesen. He's so great on vibes. The combo of Joey Baron on drums and Cyro Baptista on percussion is always a huge treat. Jamie Saft is amazing on keyboards. I kept getting caught by him. I highly recommend seeing Ribot 3 nights in a row. He keeps getting better and better! Trevor Dunn on electric bass is awesome. The music is all so good. They played for about 30-40 minutes and left us wanting more!

Then we got a stellar solo performance by Uri Caine. I was surprised they gave each act a standing ovation except for this. It really deserved one. It was excellent.

The Masada String Trio is Greg Cohen on bass, Mark Feldman on violin and Erik Friedlander on cello. Zorn sits on the floor and conducts. It's always a pleasure. These are some of the best strings you can possibly hear.

I don't know if I can possibly say how blessed I am to see the unbelievable Electric Masada again. I love any of the projects that Zorn plays on. This is one of my favorite rock bands of all time. I didn't realize it's almost the same lineup as The Dreamers. Kenny is on drums instead of vibes. Jamie Saft is still on keys. Trevor Dunn holds down the electric bass. Ribot! So essential to this group. Kenny and Joey Baron and Cyro make it extra extra special. Ikue Morie on laptop. At one point during this, it was completely empty behind me and I could get up and rock out. Ahh! There was also an incredible part where Zorn conducted everyone and they could only play when he pointed at them. It was like a "baby cobra", if you will. It was unbelievable and thrilling.

Here's some press on the shows:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/arts/music/montreal-jazz-festival-celebrates-saxman-john-zorn/article1626881/

Here's something on the Masada projects:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Masada_%28band%29