Montreal (Rumpus Room Records)
Holly Cole, Holly Cole Trio
Released April 2, 2021
Juno Award Nominee Vocal Jazz Album of the Year 2022
YouTube:
https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_kUF5k8rHUoSnBsKVeYKMOhlteeF71zl54
Spotify:
About:
Holly Cole is one of Canada’s most acclaimed jazz vocalists. She has sold hundreds of thousands of records, toured the world and shared her incredibly unique style with us for more than 30 years.
Cole has a new recording called Montreal, where for the first time in a quarter of a century, she’s back with her original trio featuring bassist David Piltch and pianist Aaron Davis.
In celebration, she’s taking to the stage of the El Mocambo for a very special live-streamed concert called Holly Cole: Live From Under the Neon Palms.
Track Listing:
1. Whatever Lola Wants 4:42
2. Little Boy Blue 3:19
3. Girl Talk 5:46
4. Talk To Me Baby 5:12
5. You’ve Got a Secret 5: 20
6. Bali Hai 5:03
Personnel:
Holly Cole: vocals
Aaron Davis: piano and vocals
David Piltch: bass and vocals
with
Johnny Johnson: woodwinds and vocals
Davide DiRenzo: drums, percussion and vocals
Recorded live July 2, 3, 4 and 5, 2019, at Le Lion d’Or, Montreal, l as a celebration of the 40th Anniversary of the Festival International de Jazz de Montreal
Produced by Holly Cole
Executive Producer: W. Tom Berry
Recorded Live by Ken Friesen
Mixed by George Seara
Mastered by Chris Athens
Photography and Design: Rodney Bowes
Hair and Makeup: Joan Chell
Thanks to Maurin Auxéméry, L’Équipe Spectra, André Perry and René Laflamme
Special Thanks to our great friend and supporter André Ménard, and the Festival International de Jazz de Montreal
Special Thanks to my confidante Kevin Keeline O’Leary for his support and his eternal music cravings
To the great city of Montreal and the people that live there: “You charm me, inspire me and sweep me off my feet.”
Review:
Recorded live during a four-day stint at the intimate Lion d’Or during the 2019 Festival International de Jazz, Montreal is a succinct six tracks. I don’t know if it’s because my attention span has deteriorated in this information-overloaded age we live in, but I quite enjoyed this shorter album size.
I also enjoyed the energy that a live performance lends. So although the majority of the tracks are Cole classics that most fans will have heard before, these renditions have slight differences from the studio versions as well as a unique presence and spontaneity that’s difficult to achieve in studio. The sound recording is so good (thanks to Ken Friesen) that you might not even know it’s live until the appreciative audience makes its presence felt.
Cole is in top form, doing what she does best: delivering great songs with style, wit and heart, starting with the atmospheric Whatever Lola Wants. A singer’s dream, Cole’s longtime bandmates – Aaron Davis, piano, David Piltch, bass, Davide DiRenzo, drums and John Johnson, woodwinds – deliver their usual imaginative, tasteful support. Each band member has a chance to shine – Piltch on the stripped down Little Boy Blue, a playful duet with just bass and voice. Davis solos beautifully on Girl Talk and Talk To Me Baby and Johnson’s evocative clarinet playing strikes just the right note on You’ve Got a Secret.
Cathy Riches (The WholeNote)
