Latest news with #SaintHenri
CBC
11-07-2025
- Entertainment
- CBC
Remembering iconic Montreal jazz drummer, bebop master Norman Marshall Villeneuve
Norman Marshall Villeneuve, iconic drummer of the Canadian jazz scene known for his musicality, mentorship and spirited passion, has died. He was 87 years old. His wife, Louise Artibello Villeneuve, was with him at Montreal's Lachine Hospital when he died Wednesday morning after suffering a brain aneurysm, she said. Louise, who lives in a seniors' residence, says the last time she saw him before that was a week ago. "He was very, very happy living in a building with his friend [and fellow drummer] Keith Oneill and having a great time going out for Chinese food like in the old days," she said. "He had a lot of stuff to look forward to." Born in 1938 — just in time for the bebop jazz era, the style of music he would come to master — Villeneuve grew up in Montreal's Saint-Henri neighbourhood, near Little Burgundy. The area was also home to Oscar Peterson, Villeneuve's cousin Oliver Jones, Claude Ranger and the Sealey Brothers. "Montreal was a marvellous, marvellous haven for so many musicians and young kids coming up at that time," said Louise. Having only taken five drumming lessons in his life, Villeneuve was largely self-taught, watching Jones's practice sessions as a child and then using a drum kit he was gifted at 14. Throughout his childhood, Villeneuve tap danced at community gatherings — and also just tapped in general. "'Teacher couldn't tell me enough times, 'Norman, stop banging with the pencils,'" recalled Villeneuve laughing during an interview with Radio-Canada in 2018. "I want to be a drummer," he would say back. Performing with the greats, supporting young musicians Jones, now 90 and a celebrated jazz pianist, remembers his cousin as "the most natural drummer that I've ever ran into." The two worked together for decades, earning a Felix Award and travelling the world together. Today, Villeneuve is considered a pillar of Canadian jazz, according to Charles Ellison, a jazz musician, associate professor of music at Concordia University and a friend of Villeneuve's. Throughout his career, Villeneuve has performed with many other jazz greats, including Duke Ellington, Charlie Biddle, Nelson Symonds, Junior Mance, and Curtis Fuller. "He's in that long tradition of African musicians who embrace and exude community, exude the cultural and the intellectual characteristics and traits of the community which produced him, and then just give it out to the world," said Ellison. "He was just a beautiful individual." The "Sound of Toronto Jazz" concert series held at the Ontario Science Centre featured him four times between 1980 and 1993, where he played with the Terry Lukiwski Quartet, the Martin Franklin Quartet, his own Norman Marshall Villeneuve sextet and the Ken Fornetran Quartet. Renowned Montreal jazz drummer Norman Marshall Villeneuve dies at 87 7 minutes ago Duration 1:54 In Montreal, he performed at historic jazz venues, such as Arcade, Rockhead's Paradise, Chez Parée, the Black Bottom and Café la Bohème. Joel Giberovitch, owner and artistic director at the Upstairs Jazz Bar & Grill, often saw Villeneuve play at the club but also attend shows as an audience member, supporting the younger musicians. "[He] really wanted to share the music, keep the scene alive, bridge the gap between young and the older generation," said Giberovitch. 'His legacy is that jazz lives' Villeneuve created the Norman Marshall Villeneuve Scholarship in 2013 to recognize percussion students with a passion for jazz who demonstrate outstanding musicianship and academic achievement. It was awarded to Humber College students in Toronto until 2019 and to Concordia University students from 2016-19. "I never went to a music school or learned how to read music properly, which held me back from doing studio and big band work," Villeneuve said in an interview with Concordia University in 2018. "I respect these youngsters and want to help if I can, so they don't have to go through that." In 2018, Villeneuve received a Lifetime Achievement Award at the International Drum Fest in Quebec City. Louise said she'll remember him for his laughter, positivity and his love for music, among so many things. A visitation for him has been organized at the JJ Cardinal Funeral Home in the Lachine borough on July 19. "A lot of people say, and they're saying on Facebook these days: 'Jazz is dead,'" said Louise. "Norman's legacy, from the accolades pouring in all over the world — I've had phone calls from California to New York to Dubai — and his legacy is that jazz lives."
CTV News
19-06-2025
- CTV News
Video captures violent alleged car theft in front of Montreal school
An SPVM police vehicle is seen in Montreal, Thursday, Aug. 29, 2024. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Christinne Muschi) A striking video posted online shows a violent alleged car theft taking place in front of an elementary school on Palm Avenue in Montreal's Saint-Henri neighbourhood on Monday. The video shows a driver erratically accelerating and reversing a silver vehicle on the street outside the school as multiple people try to stop him. 'Watch out! Watch out!' someone yells as people jump out of the way. At one point, as the car accelerates, a person wearing a high-visibility vest can be seen grabbing onto a woman and swinging her to the ground. Just after, the car reverses again, and the front passenger door, swinging forcibly as the car jerks back and forth, smacks the same woman in the face. 'Call the cops, please!' someone screams out as the vehicle speeds away. Montreal police (SPVM) confirmed the incident, saying it received a 911 call at 1:10 p.m. 'There were two individuals implicated in the situation,' said Véronique Dubuc, a spokesperson with Montreal police. 'By the time police arrived on the scene, they located the two suspects.' The individuals were arrested and brought to the detention centre for questioning. They have not been charged with any crimes. There were no reported injuries.
CTV News
15-06-2025
- General
- CTV News
Five-alarm fire causes building roof to collapse in Saint-Henri
The roof of a three-storey building collapsed during a five-alarm fire in Saint-Henri, leaving the top floor exposed. More than 150 firefighters and 40 trucks were dispatched to a three-storey residential building that caught fire in the Southwest borough on Saturday. Emergency services were called around 2:54 p.m. to the intersection of Notre-Dame Street W. and Rose-de-Lima Street. The Montreal fire department (SIM) said the fire began on a third-floor balcony of the 26-unit building, which also houses businesses on the ground floor. 'Everyone was evacuated. Many were taken in by the Red Cross. About three or four families were able to arrange their own accommodation,' said SIM spokesperson Anik Vaillancourt. No injuries were reported. 'The ceiling collapsed, so the third floor is completely exposed,' she said, adding that the cause of the fire has yet to be confirmed. Firefighters extinguished the blaze around 1 a.m. on Sunday.
