Here, we have a disc from Jean Derome, one of Ambiances Magnétiques’ founders and one of Québec’s most celebrated musicians. Le sourire features his all-star band Somebody Special and follows the approach found on their self-titled debut release: reimagining the songs of saxophonist and composer Steve Lacy. Derome leads the outfit on alto horn, bass flute and occasional voice, and enlists both collaborators from his longtime trio project (bassist Normand Guilbeault and Pierre Tanguay on drums), then adds the legendary Montréal vocalist Karen Young and the dense, elegant piano work of Alexandre Grogg.
Saxophonist, fautist, and composer Jean Derome is a pivotal figure for the Ambiances Magnétiques imprint. In fact, the label’s name was first assigned to a duo project by Derome and guitarist René Lussier in 1982 before the pair joined André Duchesne and Robert Marcel Lepage, forming a collective the following year to release recordings. Since that time, Ambiances Magnétiques has evolved considerably, and yet Derome remains central to their roster and within the vibrant Québécois experimental music scene. Born in 1955, Derome has been the recipient of numerous prestigious awards, including the Freddie Stone Award (1992), the Prix collégien de musique contemporaine (2014), and no less than six Prix Opus Awards (2001, 2015, 2018, 2020, 2021, 2024). His vast discography includes collaborations with Lê Quan Ninh, Fred Frith, the Louis Sclavis Quartet, Chris Cutler, Tristan Honsinger, and Tom Cora, as well as work alongside Québec’s most vital players such as Joane Hétu, Danielle Palardy Roger, Malcolm Goldstein, Isaiah Ceccarelli and Martin Tétreault.
Le sourire is Derome’s second recorded homage to the innovative composer and soprano saxophonist Steve Lacy (1934-2004), following 2019’s Somebody Special, the disc that christened the band heard here. Following its release, Le Devoir offered a glowing review, concluding, “they strive to astonish us in the noblest sense of the word. It’s remarkable.” Lacy is a tough artist to pin down. A 1992 MacArthur (aka “genius grant”) Fellow, Lacy’s affiliations included such towering figures as Thelonious Monk, Cecil Taylor, Gil Evans, and Don Cherry, while he traversed numerous styles within and beyond jazz/ improvised music. His obituary in the Guardian even cites him as an influence on John Coltrane.
Derome’s group zeroes in on a key dimension of Lacy’s output—his expansive and eccentric repertoire of songs, which set texts from a diverse swathe of writers, including Brion Gysin, Apollinaire, Herman Melville, and Lao Tzu. The nucleus of Somebody Special is Derome’s longtime trio with bassist Normand Guilbeault and Pierre Tanguay on drums, adding the legendary vocalist Karen Young and Alexandre Grogg on piano. Derome leads the ensemble on alto sax, bass flute, and occasional singing. The result is a taut and quintessentially Deromean variant of jazz—playful and angular, but swinging and oozing charisma beneath its provocative harmonies. In other words, it’s quite a ways from being completely straight ahead but when it does venture outward, it never strays from jazz altogether.
Of course the set betrays Lacy’s infuence and harkens to the saxophonist’s beloved Monk, but Derome doesn’t limit himself to that particular sphere of infuence. His treatment of the songs can vary considerably from the original Lacy documents. Where Lacy’s groups sometimes maintained a certain composure even amidst more explosive passages, Derome and company variously skew toward candour whether that’s boisterousness or tenderness. There are shades of Carla Bley‘s mischievous songcraft (especially when Derome provides backup singing) while Grogg’s playing connects to Connie Crothers‘ bold, thick pianism as much as it does Cecil Taylor’s action-painting on the keyboard.
Derome’s lively, inventive playing here is propelled by history with faint, feeting aromas of Archie Shepp‘s playing, Eric Dolphy, Ornette, or even Anthony Braxton‘s wayward treatment of standards, and yet Derome’s own identity is irrefutable. The authors presented here include Anna Akhmatova, Samuel Beckett, Robert Creeley, Bob Kaufman, and Judith Malina and the versatile, ever-agile Young glides easily over the attendant melodies, demonstrating far more than her veteran status in Canadian jazz.
photo: Gabrielle Godbout
A seasoned artist and staunch individualist after having spent 50 years in the business, Jean Derome is an accomplished composer, multi-instrumentalist and improviser with a composite repertoire. Trained in almost every school but trapped in none, Derome zealously devotes himself to the pursuit of new musical horizons in an incessant back-and-forth between musique actuelle and bruitisme, tonal and atonal, jazzistic and cacophonous. His exuberant discography includes over a hundred albums and as many compositions for flm, theater and dance.
Groups still active include Nous perçons les oreilles, a dazzling duo with Joane Hétu; the vigorous ensemble Jean Derome et les Dangereux Zhoms; the Trio Derome Guilbeault Tanguay, well known on the Montreal jazz scene; the Fanfare Pourpour, as well as the Ensemble SuperMusique, of which Derome occasionally assumes the direction. The remarkable creative vitality to which Derome bears witness was the subject of a Richard Jutras’s documentary, Derome ou les turbulences musicales (2015), and has earned him numerous awards and distinctions, including 6 Opus prizes notably for record of the year with Musiques de chambres (2014-2015) and Résistances (2017-2018).
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title: JEAN DEROME & SOMEBODY SPECIAL – Le sourire
label: AMBIANCES MAGNÉTIQUES AM 286 (CD/DL)
tracks:
1 Jack’s Blues 1982 (4.15)
2 The Smile 1982 (7.40)
3 The Cuckoo 1984 (4.40)
Sands (4-6) 1980 — 4 Stand (5.20) 5 Jump (4.48) 6 Fall (5.58)
7 Love and Politics 1992 (6.06)
8 I Heard the Indian Sage 1992 (5.40)
9 Morning Joy 1982 (6.30)
10 As Usual 1982 (5.47)
11 Heaven 1982 (5.49)
line up:
Jean Derome & Somebody Special:
Jean Derome — alto saxophone, bass fute, voice, Karen Young — voice, Alexandre Grogg — piano, Normand Guilbeault — double bass, Pierre Tanguay — drums
Steve Lacy — compositions, Anna Akhmatova 2-3, Samuel Beckett 4-6, Robert Creeley 1,11, Bob Kaufman 9-10, Judith Malina 7 -8 — lyrics
Recorded at Studio Alchimiste, Montréal (QC) 2025.06.26-27 • Recording Robert Langlois, Charles Coutu, Stratsimir Dimitrov • Editing, Mixing Robert Langlois • Mastering Jean Martin, The Farm • Liner notes Scott Thomson • French translation Jean Derome • Design Marie-Pierre Morin • Producer Jean Derome• Executive Production DAME • Thanks and acknowledgements to Jorrit Dijkstra, Scott Thomson, Joane Hétu, Susanna Hood, Casa Obscura