Wondeur Brass

At First A Nine-Piece Feminist Activist Theatre-And-Music Group Wondeur Brass Sized Down Its Line-Up Throughout The 1980s At The Same Speed It Gained Experience And Focus. Started As An Outsider Big Band Of Sorts The Group Evolved Into Montreal's Sharper Avant-Garde Rock Proposal At The Time In Sync With The Experimental Rock Of New York And London. The Group Left Two LPs Gave Birth To The Side Project Les Poules Transformed Into The Group Justine In 1990 And Most Of All Launched The Careers Of Three Pillars Of Montreal's "musique Actuelle" Scene Joane Hétu Diane Labrosse And Danielle P. Roger. Wondeur Brass' Roots Are On The Duluth Street In Late-'70s Montreal. A Circle Of Left-Field Musicians And Enthusiasts Are Advocating A Music Free Of Commercial Diktats Music For And By The People. A Benefit Event For A Feminist Organization Served As The Catalyst For Nine Young Women All Active In Other Groups Or In-Between Groups To Form Wondeur Brass -- The Name Hints At The Bra Manufacturer And The Format Of This Peculiar Band All Brass Plus Piano And Drums. Inspired By Free Jazz Punk And New Wave Elements The Group Quickly Put Together A First Show Where Agitprop And Confrontational Discourse Played Equal Parts With Music -- In 1980 The Simple Fact Of Being An All-Girls Group Pushed A Point Across. Acclaimed By Feminists The Show Left Others Hoping For Better Musicianship. By 1982 Wondeur Brass Had Toned Down Politics Added An Electric Bass Moved Closer To Rock And Reduced Its Membership To Seven Hétu Labrosse Roger Ginette Bergeron Claude Hamel Martine Leclercq And Judith Grüber-Stitzer. This Line-Up Recorded The Self-Released Single "Parano" And Toured The Province Of Quebec. By 1985 Hamel And Leclercq Were Out And Trombonist Hélène Bédard Was In. This Sextet Recorded The Debut LP Ravir. The Group Decided To Join Forces With The Boys Of Ambiances Magnétiques A Recently Founded Collective Of Avant-Garde Musicians. Incapable Of Breaking Out Of The First Impressions They Left On The Montreal Press Wondeur Brass Was Becoming More Popular Abroad. In 1984 It Performed At The Fourth Congrès International Femmes & Musique In Paris. The Moers And Musique Action Festivals Followed In 1987 Dates In New York And London In 1989. Meanwhile Chris Cutler Was Taking A Shine At The Ambiances Magnétiques Artists And Included A Track By Wondeur Brass On The LP Accompanying Vol. 1 No. 4 Of The ReR Quarterly Magazine. The Group's Second LP Simoneda Reine Des Esclaves Came Out In 1987 Featuring A Severely Reduced Line-Up And A Musical Direction Much More Precise. Of The Original Members Only Hétu Labrosse And Roger Were Left Joined By Bassist Marie Trudeau. In Order To Stimulate Local Interest This Same Quartet Changed Its Name To Justine In 1990 Before Releasing The Album Suite . ~ François Couture All Music Guide Marie Trudeau read less