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‹ Intelligent without being ponderous, swinging without being slight.
You… listener, are in for a treat! › Vic Vogel
One fine saturday… twelve Bellegarde compos showcase Alex's mainstream roots,
jam session savvy, as well as a progressive bent, this time with Alex McMahon on piano,
Frédè Simard on sax, Alain Mercure on drums and featuring guest, Cuban
singer/percussionist Chiquitin. Alex's association with Chiquitin has fostered a
passion for Cuban music which has continued to develop while working with
Montreal-based Cuban musicians.
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One Fine Saturday VVCD7782:2002
Recorded and mastered at Studio Stereo Son, Montreal, 2001.
Sound engineer… Paul Emile Mongeau
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‹‹ A fine live acoustic album recorded at Studio Stereo Son with veteran
engineer Paul-Emile Mongeau at the mixing board, showcasing Alex's mainstream roots as well
as a progressive bent. The sessions thus captured a versatile quartet in full flight with a
wealth of themes ranging from ballads to bop.
Jam session savvy serves as a funky overture for the album on the opening title track. Alex
keeps the cool burning with Al's Blues before taking things up-tempo with The Way, a modal
nod of the head to masters like 'Trane and Tyner. Brown's Groove showcases the group's
improv versatility in a 7/4-6/4-5/4 time sig before settling into the spicy salsa pocket of
Chiqui, which happens to feature the special guest singer/percussionist it was named for,
Bellegarde's label mate Chiquitin. We take a breather with the lazy slow swing of Vibes, the
first of two ballads in the set.
This is a group that isn't afraid to take risks either, as you'll hear on the explorative
vehicle of Mike's Tune. We get back on the straight ahead with the tongue-in-cheek title
Another Rhythm, a feel good bop that recalls the energies of Sonny Rollins before things get
tougher with I-f-4. Let's roll the credits with a nice ballad piece called Many Ways,
you can almost hear Bellegarde say, 'and voila, mission accomplished'. Back to the top,
anyone? ›› Dean Cotrill
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MP3
one fine saturday
al's blues
the way
brown's groove
chiqui
vibes
the intro
mike's tune
condom
another rhythm
1f4
many ways
Chiquitin…
"… I started playing percussion at the age of ten, then began singing in vocal groups
and by the time I was twenty decided to become a feature vocalist. I've never done
anything but music all my life - that's my passion. My dream is to share it with
everyone else…" Chiquitin…vvrecords
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