Je me souviens; Hommage à Georges Perec; Tu r’luttes / Je me souviens; Hommage a Georges Perec; Tu r'luttes

This release compiles Derome's albums Je Me Souviens: Hommage a Georges Perec (1994) and Tu r'luttes (1996) onto one CD. The latter album is a straight-faced assortment of improvisations for 12 musicians — a collaboration of Quebec's L'Ensemble Flammeches and L'Ensemble White Wine Dark Grapes from Belgium — but in length, is only the last third of the CD. It is musique actuelle that is often abstract and unpredictable, and entirely dissonant. The pieces rely heavily on contrast: drawn-out suspense statements end abruptly with chord cluster periods; soft-toned mellow moments — complete with twittering birds — are juxtaposed against crazed horn squalls. Although decent as large group improvisations go, Tu r'luttes suffers by comparison to Je Me Souviens. Following such a festive album, it sounds darker and less fully realized than it actually is. Je Me Souviens is the more fleshed-out of the two and, ultimately, the attention-grabber. From the opening song's New Orleans carnival sound through the closing spy theme parade, Je Me Souviens is fine-tuned merrymaking by some of Montreal's finest musicians. Recorded live, the 26 tracks capture the ensemble's cohesiveness as they effortlessly dart, march, boogie, and skate their way across a wide range of genres. Derome's group pays homage to Yma Sumac, the Ink Spots, Morricone, and more by adopting each honoree's style, if only for a moment. They move across swing, musique actuelle, and tango with equal ease, yet manage to avoid having the whole record come off as a medley; the group simply becomes a different band with each piece! Although all songs are under three minutes, the album never jars the listener with its frequently switching modes. Because despite the constant stylistic changes, the mood is consistent: light-hearted fun lies at the heart of each track. Only a compulsion to hear an unchanging beat run through an album should keep anyone away.