InFlightPress

Vanier Ottawa Ontario is home to a vibrant  franco-Ontarian culture, and much of the gritty side of life.  Red lights atop green are not the only reason  men stop street side in Vanier.  The one  square mile surrounding Montreal Road has come up in all mind sets as it is the  first home to Pierre-Yves Martel.  P-Y M  is equivalent to a strong Buddhist Zen Monk. He appeared to us as a teacher and leader extraordinaire.  His personal styling’s, as he performed along-side his co-player in “Sainct Laurens”, Philippe Lauzier and their guest,  Norwegian, Kim Myhr, made for a beautiful show at UMI on February thirteenth, twenty eleven.

Pierre-Yves tuned up what could have been a one-eighth  or a one-tenth cello, but what was in fact a vertical viola.  His assorted sonic tool kit included a steel file box and small “farm amps” attached to tactile mic’s,  glittered nuts and bolts and the smallest  chime bell.  Volume controls for  speaker-mic feed-back created a mysterious atmosphere for two long  sessions.  Philippe was set up with bass clarinet, plunger mute and soprano sax. Philippe conducted a running demonstration of how to coax the familiar  and more so, unusual tones through his performance.  Kim Myhr focused on two steel harp zithers as  well as guitar and lute.  Bows and bowls,  bells and whistles abounded stage right.

Guests settled in before the seven o-clock show  time.  Prep for disc sales and tuning  were attended to.  Props were prompted  for word of attention from The Signal’s Laurie Brown as she played Craig Pedersen’s recording of “Early Winter” this week.  Stage set;  Linsey made all introductions and announcements and we nestled in for a thirty minute opener by the trio.

Philippe opened with generous but soft air and  spittle forced through mouth piece past reed. Pierre-Yves created a Japanese sounding percussion and pluck as Kym mixed  an electric drink swizzle and zither strings. A sensitive tuning device offered vibrato.  We were quickly transformed to attend a “Kabuki no butai” (rotating stage) of  Edo Period seventeenth century Japan.  No red lights or tempting women of the night  were noticed but the music proffered strong attention from fans willing to pay  the price for the press of flesh affront this Chinatown set.  Tibetan prayer bowls chimed in while Philippe  nursed the highest of notes possible from his soprano saxophone.  P-YM  shaven head and black robed, scarf  against the cold, told of Zen Buddhism.   He was gift bowl ready and gifts were given. 

Philippe entered  again more western in sound.  I heard  nursery rhymes timed with P-YM’s steel sound box and electronica.  Philippe is now drinking deeply the spit  valve sound akin to the suckle of a teat. The instrument he so loves, he plays head back; stance wide, a beer fest,  bottoms up and his lips caress the fine mouthpiece.  Kym bows an acoustic classical guitar so  softly in a full long bow treatment that strokes the airwaves in atmosphere  deep in a nursery rhyme hinterland.  We  enter an airy- fairy place.  Peter Pan  and Tinkerbell play at shadow games and Philippe hums in strongly as P-YM  retains the Eastern flair.  The steel  harp zither asserts itself a thumb nail and a full round index finger nail play  every sting in full flight.  Pierre-Yves  holds the percussion line buy using the hardwood bridge to resonate true.

Philippe re-enters  the fray with familiar patterns.  Kym  massages the harp in what surely must be a shared Nordic technique of deep  muscle therapy.  Excitation rises as  three players sound like a full orchestra. Kym resorts to an Edward Scissors Hands like extensions.  Pierre-Yves has eyes closed focus, on the  many over lapping qualities of the piece. Philippe with bass clarinet and mute mimics the others while Kym bows  bowls and a suspended metal tube for chime qualities. 

Quiet now,  Pierre-Yves demonstrates that he is not adverse to a Mozart movement.  Philippe beeps in to match P-YM as he double  teams the viola and farm amps while alternately taping at the first and second  frets.  Pan flute sounds channel surf and  a measured discord plays off the latte machine steaming to the end of set one.

Pierre-Yves opens  set two with some tuning then a friction microphone feeds back through the farm amp.  Philippe opens hauntingly on  soprano sax.  The drink mixer hits spruce  planks and the zither.  It is butterflies  all a flutter.  We are somewhere between  here and Mexico.  Perhaps the Norwegian  milk weed has attracted them.  Philippe  dances a honey bee gyration.  The nectar is  over this way and the worker bees follow.  A lazy summer day is upon us despite the snow and threat of February flash freeze.  Pierre-Yves bows in but leaves  pride of place to the other players. Philippe insists the best nectar is in the pink blossoms past theNorwegian Wood, past Kym’s stream in flood. P-YM bows the tail board of the viola and creates a distant hum. 

Mandolin or luthier  strung lute takes us into the sound score for A Midsummer Night’s Dream.  Theseus and Hippolyta are in the audience and  they do not know whom Puck will prick with Cupid’s arrow this Valentine’s concert time.  The fairies jest the players approach and like the head of a donkey, Philippe plays just the upper half of soprano sax and musters sound through his palm.  The field is alive with livestock sounds P-YM’s  bow is alive with sounds of the bee hive and the Queen of the Amazons is about  to meet the Queen bee.  Philippe drinks  it all in heartily while Kym at a smaller zither plays the highest notes on strings below the tuning screws and before the anchored string ends.  Pierre-Yves uses a tuning fork to tickle more from the viola and the lightest of bells enhances the dream world of  Shakespeare’s play.  A play within a play, this concert takes me away and I am able to conjure images that a merry guitarist with a bow enhances along with feedback that is not objectionable but  rather adds unearthly essence. 

Kids are at play on  hardwood over head, change is made at the cash. Kym leads us into a contemplative place on Sunday night.  The sax is held in balance on Philippe’s  right hand and eyes open Pierre-Yves nods to end our reverie.

Next up for IMOO is Sunday February 20 and our  own Craig Pedersen and Linsey Wellman, see you at the concert.