“Don't play the saxophone, let the saxophone play you.”
― Charlie Parker
This post is a
sequel in our quest to (re)discover street
music in Montreal. Through this series of
blogs we hope to change people’s stereotypes of musicians who perform
in Metro stations. Some of these artists are just amazing. Our advice to you is simple: just stop, listen
and enjoy!
After a long day at
work, on my way home, I noticed this dynamic duo performing at metro Snowdon.
They were doing something totally original that immediately catches your
attention. Here is a sample video showing their virtuosity.
Jay Uno, a 28-year old saxophonist, has been
playing the instrument
since he was 10 years old. His didn’t let his talent
be limited to the sax and also started rapping at the age of 15, on the streets
of Montreal’s Little Burgundy, the neighbourhood where he grew up and was first
introduced to hip-hop culture. He was Inspired by his brother A1 Smoke, a
self-taught rapper and producer who regularly held jam sessions in his mom’s
basement that attracted the neighbourhood’s aspiring rappers, DJs, and artists.
From the age of 11
to 16, Jay gained experience playing in the
Jah Youth Band, a local reggae group that played for Montreal’s first
international reggae festival in 2006. Due to his love for rapping, Jay ended
up putting his saxophone aside for 8 years to focus on his rap career. He has
done shows at historic Montreal venues like Theatre Corona and the Belmont. You
can also spot him playing at Bar le Champlain and Crobar on a fine evening.
In Jay Uno’s own profound words, “A lot of music that I play
don't come from me personally and a lot of it are characters who are playing
the music, but it comes from my understanding of truth.”
Jay Uno has shared us his social media profile
links with us,
check them out to enjoy more of his work:- Instagram ; FB .
It was a truly amazing experience to watch these artists and by the time I reached
for my wallet I was thinking more about the amount of time I spent
with them, the connection I made with them, and of course the performance that made me and numerous other people
smile.
These artists seem to love what they do to the
core and make people feel happy in this process. They enjoy filling
peoples’ day with light, with joy and there is
definitely something magnificent about that. So if you lucky enough to spot
them somewhere, at least stop and watch their performance, which is totally worth
it!
Seeing such artists in
action makes you think that there is no dearth of creativity in this world.
Creativity has no balance, no limitation, no jurisdiction, just art as an
expression of oneself in raw form.
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