One mag writer disses another over article about Montreal jazz scene

A while back, we posted an item about the illustrations by Montreal illustrator and artist Aimée van Drimmelen in the spring issue of Maisonneuve, illustrating a story by Chantal Braganza about the late jazz guitarist Nelson Symonds. There as no comment here about the story itself, but what it said (or how it was said) it seems to have aggravated some Montreal jazz fans. 

One of them, lournalist and obvious fan fan Jenn Hardy, took the magazine to task for seeming to suggest that jazz was on life support in Montreal, unlike the good ol' days. Hardy said on her blog Pork pie jazz that, while she thought most of the profile was "a lovely job", she was cheesed off by the coverline When Canadian jazz was good and a sentence in the story that said: "“Symonds stayed, but it was jazz that left the city.”

The scene has changed, sure. Jazz clubs have in Montreal have certainly closed down since the time of Davis and Coltrane. That might mean there are fewer gigs for local musicians, but how does that take away from the stellar quality of the music they are making? It doesn’t.

She concluded:

My well-researched opinion is this: forget the maisonneuve article. An article like this does a disservice to an already under-appreciated genre of music. Get out to one of the remaining jazz clubs in town and support live music.

 Her comments were picked up by Ottawa Citizen jazz blogger and columnist Peter Hum, who complimented Hardy on her "spirited rebuttal" and noted that some of the harsh criticism in the article came from an interview with Montreal guitarist Greg Clayton:

Montreal's jazz scene doesn't need me to blow its horn. All I'll add to what Hardy wrote is that the maisonneuve piece's slant brings to mind a) Wall Street Journal theatre critic Terry Teachout's riling take on the health of jazz today, and b) the misconception that when it comes to jazz, the sleazier the setting, the better. Yearning for what what Clayton calls "the bad ol' days" is a false or at least unhelpful nostalgia, as far I'm concerned, and I'll append a few quick reviews by some Montreal jazz youngbloods to show that there are creative folks making it happen there, even if they are not on Braganza's radar.