Jean-Michel Pilc - Alive (Live at Dièse Onze, Montreal), Set 2 (2022) Hi-Res

Spontaneity may well be the most important element of jazz expression … the immediacy of creativity in its purest and most adventurous manifestation. For the extraordinary pianist Jean-Michel Pilc, the live performance represents the pinnacle of that level of spontaneity. In his outstanding new release on Justin Time Records – Alive – Live at Dièse Onze, Montréal – Jean-Michel and his bandmates Rémi-Jean LeBlanc and Jim Doxas on bass and drums respectively, splendidly offer proof of this concept. In his liner notes, he describes this state as “improvising musicians in their natural habitat, the jazz club, playing music for the sake of music, never repeating themselves, and creating sounds that they will never replicate.”

At its higher levels jazz tells vivid stories, and those told by the trio are fascinating, multi-nuanced, intricately woven tales of rich texture, color and unexpected plot twists. This concert, recorded in June 2021, marked the trio’s first performance since the onset of the COVID pandemic. “The music was vital, to us and to the audience, and we experienced the full gamut of human emotions.” Reflecting this, the music travels roads that are remarkably winding and varied in steepness and direction, but always totally focused on the ultimate destination. Through this journey – as Jean-Michel goes on to say “unpredictability becomes evidence.”