Diana Ross at the Montreal Jazz Festival

[johnbell]

http://blogs.montrealgazette.com/201...s-july-3-2014/

Unfortunately, had my ticket, but couldn't go, cos my 98 years old Mom, was not feeling good.

Got a ticket for tonight, hope i'll be able to make it.

Here is the review for Aretha:
http://www.montrealgazette.com/enter...065/story.html

[smark21]

So much for speculation that she might add a couple of extra jazz songs to her show at the Jazz festival. But no surprise she gave an excellent performance.

[Bokiluis]

Unfortunately, though I have seen Aretha countless times drawing much the same conclusion of those performances.....its Diana who triumphs even though he could have taken her to task for not including more of her excellent jazz interpretations [[I've seen Diana at an expensive AIDS benefit where she not once made reference to why you paid $500 per ticket for that evening). But Aretha's performances have been so underwhelming that this review comes as no surprise. There was some rationale as to why she sung "The Way We Were" because she recorded it on her last studio album. But for heavens sakes why did she begin with Merman's "There's No Business Like Show Business". And once again her infamous poor fashion sense is there to ridicule. But, hey, Diana walks away with yet another rave review though if I were in attendance, I would have hoped her setlist be more of "Stolen Moments". And wow Rhonda has grown from those earlier near embarrassing first shows. Ever since she recorded the surprisingly entertaining "Rhonda Ross Live", it is a testament that she finally found her voice.

[smark21]

Yikes! I agree with Bokiluis. Wonders will never cease. Ross can bring people together.

I think Aretha shouldn't even be marketed to a pop concert entertainment audience. Her shows, when she's feeling it, are best suited for a small jazz club, a church, or a concert hall like Carnegie Hall or other music recital venues for a serious music listening audience. Her forte is musicianship [[when she's feeling it) not being an all around entertainer.

[jobeterob]

Hoping Diana comes off a bit better.

American music legend Aretha Franklin performs for the 2014 Montreal International Jazz Festival at Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier in Montreal on Wednesday, July 2, 2014.




This review first appeared in Bernard Perusse's Words and Music blog.
If you can think of something as simultaneously surreal and depressing as The Queen of Soul removing her wig, tossing it into the crowd and leaving the stage after climaxing a phoned-in show with an audience singalong of – believe it or not – There’s No Business Like Show Business, I’d love to hear about it.

That’s what happened when the grand soul diva took her last exit near the end of her Wednesday night concert at Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier of Place des Arts,

OK, to be fair, she did sing The Way We Were as a final, final finale, after a punishing amount of applause-milking – but that vocal was delivered offstage, so for all we know, it could have been a recording. Just like the phantom backup singers that had mysteriously surfaced in the mix throughout the evening.

It would be hard to know where to start with this mess of a concert, but perhaps a band that was not up to the material and a sound mix that was not up to the occasion can bear a portion of the blame. A full 20 musicians on stage, half of them in the horn section, fought against the muddy sound. It seems unlikely that Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier is the culprit, given that Ben Harper and Charlie Musselwhite proved Saturday that it is, after all, possible to combine volume and clarity in that room.

The result of the collision between this generic group of journeyman pros and the sloppy audio was that any snap or groove in immortals like I Never Loved a Man [[The Way I Loved You), Chain of Fools and Respect were completely lost in a lumbering, Vegas-like, decidedly unfunky haze.

A couple of jarring false starts were strictly amateur hour. One jaw-dropper came when the ghost backups – pre-recorded, unless for some unexplainable reason they were singing offstage – launched Think. They were abruptly switched off [[oops!) when Franklin sat at the piano to sing the way-overdone I Will Always Love You as a tribute to her disciple Whitney Houston.

Which brings up the song selection. It would be hard to list the many stone classics that were ignored, among them Baby I Love You, [[You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman, Do Right Woman – Do Right Man, I Say a Little Prayer, Don’t Play That Song and Rock Steady.

And sure, you can’t do them all – but the aforementioned Houston hit, the forgettable It Hurts Like Hell, with gooey synthesized strings, The Way We Were and a useless 15-minute band break that culminated in Pharrell Williams’s Happy instead of any of those perennials? Seriously, what gives?

Granted, people came for the voice, not necessarily the perfect set list. And that’s understandable, because we are talking here about the voice behind some of the greatest records ever to come from the formidable Atlantic label. And those pipes can still hit the heights, as demonstrated Wednesday night during a testifying section in the feverish gospel shaker Old Landmark.

[skooldem1]

Diana's review was the first link. Great review.

[David J]

Montreal International Jazz Festival 2014: Diana Ross at Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier of Place des Arts; July 3, 2014


Photo of Diana Ross courtesy of the Montreal International Jazz Festival. There are no photos of the show because no photographers were allowed on the premises.
It would be virtually impossible for a music writer covering the Montreal International Jazz Festival this year to write a review of Diana Ross’s Thursday night concert at a packed Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier of Place des Arts – the first of two shows – without referring to Aretha Franklin’s Wednesday night performance in the same room.
In their heyday, when Ross and the Supremes were slamming out hit after hit for the Motown label and Franklin was making classics for Atlantic, the brand of gritty R&B coming from Atlantic was thought of by some as the Rolling Stones to Motown’s Beatles. It was an era in which music fans were lucky enough to have both the rougher records coming from Atlantic and its associated label Stax and the poppier sides from Motown.
Between those two labels, you have much of the finest of African-American popular music of the `60s and `70s. And Franklin and Ross were among the crème de la crème of their respective labels. The fans loved all of it. No need to take sides.
And close to 50 years on, how’s the legacy holding up? Franklin’s quite disastrous sub-Vegas concert proved unable to convey any of the importance of her formidable body of work, while Ross – in a tour de force that frequently had the entire hall not only standing, but dancing in the aisles – more than made the case for her unassailable oeuvre, both Supremes and solo.
Things were looking up from the get-go, with an impressive opening set by Rhonda Ross, daughter of the headliner. The younger Ross, 42, performed a satisfying series of jazz-pop songs, mostly originals, and showed presence, charisma and poise that quickly won over the audience. She effortlessly evoked the kind of professionalism Motown’s stable of coaches used to drill into their artists back in her mom’s day.

Diana, 70, who still brings the all-around entertainer thing to a whole different level, landed on stage at 8:30 sharp, wearing the first of several costumes and launching a triumphant, brisk and hit-filled 80-minute performance with I’m Coming Out. The bouncy Spiral Starecase cover More Today Than Yesterday followed quickly and we already had ourselves a real celebration.

And just then Ross, clearly not one to indulge in the unnecessary buildup, pulled out the big guns without warning. “We’re going back to Motown, back to the Supremes,” she offhandedly announced. And one after the other – not in a tired, tossed-off medley or anything like that – she sang My World Is Empty Without You, Where Did Our Love Go, Baby Love, Stop! In the Name of Love, You Can’t Hurry Love and Love Child.
With the assistance of a large, but supple backing band – guitar, bass, drums, percussion, keyboards, four horns and three backup singers – Ross defied even the most optimistic expectations by really doing these songs, making them exciting again and managing to find new life in these 45s that helped define the `60s to become a part of a generation’s musical DNA.
And the hits just kept on coming.
Returning after a band vamp in a new costume, Ross tackled her post-Supremes career with The Boss, Touch Me In the Morning and an irresistible Inside Out, which, in spite of the size and slickness of the band, just about rocked.
Love Hangover, Ease On Down the Road, Theme From Mahogany [[Do You Know Where You’re Going To) and Ain’t No Mountain High Enough continued the parade of hits, and Ross paid tribute to both Billie Holiday [[Don’t Explain) and Frankie Lymon [[her Top 10 version of Why Do Fools Fall In Love).
During a joyous cover of Gloria Gaynor’s I Will Survive, which ended the concert and was continued for the encore, arms pumped in the air and the aisles filled with dancers [[including a friend and colleague from another paper who I never dreamed I would see doing such a thing!)
There’s no denying the enduring power of the songs, nor is it easy to think of anyone to match Ross’s level of professionalism. Her status as pop music royalty remains unchallenged.
bperusse@gmail.com
Twitter: bernieperusse

[Lulu]

I can't believe Aretha goes onstage in the sleeveless numbers that she does...almost 60 years performing and she still can't hire a stylist or costume designer!

[pghmusiclover]

I can't believe Aretha goes onstage in the sleeveless numbers that she does...almost 60 years performing and she still can't hire a stylist or costume designer!

Amen to that!

[Mark Desjardines]

While I personally did not have the opportunity to see Diana Ross perform at the International Montreal Jazz Festival, I did purchase two tickets for family members to take in the July 4th performance. However, from the Montreal press concert reviews of Ross' performance, I get a sense of deja vu.

During Diana Ross & The Supremes six concerts during Expo '67 in Montreal, the Montreal Star mentioned Patti LaBelle's name in the review of the first show, in reference to the addition of Cindy Birdsong becoming a new member of the Supremes. As luck would have it, I was a teenager who waited in the lobby of the hotel where the women were staying. I saw Diana and her entourage in the lobby, and I slipped into the elevator with a friend, behind them. Someone was reading out the review of the previous night's concert and Diana was infuriated that Patti's name was mentioned. "Why would they mention that ******* name in my review? was Diana's comment.

Fastward to 2014 and Ross's concert review starts off with a recitation of Aretha's sins committed on stage the night before. Go figure!

On a more positive note, Diana's being awarded the "Ella Fitzgerald Award" in Montreal brings to full circle another honour bestowed on the Supremes in Canada circa 1960. The liner notes of "Meet The Supremes" state "For almost two years they sang at school, churches and civic affairs, one year winning first prize in the amateur contest at the annual Emancipation Day Celebration held in Windsor, Ontario, Canada, which draws spectators from two countries, U.S.A. [[Detroit, Michigan) and CANADA."

If memory serves me right, I read Florence was entrusted with holding on to the prize money, which she somehow lost. Talent scouts from Motown spotted the group, but no attempt was made at the time to meet the girls.

[jobeterob]

LOL, "she lost" ~ good old Flo!

Everyone should read Aretha's biography by Mark Bego if they have any interest in Aretha. Just like every Diva, Aretha has had some horrendous "downs" but when you start out with a child at 13 and another one at 15, and have a string of bad relationships ~ she has done some wonderful things in between. She and Miss Ross have a lot of shared history.

None of these women have ended up with children the like of the Ross Children.

Ross is at a high peak which is nice to see because neither of these women will be performing in 10 years.

[LuvHangOva]

Yikes! I agree with Bokiluis. Wonders will never cease. Ross can bring people together.

I think Aretha shouldn't even be marketed to a pop concert entertainment audience. Her shows, when she's feeling it, are best suited for a small jazz club, a church, or a concert hall like Carnegie Hall or other music recital venues for a serious music listening audience. Her forte is musicianship [[when she's feeling it) not being an all around entertainer.

I agree with you. Both ladies are at the very top of my list of favorites..for different reasons. For my tastes and money there is not a better vocal musician than Ree. When I listen I hear her voice as another of the excellent musical instruments in the band or orchestra ...phenomenally intuitive and expressive. I do believe the impulse to snatch off one's wig and suddenly send it sailing into an unsuspecting audience might be deemed a bit uncouth by the patrons at a Carnegie Hall event. That portion of the "performance" might have been ill advised but I do agree with the rest of your analysis. Besides her voice...for me her piano playing is exceptional. On the other hand for good ol showbiz razzmatazz, charisma and stage presence I personally cannot think of a better example than Miss Ross!

[johnbell]

Tonight was my turn to see my favorite Lady, wowwwwwwwww what a fantastic performance she gave, nothing went wrong, the sound system was perfect, been a long time since I saw her in a smaller venue [[3200 Sold Out) for the second night in a row. Her daughter Rhonda open the show, she is a classy lady like her mom, altough didn't know one her song, except Roberta Flack's Killing me softly, she was a crowd pleaser, because she spoke in French, what is always a crowd pleaser in Montreal. I even has shivers watching her, anticipating what I would see later.

Great show, made me cry, knowing that I could have missed it again, like yesterday, since i got a last minute ticket only last night.

If you got a chance to see her, don't miss it.

Fan forever

[Bokiluis]

I wish I were in the audience when Aretha did 3 nights at "The Fillmore West". She was definitely in her element. And her impromptu performance of "Nessum Dorma" was memorable. She just seems to have a peculiar view of her status when she tries to be a glamorous diva! Aretha that's not your territory. Her fashion sense has become comical. But she has always said nice things about Diana. I own most of her Columbia, Atlantic and Arista catalogs. She has made some great albums. She should stay away from attempting pop/crossover material. While Diana should add more jazz back into her repertoire. In 1971, it was cool to see Aretha close her Fillmore West date with "Reach Out and Touch". Whilst Diana closed her "Diana!" Soundtrack with "[[I Love You) Call Me". It was a wonderful serendipitous moment in music history.

[midnightman]

Off topic but Aretha needs to get it together and realize why she's the Queen of Soul. This is why her performances have been subpar since the late 1970s...

On topic, great reviews, but can someone tell the reviewer it's "Upside Down" and not "Inside Out"! <_<

[jobeterob]

Aretha is a diva diva diva, perhaps in the way Diana was in ways.

Aretha does not know how to dress, loves to hang out her boobs and is way too quick to "issue a statement" saying she is the Queen of Soul, not Tina Turner or Beyoncé.

[Mark Desjardines]

I remember Rolling Stone magazine many years back comparing Aretha and Diana. The analogy went something like, "Aretha is like mashed potatoes, solid and sticks with you. Diana is like candy floss. Instantly satisfying, but doesn't last long." Thought I don't agree with such a simplistic comment, I am very happy to have been born at a time were I have been able to savour all their music at the time it came out and am still able to look forward to what they have in store for us in the future. Viva la difference and I thank God for it!

[jobeterob]

They produced a mountain of music in their time. Great careers.

[supremester]

I wasn't going to mention this, but since "the review" was brought up......
I saw both Queen Ree shows at Radio City and 6 of Miss Ross' June shows. I'm a late bloomer when it comes to seeing Aretha. I had always heard she was no good live, so I didn't go. I decided to try it in 2008 and I liked her. I have seen her 4 times since then. She's good live, I feel. Tacky, odd, quirky, talented and full of ego, but I enjoy her enough. In 2011, there was a stream of people leaving her show for the last 40 minutes - I'm not exaggerating when I say the exit door was never closed, but to me, when she did Don't play That Song, all was forgiven. This year, she entered as usual [[carrying her fee in cash in her purse on stage) and meandered through most of her set, but gave enough to satisfy. She cannot get it up to sing Respect with any enthusiasm at all. The first night, for her encore, she entered wearing a molting, moth-eaten, shedding mink stole from the 50's that was clearly meant for someone 1/3 her size. It barely got to her nipples. She dragged it on the floor and did a vamp with it. The next night, she used a once expensive full length chinchilla that, if you know fur, still looked good. She did the same routine with it. I will go again in a year or so if I'm in the area. The audience [[both nights at about 60% capacity) loves her and leaves satisfied.

Miss Ross knocks me out. I don't GAF about anything else - she makes me feel good. The audiences go berserk for her. Her show is shorter, much more structured and absolutely leaves the audience in a euphoria. The woman next to me at Queen Ree said she'd never see Ross because she doesn't consider "ooo baby, baby" anything but a "pop smear" and that "she never even does her good solo material. " I assured her that The Supremes segment is only a fourth of the show and that she does 15 solo songs, but she said, "that's not what her review said."

Of course, it's all a matter of taste, but, I bet if both shows were seen by both audiences, Miss Ross would win the vote by a large margin.

[jobeterob]

If you haven't read Mark Bego's autobiography of Aretha Franklin, it is worth it. Mark has done a load of books, none of which sold much except his books on the Jacksons and Madonna ~ which did very well. He says his Aretha book is the Aretha bible and he might be right. One of her "no questions allowed" relates to Mark's book. He talks about her troubled kids, that fact she seems to like clothes that spill her boobs out, her money troubles ~ judgements, law suits, IRS, have 2 children by age 15 by some unnamed person hanging around the house, her fear of flying, her quickness to fire off a "statement" over anything. But he really does love Aretha too.

Aretha & Diana have a shared history ~ Detroit, an era, a shitload of hits, periods of divadom, devoted fans.

They have had remarkable careers; Aretha has the Grammys but Diana got the sales and the movies. They both got great glory.

[rrussi]

I think it is best to see Aretha in the winter months. She was here in Orlando @the House of Blues a few years back in the summer and had them turn off the AC.