Jazz Mass
Each summer, during Festival International de Jazz De Montréal (FIJM), the city of Montréal comes alive with so many musical events that extend well beyond the Festival. One of these events took place on Sunday, June 30, 2024. Esteemed Canadian Religious Studies scholar and art curator Professor Norman Cornett is also a musical connoisseur. He presented a Jazz Mass and an art exhibition titled “Jjaazexpo” at the Centre Afrika venue. Centre Afrika is a non-profit organization that helps African immigrants integrate into Montréal society, and the building is also a home for retired clergy and missionaries.To discover more information, go to: www.centreafrika.com
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Professor Cornett spoke about diversity, and how many people in the audience come from different parts of the world and speak various languages. “I wish each of you the warm reception we have received in this exhibition…I curated this exhibition with artists literally from around the world.” Cornett continued, “The purpose of this Jazz Mass and the exhibition is to explore the relationship between jazz and spirituality.”
Father Serge St-Arneault was the host of the Jazz Mass and said, “If I understand, jazz is somehow related to improvisation, so don’t be surprised if there is improvisation during the Mass today.” He also talked about the need for harmony in both art and music, and he discussed the power of prayer.
In 2009, vocalist Susie Arioli won the FIJM’s Oscar Peterson Award, which is given to an artist who has made exceptional contributions to the development of Canadian jazz. At the Jazz Mass, she began with a beautiful a cappella rendition of “Stormy Weather.” Next came a slide show with a lovely song about the grace of Jesus Christ and his forgiveness for humankind. The service followed with a clip from a church service in the Congo with fine singing in Swahili of “Sifa Kwa Mungo” (which means Glory to God) and dancing to an up-tempo beat. Father St-Arneault said a heartfelt prayer at the end of the video.
Professor Cornett read movingly from Psalms 30. Then Father St-Arneault introduced the guest of honor, writer/poet Dr. H. Nigel Thomas to the podium, and Thomas thanked Cornett for putting this event together. He began with his poem titled, “They Call It Human” and followed with “Apartheid.” He said he had been under the impression that Apartheid had ended in the mid-90s, but observed that today we are confronted by it again in some of the catastrophes we see in the world. The next poem was “I Am Not Your Negro,” a title he borrowed from Raoul Peck’s film of the same name, featuring James Baldwin. His poetry readings were very powerful and thought-provoking.
Cornett read from II Corinthians 8, which was followed by a reading of the Gospel by Father St-Arneault in English and French, with “Alleluia” sung at intervals. St-Arneault also spoke of global concerns like climate change and recalled that Jesus lived in a tough time too, where violence and conflicts were common. He noted that Jesus’ mission is to lift us up, and we must understand the importance of forgiveness of sins. Christians’ vocation is to stand tall in faith despite the turmoil and fears that affect the world. He said that our mission is to support one another, to reach out to people in a gesture of trust, and to pick ourselves up when we fall into evil. So many times, our faith is asleep, so we must wake up as Christians. He asked people in the audience to share their prayers, and many of them were prayers for peace.
Professor Cornett brought Susie Arioli out once more, saying, “This is really jazz, up close and personal.” Susie came to the microphone for a second song, but she first expressed the thought that if men would give up the patriarchy, we could all get along. Then Arioli sang a gorgeous song about love, “Now I Know,” once again in a sublime cappella style.
Father St-Arneault led the attendees in the Eucharistic Prayer, while doing a symbolic preparation of communion, and he led the audience in reciting “The Lord’s Prayer.” He said, “We are united in spirit, because we are all together.” St-Arneault offered the bread part of the communion to the congregation. Cornett welcomed Susie Arioli back for a third performance, saying, “Keep in mind, from a musical perspective, to sing a cappella, without any accompaniment musically, whatsoever, it means you’re laying it all on the line!” Arioli performed “Spring,” which she infused with dynamic energy.
Reverend Joseph Tuitt, an American photographer who covers FIJM, was asked to do the closing blessing. Tuitt said he was humbled to comply, and he inspired people to go about their day with God in their hearts. He also encouraged people to look at the art in the exhibition, “because the art is a spiritual expression, done by a physical means.”
Jazz Mass and Jjaazexpo Interviews
Susie Arioli
Susie Arioli was dropped by her label 10 years ago when it was sold, and she took time to regain her bearings and get a new manager. She had to get grants to write, and eventually she found a new label. She has finally made a new CD, Embraceable. It is a mixture of classics like “Embraceable You,” “On the Street Where You Live,” and “It’s All Right With Me,” as well as original compositions by Arioli that include “Calling.”
Susie believes in the need for equality between people, the importance of mutual respect, and that war is not the natural order of things. She also explored the fraught and complicated relationship between Canada and the United States which is even more relevant today. Arioli discussed movies from the golden age of Hollywood, and their influence on music. She compared the difference between the approaches of artists, like the way Elvis Presley was one of the first musicians to do endless studio takes until he was satisfied, while Frank Sinatra had great studio collaborators and excelled at live performances, never hitting a wrong note. Susie reminisced about Billie Holiday being a big inspiration in her early career.
Arioli talked about collaborating with guitarist Jordan Officer, and how his ambition helped her a lot, especially when she had periods of insecurity. She stressed that because she has never sold sex as part of her persona, it has had a negative effect on her livelihood, but she has disdain for musicians who push their sex appeal above the music. Susie Arioli has some decidedly strong opinions, and she is not afraid to express them. To learn more, go to www.susiearioli.ca.
Dr. H. Nigel Thomas
Author/poet Dr. H. Nigel Thomas was born and raised in St. Vincent and the Grenadines in the Caribbean, and he emigrated to Canada in 1968. He left his native land as a young gay man to escape deep-seated homophobia, and his sexual orientation has informed his writing. In St. Vincent, he started writing short plays at 19, but he has no copies. When he came to Canada at 21 years old, he attended Concordia and McGill Universities. He began seriously creative writing at age 28 when he was at Mount Royal on a fall day, looking at the leaves, and some thoughts came into his head that he recognized as poetry. Thomas said he always had the temperament of a writer, being a loner who enjoys his own company. For several years, he taught English, French, and literature, until he realized that his responsibilities as a teacher interfered with his writing, so he decided to retire from teaching and devote himself to writing full time. He has received many awards, including the prestigious Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Achievement Award from Montréal’s Black Theater Workshop in 2021, the Canada Council for the Arts’ John Molson Prize in 2022, and Poet Laureate for Black History Month in Montréal.
Dr. Thomas’ first novel, Spirits in the Dark, is about a man who is alienated from his black culture and his parents, but he finds redemption in a religion that strongly emphasizes African roots. His second novel, Behind the Face of Winter, deals with his time as a high school teacher, and details the horrible treatment that the black students experienced. Thomas’ third novel, Return to Arcadia, is about colonialism, and its impact on the world. His other novels include No Safeguards and Fate’s Instruments, as well as and the short story anthologies Lives: Whole and Otherwise and When the Bottom Falls Out and Other Stories.
He spoke about his latest book, A Different Hurricane, where the protagonist’s wife died a year earlier, and he continued to suppress his homosexuality, as he had done for most of his life. The character tried to come to terms with the societal pressures that made him get married in the first place, and to deal with his guilt over his wife’s death. Thomas also wrote the poetry collections Moving Through the Darkness and The Voyage.
He said that poetry comes to him spontaneously, but with fiction, the character comes first, usually with a dilemma, then he gives life to the story. For him, writing takes precedence over everything else, and he uses his writing to explore the human condition. He is a prolific author, and he currently has several projects at various stages. For more information, go to www.hnigelthomas.org.
Louise Larose
Artist Louise Larose lives in a house in the woods, surrounded by trees, birds, and mountains, and she is inspired by nature for her gorgeous acrylic and mixed-media artwork. She is an abstract painter, but you can often recognize specific items, like water and mountains, in her pieces. She is widely traveled, including an art residency in India, and her travels are also a source of great artistic inspiration to her. Larose has participated in several solo and group exhibitions in Canada, Brussels, Paris, Toronto, Tunisia, New York, and Montréal. For more than 20 years, she taught visual art to high school students, and found it very gratifying to be involved learning through art.
About her work, intuition is a big part of her process, and she said, “I never know what will come out of my painting, but I start with a collage.” Louise always is very free with her process after that; she follows the flow and lets it happen. Often inspiration comes from her subconscious, and she added, “I want people to dream when they look at my paintings. That’s my best wish. So, I don’t give an exact title. It’s very free. It will be “Freedom,” “Love,” “Dream,” so people can dream what they want. I love painting…It’s a passion. So, I cannot think of living without the painting. Since I was very little, art is part of my life…It’s like an obsession.” On her website, she says, “Art helps us to feel alive and touches the center of our soul.” For more information, go to: https://louiselarose.com.
Maggie Romanovici
Maggie Romanovici has many inspirations and feels art can come from everyday life and nature. She stated, “I travel a lot, and I remember different things from my trips. I do not work with photographs, I just remember…the feeling will inhabit me until I put it on the canvas. Also, my life experience inspires me.” Maggie lived her early life under Romania’s Communist dictatorship. Three generations of her family were deprived of freedom under the totalitarian regime. So now she looks for the feeling of freedom all the time, which caused her to switch from figurative painting to abstract.
Romanovici said, “I was trained since my childhood in figurative painting. I went to art school, and in that time, figurative painting was the rule. I painted in oil, still life, portraits…following the rules. I followed the rules in painting…in school…in society, because everything was by the book there, no freedom to express yourself. When I came to Canada, it was like a turning point in my life. I felt free, totally free…Abstract art, for me, brought this opportunity to express myself without reservation…I visualize my future painting…and I try mentally to decide which are the colors that will best express my feelings…I have a strong touch with the spatula and the brush.” Romanovici was recently admitted into the RAAV, an association that recognizes professional artists. She was a teacher for many years but has been retired for 10 years. She now paints full time, mostly in acrylics and oil, but occasionally with ink and alcohol. Maggie stresses the importance of women and the feminine touch in art. She calls her vibrant work “abstract expressionism” and feels that her art has a touch of lyricism. To learn more, go to: https://en.maggieromanovici.art.
Kimpov Eap
Professor Cornett first saw a piece of Kimpov Eap’s work at an exhibition and found it uniquely compelling. After two visits to her studio, Cornett thought the art was profoundly spiritual. Born in Cambodia, Kimpov Eap suffered great losses under the Khmer Rouge regime, when her husband and children were killed. Losing her family was devastating, and she expresses her pain through her artistic endeavors. She relishes her freedom now living in Canada, and painting makes her stronger in life, as well as helping her self-esteem. Love and forgiveness have also helped her to heal. She was joined at the Jjaazexpo by her husband, Gaetan Sheridan, who is totally supportive of his wife’s art, and he helped to translate for her during the interview.
Eap is very improvisational in her approach to art. She doesn’t think about it ahead of time, and she makes no sketches. It’s all intuition, all in her heart. Professor Cornett said, “The operative principle of Kimpov’s art is improvisation. This is hand-in-hand with jazz, and I saw her as creating the visual equivalent of jazz…Her art is what you cannot teach.” Sometimes in the middle of the night, Eap gets up and paints for several hours, often inspired by dreams and raw emotion. She wants people to interact with her art, which is magic to her. She usually knows in her head when a piece is finished, and her husband sometimes gives her his input on completion. Blues is her favorite music to paint to, and it makes her happy during the creative process. She also likes electronic and African music. Kimpov is also an osteopath, and she loves healing people, as much as she finds healing in her painting. Despite the overwhelming difficulties she has experienced, Kimpov is surprisingly well-adjusted, upbeat, and charming. For further information, go to: https://artiste.kimpoveap.ca.
Noëlle De Roo Lemos
Artist Noëlle De Roo Lemos said, “My motivations are huge, because life has gifted me with this curiosity. Absolutely everything interests me…I was gifted from a very early age with some very good stories.” Her philosophical mother and quiet engineer father, who frequently entertained, were so different that they attracted a wide range of personalities as guests, which was fantastic. She said, “When I was living in Portugal, we could invite mates from school…and they said, ‘How lucky you are to have those parents.’” At the friends’ houses, petty nitpicking and criticisms were rampant. So Noëlle’s friends recognized that in comparison, her parents and guests talked about such interesting things. Lemos said, “We were not aware; for us it was just normal.”
Her religious mother invited clergy from different religions, who loved to come for the company and the large spread of food. Hearing these people exchange ideas had a profound effect on Lemos. Unfortunately, in contrast to the interesting dinner parties, there was also a difficult side to her early family life. Noëlle’s parents didn’t like each other very much and fought all the time. Alas, Lemos’ mom was initially not a very good mother, although eventually she improved.
In her artistic approach, Noëlle starts painting without much preamble and works very quickly. Lemos is into photography, and she takes photos from many angles, especially of wildflowers, capturing a unique perspective. She’s about to do an exhibition of pictures of unusual fossils she has taken on her morning walks. Lemos is the author of a delightful crayon-illustrated book, Vivre dans une oasis au Québec, which is all about life in the woods. Noëlle has fun with everything she creates and has a great joie de vivre, which makes her such a dynamic artist. Her art can be seen on Instagram at: @noellemariederoolemos.
Rosi Maria Di Meglio
Rosi Maria Di Meglio’s website states, “I am an emerging artist educator who creates expressionistic abstract, multi-media works. I am fascinated with the push and pull of the canvas, the relationship between colour, line and space. I am driven by life experiences, thoughts, and the imagination.” Rosi lives and works in Montréal and has participated in exhibitions all over the world.
At Jjaazexpo, Rosi said, “Most of the focus of my work is on exploration and experimentation.” Two pieces used handmade paper clay, a recipe she developed over three years. She’s concerned with sustainability and the materials she’ll leave behind. Her art is inspired by memories, emotions, and form, and how they speak to each other within the composition. With new art, Di Meglio begins with a black charcoal sketch. “I solidify those black marks with a solution…so they don’t get erased. Eventually those marks get hidden within the painting. So, the memory stays for me.” She communicates with her art, and when a painting stops speaking to her, she knows it’s finished. Rosi works on different sized pieces, depending upon what she wants to express, and she creates several pieces at the same time. She listens to all kinds of music while painting, which helps her create beautiful work.
At one point, Di Meglio was teaching art and going to school, but in 2019 she got very sick and decided to give up teaching to focus on art. She has created “plexiboxes” that are an interplay between painting and sculpture. She has gotten pushback from professors and technicians who’ve said, “You can’t do that!” But she feels that if she can envision it, she can do it. In addition to all her artistic endeavors, Rosi has six children, so she has a lot on her plate in a very busy, creative life! To read more about her, go to: www.rosimariadimeglio.com.
Hélène Goulet
Although artist Hélène Goulet did not attend the Jjaazexpo in person, her art was displayed. On her website, it says, “Fields of color, the leitmotiv. Over the years this theme has manifested itself in all my work. Once captured, the color fields are re-thought and re-designed according to my whims and desires, and then transformed and offered in a variety of forms as spatial reliefs. These landscapes, subjects, objects and even pretexts, are redefined and submitted to the imperative needs of the color. Equally, they are constructed by emotions before being transported onto my canvasses with gestures that are sometimes both direct and raw. Solids, spots, strata, empty and full spaces, all are part of those chromatic games that I take into new paths whose sum of elements is able to offer its own meaning, musically, measurement and singularity.”
Hélène studied at University of Québec at Montréal, Laval University, and École des Beaux-Arts in Québec. She has received several awards, including 1st Prize for Excellence in Visual Arts, Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Eastern Island of Montréal, Québec. Goulet has participated in collections and exhibitions all over Canada. Hélène works in in different media, including paper, canvas, and stained glass, using various techniques. Her art is noted for the strength and intensity of color, and great expressive elegance. For more information, go to: http://www.art-helenegoulet.com.
Jeannine Bouthillier
Jeannine Bouthillier was another artist who did not attend Jjaazexpo, but did display her work. On her website it says, “Jeannine Bouthillier, a passionate artist, wields the brush with delight. Through her works, she weaves threads of joy, illuminating her own existence and that of those who stop to contemplate her work, whether in her studio or during exhibitions.
Her artistic choice is towards abstraction, a visual language that allows her to express his deep emotions. In this approach, she approaches impressionism, where colors and shapes become the reflections of her inner world. Recently, Jeannine was inspired by the paintings of Australian Aboriginal people, adopting pointillism as a means of expression.
Through each brushstroke, Jeannine Bouthillier invites us to share her passion and discover the beauty that lies in the fusion of emotion and art. Her paintings are windows open to her soul, where each point, each nuance, tells a unique story.”
Jeannine’s pieces evoke sweetness and joy. Like a composer, she looks for melody and rhythm in her creations, and she does not limit herself to figurative representations. Her art is similar to Jackson Pollack’s in that she invites viewers to absorb the vibrancy of colors and emotions in abstraction. Often, Bouthillier’s work has a dreamlike quality. She has a Bachelor’s, a Master’s, and a Doctorate in Art History. She has studied with Chinese painter Ming Ma and has taken part in several exhibitions and art collectives. She is also a part of the Circuits des Arts in Canada. For more information, go to www.jeanninebouthillier.com.
