JAZZ REVIEW : Oliver Jones a Standout at Canadian Fest

Jazz, it would seem, is more popular than nationalism in the province of Quebec. Whereas a dismal 2,500 showed up Sunday to watch the Canada Day Parade (compared to 35,000 last year), an estimated 5,000 formed a human bottleneck at a corner of the Rue Ste. Catherine, where a free concert was under way as part of the 11th annual Festival International de Jazz.

This 10-day wonder has grown continuously, now involving 1,000 musicians, 250 free outdoor events, scores of live indoor shows and 16 presentations of jazz films. To ensure a totally festive ambiance, everything is contained in an area of three blocks where vehicular traffic is barred; the streets are jammed with revelers, musicians, jugglers and countless tables for food, drink and people-watching.

Visiting from Brazil, Peru, Iceland, Australia and a dozen other countries, the jazzmen can be heard from noon to midnight. The aluminum company Alcan, a major sponsor, offers a daily diet of competing bands from various regions of Canada; the winning group will land a record deal.

Among the international units assembled this week, Monday’s concert by Canadian pianist Oliver Jones stood out. Now a world figure but still Montreal-based and seldom heard in the United States, Jones had a rare chance to be flanked by a group of his American peers: Clark Terry on trumpet, Herb Ellis on guitar, Ed Thigpen on drums and Red Mitchell on bass.

The 3,000-seat hall in the Place des Arts was packed as the evening began with the presentation to Jones of the prestigious Oscar Peterson Award, named for Canada’s most distinguished jazz export. The pianist started his set with a steamroller version of “Just Friends.” Though a relentless rhythmic sense is his guiding force, Jones can generate subtler emotions; his original work “A Beautiful Sight” achieved a music-box delicacy.

Jones deferred too often to his sidemen; while he was offstage they seemed to be treading water. On his return, he was joined by Ranee Lee, a singer from Brooklyn who has lived here for 20 years. Lee’s attractive timbral resemblance to Billie Holiday was accentuated by her use of songs from Lady Day’s repertoire.

Later Monday evening, at a smaller hall in the Place des Arts, pianist Randy Weston teamed up with Texas tenor saxophonist Billy Harper for a duo recital. Weston’s mastery of dynamics and sonorous left-hand depth charges worked well against the fits-and-starts variations by Harper on “Caravan” and “Hi Fly,” the latter Weston’s best-known composition. Themes inspired by visits to Africa rounded out this exhilarating battle of conceptual wits.