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partir tranquillement à la maison une fois l’engagement terminé,
mais il y a maintenant toujours quelque chose qui me trotte dans la
tête. Par exemple, c’est moi qui dois organiser l’orchestre, il y a des
responsabilités liées à cela, ou encore les disques que je veux faire. J’ai
sorti mon premier, d’accord, mais ce n’est qu’un début. C’est sûr que
je pense déjà à en faire un autre, mais le prochain sera en direct, parce
que c’est là où ça se passe. Puis il y a aussi la tournée du mois prochain
et je souhaite que la musique puisse se développer dans une certaine
direction. Je ne peux pas m’en remettre aux autres ici, je dois
veiller à toutes ces choses. »
S’étant mis au service des autres depuis ses débuts, il admet avoir
négligé quelque peu la création d’une musique originale, son disque
ne comportant qu’une seule de ses compositions parmi les neuf
plages au programme. « Pour un polyinstrumentiste et multistyliste,
ou un M. Sax à Montréal si l’on veut, je ne me suis jamais vraiment
assis pour écrire de la musique en dehors de mes activités professionnelles;
je préfère plutôt relaxer dans le Nord et jouer au golf, faire du
sport, passer du temps en famille. Mais je commence à écrire un peu,
comme la pièce sur mon disque. Ce n’est pas une symphonie, c’est
plutôt une ébauche dans ma tête qui va se développer, mais il faut
que je m’y mette. L’obligation d’écrire vient quand on a son propre
groupe, parce qu’il faut vraiment développer son propre répertoire;
c’est essentiel pour obtenir des subventions, ou encore pour se montrer
comme musicien complet. Comme j’interprète de la musique de
grands compositeurs depuis longtemps, j’ai un respect inoui pour ces
gens-là et leur travail. »
DÉMON EN LIBERTÉ
Si André Leroux se fraie son propre chemin après avoir tant parcouru
ceux des autres, Richard Underhill a fait ses classes depuis
longtemps en matière de direction d’orchestres, d’organisation
de tournées et de séances d’enregistrement. Originaire d’une communauté
rurale de la Colombie-Britannique (Salmon Arm), il est
arrivé dans la Ville Reine vers 1980 pour amorcer ses études à la
Par le passé, je pouvais
partir tranquillement à
la maison une fois l’engagement
terminé, mais
il y a maintenant toujours
quelque chose qui
me trotte dans la tête.
André Leroux
provided by his sidemen,
Normand Deveault (piano),
Frédéric Alarie (bass) and
Christian Lajoie (drums).
“I knew the album would
be coming someday,” says the
saxman in conversation after
a rehearsal of the Quasar
Quartet. “But there was no
hurry: everything in its own
time. To be honest, those
around me were more eager
than I was, especially my
drummer. He was constantly
pushing me, always asking
when we were going to do it
and if we’d ever hit the road
and tour some day.” The
record label had also been on
his case for a while, until
André yielded to everyone’s
wishes.
More than the record,
there is an upcoming tour of
the Canadian jazz festival circuit
slated for the end of June.
Leroux and bandmates will
criss-cross the country, from
Victoria to Halifax (see tour
schedule included in this article),
with a show booked once
again at l’Astral on the closing night of the FIJM (July 4). Local fans will be
able to catch the saxman this month as well, when he takes part in a special
concert dedicated to Charlie Parker and John Coltrane. This tribute, programmed
for the Montreal Chamber Music Festival on May 28, will be a saxophone
extravaganza, with altoists Rémi Bolduc and Jean-Pierre Zanella, as
well as the youthful tenor upstart Chet Doxas.
PHOTO: MATHIEU RIVARD
VERSATILE TO A FAULT
Anyone seeing André Leroux on stage may well be impressed by his abilities
as an instrumentalist, but there is a sense of conviction in his playing
that also wins over audiences. As a child, he was first encouraged by
his amateur musician father, taking up melodica in grade school. In high
school, he started on the clarinet—albeit reluctantly.“I wanted to play the sax
right away,” he declares. “But when it was my turn to choose an instrument,
the saxophones had all been handed out. My teacher said it would be good
for me to play the clarinet first, as it would be easier to learn the other reed
instruments afterwards. When I finally took up the saxophone, I realized he
was right and I still play clarinet to this day. The flute came later. After I graduated
from the Université de Montréal, I needed a break, so I played on cruise
ships from 1987 to 1989, alternating with contracts for the Cirque du Soleil. I
acquired plenty of hands-on experience from those jobs and that enabled me
to establish myself as a steadily working freelancer.”
Pragmatic by nature, André Leroux has enjoyed taking part in other people’s
projects so much that he never really felt the urge to devise one of his
own. Asked about switching to the leader’s role and its impact on the way he
approaches music, he answered that it has definitely changed his perspective.
“In the past, I could quietly go home after the show, but now, there’s
always something going through my mind. I’m the one who has to take
charge of the band now; there are more responsibilities tied to this than just
making records. Sure, I released my first one, but that’s only the beginning.
Of course, I’m already thinking about the next one, but this time, it’ll be
recorded live because that’s where the music really happens. Now there’s the
tour next month. I hope the music will grow in a certain way, but I can’t let
the others do it for me. I have to keep an eye on all of these things.”
Mai 2010 May 9