Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - July 12, 2024, Winnipeg, Manitoba C2 ● WINNIPEGFREEPRESS.COMFRIDAY, JULY 12, 2024 n e w m u s i c ● HIP HOP A R E V I E W O F T H I S W E E K ’ S A L B U M R E L E A S E S ● JAM BAND ● JAZZ ● CLASSICAL Mattmac All Eyes on Us (N’we Jinan Records/Mattmac Music Group) ‘YOU don’t know ’bout Mattmac? You better log on.” So says M’ikmaq rapper Drives the Common Man on At Home, the track he shares with Mattmac on the Manito- ba hip-hop artist’s broad-ranging new album of collaborations with fellow Indigenous artists, All Eyes on Us. He’s not wrong, either. Mattmac, a.k.a. Matthew Monias, is a mostly self-taught Oji-Cree rapper, singer, musician and producer — who also happens to be blind — from the fly- in community of Garden Hill First Nation, located almost 500 kilometres north of Winnipeg. When Mattmac was 16, N’we Jinan, a Quebec-based program that teaches music production in First Nations communities across Canada, visited Garden Hill and the young creator was hooked. His first widely released song and video, Help You See, garnered hun- dreds of thousands of views and word quickly spread that he is a special talent. Mattmac has since released two albums — 20/20 in 2020, and Blurred Visions in 2022 — and he’s also won an armload of awards and accolades, in- cluding CBC Music’s 2023 Searchlight contest with Rez (Remix), a track that tells his origin story, featuring Indige- nous rappers Dakota Bear and Okema, and which closes All Eyes On Us. The full album is an 18-track, 58-minute excursion showcasing Matt- mac’s many layers as he works with 15 different Indigenous singers and rap- pers. His production style is rooted in minimalist, trap beats, augmented by keyboards and synths, with melodies often derived from the vocal lines that he and/or his collaborators drop, yet it knows no stylistic boundaries. The songs tell the story of his life, laying bare his truths, his insecurities, and his hopes for the future. There are R&B-flavoured cuts such as Find My Love, featuring Quebec Cree-Algerian vocalist Mariame, or Imposters, featur- ing Utah rapper Stella Standingbear, but Mattmac also pays homage to the angry origins of Indigenous hip hop with Give It Time, featuring Rex Smallboy (co-founder of the great War Party), and the inclusion of the late Caid Jones on Ash, which also features Dakota Bear, serves as a poignant reminder of just how precious life and joy and music. All Eyes on Us is available on all streaming platforms — so log on. ★★★★ out of five stars Stream: Give It Time, Imposters, Ash, Rez (Remix) — John Kendle Phish Evolve (Jemp) THERE might never be a more apt title for a Phish album than Evolve, the jam masters’ 16th studio album and first in over four years. Just as this boundary-pushing quartet has progressed over four-plus decades by fusing rock, jazz, bluegrass and other freewheeling sounds, Evolve has a familiarly amorphous feel. Because Phish’s fiercely dedicated fan base is rooted in the experiential immersion of the live shows — no two nights are the same — this actual album could be considered an after- thought compared to other bands. Many of the 12 tracks on Evolve have been in rotation at their shows throughout the last few years. Still, Evolve starts strong enough to hook both a Phish skeptic and the diehard who’s been to two dozen shows. The bouncy opener, Hey Stranger, rides a catchy staccato beat and mi- nor-key melody into a vintage jam by frontman/guitarist Trey Anastasio and drummer Jon Fishman. Anastasio has said in recent inter- views that he believes the band is just hitting its stride as the members move into their 60s, and this album gives plenty of reason to keep it going. The energy and urgency persist throughout the first few songs, from Hey Stranger into the bluesy Oblivi- on and then onto the title track. The latter is the ideal opportunity for the uninitiated listener to join the fun, with its sweet melody, pulsating beat driven by bass guitarist Mike Gordon, and lyrical beauty. A Wave of Hope is ’70s-style rock with space for Page McConnell to pound on the keys amid racing guitar riffs. That’s the era of music the band grew up with along the East Coast, after all — the freewheeling foursome formed in 1983 at the University of Vermont. The pace downshifts a bit with Pillow Jets, a track that winds into cacophonic chaos — the same that a showgoer could blissfully drift away in, or that another listener might lose interest in. Life Saving Gun gives the guys an- other four-plus minutes to let loose and rock out while Mercy is a sleepy and syrupy closer, an anticlimactic finish to the album. But it’s hard to fault this humble band for feeling sentimental at this point in a fascinating career — one marked with an unwavering following despite no big hits. ★★★½ out of five Stream: Hey Stranger, Evolve, Life Saving Gun —Dave Campbell, The Associated Press Anthony Branker & Imagine Songs My Mom Liked (Origin) TRIBUTE albums are common in the jazz world, so this is not an unusual concept. Leader/composer Anthony Branker offers this unabashed tribute of love and thanks to his mother. Apparently she is suffering cognitive decline, but Branker credits her for en- couraging him in his life pursuits and sacrificing to ensure he had opportuni- ties. The band feautres Donny Mc- Caslin on saxes, Philip Dizack on trum- pet, Fabian Almazan on piano, Linda May Han Oh on bass, Rudy Royston on drums, Pete McCann on guitar and some vocals by Aubrey Johnson. The music moves through many moods and tempos, with solid work by all members. McCaslin and Dizack are standouts from start to finish. They carry the main weight of the music, with melodic solos on tracks such as Sketches of Selim to flat-out driving riffs on To Be Touched (By the Spirit). Bassist Oh and pianist Almazan have numerous beautiful solos. Pointing out that a lot of the compo- sitions have a distinct retro feel is not a criticism. The playing is universally clean and at times intense, but espe- cially in unison moments, with sax and trumpet leading the melody, there is a familiarity from an earlier day. It is extremely endearing and enjoyable. Other tracks offer a serious mes- sage, such as The Holy Innocent (For KB and the Children of Gaza) or Imani (Faith). Branker’s writing has terrific melodies that offer room for solos that are smoothly integrated. The melodies have an accessible style that is perhaps the reason they seem familiar while being freshly recorded. Jazz isn’t always required to explore new directions. This is solid, some- times powerful and always heartfelt music that doesn’t need to break new ground. What it does is quite enjoyable by itself. ★★★½ out of five Stream: Sketches of Selim, To Be touched (By the Spirit) — Keith Black Gabriel Fauré: Nocturnes and Barcarolles Aline Piboule, piano Gaveau, 1929 (Harmonia Mundi) FRANCE’S Aline Piboule brings her luminous pianism to a program of Fauré’s solo keyboard works, per- formed on a rare piano Gaveau dated 1929 — five years after the composer’s death in 1924. Through her self-curated selection of four nocturnes and seven barcarolles, listeners are able to follow Fauré’s stylistic evolution, from his earliest influences of Chopin and Schumann, to more adventuresome harmonies and textures of his later compositional life. Highlights include Barcarolle No. 3 in G-flat Major, Op. 42 and Barcarolle No. 5 in F-sharp Major, Op. 66, with the latter swelling like a rising tide before subsuming into its more peaceful close. Barcarolle No. 9 in A minor, Op. 101 is infused with grave solemnity, while Barcarolle No. 13 in C-major, Op. 116 further displays Piboule’s sparkling technique. Of the nocturnes, both the highly emotive Nocturne No. 11 in F-sharp Minor and lovely, lilting Nocturne No. 12 in E-minor, Op. 107, may be con- sidered standouts, as is Nocturne No. 13 in B-minor, Op. 119, which pushes tonality to its outermost limits. Last but not least, the simply titled Improvisation, Op. 84/5 — originally composed in 1901 as a sight-reading piece for exam students at the Paris Conservatoire — opens the album, providing the first taste of Piboule’s sensitive artistry while only whetting the appetite for more. ★★★★ out of five Stream: Barcarolle No. 13 in C-major, Op. 116; Nocturne No. 12 in E- minor, Op. 107; Nocturne No. 13 in B-minor, Op. 119 — Holly Harris Actress an unconventional star S HELLEY Duvall, the intrepid, movie star whose wide-eyed, winsome presence was a mainstay in the films of Robert Altman and who co-starred in Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining, has died. She was 75. Duvall died Thursday in her sleep at her home in Blanco, Texas, her longtime partner, Dan Gilroy, an- nounced. The cause was complications of diabetes. “My dear, sweet, wonderful life, partner and friend left us last night,” Gilroy said in a statement. “Too much suffering lately, now she’s free. Fly away, beautiful Shelley.” Duvall was attending junior college in Texas when Altman’s crew mem- bers, preparing to film Brewster Mc- Cloud, encountered her as at a party in Houston in 1970. They introduced her to the director, who cast her in the film and made her his protegé. Duvall would go on to appear in Altman films including Thieves Like Us, Nashville, Popeye, Three Women and McCabe & Ms. Miller. “He offers me damn good roles,” Du- vall told the New York Times in 1977. “None of them have been alike. He has a great confidence in me, and a trust and respect for me, and he doesn’t put any restrictions on me or intimidate me, and I love him. I remember the first advice he ever gave me: ‘Don’t take yourself seriously.’” Duvall, gaunt and gawky, was no conventional Hollywood starlet. But she had a beguiling frank manner and exuded a singular naturalism. The film critic Pauline Kael called her the “female Buster Keaton.” At her peak, Duvall was a regular star in some defining movies of the 1970s and 1980s. In The Shining, she played Wendy Torrance, who watches in horror as her husband, Jack (Jack Nicholson), goes crazy while their fam- ily is isolated in the Overlook Hotel. Kubrick, a famous perfectionist, was notoriously hard on Duvall during The Shining. His methods of pushing her through countless takes in the most anguished scenes took a toll; one scene was reportedly performed in 127 takes. Duvall, in an interview in 1981 with People magazine said she was crying “12 hours a day for weeks on end” during the film’s production. “I will never give that much again,” she said. “If you want to get into pain and call it art, go ahead, but not with me.” Duvall disappeared from movies al- most as quickly as she arrived in them. By the 1990s, she began retiring from acting and retreated from public life. One of her rare ’90s roles was in Winnipeg director Guy Maddin’s Twilight of the Ice Nymphs (1997), in which she played an ostrich farmer. Duvall, the oldest of four, was born in Fort Worth, Texas, on July 7, 1949. Her father, Robert worked in law and her mother, Bobbie, in real estate. Duvall moved back to Texas in the mid-1990s. Around 2002, she retreat- ed from Hollywood completely. Her whereabouts became a popular topic of internet sleuths, but to those living in Texas Hill Country, where Duvall lived for some 30 years, she was neither in “hiding” nor a recluse. In 2016, producers for the Dr. Phil show tracked her down and aired a controversial interview in which she spoke about her mental health issues. “I’m very sick. I need help,” Duvall said on the program, which was widely criticized for being exploitative. “I found out the kind of person he is the hard way,” Duvall told Hollywood Reporter’s Seth Abramovitch in 2021. Abramovitch wrote at the time that he went on a pilgrimage to find her because, “it didn’t feel right for Mc- Graw’s insensitive sideshow to be the final word on her legacy.” — The Associated Press JAKE COYLE SHELLEY DUVALL OBITUARY JT VINTAGE / ZUMA PRESS WIRE Actor Shelley Duvall died Thursday at age 75. ARTS ● LIFE I ENTERTAINMENT For Menezes and Cheung, collab- orating on to be held in two hands was a natural fit, given their shared interests. The duo’s collaboration began serendipitously. Cheung was in Hamilton for a residency, work- ing on a project called Ghosts of the Gallery. During this time, they were introduced to Menezes and her zine club in Hamilton. “Martha Street Studio then put us together,” Cheung says. “We submitted proposals separately, and they thought our themes were very similar and would work well in a dual exhibition.” Menezes says it’s been challeng- ing collaborating from different provinces, but they’ve made it work. To be held in two hands is a multi- disciplinary experience. Menezes and Cheung have created artwork across various media, including silkscreen prints, video installa- tions and photography. Menezes’ prints use turmeric as an ink, and Cheung’s silkscreen prints on tow- els create soft sculptures that evoke the domestic spaces where food and memories intertwine. “I would love for it to spark mem- ories for our viewers of their own experience and relationship to food, their ancestry, and their connection to food,” Menzes says. “I want it to spark joy and maybe make people hungry.” Cheung adds, “I hope people think about how we care for one another through objects and find signifi- cance in the ordinary moments.” In addition to the visual display, the artists will host a free workshop on Aug. 24, using food-based inks made from turmeric, ube (purple yam), Kashmiri chili powder and possibily spirulina. “It’s an intro-friendly workshop,” Menezes says. “You don’t need to know anything about screen print- ing to participate. It’s very chilled and relaxed.” The exhibit runs from July 12 to Aug. 24, with a closing reception on Aug. 23. thandi.vera@freepress.mb.ca LUCAS MORNEAU PHOTO EXHIBITION ● FROM C1 SUPPLIED ;