Documents from Gilberto Gil's Private Archive

invited to join him onstage for the last song. Party on. TD Brazil's minister of culture and MPB (musica popular brasileira) legend celebrated his 66th birthday with a show at Place des Arts' Theatre Maisonneuve, giving the jazz fest a boost of hip-shaking sensuality. But he came up short. Not that Gilberto Gil wasn't in fine form - all smiles and style. His voice sounded great, his energy was good; his band sounded cheesy. The worst thing a classic artist can do is try and update their sound, and fail. It wasn't all bad. Gil gave musical history lessons throughout the night, covered pioneers Vinicius de Moraes and Baden Powell, and got people out of their seats with the famous Chiclete com Banana. Which begged the question: why was this show not at Club Soda, or somewhere with a dance floor? The answer came soon after, as he delved into some modernized, theatrical, rock- infused song that screamed late-career confusion. This show was all dressed up with nowhere to go. TD Halfway through her quintet's performance at Monument National, Finnish pianist and harpist Iro Haarla addressed a question people often ask her: What is Nordic jazz? "I can't say I know the answer. But the next piece says something about the Finnish character," she said as she introduced Northbound, the title track from her 2006 ECM release. It had everything you might expect from Scandinavian jazz - cool detachment, melancholy, understatement, and with a little surge of emotion behind it. Think reindeer in January on vodka and you'll get the picture. PETER HADEKEL Hank Jones began his four-concert Invitation Series steeped in the past with Montreal's Oliver Jones in a two-piano setting at the Théâtre Jean Duceppe. Appropriately enough, they played chestnuts from the standard repertoire before moving on to Oscar Peterson's more challenging Cakewalk All. Though at 89, Hank is 16 years older than Oliver, he has a more modern side to his playing, favouring bebop chord changes while Oliver relies more on the multi-note filigree in his right hand. Still, it was a warm concert, ballad-rich with lots of heart. IRWIN BLOCK Saxophonist David Murray was the dominant voice with his Black Saint Quartet at the Jazz Dans la Nuit concert at the Gesù. His tenor had the tone of rare beef oozing with juice and flavour. It's when he switched to the high-register shouts that are his trade mark that we heard the Murray sound we know: relentless, searing playing, the result of circular breathing, gave the music that edge and sense of protest that is at the heart of his musical personality. IB