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Malika Tirolien captivated listeners with her “HighSoul” sound — a singular mix of soul, jazz, R&B and hip-hop.
(Photo: Sharonne Cohen)Montrealers are hard-core music lovers. Not even a heavy snowstorm kept them from packing the Cinquième Salle at Place des Arts on a frigid winter night to see vocalist Malika Tirolien perform with the National Jazz Orchestra of Montreal (ONJ). Originally from the Caribbean island of Guadeloupe and based in Montreal, Tirolien has earned recognition through her collaborations with Snarky Puppy, Jacques Schwarz-Bart, Richard Bona and Jacob Collier, among others. She is also the lead singer of Bokanté. In a Feb. 13 concert of her own material performed by a lush orchestra, Tirolien captivated from the first note to the last with her “HighSoul” sound — a singular mix of soul, jazz, R&B and hip-hop.
Québec, like the rest of Canada, is still very invested in the arts. Support for Montreal’s ONJ on the municipal, provincial and federal levels is vital to its success and its ability to function as a prominent cultural institution. “This public funding has a profound impact on the orchestra’s sustainability and long-term growth,” says Jacques Laurin, the orchestra’s founder and director general. “It ensures that the ONJ remains a vital and perennial cultural asset for Montreal and beyond, offering diverse high-quality performances, promoting Canadian talent and making orchestral jazz music accessible and affordable to everyone.” Tirolien has also been supported by the Canada Council for the Arts.
Founded in 2012, the ONJ is a variable-geometry orchestral ensemble of 10 to 45 musicians, ranging from a big band to a jazz studio orchestra; depending on the repertoire, it’s composed of wind instruments, strings and percussion. Exploring jazz, pop, world music and film scores, it has shared the stage with Ingrid Jensen, Christine Jensen, Karen Young, Terence Blanchard and Aaron Parks, among others. For the 2019 edition of Montreal’s International Jazz Festival, the orchestra invited multi-instrumentalist and composer Sly5thAve to conduct a performance of his album The Invisible Man: An Orchestral Tribute To Dr. Dre. Taking the stage on this snowy night, the ONJ featured Malika as its featured guest, her compositions rearranged for a 27-piece orchestra.
Far more than a vocalist, Malika is also a songwriter, pianist, arranger and producer. A multi-dimensional artist, she is capable of everything from a skilled jazz scat to a creative reimagining of Michael Jackson’s Thriller to a tender, evocative composition honoring the legacy of her grandfather, a celebrated poet. She is also the author of a children’s book, Ntangu. There was a kind of old-world feel to her look that night with the orchestra, from the dramatic black dress to the statement hat, down to her expressive movements and facial expressions. There’s no affectation, no pretentiousness; her being embodies the music, the music expresses the depths of her spirit and soul, and it’s all very palpable.
A consummate performer, commanding the stage with unapologetic flair, Malika played keys on some of the tunes, accompanied by her working band, backup singers and the orchestra — including a formidable horn section and a predominantly female string section. The solid set was drawn mostly from HIGHER (2021) and Gen Y Lens, her most recent duo recording as GemeniCrab with Montreal keyboardist-producer Caulder Nash.
Both HIGHER and Sur La Voie Ensoleillée were recorded in A=432Hz tuning, “which is the most natural and healing frequency for us humans,” notes Malika. “But it was not possible to play in 432Hz with the orchestra; we had to be in 440Hz.” Opening with a string of tunes from HIGHER,“No Mercy” featured vocals and spoken word in Guadeloupean Creole; switching to English on “Change Your Life,” the propulsive drumming of Harvey Bien-Aimé drove the tune to its precipitous climax. Delving deep into a range of emotions, it was like a map through the psyche of “a Black woman navigating between being a warrior and wanting to cultivate her loving side at the same time,” as she says, “struggling to find balance between her will to fight and her desire to surrender to love, the necessity to stay grounded and the calling to elevate and fly.” Further along the journey, on “Better,” she sings, “I hear my thoughts getting healthy/ I smell the trail of freedom,” with Philippe L’Allier shining on guitar.
The catchy, hypnotic “Dreamin’” featured a luscious solo by Caulder Nash. On “Forgiveness” Tirolien invited the engaged audience to participate, repeating the phrase “You can do this” with the reassurance that forgiveness “doesn’t mean you forget. … But it will ease the burden/ Release your pain and let it end.” On “Sisters” she encouraged greater solidarity and unity among women, while “Rise,” with potent spoken word, called for an elevation of consciousness. The ultra funky “Grow” featured a fiery sax battle between the gifted André Leroux (tenor) and Samuel Blais (baritone), one of the highlights of the evening.
The arresting and highly emotive “Oliassa” offered one of the more powerful and profound moments of the evening, with exquisite harmonies by Malika and her three backup singers: Nadia Baldé, Aiza Ntibarikure and Édelène Fitzgerald. Tirolien has noted that “the song is a call from the ancestors, as if they wanted to share serious knowledge with us in a profound way that we can only understand in our hearts.” Sung in a faux language, with the intention of allowing listeners to find their own meaning in the song, this mesmerizing tune appears on her self-produced debut album, Sur La Voie Ensoleillée (2014).
The poignant “Prière” (Prayer), vocals accompanied only by the string section, was another memorable moment. Co-composed with Philippe Lallier, the song’s lyrics are a poem written by her grandfather, Guy Tirolien, challenging enduring falsehoods inherent in white narratives of history and decrying the consequences of colonization. “It felt really special, as it was my grandfather’s birthday,” Tirolien shared with DownBeat after the show. “Performing his poem in such a grandiose context, on his date of birth, was incredibly powerful.”
With lavish and intricate arrangements, each piece took on new dimensions. “It was a privilege for me to arrange Malika Tirolien’s music, and to present it live with her band and the ONJ,” shared Jean-Nicolas Trottier, arranger and musical director of the ONJ. “Her music is beautiful, profound and emotionally engaging. Everybody on stage felt deeply connected to its essence, and I’m pretty sure that every person in the audience felt the same way as well.”
The evening was a celebration of creative collaboration and cultural expression. “We all felt like we lived a really special moment,” Malika mused. “The arts are here to stay. The arts can never be canceled. Art is what makes us human. It is ingrained in our essence, and we will always connect and heal through it.” DB
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