For the first time since creating Syos, I had the chance to attend the summer festivals in Montreal. And of course, Syos struck again!
I kicked off my Canadian trip by attending the Francofolies de Montréal, where our long-time Syos artist Adrien Soleiman was playing with Philippe Katerine.
Adrien is one of Syos’ very first artists. In fact, it was while designing his mouthpiece that I invented the famous baffle with ridges that has become a distinctive feature of our designs.
A prolific musician, Adrien is not only the new musical director for Philippe Katerine but has also collaborated with Justice and Juliette Armanet. He performed at the 2024 Olympic Games Opening Ceremony and recently released a stunning album I highly recommend: BelleJazzClub.
Then came the Montreal International Jazz Festival. I had the chance to attend a concert by David Binney, described by DownBeat Magazine as “a strikingly original composer, leader, conceptualist.” With more than 25 albums as leader or co-leader and over 400 collaborations, David is a true icon of adventurous jazz. He is also known for his work with David Bowie’s Blackstar band and for his explorations in ambient electronic music.
I had met David a few months ago in Los Angeles so I was especially excited to see him perform live. And even more thrilled to see that he was playing on his Steady 6 mouthpiece.
The Steady is a very versatile model that has been loved by players used to Meyer style mouthpieces. Seeing it shine in the hands of David Binney was incredibly rewarding.
And last but not least, I had the pleasure of spending some time with Jonathan Mones.
Jonathan is a multi-instrumentalist, arranger, composer and producer based in Dallas, Texas. As a touring member of Ghost-Note, he has played across the United States, Canada, Europe and Asia. With roots in classical piano and jazz studies at the University of North Texas, Jonathan has performed with artists like Kamasi Washington, Nicholas Payton and Erykah Badu.
We tested some mouthpieces together just before his show with Ghost-Note on the festival’s main stage. And guess what? He picked one and played it during the concert.
His solo was absolutely wild:
It was a joy to see our mouthpieces on such iconic stages and in the hands of incredible musicians. Montreal really knows how to throw a festival, and I’m already looking forward to the next edition. Until then, the Syos sound continues to travel far and wide, one note at a time.
