From the 1920s through the 1940s, Montreal was gaining an international reputation for its booming nightlife and all the jazz greats came through at one time or another, and there were now hundreds of clubs.

Another aspect of Montreal's claim to musical fame is that it was actually the birthplace of the Canadian recording industry and the only city in Canada where musicians could record until after the Second World War. The first recording studio was opened by the man who invented the gramophone, Emile Berliner, a German who emigrated from New York in 1897. By this means, music was gaining a large listening audience.

The fun and frivolity in Montreal was hardly even dampened by the Second World War (1939-1945). Essentially, Montrealers ignored it and carried on as usual, now welcoming the Big Band Era and Swing. Social dancing was all the rage now.

After the War, in 1945, a new form of jazz was born, called Bebop, which started with young black New York musicians. Innovative and complex, it featured richer harmonies and unconventional phrasings and rhythms. Artistry and virtuosity mattered, and there was an attitude that went along with it, in language, dress and behaviour, called "cool". This was not music to dance to. People became spectators, listeners, and it took them quite a while to get used to it. This more sophisticated music, a kind of conversation between highly trained musicians, left many of the former jazz musicians behind.

Oscar Peterson

However, in the southern United States something called Rockabilly ( a combination of country music and black dancehall music) was beginning to percolate and it burst out into Rock n roll at about the same time as the advent of television. Jazz went quiet and many, many clubs closed in the 1950s .But it wasn't long before jazz reappeared in new forms known as Rhythm and Blues, which was really made popular first in Great Britain before being returned to North America, where it had quietly originated. And so new forms of "musical rebellion" were born.

However, jazz today still has a hold in Montreal. For 34 years it has been home to the world's largest jazz festival and this city continues to produce a large cadre of accomplished musicians of all types, possibly due to the number of CEGEPS and universities offering excellent music programs. Even the old styles of jazz survive here in some form (witness the Swing revival), as there are always people looking for something different from the mainstream.

Vic Vogel Big Band at Montreal Jazz Fest

So that's the story of Jazztown Montreal, and long may she swing!

Source: John Gilmore. 1988. Swinging in Paradise: The Story of Jazz Montreal. Montreal: Vehicle Press.

I was sitting at home early on a Tuesday morning, working diligently on a writing assignment with the TV on quietly in the background. Global Morning News was on and Richard Dagenais was saying "you're in for a treat, smoking hot Canadian guitarist Philip Sayce is coming out with a new album called Influence". I looked up and saw a nice looking guy, with an earnest and soft-spoken way about him, saying his album pays tribute to his musical heroes as well as some original numbers. He highlighted all the people who had helped him. Then Richard said Philip had spent a lot of time touring with Jeff Healey, Melissa Etheridge, ZZ Top, Deep Purple...okay, NOW he really had my attention.

When Richard asked what it takes to impress him in other musicians, Philip said "it has everything to do with what's coming from inside (puts his hand over his heart), whether they've played for one day or a hundred years, as long as it's an expression of what that person is feeling. It's not about the style of music, it's not about anything but an emotional expression." Here I caught my breath, as it's the same thing I have been saying for years, only I usually just say "as long as it's got soul".

Richard said "You're playing the Petit Campus tonight; tell people what they're gonna see". Philip answered "They're gonna see a whole lot of heart, a whole lot of feeling. We put everything we have into every song. We do some old songs, some new songs; we like to pay respect to people, like maybe Neil Young, but we do it in our own way so it's not about copying or covering it".

Next, Richard said, "Tell us about the song you're about to play, which you wrote it for and played it at Eric Clapton's Crossroads Concert." I was now at full attention. "Yeah", said Philip, "I had that incredible opportunity just over a year ago, at Madison Square Gardens, and I played by myself, and so it's a wonderful opportunity to play it again now ". Then he proceeded to play, like he was born playing, Steamroller. A couple of minutes in and I knew I was listening to one of the all-time greats, and it was as if this unlikely-looking and super-humble, quiet guy was channeling all the legendary axe men. I was completely in awe. I've included the clip here so you can see for yourself.

Still dubious, there was a part of me thinking, well maybe that's his best piece and that's it. I quickly did a little online research and looked at some of his videos, and was super impressed. It seems he's not that well known here because he's spent most of his time working in LA and in Europe where there is a huge blues scene. This guy is 39 years old and has been working since he was 15! At 18, he was picked up and mentored and toured with Jeff Healey. After that, it was Melissa Etheridge then ZZ Top, then Deep Purple, so he was always a member of someone else's band until fairly recently. His solo videos, shot mostly at small clubs and Festivals, are absolutely stunning. He's released 4 previous albums, but on small European labels. Critics raved about all of them and apparently he continues to get better and better.

Deciding I'd made a major musical discovery, I almost ran down the street to the Petit Campus box office, where I bounded up the stairs. Who do I run into (almost literally) but Yes, Philip Sayce up close. I have to say that he is so good looking that he doesn't fit the image of the usually weathered, hard-living bluesmen. He looks rather like a sweet-faced schoolboy. Disoriented, I quickly said "Hey! (big smile) I was just watching your videos and I'm on my way to the box office"! His friendly smile encouraged me to continue on as to how I'd seen Jeff Healey, his mentor, in Toronto clubs in 1979 or so. He said "No, you're kidding; we were just talking about him! What a beautiful human being he was and what he brought to the world around him". He extended his hand "I'm Philip". I feel you can tell a lot about a person from their handshake and his was really firm and warm. We exchanged a few more remarks and then I had to high-tail it for the box office that was about to close.

I returned to the club later just in time for the start of his show. I was stunned to find only around 120 people were there, but then I reminded myself there was no publicity other than the early morning TV appearance, on a Tuesday, to boot. The other part of me was thrilled that we would have him all to ourselves and I easily found a standing spot in front of the stage. Philip chatted with the crowd in a most friendly, laid back way about how there was also a hockey game going on, and he had us laughing in no time as he exchanged remarks with those of us at the edge of the stage. Looking around, most of the crowd was in the 30-to-50-something age range and heavily favored males. He introduced his sidemen, Joel Gottschalk on bass (with him for years) and top LA session drummer Jimmy Paxson.

From the moment they launched into the first song, Driving South, myself as well as everyone else almost literally had our socks blown off. This was a whole different level from anything I've ever heard before, the absolute height of musicianship and unbelievably tight at that. And the power, expression and intensity were off the charts. I can only compare it with the first Cream (with Eric Clapton) album, Wheels of Fire, and that was a studio album, for God's sake.

There aren't enough superlatives to describe what took place that night in that tiny club. This guy has played giant stages and nationally televised big events (The Grammies) with the greats all over the world and here he was truly giving it his all, both physically and emotionally (as promised) for every minute of the nearly two-and-a-half-hour show (no break)!

He took us along on a roller coaster ride, from heart-wrenching pain to the heights of joyful elation. Not to over-dramatize, but he plays and sings as someone possessed. It seemed as though he was channeling all the bluesmen before him, the old black ones as well as Clapton, Hendrix, Stevie Ray Vaughan. Each piece played was deeply familiar, while at the same time you felt you were really hearing it for the first time.

Philip Sayce at Petit Campus

He often stands on the lip of the stage, leaning out over the audience, sometimes making eye contact while lost in the music, making you feel that he is imparting a message, telling you something. On one piece, Slipaway, he walks out into the audience, still playing slowly, and as he passes slowly, only inches from you, eyes closed, it seems something of a mystical experience as you can literally see the energy vibrating through him. This was the most intense thing I have ever experienced at a concert and I could see the people around him in almost a trance-like state as they slowly followed him. Magical.

Back to Earth after the show, I and some others waited in line for a chat and autograph or photo. I made sure to get all three along with a big warm hug. It`s worth remarking that he was no longer the guy we`d experienced on stage, but was again the kind, low key guy who feels like a friend. If you try to give him a compliment, he deflects it onto someone else. This is a guy of remarkable character and values in the tough music business. In an interview he said he is not motivated by money and is not interested in the business side of things. He just wants to create an emotional experience for people. Elsewhere, he has said that he has the responsibility, is on a mission to bring the message of the previous bluesmen to people. Now that takes me back to a video interview with Stevie Ray Vaughan (after getting sober) where he said something similar, and that the message is for people to love each other, treat each other with love. Stevie even put that message in a song called Life Without You, which is hard to listen to without tearing up. On a final note, there is another interview where Philip said he was compelled to take up the guitar as his life`s work when he learned of Stevie`s untimely death in a helicopter crash. Now there are some things that really make you wonder...

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I have been inspired by the award-winning movie/documentary ALIVE INSIDE. The film was made in 2014 by Michael Rossato-Bennett. He follows social worker Dan Cohen, founder of non-profit organization Music & Memory as he demonstrates the power of music to overcome memory loss and restore a sense of self to those suffering from dementia. He wants to offer this service to nursing home residents. Frustratingly, the pharmaceutical corporations do everything they can to prevent this. Of course, THEY want to keep everyone on prescriptions drugs with all their attendant problems. I am really hoping that many others will take up Dan Cohen's fight.

First of all, we know that music bypasses the conscious mind and goes directly to the subconscious, and that it has the power to change or control our mood. I know this from my own experience as Salsa music, played loudly, is guaranteed to lift me out of feelings of sadness or exhaustion to the point where I can't help but dance. Hypnotherapists as well as marketers certainly know the power of music as they enclose subliminal suggestions within music.

Watching the film ALIVE INSIDE brought me the realization that anyone can apply "music therapy" to people suffering from dementia in all its forms. The person may have withdrawn to the point of appearing to be catatonic, or may be angry or aggressive. It may seem that they are trapped in their own private hell which others are unable to penetrate or influence.

The following are the steps which anyone may undertake in order to unlock the feelings of peace and joy as well as happy memories which do lurk below the surface.

1. Watch the film ALIVE INSIDE on any number of Internet sites, examples of which are Iwannawatch, Kickstarter and Solar Movie. Simply enter the film's name in Google and you will see them all listed. As well, Youtube features many clips from the film.

2. Research to find out what music the person would most likely enjoy. Talk to their friends or relatives. If not, then you can make an Internet search to find out what the popular hits of the day were in their youth.

3. Listen to the music chosen in order to be sure that it is upbeat, as you certainly don't want to cause an unhappy experience!

4. Assemble a list of the chosen musical pieces, at least for the future reference of others who may wish to continue your work.

5. Source the music from your private collection if you have it, or go online and download it into a device, usually an IPOD.

6. Make sure the person is seated comfortably and in a peaceful environment.

7. It's extremely important to have them listen to the music via headphones for a more intense and effective experience.

8. If you lack an IPOD, perhaps you play a musical instrument such as guitar or piano.

9. If you are really stuck and it's spur-of-the-moment, just sing some familiar old standard...certainly it's better than nothing!

10. Of course it's ideal if you can leave the IPOD and headphones with the person so they can listen to it when they like. Hopefully there will be someone who can assist them.

To really understand my friend Lorna you have to know that she hails from Alberta originally. In the midst of all sorts of calamities she is the one who remains calm, quiet, helpful, methodical and kind. The thing that maybe stands out the most is her resourcefulness. She once whipped up a pair of luxurious drapes for her living room in a half an hour and I have the feeling that if she had to, she could figure out how to build a house!

Lorna has been teaching Communication at Universite de Montreal for the last 15 years. We recently sat down over dinner after I approached her with the idea of highlighting her unique desire and struggle to become a Francophone - that is, to live her whole life in French in a French environment.

I asked her if she would speak at length about her ambition and search to become a Francophone. I am going to quote her verbatim here, excepting the various um's and er's, as follows.

Q: What made you think of moving to Montreal, to begin with?

Lorna: I guess I was always interested in things that were different. I would spend hours looking at the Atlas and hours looking at maps and imagining places I could go and what it might be like there. Also looking at National Geographic magazines and imagining those places as well. I grew up in the time of Bilingual Policy and Trudeau's vision of a bilingual Canada and I really bought into that too and thought it would be a really good thing to be bilingual. I had my little French lessons at school, but I don't think I could actually say I learned French at school - it wasn't much and the teachers weren't Francophone. But I had this ambition and I was always hungry for something different, so when I was able, I moved away from Alberta and came east to Montreal. I was 21. In my high school there were also a number of teachers who'd come from Montreal to work there, so they talked to me about Montreal, especially one I was fairly friendly with. So the idea of coming to Montreal started to appeal to me and seemed fairly exotic, while not quite as exotic as going to China or something. So I got in my car with all my stuff and drove east to Montreal.

Lorna: I'd taken French in high school and university, so I thought I had a decent grasp of the thing until, to my surprise, when I got here nobody understood me and I understood them even less. So I had my bookish French and it didn't correspond too well to how people talked in Quebec. So at first I lived in NDG which is not exactly your Francophone neighbourhood and when I would try to speak French at the depanneur or whatever they'd answer in English - and of course it would be the same at Eaton's, the Bay, whatever, where I'd speak to them in French, they'd always answer me in English which was extremely frustrating to me.

Q: And so how were you finally able to learn French so well?

Lorna: My idea was to come here and learn French so I stayed here for a year and then went back to Alberta for a year, and then I came back here. I'd been homesick but when I got back to Alberta it wasn't as great as I'd remembered it to be. Without realizing it, I had changed in ways that didn't really fit in anymore, and so I came back to stay and make my life here. In the 80s after Bill 101, in order to have any sort of life here, I think you really had to know French and so I started to get better at it. One of the things I did was to study at university and so I enrolled at UQAM, a French language university. But I was smart enough to not enroll in a really hard program. I took Theatre, thinking I could talk better than write, and by the time I would have to write my thesis, I would have a year of practice beforehand. So it worked, and my first few classes I listened more than I talked. By the time of my thesis (second year) I was much better, worked hard and was really proud of having written 100 pages in French. It was probably that which really solidified my grasp of French. Of course, it helped that I got a boyfriend who was Francophone. That's my husband today, and he was patient enough not to switch to English and to explain in simple words I could understand. Because of the university, all my classmates were Francophone and when you are surrounded by them it comes really quickly. At one time I didn't have any Anglophone friends but now I've got a couple.

Q: So, do you consider yourself fully integrated now?

Lorna: The other thing is, with the language politics in Quebec, you can't become a Quebecois but you have to be born into it. So although I might have felt integrated and Francophone, from time to time there were these reminders that, you know, you're not really one of us! This is less and less common in Montreal, as we have increasing numbers of immigrants. But it's not the same in the rest of Quebec. However, I hear people in Abitibi are fairly accepting of people who speak other languages. It seems most people in Montreal speak three languages: English and French to some degree, as well as their mother tongue. I know at my son's Francophone private high school the ones with French names were less than a quarter of the students. In his group there were Chinese, Greek, Italian, Russian and a few French names. The other thing that this makes me think about is that, a few weeks ago I went to a University of Montreal graduation ceremony, and I was surprised that, by far, the majority of names were non-Francophone. So I said to my colleague beside me: 'I hope the person calling the names gets to practice saying them first!' So Montreal is really changing. I think we're lucky to have that kind of diversity.

Here, I interjected as to how Montreal is considered a model of how to get along (nationalities, religions) and even enjoy each other's cultures, and we drifted off into chatting about what a wonderful place this is to live.

Goran Bregovic may be the greatest musical genius of our time. His music has crossed more genres, and all boundaries are erased in its all-encompassing sweep. It is fitting that he comes from Sarajevo (b.1950), sometimes referred to as the belly button of the world. He calls himself Yugoslavian since he is born of a Croatian father and Serbian mother. Listening to his interviews, you find a very low key, unassuming and surprisingly self-effacing man. He is full of boyish charm even at his age, and is extremely attractive, to women in particular. He has the romantic looks of many of the great composers through time, including his famously lush and longish locks. His countenance emanates warmth and childlike innocence and there is joy in his ever present, natural smile.

Goran took violin lessons as a child and when he reached high school, he got his first guitar and joined the high school band. However, discipline was a big problem for him and he kept getting kicked out of school, and so began playing in cafes at 16. He joined a band at 18 which went on to become the most famous rock band in the Balkans (1974-89) Bijelo Dugme (Yellow Button). They were largely influenced by Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath. During this time the youth looked upon traditional Balkan music as fit for only old people. Don't forget this was the communist era, so one of the few ways of getting away with rebellion was through the music. Goran left the band and Yugoslavia to move to Paris before the Bosnian war (April 92-Dec. 95). It was there he began to compose the score for a film that a friend of his, Emir Kusturica, was making. The film was Time of the Gypsies (1988), which made he and Kusturica international stars and they won awards around the world. They produced two more successful films before Bregovic went on to compose film scores full time for many other cineastes. By now he has probably written the music for around fifty films. He has even composed pop operas, tone poems and liturgical pieces...in other words, his musical talents know no boundaries. In 1998, Goran formed the traditional Balkan Gypsy group, The Wedding and Funeral Orchestra, with which he has toured the world several times over as well as produced numerous albums.

It is a stunning sight to see his group on stage as there can be up to fifty performers including a five piece Gypsy brass band of old horns, a large string section, at times a huge male choir as well as a trio of traditional Bulgarian female singers. The brass band and the singers are dressed in colorful traditional costumes. A big bass drum (Goc) is placed in front of the whole group along with the seated drummer and beside him sits Goran Bregovic, perenially dressed in a white linen suit and shirt as part of his trademark look along with his crazy hair and sweet smile. He is always extremely at ease, kind of stretched out in his chair and plucking his guitar. The visual experience alone of attending a concert or watching a concert video is not soon forgotten, it is so arresting.

Goran Bregovic is a man who, quite simply, creates magic with music as no other. He describes the Gypsy music as Balkan Drinking and Dancing music, the object of which is to see the band earn lots of tips, make sure the bar sells as many drinks as possible, and that the girls all end up dancing on the tables! It's the source of one of his favorite quotes: "People who don't go crazy here can't be normal". He says that all emotions are super-heated in the Balkans and such an extreme release of them is necessary.

It seems every culture in the world has been absorbed into this music of madly complex rhythms and left to ferment for about 100 years into a powerful brew. The audience is driven into a state of ecstasy that is almost religious. It is a catharsis, certainly. Whether raucously, madly joyful or of deepest pathos, it reaches to the very centre of your soul; you are inhabited by the spirit of an ancient world in which you truly and happily are lost. You'll be swept away by a wild roller coaster ride of emotions. His music is a celebration of life, love, lust, loss, death, and then the cycle begins again.

As far as his legacy, he has set up a Roma Education Foundation and the rest will live on in his music, which will continue to heal and unite people the world over.

Brava Goran Le Grand!

I grew up in an isolated town in a valley surrounded by high mountains on Vancouver Island. Everything revolved around forestry as well as the pulp and paper mills, the putrid, all-pervasive stench of which hung over the town, day in and day out like a heavy shroud. Due to the heavy rainfall, it at least appeared as a beautiful green place, with huge trees and flowers and gardens. That which we call culture was sorely lacking and entertainment usually involved boating, camping or fishing along with woodsmen competitions of various sorts. There was also a LOT of excessive drinking followed by numerous bar brawls, again a type of competition to see who was the stronger.

My world expanded hugely through music and the benefits are almost too numerous to detail, but I did get my first and only job as a professional writer because of it. I always loved to write and I loved fashion, so one day I got the crazy idea to approach our local tiny newspaper with a proposal to write a weekly fashion column for pay, which would be used to further my musical education. I was thrilled when they accepted what I believe was eight columns in advance at a rate of either twenty-five or fifty dollars each . Yet beyond that, I gained self-worth and pride in my accomplishments. I learned self-discipline and teamwork. We music students seemed somehow exempt from the cliques and bullying around us. We seemed more mature and less likely to be involved with drugs, drinking or vandalism. Recently, I've even heard that studies in neuroplasticity show that people who have learned to play a musical instrument display a higher level of intelligence, although which KIND of intelligence I'm not sure! Even though I finally decided to stop pursuing a professional career in music (mostly due to worsening stage fright), all the wonderful gifts that music brought me have never left me, and I know that music will always be my best friend that will never desert me . It continues to bring people and experiences and joy to my life that would otherwise be lacking, and I know how much I have to be grateful for because of that passionate music man so many years ago.

There is a rather funny ending to this history. Several years after I grew up and left town for the big city of Vancouver, I heard that my music teacher had simply vanished one day. Turns out he had left his wife and six kids to run off with a local opera singer, a glamorous blond who was also married. It must have been about twenty years later when I was channel-surfing TV and came across a frail and very elderly man, wearing what looked like his underwear and doing yoga-type headstands. Something about the odd-looking man caught my attention, and then the announcer was saying this was (insert former music teacher's name), Fitness Guru to the Elderly! I was shocked but touched to see that he still emanated the old joy and passion for what he was doing. His light had not dimmed at all. Later I learned he'd lived until the age of ninety, in perfect health and happiness, a happy ending indeed!