I founded the Aloes Septet back in 84, when I was studying in Jazz studies at the Concordia University, Montreal. I always had the need to have my own group performing my original music.
After sobbing the former guitar player of a group named Quartz and played with them for a year, I decided to put up my own group.
Concordia University was, at that time, crowded of amazing musicians, teachers and students alike. It was easy to start a band or to play in dozen of them. There were a lot of original groups rehearsing in the university facilities. Actually, many of the songs featured on the Fast Food album were composed as homework for a composition class or based on techniques that I learned in those courses.
The Fast Food album is the second version of the Septet. We played at the Montreal Jazz Festival and in many jazz clubs in downtown Montreal like the Grand Cafe, the KMH and L’air du temps, for the Montreal Jazz Festival contest.
You can download each song for free after completing a short review. Depending of your location, there is not enough review to cover the entire album.
If you want to have the full album, or if you don’t feel like completing 6 reviews you can get the complete original album for $6 using eBay.
I wrote Rumba Buena with the help of the percussion player, Normand Bock, who was playing in a band named Queba under the musical direction of Don Alias.
He introduced us to salsa, and we had to do percussion homework at every reharsal,practicing cowbell, clave or chekere, while Normand was playing over. It was fun. We were doing long percussion block in our shows featuring th percussion and the drummer Gilbert Trahan.
Finally, I wrote that song including all the rhythms and musical genres I was learning from him. The harmonic and structure of the song was based on a multitonic modal system I learned in Jan Jarcic classes at the Concordia University of Montreal back in 85.
The song features a long, and really good keyboard solo of Normand Devault followed by a groovy percussion solo.
Line up:
- Soprano Sax: Jocelyn Menard
- Trumpet: Pierre Lafrenaye
- Guitar: Hervé Senni
- Keyboard: Normand Devault, solo
- Percussion: Normand Bock, solo
- Bass: Alain Picotte
- Drum: Gilbert Trahan
This is my hit. We performed it much time at the Montreal Jazz Festival, and it was an all time favorites. Radio Canada aired it many times for years.
I discovered it later when I received my royalty check. Potion Magique stands for Magic Potion, in honor of my hero Obelix and because the mix of reggae and jazz was a magic potion.
The song is pretty straight forward. It’s a basic AABA structure where the As are reggae and the B swing.
The chords are extremely simple. B Major and A Major in the A section and a cycle of dominant chords in fifth for the B section. A basic rhythm change bridge actually.
Jocelyn Menard is doing a nice and simple solo on the soprano sax.
We recorded many different versions of this song, in various setups. This is the number two cut. Enjoy
Line up:
- Soprano Sax: Jocelyn Menard
- Trumpet: Pierre Lafrenaye, solo
- Guitar: Hervé Senni
- Keyboard: Normand Devault
- Percussion: Normand Bock
- Bass: Alain Picotte
- Drum: Gilbert Trahan
“Moustache de baleine” stands for “whale’s mustache”, another great philosophical title song of mine. I used to introduce that song as being composed by a rastaman after a nuclear war… Why “whale’s mustache”? I don’t know. If someone has the answer, please, do not hesitate to contact me.
The song is of course based on a weird structure and concept. It’s actually a 4 voice counter point based on augmented fours.
I love the whole tone scale. Like the diminish scale they have no real tonal sound. They can be many tonalities at the time (6 for the whole tone scale and 3 for the diminish) and none at the same time. Talk about unstable sound.
I really like the way horns player play with the theme. Pierre Lafrenaye (trp) and Normand Devault are going really far out in the solo bit. I love it!
Line up:
- Soprano Sax: Jocelyn Menard
- Trumpet: Pierre Lafrenaye, solo
- Guitar: Hervé Senni
- Keyboard: Normand Devault
- Percussion: Normand Bock
- Bass: Alain Picotte
- Drum: Gilbert Trahan
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The song title means something along the line of: At the end of the always on your left… It’s simply an expression we use often in France, because the toilet is always at the end of the always on your left when you ask about them… So be it.
I always choose weird title because I hate titles with romantic or deep meaning. I found that completely stupid, especially for an instrumental song…
The A part of the song is base on a three 5/4 bar structure repeated 4 times. It’s actually a 15/4 meter, but it’s easier to read in 5/4.
The B part is in 4/4, as well as the solo part, featuring an inspired duet between the trumpet and the tenor sax.
It sounds intellectual, but it isn’t. It’s actually a pleasant song.
Line up:
- Tenor Sax: Jocelyn Menard, solo
- Trumpet: Pierre Lafrenaye, solo
- Guitar: Hervé Senni
- Keyboard: Normand Devault
- Percussion: Normand Bock
- Bass: Alain Picotte
- Drum: Gilbert Trahan
I wrote that song around 1984/85. I don’t remember exactly when, I know I was a student at the Concordia University in the Jazz program with my palls but which year was it?
Anyway. I called that song Suivez La Ligne ( Follow the Line) in honor of all the cocaine addicts that were following each other in line to the bathroom to take a good line while we were playing… It was impossible to urinate in those bars. We had to go outside…
Go back to the song: it’s a really fast 3/4 song based on an unusual bar structure and a completely crazy chord progression. Actually there’s no logic in those chords. The only important thing was the soprano and bass movement. The inside voicing are just colors that suit well going from one chord to another… Damn impossible to solo over.
Jocelyn Menard did a really good job on that song.
Line up:
- Tenor Sax: Jocelyn Menard, solo
- Trumpet: Pierre Lafrenaye
- Guitar: Hervé Senni
- Keyboard: Normand Devault
- Percussion: Normand Bock
- Bass: Alain Picotte
- Drum: Gilbert Trahan
Download Fast Food for free.
This is the first song I ever composed back in 1983… The jazz fusion or jazz rock style was big on the jazz scene at that time. Everyone told me that it sounds like a cop movie soundtrack.
The song holds a heavily arranged theme and features Normand “Porky” Devault on keyboard and myself on the guitar.
It was one of my first solo in studio and I like it. I remember being packed in the studio boot, with no room to move.
I also remember banging my head on the studio door frame each time, and I mean each time I was going from the console back to my guitar. I had huge bumps on my head when the recording was over…
Line up:
- Tenor Sax: Jocelyn Menard
- Trumpet: Pierre Lafrenaye
- Guitar: Hervé Senni, second solo
- Keyboard: Normand Devault, first solo
- Percussion: Normand Bock
- Bass: Alain Picotte
- Drum: Gilbert Trahan
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