Pictures made by Jo L. this Sundaymorning the 6th of July 2003, at the Place des Arts in Montréal, the day of the great spectacle : Gino Vannelli & a BIG Orchestra in concert...

Hi, just come from F.I.J.M.What an evening with Gino. The first part was Canto and the second, his past succes. I love Gino. And i will follow him in opera if that's where he feels good. But tonight i felt in the first part like a discomfert with him, like if he felt that it woulnd't pass with the public even if he sang so beautifuly, especially Canto, i had chills all over me. Then came the second part, wow, you should have seen the arrangments,i think there was at least sevetyfive musicians on stage at least. He moves like he had twentyfive years old. He seems to like it, but with his new direction it is so different that i wonder what he feels inside when he perform in front of the public. He is realy at a big transition in his life and i will be there to sea it arrive Musician till the very tips of his fingers.Bye , Pierre.

I can only write a few words in English but Gino is the BEST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
CANTO is the BEST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I am so happy and I am totally crazy about this concert!!!!!! Merci beaucoup!!!!!!
A.L. in Quebec.

The show was wonderful of course.
I was sitting a few seats behind Gino's mom and uncles and other relatives who were obviously enjoying the show.
Just a couple of observations. The new material was wonderfully done but I wished he could have done 2 or 3 more songs from the new album.

Part two of the show was again brilliantly played by both Gino and the orchestra however the material that he played was pretty much a carbon copy of the last Gino plus orchestra concert in Montreal. I can understand that he would have had no time to create any new arrangements since that concert but there is so much I haven't heard performed live for a long time.
A.T. in Kingston Ontario, Canada.

What can I say?
It was wonderful and Gino is one hundred percent a professional singer/musician who does not fail to excite, demand attention and create high emotions. Its just such a thrill to see him in person - one can't really describe the effect and do it justice. His voice is perfection and the last half was fun, so it wasn't all serious (although I, too felt the chills when he sang Canto and Parole !)
Love this guy!
Linda B.

I really, really wish I had the luxury to let my mind focus solely on last night’s concert today but, as it is, I’m writing from work between phone calls with producers ;-) Writing is important to me, it’s an ongoing process and I know I’ll come up with a more coherent and definitive piece on what I’d like to keep from GV’s most recent offering but I also know about *urgent needs*, like wanting to know how it was when you weren’t there ! And this isn’t an academic forum, so I feel okay about letting lose and just sharing with you in a stream-of-consciousness. Still, it’s so daunting because I’d like to be able to remember and express everything, sigh… OK, enough of this anxious whining ;-)

First, I must say that the wait for the concert to actually begin and the musical build-up leading to GV’s appearance was truly instrumental in putting many of us (well me !) in a state of almost unbearable erotic (emotional, spiritual, physical) tension.
You see, the ticket said 20H30 but this being the closing concert of the festival, the organizers had to pronounce parting words and give out awards. We were then treated to an unexpected 20-minute concert by one of the awards’ recipients, Nancy walker. Wonderful hard-core jazz ensemble but… ;-)… well, her band wasn’t the performer we had come to see and hear ;-) Then there was a short waiting period, to get the stage reset, and THEN the orchestra musicians and Gino’s jazz ensemble came out.

Silence. Darkness. The first violin cues his fellow musicians. Silence falls again.
Then, as decorum indicates, Simon Leclerc, the conductor, comes out and the room applauds in a kind of restrained but nervous anticipation (yes, I’m projecting ;-) He lifts his baton and there’s one final pregnant pause before the music swells up. I can now confirm what I wrote you last night, the overture was indeed a mixture of the opening melody to “The Last days Of Summer” (I listened to the CD again) and “Canto”. Now, the amazing thing about this orchestral suite was that its arrangements gave the piece a kind of… underwater grace. How can I explain this ? Was it the harp, the plucking at the violin and cello strings, the shimmering of the cymbals, the raining melody of the piano ? The serene quality of the few silences in the melody ? The sonar-like reverberations of certain notes ? Or the blue tint of lighting (shafts of light emerging from the background, rising, giving the whole concert room the look of an ocean-base cathedral) ? I literally could not breath…

The music swells and finally, finally He comes out. In front, from the left wings. In the dark. The room sees him nonetheless and there is thunderous applause and a stand-up ovation. The conductor has to hold his musicians, they in turn must elongate their notes, and Goldblatt, Gino’s pianist, creates a loop of music. They are all waiting for us to calm down. Leclerc looks behind his shoulder, his arms still in the air. What are we doing ? What is Gino doing ? Gino is smiling in the dark. I’m close enough to see this. Softly, he reaches with joined hands for the microphone, and somehow that cues and calms the room. We sit, he lifts a graceful hand and, relieved, the conductor frees his musicians. The suite resumes and Gino’s voice fills the concert hall. I can breathe finally…

He sings the first few bars of “Canto” in the dark, backlit by the blueish flow of this strange and oneiric sea. His voice is velvet-like, caressing, his body quietly sways with the flow until there is a crescendo leading to the refrain. That’s when white light explodes in front of him, violently exposing him. Except that his suddenly stentorian voice fights back, or merges, I should say, with the power of that blinding light. I catch myself not breathing anymore and I’m fascinated by how the physical demands of his classical performance is making him use his body. You can feel the abdomen contract, the chest and throat expand, and you see the muscles of his face resculpting his features. It’s absolutely beautiful the force and exquisite pain he seems to experience there in front of us, with total abandon. When he closes his eyes, here and again during “Dea Sperenza”, and offers his face to the light, it gives him the look of enraptured saints and painted martyrs. It’s absolutely shattering. Especially since we know that as much as he truly gives himself over to the experience, he is also the one controlling the greater part of that experience. You see the Master in him when upon a simple raising of the arm, and graceful twist of the hand, he wills the music into existence.

Simon Leclerc is conducting just behind him, but the music answers only to Gino…

Argh ! I have to stop here for the moment (I’m sooo sorry ! ) but I’ll come back later with another instalment !!!!! (P.S. Please excuse any spelling mistake and bizarre syntax, English is not my mother-tongue ;-) Jo.

Seeing the excerpt of Gino singing "Canto", on the news today, gave me chills... and made me smile at myself, because I see that I remembered something slightly wrong in my first essay !

When the bright light is switched on, at the refrain in "Canto", Gino is not projecting his voice, not yet ! The crescendo is just beginning. The merging of his voice with the intensity of the light comes a few seconds later. Woups ! These are the pitfalls, and the strange beauty I guess, of aesthetic memory...

So I left you with this image of Gino as Maestro. In fact he is both the sculptor and the sculpture ! But before pursuing on this train of thought, I feel like opening a parenthesis on the sense of sharing and joy, and the communication and power hierarchy I saw at work, on the stage, last night. What follows will sound awfully simplistic to some but it brought me immense pleasure. Call me bizarre. Anyway, to truly appreciate what I'm trying to explain, I think one needs to remember, or know about the almost schizophrenic nature of last night's concert.

It truly was divided in two distinct parts (which confused the critics beyond words - but in a way, we can't blame them: this WAS the closing concert of the Jazz Festival and the first part of Gino's performance was composed exclusively of bel canto and opera). The poster said it all, really, Gino would be performing with his musicians AND the festival's orchestra. Of course, this meeting could have still given birth to a homogenous concert, one fusing orchestral jazz and pop (I believe this was the case the last time GV came to the Place des Arts, oui ?) but last night this fusion only came about, really, in the last part of the second half of the show, when Gino's amazing transfiguration of earlier successes was of rock songs that were orchestral to begin with ("Brother To Brother" being a prime example of this).

The rest of the time, on the surface, it could see, to many, that there was a rejection of fusion, of musical osmosis. Because Gino chose to respect the classical and operatic forms of CANTO's songs, the festival's orchestra naturally took center stage during the first half of the show, while Gino's band "naturally" took over during the second, more purely jazz-oriented, half of the show. Upon looking at the stage one could also, physically, get this impression of division because the orchestra was separated from Gino's band by a sheet of glass. Of course, this is common, it isn't an element of mise-en-scene, accoustics demand it (not so much for us, I guess, as for the musicians, to enable them to hear themselves properly) but therefore, there nonetheless was a graphic division on stage. Add to this the fact that Gino's band was divided too: with François D'Amour and Marco Luciani relegated to the far right, while Alain Caron, Luc Boivin and the new drummer (sorry, didn't catch his name !) were on the far left. There were then 3 different zones of musicians AND a doubling of the maestro since Gino's stand-up microphone was set in front of the conductor's platform. In the center islet, one also found Goldblatt, Gino's pianist. So in actuality, there were 4 very different zones of musical performance, all meant to interact sonically... and dramatically too, at times. So who made himself stage director ? Visual editor ? Who cued our gaze and made sure we could follow the musical dialogue of all the creators involved ? It wasn't Leclerc. He had his hands full with his orchestra. Of course, it was Gino.

But you had to see how he performs this magic ! And this is where I was leading you ;-) The fascinating thing, for me, was to see how transparent the process was. Yet, at the same time, the communication he made possible was sometimes so subtle, labyrinthine and silent, especially in the first half of the show, that one had to be very attentive to see it all. I first observed the direction of the current during the second song, "Dea Sperenza". During one of the instrumental interludes, while Gino was quietly letting the music swell around him, I noticed he was gently tapping his foot, in perfect synch with Goldbaltt's soft pounding of his piano's peddle and the rythmic movement of Leclerc's baton. A normal osmosis; it wasn't concerted. I made the links, the visual edits. But it prepared me to notice the rest; those brief, almost secret signals: a glance from Gino impacting on Goldblatt's upturned face, the pianist head nodding to Leclerc while his fingers dug into the keys and his eyes proceeded to meet those of Caron. Of course, this can all seem quite banal, but to repeat myself, I can't tell you the thrill these observations procured me. It was like seeing the show with infra red visors !...

Still, the most amazing "dialogues" were to be found in the second half of the concert. When Gino couldn't refrain from wanting to engage personally with all the musicians, especially those of his band. This is when he had --no wanted !, to cover the whole flour, in order to reach and conduct everyone on stage ! (Ah! their smiles, so joyous, like children really, beaming to the one they admire the most, just too happy to be the ones he choses. God ! I see that look everyday on the faces of my young boys.) So Gino prowls the stage like a black panther, he must run to bridge the gaps separating his mates. He points to them, eliciting their response, inviting them to join the whirlwind. His arm takes their music. His hand closes into a fist. There's a dagger to his stomach ! He wants the blow of the notes ! He hunches his back like that of a cat to accompany Goldblatt. He jumps with the percussionist. Uses his microphone stand like a blade. Turns to one, swivels to the other, he is Nijinsky reborn :-) And then sometimes, in a daring move, he turns to Leclerc's musicians, bypasses the conductor's authority and opens his arms wide. He whips the air to provoke the violins. He will engulf them all. Or he runs to the front of the stage, jumps down on the narrow safety runway and, there, lets the music riffle through his back, a devilish grin illuminating his features as he stands there, eyes closed, arms stretched in the sign of the cross, that of a man willingly being crucified by music.

And it's in one of those moments that it hit me, the realization suddenly so clear to me: what he does when he lets the wild gypsy in him take over (when he gives free reign to his musical, performative Id), is to show us his untameable need and desire to be run through by the music, to be impaled by it, possessed by it before possessing us because of it. In these instants, he physically incarnates every notes, he becomes the musical conduit. There are no needs of speakers then, there is only his body playing HIS music. In this context, his voice becomes only one more instrument. But he can really do what he pleases with her. Because of his sublime voice, he can be Machiavelli, a seductive angel, a martyr and a poet...

Now you take all of this, you compress it, you tighten it, you reduce its scope as you rewind back to the first part of the concert, and stop where I left you. And now you find the same communion, the same intense communication but focused in a graceful movement of the hand, on his ecstatic features, and the force that irradiated from his solar plexus as he sings. The Maestro is there even with the scaled-down body language. It is laser sharp, and perfectly defined, but minimalist. Gino has learned the art of repose. When he sings the songs from CANTO, he lets all eyes, including those of his musicians, fall on him, come to him. Ergo, the silent signs and meeting glances. I was looking at François D'Amour and Alain Caron looking at Gino during "Dea Sperenza", and their faces were a mirror, of each other's expectant, reverential looks. And ours.

OK, it's half past midnight. I turned into a pumpkin 30 minutes ago ;-) xxx Jo......

Part 3 is coming up soon......

Hello Barend and Trees!
I hope you both had a wonderful weekend.
The Gino concert in Montral was, as you have already heard, fantastic!!
The moment Gino walked on stage the audience erupted, applauding Gino with the honour of a standing ovation. It was quite amazing to see the love and respect that everyone there has for Gino.

Gino's concert was in two parts. The first was Gino performing many songs from CANTO. His voice was spectacular!!
The mesh of the orchestra and his band was a treat to the ears - they were flawless!! After intermission, Gino re-emerged on stage to perform many of his previous popular songs. The crowd went wild, especially with Powerful People and Brother to Brother, to name but a few. Between songs, Gino spoke fondly of his brothers Joe and Ross as well of his "sweet mother" and of his father.

After the concert I did have the opportunity to congratulate Gino personally. I did mention your names and that you both were sorry that you had to decline in seeing him in Montreal. He said to me "ok". As there were many people around him trying to get his attention (and a picture) I am unsure if he really heard me... I have been told that I speak softly. Gino did sign a picture of us together taken from the Atlantic City concert from, I think, about two years ago.

And speaking of Atlantic City, again some more good news! Gino's Uncle Vic did mention that Gino would be performing again in Atlantic City I guess you will know where I will be on those dates.

I enjoy Atlantic City, especially walking and cycling on the boardwalk that runs along the Atlantic Ocean. Hopefully, this time I will be able to meet up with Gino walking by himself agian. It was nice to have the opportunity to be alone with Gino to thank him for the many hours of entertainment he and his music have given me
All the best to you both.
Gord

Barend and Trees,
Just came back last night. We went up there just for the show.
It was WONDERFUL.
He is INCREDEBLY talented and PERFECT.

I got to 'touch' Gino and get lots of pictures with him !

I only posted 2 pictures with him since the other ones were not as good. The best picture is the one with my daughter, Sabrina. Gino actually lifted her on a chair. He is so awesome. I cannot start to imagine how brilliant and talented he is. I would love the opportunity to 'interview' him since I'd have so many questions. It's difficult to talk to him when everyone is trying to get a picture taken with him.

I wanted to thank him for being there 'in music' with me for all those years. He helped me through College, through my professional career, through my joys and sadnesses, through my work, while I was writing my books, etc. etc.

I was disappointed that you didn't come. I would have liked to meet you both. Hopefully, our paths will cross one of these days. Kindest regards and wishing you well.
Jean J. L.

Jean & the famous and very proud Father and sax-player : Francois D'Amour / Franky Love !

Jean & Gino Vannelli.

Jean & Luc Boivin the Percussions player...

Gino Vannelli & Nicole

Jean and Family with Gino Vannelli backstage...

Jean's Daughter Sabrine & Gino Vannelli

A long, long time ago I was a teenager listening ''Love me now'', I've always been a backvocal of Gino in my head, in front of two miserables speakers, I loved that Rollercoaster sound, it made me reach Heaven.

Few years later I moved to Spain, the only Canadian singer that I could listen to was Gino, I was so happy, it made me feel home. I came back to Canada 15 years ago with my two sons and I've tried many times to go to see him but as a single mother I couldn't afford it.

But last Sunday, my dream came true. I felt like a Princess in my long Spanish Dress...I was in the 10th row. After more than 25 years of true admiration, I saw him, he represents the strentgh inside of me, his voice and my voice crossing all those roads of tears to reach the sun, yes it was more than 25 years of waiting and it was worth it. Thanks for your help, beautiful, bello bello Gino Si...si...la vita es bella when I sing along with you.
Claudine

Hi Barend, Hi Trees,
Let me tell you that the last concert at the PDA last sunday was absolutly WONDERFUL, completely extraordinary. The crowd of Montreal received him with an ovation upright, it did nothing but arrive on scene and all the room stand up on a same movement. Which feeling that must be for an artist!

I waited at the end in the concert to have an autograph, we were a lot to wait. I was too timid to discuss, I simply presented my photograph by asking for an autograph, without anything to say moreover!

Hope everything go well for you too. Please let me know. Take care. Hélène

Hi Barend and Trees,
I made it and it was a wonderful experience !!!
The show was so exciting and Gino’s voice was amazing. What a big voice !!! it was wonderful. I am very happy and thanks for your hard work! Peter

As I was telling you privately, the other evening, I'm sorry I couldn't set all my thoughts down on paper the first few hours after the concert because my memories are now meshing... See, that's why GV REALLY needs to do this tour of Eastern Canada, AND the DVD ;-))))) Because I'm a film scholar !

Images I remember distinctly forever, concerts are more organic, they merge with me, inhabit me, but I fail to see them clearly in my mind's eye after a while, so if I don't see them and see them and see them again... The emotions remain, and some flash-like details, but... ;-( Then again, some people prefer this ephemeral quality, I'm sure. As for me... I find that I'm looking forward to that special time of the night, just before falling asleep, when I reach this hypnagogic state and all these images, these intense moments and sounds from the concert come flooding back. It's such a delicate state because if you move, if you reach for a pen, if you even let yourself become too conscious, well you lose everything ! Ah ! I Know ! I should write under hypnosis ;-)

Well anyway, here I go again...

I thought I should let you know about the very personal, intimate aspects which the first part of the concert took on. I find it fascinating that an artist who, for so long, remained very enigmatic, possibly a reflection of his being a very private man, would now feel compelled to expose himself, to bare so much of his soul without the safety net of poetic metaphors and musical abstractions. I'm referring here to the fact that Gino took the time (here, but also during the short Musimax concert) to actually talk to the public between songs. It's very unusual for a performer to stray from small talk, short intros, witty repartee, when they talk at all. But during this concert, as he did in the CBC/BMG documentary on "Canto", he really, truly seemed to want to become as transparent as he could possibly be, and take chances. For instance, I love the fact that he dared speak more than just a few words in french. Because he speaks it with such an irresistible québécois accent :-)
But also because it reveals, in a very subtle way, parts of his roots, the french-speaking church he attended as a boy, the bilingual neighbourhood he lived in... and the cultural identity of his first love, we assume, given that his french monologue leads him to "Joli Coeur", a song in which he says he's reminiscing about a girl he once knew. This is quite a departure for him. English-Canadians like to remind us that GV is Canadian but his artistic corpus and persona identify him as a North-American, not as a Québécois.

If he keeps playing with Alain Caron, Luc Boivin and François D'Amour, I swear though, I'll never let him go ;-) But I disgress... Well maybe not, because there WAS something strangely poetic and politically fitting about the fact that he should utter his first spoken words in french after singing "Canto", his new calling card, and "Dea Sperenza" his new (post-September 11) credo. It had resonance. So did his intro to "Il Viaggio" which he linked to his life-altering experience in the Andes. It was truly amazing how GV's spoken intros to CANTO'S songs helped defined who he is, as a man.

And no topic seems more important to him than family.
Of course, this isn't new. There's always been, in GV's work, in his lyrics, a great thematic concern for blood lines, generational ties and conflicts, sibling bonding and rivalry. As early as 1975, he was singing about strained but loving relationships between "Father and Son" (on the album STORM AT SUNUP). And could an album title be more significant than BROTHER TO BROTHER ? But he's never expressed his concerns the way he does now. This sudden but endearing need to *talk*, it isn't simply due to the fact that the singing is done in italian, mostly, and he feels he must explain about the lyrics. I think --no I'm sure--, it also goes beyond marketing ploys, even if BMG's people are only too happy to see Gino get personal, I'm sure. It comes from the heart and from a very courageous part of the heart, because the tenure of GV's discourse on his father, for instance, is very nuanced and complex.

The art of bel canto is a sentimental one, but Gino does not get mushy between songs. He exposes ambivalent feelings, unresolved situations, doesn't even shy away from the gruesome. You absolutely do not expect that. And the tone he adopts ! There's a gentleness, a serenity, even in the face of all the pain he's exposing, that goes against the tenants of melodrama, as does his charming but dry sense of humour. And it's perfect because his unassuming stance makes the impact of his words even greater. You believe him. And you can't help but be moved by the very fact that he remains in *almost* perfect control all the time. He doesn't become emotional but there are breaches, minute ones, and they are crucial too, aren't they ?

For instance,I swear we all felt his stomach turn when a cell phone rang during his intro to "Parole Per Mio Padre". He didn't miss a beat: he made a funny little gesture then (as if wanting to shoot the person down), and he never lost his gentle smile, but, ah !... The man is in the middle of telling you about this emotionally raw, and rather painful experience --I mean years of generational angst--, he's building this very intricate and fragile bridge between himself and the audience, and this moron; no, excuse me: this intrusive but mundane, everyday disturbance (this little reminder that the world exists outside of the concert hall, outside of the "temps présent") comes close to shattering the moment. But Gino draws us back in and just lays it all out until there's no more to say, nothing mere words could explain, and he must sing the rest. But the sigh he let's out at the end of his confession (and it really has the quality of a confession, this monologue in the relative darkness of the concert hall, softly spoken in this safe cocoon built by his voice and persona), the sigh is another crack in the veneer, and it seems to be coming from such a deep relieved place. There's something painful but freeing about it. Like the proud sigh children let out when they've been brave.

I've heard him do 3 variations on this "losing emotional control for a split-second" after explaining about the importance of his father in his life (at the PdA and Musimax concerts, but also during a radio interview), and it never feels rehearsed, it feels ritualised. The truth he expresses in this moment is the same that some actors get to express when they move through a specific set of lines or physical actions, night after night on the stage, or take after take in front of a camera, that just gets them to that unescapable "place" where there is nothing but the truth to utter or embody. It's a state of grace.

And that is a state which Gino knows how to attain (no, I should say that he knows how not to be afraid to abandon himself enough to attain it) and it's a state most of us were kept under, during the whole of CANTO's renditions.

And that's where I must leave you once more. And I was so sure I'd get to the singing ! LOL
(God, writing in english is sooooooooo painful ! ;-)
JO

Dear Barend and Trees,
Here are my comments after gathering my thoughts for a few days. Every moment spent with Gino is priceless and cherished forever. I only wish both of you could have been there again, perhaps the U.S.A. ????? Yes, Uncle Vic told me about Atlantic City but whenever I asked Gino, he did not confirm it. Time will tell.

I don’t think I can possibly describe anything better than what has already been written about the evening of Gino’s performance.

The first part of the show was without a doubt, very intimate and captivating. Gino delivered the selected songs from Canto with so much emotion that you didn’t have to know the Italian language to understand it. Even though I have had the opportunity to listen to Canto since I received it in May; I was totally embraced by the MIGHT of his voice!!

After the intermission Gino came back with our favorites and the band again was tremendous!! Seeing Alain, Luc, Marco, David, Francois and meeting, I hope I get his name right, the drummer Lionel. Lionel said to me, “that he had big shoes to fill”, meaning Paul’s and I think he did a good job for playing with Gino for the first time. Mario has a new son and showed me some beautiful photos of Simon. He is a very proud new papa.

After reading some of the “fans” remarks about Canto and the Old Gino, I think they are missing the true meaning behind the composition of Canto. Gino has told us that he was inspired to write Canto because of his Italian heritage and he wanted it to be a tribute to his father. When someone that you love so deeply is no longer a part of your physical life, it has such a profound effect on you especially if you didn’t have proper closure with that person. Expressing your love and being able to forgive yourself takes time and it helps to express those thoughts through song, poems and letters. This is what Gino has done and he shared some of his most intimate thoughts about his father with the audience, which he didn’t even need to do. Anyone with an ounce of compassion could see that it was emotional for him to convey these words. My eyes were swelled with tears and I could see a mist in Gino’s eyes from where I was sitting while he was talking. I think it is so unkind for someone to write such negative comments about a man who has given his best in the past and present, and who continues to express himself in his music and then shares it with the public.

It is so obvious why Gino has written Canto and I think if all his fans were given the opportunity to hear him and feel the love in his songs then maybe more hearts would be more open to his new music. Everyone is entitled to their favorites, even I have mine but doesn’t Gino deserve more credit from his life long fans? To those who do not like Canto and the previous cd’s and if all you have to offer him is your hurt then maybe you need to stick to the artists that continues to live in the past and limits themselves to what they are only comfortable with. Life is about living and exploring and accepting all that is created individually for US. Enjoy the change that Gino is experiencing and be grateful that we can go to shows and still hear him perform. Not only does Gino still sound great, he is healthy, in great shape and is still irresistible!!!

One more comment, maybe Canto doesn’t appeal to some at the moment but I assure you that one day it will hit home for you all…….
Cyndi from Pittsburgh

Hello Dear Friends,
Just a quick note to let you know that GINO WAS SPECTACULAR!!!!
He received a standing ovation when he first appeared on stage!!!!!!!! First part of the show was CANTO and then part two was Classic GINO.

GINO looked great in his gray pinstriped suit for the CANTO songs and then he changed into a black silk shirt and jeans for the Classic songs. He was dancing up a storm during part two. Julie and my tickets where front row seat 9 and 11. It was such a thrill to be in front and experience all the magic and music.

Werner did meet GINO after the show and I am sure he will tell you all about it. He was quite moved and said he didn't want to wash his hand (LOL)

I have some reviews for you from the newspapers. They are in French and I am only able to understand a little French. I think one is a good review and the other is mixed. Believe me the show was outstanding. Two photos appeared with the reviews. I will e-mail you my review of the show and the set list as soon as I gather my thoughts. One thing missing from the show was your smiling faces. We all missed you terribly.
Best wishes to you and I'll be in touch soon, Mary Lou.

Dear friends,
I´m just back from heaven but still in it.
Well , one word about the show . Gino performed 2 parts and everyone was incredible. First at the beginning with LACRIMAE LUNA was Classic New Gino Music with the fantastic CANTO Tracks and after the intermediate he changed his close and kind of music . Then it was shotwime like in the 70´s with many of his fantastic hits from former times and we wondered about an entertaining and dancing Gino who made the audience wild and crazy.

Well i just wanna stop - I have to...otherwise i´ll write to you my final review which takes more than the whole night. Ok this is my first report only. We´re going to send you all our material that you can bring it on the B+T sites. Well you know it´s holiday time and next week i´m going down to Saint Tropez like everyyear on family vacation for 3 weeks. So it will take a little time to prepair every material for you - if you want. Love and peace, werner from Germany........

More to come from Werner !!!

Hi Barend and Trees,
Just read the concert reviews and saw the beautiful photos. Great reviews!!!!!! Having been there they really do reflect the feeling of that wonderful evening.
Mary Lou

I started to gather all the books and pictures we collected for you when we were in Montreal.
Tomorrow my pictures should be ready and I am hoping for at least one good one. Next week I will mail you everything so you can use it for the Montreal webpage.

For now, here is the list of songs performed by the master on that glorious evening.
Part One :
Lacrimae Luna
Canto
Dea Speranza
Joli Coeur
The Last Dance
IL Viaggio
Parole Per Mio Padre

After the break :
People Gotta Move
Living Inside Myself
Wild Horses
Hurts To Be In Love
Persona Non Grata
Brother to Brother
I Just Wanna Stop
People Gotta Move

When Gino came out after the break he was dancing to People Gotta Move. After it ended, with a wide smile, He said "Welcome to Part 2" and this was met by a thunderous applause.

Two parts of the show was a great way to showcase GINO and his many talented sides. He showed us a very personal side and then a very fun and playful side. His rendition of The Last Dance was different with a slight pause in the music that was wonderful. I was so happy to hear Dea Speranza live again, GINO really showcases his voice on this wonderful and moving song. The whole evening was a night to remember forever.
Mary Lou

Two parenthesis ago, I left you with this image of the Maestro as sculptor and sculpture during "Canto" and "Dea Speranza".
Yet, when GV conducts his musicians with the whole of his dancing body, as he does in the second part of the show, one doesn't readily think of him as a sculpture. The style is too eruptive, too fluid, too incendiary; it's lava in fusion, just like the man's jazz arrangements... and the red and gold set of lights falling on him. But during the first half of the concert, where, as I've suggested before, Gino is mastering the art of repose, he lets his body be ensconced in the blue rays of the back-lit canvas while the blinding white light smooths out the marble-like concreteness of his handsome features. He is singing and sculpting all at once, creating soft intimate curves, or chiselling vertiginous reliefs with his amazing voice. I became aware of the correlation between his performance and sculpture when I noticed, quite amazed, that his singing was eliciting the same response in me as when I find myself the willing prisoner of a sculpture garden. I stand in awe, enraptured and transfixed by the still, perfect beauty; and I'm in pain because I'm forbidden to touch. And the same thing was happening here: not breathing when his voice shatters reason and convention to embrace melodrama (and the perfect note), and having this completely inappropriate desire to put my hand flat on his chest while he sings. Just to feel whatever force is at work there. Physical, the air rushing through his lungs, the way the heartbeats would feel against my palm during a crescendo, the tautness and resistance of his pectorals against the fire of the oxygen leaving his muscles when he must project... Spiritual, because it takes great inner courage to change one's performance style in this fashion, and do it after exposing the very intimate nature of one's evolutive process. Emotional, because really, beyond the erotic madness of my impulse, there remained the emotions created by this man's new songs.

Sogno e cosi'credo
Canto e quindi sono
Sing, from the heart
And all will be well

Those are the words an artist utters just before letting go. Can you see him falling to his rebirth ?

I was saying, in my first post-concert email to you, that Gino had given very faithful renditions of CANTO's songs. It's true in that, for the most part, and on a little bit more than the surface, the songs sounded very much alike from CD to stage. A natural thing given that the concert was given quite close, in time, to the realisation of the album (as composer, GV must feel the arrangements he chose for the CD are still the ones expressing his musical vision). One also does not jazz up classical songs lightly, for fear of subverting the purity of their sentiment. But to MY ear (and I am NOT a music scholar so be lenient), the live renditions of these songs were at times slightly, but importantly, different, in that they felt musically more "organic" to me. As if CANTO, even with all its intrinsic beauty, was still really just a canvas, un premier jet. When I listen to the title-song on the CD, for instance, my heart sinks a bit when the drum programming starts; on "The Last Dance", it's the slightly synthetic nature of the binding ballad arrangements (computer programming ?). There's something a bit glacial about it, too polished, disembodied. The impression doesn't necessarily last, the qualities of the album far outnumber its weaknesses. But on Sunday, possibly because the arrangements were altered slightly and, assuredly, because all the musicians had to interact in the present tense, in unison, under the guidance of a formidable yet vulnerable minstrel, the tiny thorns in my annoyingly demanding aesthetic sensibility were lifted... Now, if only someone could fix the sometimes cavernous acoustics of Salle Wildrid-Pelletier -- really ! --

But the fact remains that by taking his work outside of the studio, by resculpting the chosen songs in front of a live audience, GV made them into even more emotionally potent creations. Or we did. By attending the live performance, seeing the artist at work, and suddenly comprehending the few nuances we might have remained deaf to while listening to the CD. For instance, wasn't it completely shattering to see Gino's contained passion statuefy his body, and make him close his eyes, while his stentorian voice, made raw by emotion, was reliving the epiphany that made him write:

Come il faro nella notte
Guida navi' all'orizzonte
Una stella or brilla per me

For the light that guides
Lost ships at sea
At last illuminates the way for me

"Canto" is an amazingly beautiful song about personal and artistic redemption... I don't know, it might be because I'm partial to light myself, cinema being my religion, but the concert could have stopped there and I would have died a happy woman. But then, I would have missed seeing Gino's statuesque figure command music, light and hearts upon crying, in "Dea Speranza": "Dimmi che la vita e'bella" (Tell me life is precious). Can you see him half-raise his arms, as if compelled to do so, and his hands shake slightly, gracefully yet uncontrollably, under the strain and the despair of his pleading prayer ? I was suffocating. And this, in a song containing such delicate moments and murmurs too. I get weak when he whispers the exclamation point to "Dea !" at the beginning of the third stanza. And I must say that I find it personally quite moving that GV should have felt the desire to invoke a feminine deity after the global tragedy of September 11, and its aftermath. It's an unusual departure for him, given that the philosophical content of his corpus is usually more given to masculine constructs. But how very astute of him, and poetic, to ignore a patriarchal God in the face of Man's folly. This song, for me, really functions as a modern-day "Ave Maria".

"Joli Coeur" I talked about in my last email. For the reasons I mentioned before, it's impossible for me not to relate to it in a very emotional manner, but its qualities go beyond the realm of the politico-poetic ;-) Of all the songs on CANTO, I believe it's the one possessing the most disarming beauty. Its Debussy-like sparseness makes it impossible to pigeonhole it as an Andrea Bocelli ersatz. I also find very daring Gino's withholding of his lover's gender until the next to last stanza. It delicately brings to the fore his androgynous persona even as he makes his voice dwell in such low octaves. Ah ! That declination from :

Ses yeux, ses lèvres,
Son rire, sa voix,
Cette jeune fille qui
Ne me quitte pas

It reverberates still in me. From the stage, you could feel his voice pushing deep into his and our diaphragm. What a brilliant way to evoke the weight of the past, the pain sometimes associated with reminiscing. And do you think the reference to Jacques Brel is intended ? "Ne me quitte pas" !? Which reminds me !! I haven't been able to reach Diane yet, because she was immersed in conceptualizing and singing in this week's homage concert to Brel, in Quebec City, but she has GOT to hear "Joli Coeur". Its melody is very similar to some of her recent songs, she knows about painful ghosts, she would kill with that octave declination, and she'd have the guts not to change the gender of Gino's lover. If GV does come back for a Fall tour, I have to invite her to one of his concerts :)...

It's funny, slipping from Gino to Diane Dufresne reminds me of something else they have in common: the type of very genuine and dignified emotional reaction they provoke in some of the fans. Last Sunday, there was this young woman sitting in front of me, slightly to the left. The light bouncing from the stage unto her face gave her a very angelic profile. And I soon noticed that she was quietly crying during "The Last Dance", unbeknownst to her companion. But she was much too young to know about the heartaches exposed in that song ! It upset me, for some reason. I so desperately wanted her emotion to be provoked by something more abstract. I mean that I didn't want it to come from experience but from something more benign and mysterious, like a physiological reaction to Gino's vocal command of the romantic journey outlined in the lyrics. I couldn't stop myself from gazing at her looking up at him. Looking at him suffering, and hoping, in the light. The light caressing her back in turn. And I kept thinking that I should stop looking at her. I was intruding upon such a private moment. But it was SO beautiful what played there on her face. Her emotional response, and Gino's innocent obliviousness, finally moved me to tears. I'm still crying as I write this. Isn't it crazy ? There was this impossible dance between the two of them, a strange but moving communion... At the intermission, I had to stop myself from going over to the young lady, but I was reassured that someone was taking care of her. Her boyfriend was gently stroking her back, without a word. He was so gentle with her, as she was sitting on one of the foyer's sofa. She was still very quietly crying...

Obviously, attending concerts often illicits cathartic experiences. That's why we go ! Aristotle taught us well ;-) And it's probably what drives most artists to risk it all, and just dare communicate. Invite the audience to travel with them *sur les ailes d'un ange*. And so obviously, it came as no surprise to see Gino close the first part of the show with "Il Viaggo" and "Parole Per Mio Padre", two very personal and revealing songs.

But it's past 2 in the morning now. Antoine has woken up and is wondering why his mother is not sleeping yet. My 4-year old is the voice of reason through my nights. So I'm forgoing spell check, OK ? ;-) Joyeux matin and talk to you soon, B&T :-)
Jo

Here we go with a BIG thank you so much to Mary Lou........... and to all the people who helped us built this web page : Mary Lou, Jo, Gord, Hélène, Jean, Peter, Pia, Pierre, A.L., Andrew, Linda, Claudine, Cyndi and Werner, THANKS FROM OUR HEARTS FOR SHARING YOUR GINO VANNELLI EXPERIENCES WITH THE WORLD !!!

Werner, Julie, Mary Lou and Laura before the concert...

Werner, Laura, Julie and Mary Lou after the concert...
See the difference ??? (LOL!!!)
We (the editors) see Hélène in the background with a BIG smile too !!!
Hey Guys where did you steal that poster ??? (LOL!!!)

A dream came true for Werner !!!

A Wonderful picture of Julie and Gino Vannelli.......

Hi there,
It's Mario, the lighting designer for Gino Vannelli, remember me?
We mist you guys in Montréal this last weekend, it was a great show and it was also great for me to see the guys again even if i had seen them a couple of weeks ago at the Musimax TV special.
I hope that you two are doing well and that we'll meet again in the near future. Take care of yourselves!!! Mario

Hey Barend and Trees:
After almost two years, I got to see Gino perform in Montreal.
It was an incredible show, Thanks to Deb D & Chris C, I was able to see the CBC show on Gino right before I left for Montreal, which made seeing the show even more special. When I first heard Canto, I was drawn to "Wayward Lover", and of course, understood the English language songs words. But after many, many listening sessions, have really embraced the entire body of music. I do love the powerful vocals of the non-english song! The entire performance was breath-taking, and many can attest to my speechlessness after the show.

Canto and Dea Sperenza were my favorites of the night, but it was all beautiful. Gino shared some stories of his youth and family, and that adds so much (in my opinion) to his live performance. When I left the show, I had the feeling of having the "Embarrassment of Riches" because Gino gives so much to his performance.

The second set was wonderful, and I loved hearing some new arrangements of some familiar songs. Just when I think "People Gotta Move" can't be done again any better than before, Gino tweaks the arrangement to make it new once again.
I wish I had more beautiful words to share with you the experience,
and to say "Thank You Gino" seems so small.

I was so happy to see many people I have met on my Gino tour trips. Getting to see David, Luc, Francois, Marco, and Alain perform was wonderful, and to see Fred, Mario, Ives and to see and hear about their babies, wifes and lives is such a joy. The Vannelli family as always was very warm, kind and generous. It was great to see Helene' and to see pictures of her little girl. Claude and Nadine--Montreal is not the same without you!!! Fred, Francois, and Alain were all about to embark for Europe, and Alain did let me know that he has a new CD that should be available in September.
Thanks Cyndi and Fred!
For all--if Gino does more dates, and you have the opportunity--don't miss out on seeing him!
Judy M.

Dear Barend and Trees,
Here are a few more comments about Montreal.
My cousin Jennifer and I arrived about an hour prior to the performance and it is always suspenseful to see who you are going to meet and see familiar faces again at the shows. It was great seeing Judy, Robin and Jack again. We have been reunited at many shows since March 1999. We saw Jann from Tennessee and Helene from Montreal too. Gino’s Uncle Vic was there and he even stepped in to have a group picture taken with us. I hope to send some pictures soon once I get them on the cd.

After the show a small crowd waited anxiously for Gino to come out. Gino was all smiles and very relaxed while greeting his loyal fans. He willingly signed autographs, tickets and the Canto cd that a few people had purchased. Some of us even had our picture taken with him. Another great Gino moment to add to our scrapbook of memorable Gino shows!! It was most rewarding seeing Werner with Gino after he made the trip all the way from Germany. After asking Gino if I could take a photo of him and Werner together, it was such a thrill to capture the proud look on Werner’s face. He was in Gino Heaven for sure and it was an unforgettable moment to be forever cherished. It is always over way to soon but I have high hopes to see Gino in the states soon.
Cyndi from Pittsburgh

Click here to enlarge than this picture will become much more beautiful !!! Cyndi e-mailed us 11 pictures so we will make another 10 links underneath Cyndi's words...

Dear Barend and Trees,
Since I only had a disposal camera these aren’t the best but you can see lot’s of happy faces! Just a few pictures from practice: the other one Gino had his eyes closed so I did not put it on the cd. Cyndi.

The end of the Gino Vannelli concert with a
BIG standing ovation !!!

Big glorious grins after the concert... Cyndi, Werner, Laura and Julie.

Gino and Werner.

Gino and Jann from Tennessee.

Judy and Robin.

Sage & Sage's Wife and the Soprano Janet Chvatal.

Francois D'Amour and Alain Caron.

The Master of Music is teaching......

Werner, Julie, Mary Lou and Scott

Gino Vannelli fans and Family...

Phantastic reviews and photographs - I love the www.montreal and send you a few photographs out of my camera. You´ll get them all after vacation Thank you - all the best, werner.

The stage from the balcony and see the BIG Orchestra...

Gino Vannelli dancing so fast that it was hard to catch him on this picture...
We also see Alain Caron...

Gino Vannelli and Janet Chvatal : Brother to Brother...
Janet Chvatal sang IL VIAGGIO with Gino and she did the backing vocals in BROTHER TO BROTHER. What a magnificent mix in music and singers.
A soprano in Brother to Brother and in Copenhagen we had a classical Flamenco guitar player in BROTHER TO BROTHER. WOW !!!

From the left to the right : Luc Boivin, Alain Caron, David Goldblatt,
Simon LeClerc, Gino Vannelli, Janet Chvatal, Francois D'Amour and Marco Luciano.

Gino Vannelli always shakes hands with people on the first row and we bet this lucky person is Mary lou !!??

Still 7 pictures to come......

I think it's a testament to the quality of GV's music and the sincerity of his performances that right after making us laugh with his intro to "Il Viaggio", in which he playfully told us how he came to be charmed by soprano Janet Chvatal, he made us forget the laughter upon the first few bars of this yet-again very personal song. The philosophical meaning to the linear notes for this piece on the CD can be easily understood ("Regaining lost innocence is twice the task of gaining the knowledge and experience that drove it away"), but their genesis is obscured. Not so, during the live concert. Echoing what he already revealed of his spiritual journey on a mid-nineties "Man Alive" television documentary, Gino briefly explained that it is indeed what happened to him, in the Andes, that sparked this song into existence. He didn't go into details, preferring to keep the atmosphere light, but as soon as the violins began to whisper the first bar of the melody, followed by the more sombre cellos, the tone changed to one of quiet expectancy and mesmerizement. The italian lyrics soon mention mountains in the wanderer's journey. The word does not appear in the english translation but I swear you hear it in the music. There is something so evocative in the gentle swaying of the melody, like the wind dancing in front of your eyes when you first look down from a high-level vista. When he exults: "Me ne vado... ", it's like a man greeting the vast expanse of the horizon lying before him (if I wasn't afraid to make you smile, I'd ask you to remember Julie Andrews at the beginning of THE SOUND OF MUSIC ;-).

Later, much later in the song, when the wanderer is almost desperate to convince his lover that, though he must complete the voyage, he will indeed come back to her, thunderous cymbals are used upon the recollection of these mountains. You can hear the storm impacting on the walls of rock, like great waves crashing. There's something wagnerian in the intent, and the Romantic imagery, if not the melody, of this very cinematographic song.

In the live rendition of the song, possibly because the accoustics of Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier don't gracefully withstand a deafening use of music, it is the quieter sections of "Il Viaggio" that communicated best the profound transformative nature of the journey undertook by the singing narrator. The way Gino's voice very gently overturns when he first intones "I must make the journey". Or how he whispers "Wait for me, wait for me, I'll return". Not like a man so sure that he will, but like one praying that he'll still be alive to keep his promise... You could hear a pin drop in the concert hall.

I'm always very cautious not to read too much biographical meaning into songs (into any work of art). I find that the process can often be reductive, and end up almost insulting to the artist's imagination, the interpretation denying them the right to dream, and project themselves into someone else's soul, or be vessels for something greater than them, something beyond their reasoning. But in the case of "Il Viaggio", in the case of all the songs GV chose to perform from CANTO, the autobiographical is unescapable. And I must say that what he reveals here of the love he feels for his wife (his unnamed lover in the song), sa profondeur impudique, is incredibly moving. Of course, the bel canto form exacerbates and magnifies the feeling, turns the sung confession into art, but still I found myself in such awe of Gino's emotional courage, his willingness to nakedly expose his torments as a lover and a man. Accompanied by just the piano now, he sings: "I've grown cold and dispassionate. Insensitive to your touch," the words striking us hard because the melody accompanying them is suddenly different from the one underlaying the first succession of stanzas and refrains. One is almost thankful for the italian lyrics, as they seem to offer Gino a sense of semantic protection but ahhhhhh, the abandon with which he cries out the rest of his plea, climbing octaves without stopping to breath:

All I ask of you is to keep faith / In a homecoming that will justify / The leave-taking

His love for her, here, is so intense that the wanderer Gino plays literally invokes his lover... and you're not surprised therefore to see the invited soprano walk on stage. She gives the apparition a voice ! Inspired by the vision, his promises become even more heartfelt and desperate, the gentleness and pristine clarity of Janet Chvatal's voice seemingly not enough to calm his fear. Her words are comforting, but they don't seem to reach him, not yet. An impression underlined by the physical distance between the two performers, on stage, isolated in their distinct pool of light. Reassurance and serenity only set on Gino when Janet sings along with him. She draws him in, her siren's voice guiding him to her. And when they're close enough, their voices merge and the lover she plays finally, finally let's her man know that she has heard him: "I will wait". And so, for the first time, it seems, the wanderer can believe himself when he whispers: "I promise, this will be", because his words are hers. A beautiful metaphor for the importance of trust, patience, faith and the gift of freedom, in love...

And the belief in Joy to come, if the smile on the performers' face was any indication :-) Strangely, it is only then that I was able to perceive that Gino had been nervous ! The performance was so flawless that I had lost from view the risk, the departure which this kind of duet, in bel canto and opera form, represented for him. It made this song even more endearing :-)

Ah ! Will you believe me ? The rain has stopped. I think that's my cue... Good night, bonjour, chers B&T xxx

It´s so beautiful - and i´m still surprised how quikly everything around the show arrives on the site. i love the www.montreal - it makes the world smaller but in fact every event much bigger. Thank you so much! well let me please know your favourite songs on Canto - for me it changes from day to day in the moment i love the unique Wayward lover and The Last Days Of Summer which both bring us down to the important things of life - and that are Love and Family and of course peace. yours werner.

Editor : Today our favourite songs are : DEA SPERANZA, IL VIAGGIO, MALA LUNA and UNA ROSA A DICEMBRE but like you this changes everyday. At the moment we listen to Jolie Coeur...... Amazing........ Here are 7 more pictures :

A tip from the Editor: when you have a small monitor screen and the picture is bigger than your screen you have to hold your computer arrow on the picture and if you have windows you will see in a few seconds a button on which you can click and than the picture will enlarge and gets more sharper.

The Fans including Uncle Vic Vannelli...

The Fans : Cyndi, Werner, Laura, Julie and Mary Lou...

Family and friends...

The fans in line to thank Gino for this superb concert...

More fans in line...

Werner and ??? ???

Finally, we get to « Parole Per Mio Padre » :-) Wow, where to begin ?
A lot as been said and written about this song. It is the cornerstone of CANTO, and GV's "new" career, the song that prompted him out of premature retirement as a performer. As I've mentioned before, Gino very willingly talks about its meaning . And putting the song at the end of Part One unmistakably sets it up as one of the most important of the set.

All of this contributes to build a sense of expectancy and reverence which could have been hard to meet. But of course, it doesn't disappoint. How could it ? I could go on and on about how it is perfectly poised inside the range of bel canto, how the live performance makes for a superlative conclusion to a very emotional journey... but I feel like illuminating its surprising aspects, how it seduces you in ways you don't necessarily suspect, and leaves you weeping, wondering just what exactly is happening to you. Of course, this is all very personal. There isn't a universal blueprint for emotional and aesthetic response. And I'd love to know how this song affects other people...

As for me... The song simply captures me from the get-go, with its melody of infinite delicacy. You've heard it, it starts like an air by Debussy, aerial, dreamy, there is no pain yet. Then the piano quickly leads you into Chopin territory. You recognize it at the sweet intoxicating anxiety growing from your solar plexus; instant beautiful melancholy . Which then turns into something very subtly more dramatic, mysterious, tragic: the last 5 notes, just before GV utters the first word, could be Shubert's. Ah ! WHAT was that ?! You just feel like pleading with the orchestra to stop, because you need time to recuperate, breath... but Gino is not stopping for you, and he's not letting you go.

On the CD, the song is the only one not translated, as if there should remain some secrecy, some privacy in the love being communicated from son to deceased father. The lack of translation (unless you readily understand Italian, of course) also forces you to engage on a more purely abstract level with the song. You let yourself be moved by its phonetic effects, its musical language. You hear Gino break from song form, to whisper "Padre", at the beginning of the second stanza... and you know. You just do. But you're also afraid to understand ! You're afraid you could be eavesdropping on something too intimate, too powerful for you to keep your composure. Especially since, to my ears anyway, the melody after this whispering of "father" sounds so much like a lullaby (I'm reminded of Cantaloube's work on folk songs from the Auvergne - do you know the lullaby "Brazairola" ? But I'm sure the reference is from Italy here)... I'm looking up at Gino, eyes closed in the blinding light, and I can't help but wonder what he sees in his mind's eye. Is he at his father's deathbed, or is he a child in bed being sung to sleep by his father ?

And again, I feel like I should be looking away because it's too beautiful, and it's not addressed to me. But the singing is so soft, almost tranquil, it lures you into wanting to hear it through the night. It's saying to me: it's OK, stay, you should be there...

When Gino concludes the refrain, in which he let's his voice soar for the first time, the piano interludes begins anew and I'm driven weak once more by its exquisite beauty. Why is it affecting me so ? It's driving me mad and I don't find the answer during the concert. I find it much later, when it's too late for me to run back into the musical hall, or simply rewind the hands of Time. The melody kills me because... It's feminine. It is not what you would expect a son to write for his father. There is not one ounce of masculine detachment here. There is no front, no acid remnants of disputes left unresolved, no rugged tenderness even ! Pure, unadulterated love. The type of love no man would dare show his living father, for fear of being rejected. The type of love a mother could accept (would actually long to receive); the type of love a father can give his infant child when no one is looking; the type of love a daughter might show her father. But not the type of love that is usually permitted between father and son, certainly not of their generation. And so to dare do that, to dare write such beautiful music to express his love to his father... It breaks down all barriers, and the emotion just engulfs you.

... So for the lights to have gone up, after this moment of grace, I thought was beyond cruelty ;-)

Do I have regrets about the CANTO section of Gino's concert ? I do, I have one ;-) I wish he had sung "Mala Luna", not simply because it's the most intricately beautiful piece on the CD but because its flamenco colouring would have suited the context of the Jazz Festival very well. Having said that, I understand choices had to be made, certain songs put aside, and since "Mala Luna" does not appear to be autobiographical the way the chosen songs were... Well, I'll just have to dream its live performance. For the moment ? :-) Jo

It's probably a bit late now to immerse ourselves back into the concert because so much of the experience takes place in the present tense.
I've read with much interest everyone's e-mails about the show but something tells me many of us might already be looking forward to the next concert ;-) Well, it's in the nature of the beast: attending live performances gives us such a rush ! It's incredibly strong and moving, this impression of inhabiting fully the moment, like being in the center of a supernova or experiencing nirvana
(finding eternity in one single moment of bliss :-) when your heart beats with the orchestra, with that of the performer... But once the show becomes a memory, it shifts irremediably, and it becomes harder and harder to evoke it in all its relevant, powerful details.

I might be repeating myself here, but I wish I had had the opportunity to not let go of the moment, to simply write all night after the concert. For some obscure reason, I also chose not to write about the second half of the show first when, in fact, it was that section of the concert that elicited the strongest reaction in me
(hard to imagine given the way I reacted to the CANTO segment ;-). Did I want to keep my emotions secret, even to myself ? Les écrits restent... Well ! ;-) Anyhoo, for what it's worth, here are some more thoughts on the July 6 2003 GV concert.

The striking thing about the beginning of the second half of the concert was how well it established that what was about to follow would be drastically different from the first half of the show. Not only because the orchestra and GV's band were in full jazz/funk mode playing the intro to "People Gotta Move", or because the virginal white and blue hues of the lighting now gave way to a more violent and purple-inducing red and blue contrast (if memory serves me right) but because Gino came in a bit late, missing his cue ;-) Not that I found this "error" to be emblematic of Part Two, not at all, but Gino's running to the mic, in a graceful Pan-like prance, his apologetic wink to Leclerc, and his almost-laugh while spurting out his first lyrics, mid-way through a sentence, gave the proceedings an air of playfulness (Mary-Lou, you were right :-). It also shattered the crystal-like, but constricting ?, perfection of Part One. Now, we thought, anything was possible !

I love how "People Gotta Move" has taken on a new life in recent years. The song can sustain very different types of arrangements and it still plays amazingly well in its original form; its erotic drive intact. (A DJ friend of mine still uses it in the very branchés clubs he works for, and, note to the creators : if ever there was a record pleading for a contemporary remix and a new commercial lease on life, this is it !) But ah ! The way Gino's vocal performance now follows a broken jazz rhythmic line and the way the music reveals its funky roots, like a postmodern experiment --notice how the beginning sounds a bit like the theme from SHAFT ? As does the short instrumental composition "Mom" (sic) ?--, all makes for a masterful exercise in tease. It's very, very sexy :-)

I've never had the pleasure to see GV perform this song in the seventies but I know the recorded track very well, and the way he pauses even longer now, before uttering "You gotta move", is the type of killer detail that shows you how well he's learned from his years of stage experience. The way he invests that pregnant silence with a keen awareness of the release to come, the way he smiles at you during the wait, the way he slides his mouth to the microphone just in time to sing, or how he grabs its stand to physically cue the trumpeting of the music that follows, ah !!!! You absolutely feel like surrendering to his command, and do what he says. The pleasure we derive from this is proportional to the rarity with which Gino assumes this playful but nonetheless domineering persona. He's usually the one exposing his desire to be tormented and freed while here he embodies the Id made Master of Ceremony, seductively luring us into freeing our body to better feel our soul, one suspects.

I have this very clear memory of another pregnant pause he loads with overt eroticism: the sigh he faithfully grunts mid-way through the song. It's on the original recording but, live, he emphasizes the moment, the pleasure he takes in it, by elongating the silence which follows his close-to-the mic expiration. When the music erupts after this pause, it's like a rush of blood leading to carnal rapture.

The liberating joy in the performing and the reception of this song was palpable that evening, wasn't it ?! Even more so when he did an encore of it to close the show. Mary-Lou was right again to single out Gino's wit, at the end of the song, before our thunderous applause. Gotta love it when he said: "Welcome to Part Two". As much as one cherishes the lengthy introductions to CANTO's songs, this brief comment suited the second part of the concert quite well, and said it all really !

It also never ceased to amaze me how supple the Festival's orchestra sounded during that song. It's not been my experience that full orchestral ensembles can handle the flash-like quickness and tightness demanded of certain popular compositions
(certainly not the danceable kind), but this one did ! Simon Leclerc's musicians embraced the syncopated rhythm and rose to GV's commands. A quick, almost violent, gesture of his hand would result in an abrupt and overpowering salvo of music. You really could not escape its power... nor did you want to. Such is the case with "Living Inside Myself." To me, this song is in the same league as the pathos-driven and inducing "Wheels of Life" and the amazing "Put the Weight On My Shoulders". In all three songs, there comes a moment when GV goes beyond what is usually deemed acceptable in pop music, in terms of drama, and he dares come in with full orchestral angst to give you a sense of what despair is, and the force it takes to surmount it. The new arrangements to "Living Inside Myself" both subvert and embrace that strategy. When you listen to the song now, you readily hear its dual nature. You recognize the melody of the stanzas but not what follows. Right before the refrain should begin, Gino's voice starts to soar, the way you're accustomed to, but instead of following up on that crest, the music effects a rupture in tone, switching from somber ache to a festive, uplifting south-american tempo. Then that music comes to a halt and only the piano is heard, Goldblatt's delicate playing seeming almost whimsical. After a few seconds though, its beauty becomes heart-wrenching, as is Gino's voice singing the refrain in something close to bel canto form. The transformation first instils a surprising but beneficial emotional distance in the piece, and then offers a new perspective on the narrator's suffering. As does the human-like wailing of the bass accompanied by Gino's high-octave vocalises.

It also sets you up for an even greater catharsis when, in the final moments of the song, Gino reunites with the song's original melody, its "heavy orchestral rock" flourishes. When he cries out "I'm lost" then, as his voice rises up, so do his arms, and the music behind him ! The change is underlined by the lighting, now suddenly coming from the background (as was the case at Le Spectrum in 1999), the rays ramming into Gino, blinding us and pulsating in time with the pounding of the drums and percussions. The full orchestra is throwing crushing waves of music, taking up the original refrain, but exacerbating its intoxicating and sickening despair. Ahhh ! That final refrain, GV's command of it, the way he embraces melodrama, it just suffocates you even as his voice soars. The way it used to on NIGHTWALKER. How wonderful to see GV's new arrangements acknowledge the quality of his original vision while at the same time making it stronger :-)

With "Hurts To Be In Love", the pleasure is slightly different, at least for me, because the only bridge I'm willing to cross back in time is towards the emotional honesty with which GV has always sung this piece. Something I wasn't able to perceive when I first listened to the BLACK CARS album, but which struck me hard when I recently discovered the 1991 Spectrum taping of its live performance. The synthetic pop arrangements still leave me a bit cold during that concert, I'm afraid, but I was and am stricken by the overwhelming emotional force of Gino's vocal rendition. Of course, it's quite possible that I needed to live a bit in order to appreciate the excruciating heartache at the core of this song... Still, I find myself so grateful for its newer arrangements, a juxtaposition of classical and jazz, because they make me feel... should I write this, it's so weird... cherished ! The piece is now so exquisite, so layered and multiformed , musically, that it gives the impression of capturing the infinite subtlety of love unrequited, the longing, the mingling of pain and pleasure, the overwhelming desire of the singing narrator for the object of his love (narratologically speaking: the listener ;-). The song's new incarnation enables me to espouse this composition without restrain and dare feel along with its creator.

And I love how Gino takes his time now to operate the seduction.

As he did during the 1999 Spectrum concerts, GV still warns us that it might take a few minutes for us to recognize the song, which is indeed the case. Before Gino's impending lyrics and the repetitive five-note declination signalling the song's catching up to its original beginning (cheers always greet this summons), Goldblatt takes center stage for a moody and lengthy piano intro. This new prologue whose variation on the melody of the actual song is hard to trace, the first time you hear it, establishes such a classy and grown-up tone that you cannot repudiate what follows as "mere pop". That is also true of the orchestral suite that follows the piano solo. At Le Spectrum, its lyricism had a wonderful Pino Donnagio undertone to it (Donnagio is a Venetian composer - he scored many of the early Brian De Palma films, and Nicholas Roeg's DON'T LOOK NOW). But here, the full orchestra gave its Romanticism a lusher quality. Completely gone is the original's retro-crooning quality that somehow used to lessen the singer's pain. The mood is oneiric, the pan-like flute mysterious and primeval, the subterranean heartbeats of the bass deeply sensual. It is the perfect backdrop to Gino's more mature vocal suffering. How hypnotic the musical bridge has become, when Gino quietly grooves, eyes closed, internalizing the experience. In the original version, he used to cry "We touch and then, I want to do it over again". Now though, he forgoes the first part of the sentence, letting the music and his entranced body speak for him, until his eyes snap open, and he approaches the mic to wail, seemingly out of nowhere: "I wanna do it over again !" I die when he does that because his singing here is truly just the emergence of what the music had begun to express, prior to his spoken confession. While concurrently, his singling out of those few words gives the confession more weight; it exacerbates its eroticism. It's also worth noting that during the filming of the 1999 Spectrum performance of this song, the camera captured Gino's cast down eyes and sensually meditative face in chiaroscuro, during the first part of this interlude. But on the stage, July 6, a spotlight isolated his features, exposing the rapture to come, in an act of pure abandon. The two mise-en-scene merged in my mind. It was an unforgettable moment...

With "Wild Horses" and "Persona Non Grata", we find ourselves engaging with less extremely transformed material. The original "Wild Horses" happily mixed jazz and country under a veneer of radio palatable pop, but the new, jazzier version is even more audacious. I mean, really, how many composers have dared try that mix ? There's Sting, with "Love Is Stronger Than Justice
(The Magnificent Seven)" (1993), and... ? Right, my point exactly. "Wild Horses" is also immensely entertaining. There really is something contagious about the joy distilled by this song. It has to do with the sexy maverick bravado which Gino adopts as he sings his young hero's romantic predicament. But more importantly, it has to do with the playful way Gino approaches the uttering of the lyrics, and the rapport he establishes with his musicians during his performance. The signing is immensely phonetic here, the phrasing full of intricate traps and tongue twisters (and the signer does trip occasionally ;-), made more difficult by the the low-octave range he adopts, and the somewhat syncopated jazz rhythm . I found it remarkable that Gino was able to "fill" the concert hall with his performance of "Wild Horses" because it's based on the exploration and communication of minimalist details. The way the words must trot alongside the music. The way Gino, in a hugging position, close to the mic, snaps his fingers to gently coax his musicians into playing sotto voce, along with his smiling murmurs, before slapping the music into full gallop to exhilarating effect. It is simply an irresistible song ;-)

"Persona Non Grata" caught my attention on CD the very first time I heard it... for the promise it seemed to hold. The studio production of this song still somewhat suffers from the aesthetic limitations of what passed for music in the eighties
(I'm sorry, it's epidermic with me - I am usually not a bitchy person, really, I swear !) but, still, I found GV's use of a Mexican accent and the ethnic flavouring of the instrumentation most intriguing. It reminded me of certain experimentations by The Police. And, most of all, there was a definite dramatic flair to the singing that made me ache to see this song performed live. The same can be said about "King For a Day" which GV often uses now to showcase his musicians' prowess... to truly amazing results. Who can forget Paul Brochu's drum solo at Le Spectrum in 1999 ? It's a shame that song was cut from the line-up but I was consoled by how Gino used "Persona Non Grata" to much the same effect. He not only performed the song with Musical-like stamina (Broadway please pay attention) but he brought down the house when he made the song implode musically, letting each musician express himself with latino flair. I'll also never forget the way he took to the front of the stage, gracefully assuming a picador stance, one arm outstretched behind him, to command Leclerc's musicians, while still facing us. I knew then that the synthetiser blows of the original song would be replaced by the full-bodied violence of the orchestra. The wait from CD to stage was not in vain: there followed, in quick succession, powerful pounding irruptions ripping through the fabric of what used to be a pop song. Amazing, amazing stuff (I'm losing my vocabulary ;-).

The same can be said of the vamped-up version of "Brother To Brother".

It was clear from its inception, back in 1978, that this song would make for a superlative fusion or many types of orchestral music, given the chance: rock, jazz, even gospel. It is popular music at its most ambitious and inventive. Seeing it perform with a full symphonic orchestra seemed like a completely natural thing to me, the next step in its evolutionary journey. I also find that it has acquired a deeper emotional subtext through the years, because GV has had time to experience the importance of family ties. His own, of course, but also more global world ties, making him a more profound Humanist, I believe. Recently, we also know that he has rekindled his creative bonds with his brothers and, lest we forget, CANTO was brought about because of the love a son wanted to express to his dead father. By positioning "Brother To Brother" at the very end of Part Two, I believe GV was able to better underline the urgent poignancy at the core of his personal anthem. And it was fitting to see him use this song to completely mesh together the sound of his jazz band with that of Simon Leclerc's orchestra, while also inviting back on stage, soprano Janet Chvatal. Her evocative phantom vocalises beautifully modulated the soulful background vocals envisioned by Gino. I'm especially saddened by the fading of my active memory here because I KNOW how exhilarated and transported this song made me feel and yet, for the life of me, its details now escape me :-( This is an open invitation to fill the gaps in my recollections. I need a proustian madeleine... :-)

I do to with Gino's first encore, "I Just Wanna Stop".

Of course, this song has become a stample of GV's closing concert nods. The song is so well known that the audience sings along with it. As early as 1991 (if not before), the singer was already inviting the public to join in with him. But obviously, the song holds special meaning for Montreal audiences. And you can tell that Gino takes a special relish in clearly forming its opening line: "(And) when I think about those nights in Montreal..." The last word rounded like a caress, in homage to his home town fans. What's funny is that until recently, I could never lose from view that this song was written by the youngest of the Vannelli brothers, Ross, the one who stayed on in Montreal, a few years after his brothers moved out. The only one, maybe, to have had the opportunity, if not the desire, to actually form an adult bond with the city. Yet, Gino never changed the lyrics. It never became an ode to New York City, though surely he must have encountered prompting from the Powers-That-Be at A&M Records, back in 1978. Regardless of the man's head-strong sentiment in defence of this song (or his brother), it's only in recent years that I've truly felt Gino making it HIS.

Understand that I have always felt pride at hearing this song --to my knowledge, the only other Anglo-Quebecer to have dared speak the name of Montreal in song, or felt the desire to, is Leonard Cohen-- and it has always moved me. Understand also that I do not know the man, this is all speculation... and I don't especially like engaging in this type of exercise, but I'm being candide here: What I'm perceiving now when I hear him sing this song is that he might have come to terms with some of the ghosts in his past, time levelling some of the hurt, or changing whatever sentiment was fuelling his desire to make it big elsewhere. His playing with some of the best Québécois jazz musicians also helps me in reading his performance of the song differently ;-)

Whatever the exact reason may be, I can now espouse the overwhelming feeling created in me by this song without second thoughts. I can just let go, the way I've always dreamt I could, and accept to be embraced and sung to, lovingly :-)

In my dream "orchestral jazz GV concert", there would have been no time limits to the show, and Gino would have performed his magnificent Gershwin-essay, "Black and Blue", alongside some of his more recent jazz creations. But I will be forever grateful for whatever twist of faith brought me to the PdA that July 6th evening. This was my first ever live Gino Vannelli concert (I saw the others on tape), and it will forever stay with me, if not in detail, during my waking moments, certainly in essence.

I stand in awe of its exquisite, masterful, unique beauty, and ensconced in its experience.

Merci, monsieur Vannelli...
Jo

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