VLADIMIR PRYAKHIN EMPHASIZES NEED FOR ELECTORAL AND CONSTITUTIONAL REFORMS
A1 Plus | 20:56:08 | 04-06-2004 | Official |
With regard to a recent decision of the Yerevan Mayor’s Office to
prohibit rallies by opposition parties on 4 June, the Head of the
OSCE Office in Yerevan, Ambassador Vladimir Pryakhin said: “We regret
that the right of people to free assembly and expression of their
political views was restricted. We urge the authorities to apply the
new law on Conduct of Public Gatherings, Rallies, Demonstrations and
Marches in a proportionate and justified manner and make efforts to
further improve this essential piece of legislation.”
He stressed that the OSCE Office will continue to closely monitor
the political developments in Armenia and to support the country in
the process of democratization. He emphasized in particular the need
for electoral and constitutional reform.

Named for a Fruit? Make Juice
By STRAWBERRY SAROYAN
NEW YORK TIMES
Published: May 30, 2004
WHEN told about Gwyneth Paltrow’s name for her new daughter, my mother
paused for a moment. “We thought about naming you Apple,” she said,
“but decided it was too common.”
Because I grew up with the name Strawberry, my first reaction to
hearing about the birth of Ms. Paltrow’s daughter, Apple Blythe Alison
Martin, on May 14 was, “Finally, someone to share my vast body of
otherwise useless knowledge with.”
I was born in 1970 to counterculture parents. There is no overridingly
romantic or hilariously drug-addled story to explain their choice of
a name for me. It was suggested by my grandmother Carol, a whimsical
person who also came up with the name Cream for my younger sister. But
I didn’t know exactly why my parents had chosen the name until one
morning my mother explained: “We wanted it to be fun to have a kid. Why
have just another Jane or Debbie?”
In fact, it fit in perfectly with what my father was doing at the
time. A one-word poet – he would change a word by adding a letter
or two, or otherwise misspelling it – he was interested in messing
around with the alphabet of life, too. Who defines what makes up a
word? Who defines what makes up a name? It’s the same thing.
I was the one who picked up the tab, however, and this is where I
might be able to offer some tips to Apple, the daughter of Ms. Paltrow
and the rocker Chris Martin. First, the good news. Just as I was
raised in a tiny California beach community full of poets, peppered
with lots of other kids with unconventional names, she will grow up,
no matter where she is geographically, in “Hollywood,” which is also
rife with creatively named children. It helps.
There were sisters down the street named Ivory, Shelter and Wonder,
and other friends were named Ocean, Raspberry and Echo, so I was
not alone. What were they going to do, make fun of me? They did,
but I could bite back. I’ll never forget the terror as Cream and I
awaited the arrival of Wonder’s mother to speak with ours because we
had been calling her daughter Wonder Bread.
Over in England, her parents’ current home, Apple will grow up with
other celebrity children like Brooklyn Beckham (Posh and Becks’s son)
and Madonna’s daughter, Lourdes. When she visits Los Angeles, she
may romp with the daughters of Bruce Willis and Demi Moore, Rumer,
Scout and Tallulah Belle. Then there is Pilot Inspektor, the son of
the actor Jason Lee.
Yes, there will be dark days. When my parents moved to a super-preppy
town in Connecticut when I was 13, it seemed I had little choice
but to change my name, a shift that stuck for three years (I
chose Cara). There were also other moments when I longed for
normalcy. Visiting my grandmother Carol, who had remarried Walter
Matthau after marrying and divorcing my grandfather twice, I would
attend Jack and Felicia Lemmon’s Christmas party in Los Angeles. There,
I would have glimpses of Courtney, their daughter, who was pert and
pretty and also, it seemed to me, had the perfect name. As she wafted
through her white-walled Hollywood home, I thought she had the perfect
life, and perhaps that is what I really wanted.
Now, though, I see mainly upsides in my unusual first name. For
one thing, when you have a well-known last name (mine comes from
my paternal grandfather, the writer William Saroyan) an unusual
first name can derail otherwise inevitable questions about your
famous parents or grandparents. “Strawberry? Were your parents
high? Crazy? Mean?” The Saroyan part is often forgotten. My name can
also break the ice, especially in the company of other people from
well-known families. Once when I was in the offices of George magazine,
John F. Kennedy Jr. shook my hand enthusiastically. “Strawberry? Tell
me about your parents!” The irony seemed delightful: How often had
he, perhaps the most famous progeny in the world, gotten to say
those words? I wanted to throw the question back at him: what were
J.F.K. and Jackie like? But I restrained myself.
Then there will be the unforeseeable boons. My name has afforded
the occasional opportunity for clever flirting, for example. Years
ago when I met an ex-boyfriend of the writer Plum Sykes and he took
a liking to me, I couldn’t resist telling him, “You just like girls
with fruit names.” Another highlight was being invited to a party in
London by a well-connected friend of a friend. I didn’t find out part
of the reason why I was invited until later: he wanted to introduce
a girl named Strawberry to John Major, the prime minister at the
time. (Mr. Major wasn’t there but Claus von Bülow was, and though
I was delighted by our introduction, my name seemed to have little
effect on him.) I found out about my acquaintance’s ruse the next
Sunday, when he chronicled it in his column in a national newspaper,
and I proceeded to have a week or so of notoriety in London.
Of course, there are awkward moments too. “Nice to eat you” is one
greeting I remember, though I wish I didn’t have to. “Don’t people
think you’re a stripper?” a boyfriend once asked. He was wondering
if my name might hurt my career ambitions. For Apple, the puns have
already begun: “Big Apple,” having arrived at 9 pounds, 11 ounces, and
she is “Li’l Apple” and “Apple Martini.” Sometimes, even name-related
things that have happened a million times can be fun. I recently
interviewed Oprah Winfrey. Uncharacteristically nervous, I picked up
the phone on the second ring and was greeted by a strange sound.
“Strawberry Fields for-ever,” sang out the voice.
“Oprah?” I asked.
That summed up the name experience for me, as it very likely will
for Apple too. You just have to roll with it.
In the end, I would like to give the little girl some parting
words. Someday, you may come to see your name as part of a larger
picture of what your parents were trying to do, and one that will add
multitudes to your life. When Richard Avedon, a family friend who was
especially close with my grandmother, came out to visit my family in
California for several days during my childhood, he took a series of
photographs that seem now to pay tribute to the way of life our names
reflected. The pictures of us in our home with my mother’s paintings
on the walls and my father’s books on the shelves; the pictures of
us running around in the woods near our house; even just the ones
of us goofing around at a fancy restaurant having brunch, now seem
to me to be a visual reflection of what my parents were aiming for:
to create a family where countercultural ideas and artistic freedom
reigned. Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin may be aiming for the same.
Who knows? Fruit names, and those goals, just might catch on.
From: Baghdasarian

SMOKE AND MIRRORS
Boise Weekly, Indiana
June 3 2004
Many media outlets are currently lamenting an unravelling of
administration policy and progress in Iraq. There seems to be a lack
of coherence (or presence of confusion, if you prefer) among our
expressed vital interests, our professed humanitarian imperatives
and the strategies, costs and timing associated with achieving
a “success” defined with reasonable clarity. This confusion is
weakening the support of our populace and making potential allies
(nation participants) reluctant to shoulder part of the load in
putting Iraq back into autonomous and reasonably compliant operation.
America’s preemptive strike in March 2003 was ostensibly due to
imminent threat of use of weapons of mass destruction by Saddam
Hussein and retribution for Iraq’s support of al Qaeda which implies
some responsibility on the part of Iraq for the 9/11/01 World Trade
Center tragedy. In the administration’s world of smoke and mirrors,
the Saudis somehow skated free of this opprobrium.
To anticipate the sincerity, speed and quality of aid the States
might receive from our recently disaffected allies it is instructive
to understand how the Europeans view and remember our role in World
War I. President Wilson led our nation into the war for the reason:
“support of Christianity and, in particular, American missionary
colleges and missionary activities.” A corollary, long-term objective
was that “the peoples of the region were (to be) ruled by governments
of their choice.” As the realities of the war took hold and as the
complexities of defining a durable peace loomed on the horizon the
reasons and objectives for the war morphed through at least five
iterations in 1918.
Designing the peace and the partitioning of the Ottoman Empire at the
end of World War I was an enormously complex task. In a diplomatic note
from President Wilson to the French ambassador on March 24, 1920, the
United States ducked any responsibility to further participate with
England and France in Middle Eastern affairs. Moreover, the United
States reneged on a commitment to accept mandates from the League
of Nations to assume responsibilities for Armenia, Constantinople
and the sea lane between the Aegean and Black seas. Yet the note
concluded with a requirement that the anticipated treaty should be
consonant with American views and in particular Wilson’s views on
specific Middle Eastern matters. A last requirement was that treaty
nonparticipants would not be discriminated against and that existing
American rights in the area would be preserved.
What were these existing rights? As defined in 1919 and 1920 by
the Department of State, beyond the rights in the capitulation
agreements, the United States insisted on freedom of navigation of the
aforementioned sea lane; and protection of missionary, archaeological
and commercial activities. Salient among these commercial interests
were those of the American oil companies. Standard Oil of New York had
exclusive, pre-war licenses from the Ottoman government to prospect
in Palestine and Syria, but not Iraq.
In 1919 Standard Oil of New Jersey jumped on the bandwagon and
lobbied with the American delegation to the ongoing Peace Conference
for similar preferences in Iraq. Unfortunately this was followed by
a secret oil bargain between only France and Britain to monopolize
the Middle East’s oil output to the exclusion of U.S. interests.
This agreement was leaked to the American embassy and the reaction
was severe. Not only did this deal discommode the two oil companies,
it was viewed as an affront to the United State’s interests. The
Department of State was advised: “It is economically essential … to
obtain assured foreign supplies of petroleum.”
This March 24, 1920, fundamental shift in American foreign policy
was made even more strident under the administration of President
Harding. The professed advocacy and protection for Christian activities
in the Middle East dissolved into nothing when the administration
declined to intervene in September 1922 in the self-described
“sacrifice and martyrdom” of the Christians in Smyrna, the greatest
city in Asia Minor, by the Turkish army. In a delayed response to
pleas for intervention in the Smyrna massacre, the Secretary of State
in Boston, October 1922, opined that “the entire situation was the
result of a war to which the United States had not been a party; if the
Allies, who were closely connected to the situation, did not choose to
intervene, it certainly was no responsibility of America’s to do so.”
Finally in July 1928, with the Red Line agreement, U.S. participation
in oil ventures in Iraq was assured.
In essence, by March 1920, the United States stopped being a team
player of the entente Allies, and in the following years extorted
what they could from exhausted, depleted and disarrayed British and
French governments, and backed away from any responsibility to help
manage the peace in the Middle East.
In early June 2004 it seems the shoe is now on the other foot. With
this history in the Middle East it seems plausible that no nation will
step forward today to shoulder part of the responsibility for managing
the peace in Iraq and the surrounding area. The impertinence of the
United States in almost single-handedly deposing Saddam Hussein without
substantial international support and snubbing long-term allies as
feckless traitors and cowards in the process, sets the stage for a
torturous time in Iraq for the United States.
This legacy could be as intractable as the Jew/Israel/Arab/Palestine
debacle has been over the last 100 years. Moreover, the most obvious
scam of the last century has been the attempted gulling of the U.S.
citizenry and erstwhile allies that the United States’s war motivation
has humanitarian and self-preservation bases as opposed to a control
of petroleum basis.
President Wilson’s participation in the 1919 Peace Conference with
Lloyd George and Georges Clemenceau was characterized by Arthur
Balfour as: “These three all-powerful, all-ignorant men, sitting
there and carving up continents, with only a child to lead them.”
One could conjure up a similar observation regarding President
Bush’s inner circle stampeding our nation and by reckless haste,
leaving international cooperation and institutions in disarray,
to go half-cocked into an Iraq adventure—before it “gets too hot
over there.” This hubris will haunt our nation for decades to come
and stiffen resistance by Muslims everywhere to the initiatives and
prerogatives of the United States. “Shock and awe” and “Bring ’em on”
cockiness is not mature foreign policy. This is the most visible and
memorable occurrence of the government of a first-rate, industrialized
nation having a tantrum.
Gene E. Bray,

Azer Tag, Azerbaijan State Info Agency
June 3 2004
CEREMONY OF SIGNING HELD IN STRASBOURG
[June 03, 2004, 23:35:42]
As was informed by correspondent of AzerTAj, in the permanent mission
of Azerbaijan at the Council of Europe, on June 3, was held the
ceremony of signing connected to transfer to the deposit of the notice
concerning the statement by the Azerbaijan side in the Headquarters
of this international structure between Secretary General ÑOÅ Walter
Schwimmer and the head of permanent mission of Azerbaijan ambassador
Agshin Mehdiyev “Convention on mutual administrative assistance on
tax questions” dated January 25, 1988.
The said Convention is directed on regulation in the Council of Europe
member-states of local and state taxes. The Azerbaijan side ratified
the document with a proviso. That is the Azerbaijan side has stated
that the clauses of the said document are not applied to it in the
territories occupied by Armenia. The clause has found the reflection
in the notice on ratification. To the documents submitted by the
Azerbaijan side to the COE Secretary General, was attached the map
of occupied territories of our country.
According to the message received by us from the Secretary of the
Council of Europe on legal affairs, the said international document
will come into force for ÑOÅ and Azerbaijan in a month.

U.S. Karabakh Envoy Again Visits Yerevan
By Hrach Melkumian and Gevorg Stamboltsian 04/06/2004 00:36
Radio Free Europe, Czech Rep.
June 3 2004
Steven Mann, the new U.S. chief negotiator on Nagorno-Karabakh,
paid an unexpected and low-key visit to Yerevan on Thursday which
officials said focused on international efforts to resolve the
Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict.
Mann had separate meetings with President Robert Kocharian and
Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian for the second time in six weeks. No
details of the talks were made public, with the U.S. envoy declining
to comment on the purpose of his trip and the current status of the
peace process. “I am just having talks with the Armenian government,”
he told RFE/RL without elaborating. A brief statement by Kocharian’s
office said Mann discussed with the Armenian leader the Karabakh
conflict and informed him about his talks held with Azerbaijani
leaders in Baku on Wednesday. Earlier in the day officials in the
presidential administration could not confirm the precise time of
the meeting, suggesting that it was arranged at a short notice.
Mann’s previous trip to Yerevan was followed by a meeting in Poland
between Kocharian and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliev. Foreign
Minister Vartan Oskanian and his Azerbaijani counterpart Elmar
Mamedyarov met in Strasbourg two weeks later, emerging from it with
cautiously optimistic statements. The Armenian Foreign Ministry said
the two ministers will meet again in Prague on June 21, adding that
Oskanian and the U.S. mediator spoke about details of that meeting.
Speaking at Yerevan State University earlier on Thursday, Oskanian
said that the negotiation process is “not on a bad track” at the
moment and is “following in the footsteps of previous talks.” “I
think that in the next two months we will have more clarity as to
whether we can build on the base that has been created during all
these years…or Azerbaijan wants to divert that process to another
direction,” he said, reiterating Yerevan’s hopes of reviving peace
accords reportedly reached by the parties three years ago.
Mamedyarov similarly stated last week that the peace talks are
“intensifying” after a period of stagnation. Azerbaijan seems
to be pushing for a new strategy of conflict resolution whereby
agreement on Karabakh’s status would be preceded by the return of
Armenian-controlled Azerbaijani lands around the disputed region in
exchange for the restoration of economic links between the two nations.
Oskanian repeated the Armenian side’s insistence on a single “package”
accord that would resolve all contentious issues. He added that it
will agree to a phased settlement only if the majority of Armenians
want so. “If there is really a public consensus that we should go
for a phased solution, then we will have no problem,” he said. “But
to be honest, I don’t see popular demand for a phased solution.”

Oskanian Says Council Of Europe Sanctions Unlikely
By Gevorg Stamboltsian 04/06/2004 00:38
Radio Free Europe, Czech Rep.
June 4 2004
Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian said on Thursday that the Council
of Europe is unlikely to impose embarrassing political sanctions on
Armenia despite its strong criticism of his government’s crackdown
on the opposition.
In a resolution adopted on April 28, the pan-European organization’s
Parliamentary Assembly (PACE) threatened not to recognize the
credentials of four Armenian members in September unless the
authorities stop arresting opposition supporters and release all
political prisoners. “I can dare say that there is no danger of
that. I don’t think that our deputies will be stripped of their
voting rights,” Oskanian said during a meeting with students at
Yerevan State University. “I think that everything will be alright
and we will continue our normal work there.”
“But in any case, a lot will depend on what kind of developments
will take place by September. If, God forbid, such a thing happens
it will definitely have a negative impact on our foreign policy and
reputation in general,” he added.
The PACE resolution says that the Armenian authorities have until
late June to “inform the Assembly of their findings and possible
legal actions against people responsible” for human rights abuses
reported during the crackdown. They were also told to lift “unjustified
restrictions” on peaceful anti-government demonstrations and release
all individuals arrested in connection with them.
Two PACE rapporteurs are due to visit Armenia later this month ahead of
the 45-nation assembly’s next session in Strasbourg to assess progress
in the implementation of its recommendations. The authorities say they
have already taken meaningful steps to comply with the resolution. The
Armenian opposition denies the claims, pointing to the continuing
“administrative detentions” and imprisonment on criminal charges of
its activists.
The opposition has sought to portray the Council of Europe criticism as
a major success in its campaign to oust President Robert Kocharian. The
government, for its part, counters that the resolution did not endorse
the opposition calls for a referendum of confidence in Kocharian and
said that serious irregularities did not affect the official outcome
of last year’s presidential election.
The opposition efforts to provoke international pressure on Yerevan
was denounced by Kocharian this week as something “close to treason” of
Armenian national interests. Oskanian echoed the charges on Thursday,
saying that the continuing anti-Kocharian rallies hurt the country’s
international standing.
“When I’m in Strasbourg, Brussels, New York, London or Paris and
several thousand people gather in Freedom Square on the same day to
call for regime change, believe me that our foreign policy becomes
very inefficient,” he said.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Sail away in an armenian ark
By Adam Federman
SPECIAL TO THE ST. PETERSBURG TIMES
St Petersburg Times, Russia, Russia
June 4 2004
The final page of the menu at Noyan Tapan (Noah’s Ark) is a list
of prices for broken dishware. One-hundred and fifty rubles for a
ceramic mug, 300 rubles ($5-$10) for an earthenware plate, and so on.
Perhaps it’s a gentle warning designed to limit the amount of Armenian
cognac consumed or just a pragmatic response to previous mishaps.
Anyway, the oversized oil painting of Noah descending with his flock
from Mount Ararat, seemingly into the dining room itself, will put
you on guard before you even get to the menu. Mount Ararat – a dormant
volcano nearly 17,000 feet high in northeastern Turkey and ten miles
from the Armenian border -is believed by many to be the final resting
place of Noah’s Ark. Whether you’re taken by such myths or not it’s
a good reason to raise a glass in honor of the biblical story and
in honor of God’s destruction of the earth. Or just in honor of
Mount Ararat.
Finding something to fill your glass with isn’t difficult given that
Armenia is home to over 200 varieties of grapes, most of them native
to the region. One of the most well-known grapes is the areni from
the Vayats Dzor region. A bottle bearing the name of the grape is
390 rubles ($13.44) and is a good dry table wine.
Noyan Tapan also has close to fifteen varieties of Armenian cognac,
though not all were available. The otbornoi select is 85 rubles ($2.93)
for 50 grams or 850 rubles ($29.31) for a bottle. The three-star
Ararat is 55 rubles ($1.89) for the same amount and the seven-star
80 rubles ($2.75) . The number of stars denotes the number of years
the cognac has been fermented. Armenian cognac has long been highly
regarded and won its first Grand-Prix gold medal in France in 1904.
It’s best to start with the wine and save the cognac for the end of
the meal, even if by that point there’s a greater risk of dropping
a glass or throwing a plate at your partner. Cognac, especially good
cognac, is best sipped without the distracting flavors of food.
The menu at Noyan Tapan is a mix of Russian and Armenian cuisine.
They have everything from kholodets, meat in aspic jelly (39 rubles,
$1.34), to hot and cold borshch (50 and 60 rubles, $1.72, $2.06),
and anumber of Russian salads.
The tolma (92 rubles, $3.17) – rice and meat wrapped in vine leaves
served warm with a light sour cream – were as good as any in the
city. The shorba (65 rubles, $2.24) – a beef soup with garbanzo
beans and potatoes – is good rainy day fare. Its garlicky broth goes
well with matsun, a sour yogurt (15 rubles, 51 cents), and the thin
Armenian lavash bread (5 rubles, 17 cents). The only complaint is
that the meat is a bit tough.
The same can be said for the house specialty, the razdan, a filet of
pork rolled with cheese, red and green peppers, and dill (149 rubles,
$5.13). The meat was overcooked and under-seasoned.
The home-style pork ribs (129 rubles, $4.44) were better. They were
meaty with plenty of fat and not dried out. The vegetable side dish
for 30 rubles ($1.03) however was a disappointing pile of green beans,
cauliflower, and carrots evidently from a bag. The peasant-style
potatoes were markedly better, browned nicely and served with chopped
dill and garlic.
The assorted kebab (110 rubles, $3.79) with lamb and chicken was
served, to our surprise, with a fried egg on top. It was good but
not much different from the ambiguous Russian cutlet found on menus
throughout the city. All entrees are served with pickled cabbage and
enough raw onion to last a few days.
Noyan Tapan’s dining room is small, with just seven tables and a
piano in the corner with a television sitting idly on top. They don’t
have live music but apparently whoever can play the piano is welcome
to. And this would certainly be welcome as Love Radio plays nonstop,
oozing from the speakers mounted on the wall.
The restaurant has been around for eleven years and even on the far
end of Sadovaya, a good half-hour from Nevsky, has kept its doors
open. It’s a friendly spot and if nothing else a good place to drink
some cognac away from all the traffic and noise of the city.
Noyan Tapan (Noah’s Ark), 81 Sadovaya Ulitsa. Cash only, open daily
until 11 p.m. Menu in Russian only. Dinner for two with cognac and
one bottle of wine 1,116 rubles ($38.48).
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

CIS customs services discuss simplification of customs procedures
ITAR-TASS, Russia
June 4 2004
YEREVAN, June 3 (Itar-Tass) – The simplification of customs procedures
and the fight with contraband were prioritised at the 39th meeting
of the council of the heads of CIS customs services in the Armenian
capital, Mikhail Vanin, the chairman of the council and the chairman
of the State Customs Committee told Armenian President Robert Kocharyan
on Thursday.
At the meeting with the Armenian president Vanin noted that much
work has been done for ten years since the council’s foundation. The
trade between the CIS states is growing every year that points to
the gradual elimination of administrative barriers, the chairman of
the State Customs Committee emphasised. The customs processing of
energy supplies from Armenia to Georgia was considered at the meeting
involving Armen Avetisyan’s Armenian government, Vanin pointed out.
This caused by the fact that energy losses during its supplies are
not always correctly determined.
Avetisyan noted that the common system of 12 CIS states that was
adopted at the previous council in Moscow allows monitoring the cargo
transit via third countries. Thus the operational information about
the movement of transit cargoes is obtained and their losses are
practically ruled out.
It was also decided to create common methods of customs statistics.

Putting Racism Back in the Classroom
By Garin K. Hovannisian, Daily Bruin | June 7, 2004
Frontpagemag.com
June 4 2004
Last week, a group of lawless vigilantes trampled over state law and
betrayed public opinion at the same time.
For me and you, this might be a hard act to pull off. But for the
well-trained assemblymen of the state of California, it was business
as usual. Last Wednesday, in a 45-30 vote, the state Assembly passed
a bill to reinstate race as a consideration for university admissions.
Assembly Bill 2387 allows “the University of California and the
California State University … to consider culture, race, gender,
ethnicity” and a number of other factors in their admissions processes.
As I read it, the bill is illegal. Proposition 209, a constitutional
amendment ratified by California’s public in 1996, explicitly states:
“The state shall not discriminate against, or grant preferential
treatment to, any individual or group on the basis of race, sex, color,
ethnicity, or national origin in the operation of public employment,
public education, or public contracting.”
But the officials in Sacramento are not dumb. Their deliberations were
extensive and their methodology was efficient. It is for this reason
that AB 2387 includes the phrase, “so long as no preference is given.”
In short, the legislators want to consider race but not make
preferences based on race. Convenient? Yes. Confusing? Surely.
Impressively manipulative? Perhaps.
But all the elitist rationalizations for this bill are left defenseless
when faced with the revealing and important question: How?
How is it possible to consider an applicant’s race but not make
a preference based on it? One cannot expect a human to remain
uninfluenced when he considers an influential factor. For example, if
one applicant is Armenian and the other is French, I, the subjective
reviewer, will give preferential treatment to the Armenian.
Say, however, that admissions officers are superhuman. What then? If
they were hypothetically able to consider race but not make racial
preferences, then what’s the point of considering race in the first
place? There is no point. For example, if one applicant is Armenian
and the other is French, I, the objective reviewer, will not care.
So why is the bill so important?
To put it simply, the bill is a devious and deliberate attempt to
break the law and reinstate affirmative action in California.
To make this all the more obvious for the political detective, the
assemblymen have exposed their motivations for passing the bill in
the first place. Those who pretend the measure is about equality or
justice ignore the fact that when the bill was first introduced in
April, it did not contain the word gender. It dealt exclusively with
the reintegration of racial issues into admission boards. From the
beginning, the bill was about affirmative action.
Again, the mob at our Capitol is not foolish.
Preempting their inevitable exposure, many assemblymen have sought
to form a legal defense, in spite of Prop. 209.
As the Daily Bruin reports: “Assemblyman Marco Firebaugh, D-South
Gate, was the primary author of the bill. Ricardo Lara, communications
director for Firebaugh, said the bill stems from a decision by the
U.S. Supreme Court last June that upheld the right of the University
of Michigan Law School to employ ‘a narrowly tailored use of race in
admissions decisions.'”
The court did not, nor should address whether affirmative action
should be mandatory. The court’s ruling was one of the state’s
rights. Within the confines of the Constitutional Equal Protection
Clause, the individual states can choose whether to adopt or ignore
affirmative action.
Michigan chose to adopt it; California chose to reject it (via
Proposition 209). And precisely for the same reasons affirmative
action exists in Michigan, it should not exist in California. The
state has the right to choose. That is what the Michigan case found.
In her ruling in Grutter v. Bollinger, Justice O’Connor writes,
“As the experience in Texas, Florida and California demonstrates,
public universities have ample race-neutral means available to
achieve objectives such as educational diversity, openness and broad
participation. … (States like California) cannot follow Michigan’s
model of adopting race-based admission policies when ample race-neutral
alternatives remain available to respondents.”
So the Supreme Court, far from endorsing race as a factor of
admissions, actually rejected it in the case of California.
Diane Schachterle, the Director of Public Affairs for the American
Civil Rights Coalition, agrees. In an e-mail, she told me, “Grutter
v. Bollinger specifies that if race-neutral means are working, then
race-based policies may NOT be used. Since Justice O’Connor singled
out California as a shining example of the success of race-neutral
policies one can conclude that California meets this legal test and
is forbidden to consider race.”
Much can be said about the righteousness of affirmative action. But
the issue at hand is far different and far more important. It is an
issue of law and public opinion.
Last week, our representatives gathered in their elite room where
they overrode our desires, breached their sacred contract with the
law, and misled and deceived California citizens. In the process,
they insulted the opponents of affirmative action and crushed the
legitimacy of its advocates.
The assemblymen who voted for this bill are, in the most literal
sense, vigilantes.
Does anybody care?

Party time under a jazzy moon! – Free shows at the 25th anniversary
of the Festival International de Jazz de Montréal
Canada Newswire
June 4 2004
MONTREAL, June 3 /CNW Telbec/ – There’s only about three weeks left
until the start of the 25th edition of the Festival International
de Jazz de Montréal, the biggest celebration of music anywhere on
Earth. And more than a few hearts are already fluttering at the
prospect of the good times and great sounds that have been filling
the streets of downtown Montreal every summer since 1980. The Gods of
Music, it seems, are already smiling down on us, judging from this
year’s line-up, which includes not one, but four free mega-shows,
plus a few unprecedented “concept” events, some of them on free outdoor
stages; others in concert halls. We admit it: we deliberately conspired
to spoil everyone during this anniversary year by laying out the most
generous smorgasbord of ear-candy ever. We owe it to you, because
it’s Montrealers’ pride in their festival-and their inexhaustible
party spirit-that have made this annual event such a huge success
over the years, That’s why we promised ourselves that never shall
this “City of Festivals” have lived up to its name so well as this
year. We’re expecting about 2 million visitors, coming from just about
everywhere on the planet, so we’ve added an extra day to the fest,
which will be running for 12 days and 12 nights between June 30 and
July 11, 2004. And we’ve even thrown in a pre-opening show on June 29,
the 25th Anniversary Gala Concert at the Bell Centre, featuring Diana
Krall and a few invited guests, not least of whom is Diana’s husband,
Elvis Costello.
We should mention here that after being named as among the country’s
eight biggest tourist destinations by Attractions Canada, the Festival
International de Jazz de Montréal is also being honored this very
week with the issue of a 25th anniversary commemorative stamp by
Canada Post. If nothing else, the stamp attests to the fact that our
distinctively Montreal happening has taken its place as an event as
much part of our national fabric as the maple leaf itself.
Ever grateful for the support of our perennial partners, the Festival
International de Jazz de Montréal takes this first opportunity to
thank General Motors of Canada, main sponsor and official presenter of
the event. We also extend our heartfelt thanks to Labatt Breweries,
co-presenter and second biggest sponsor, for working so hard to make
our 25th anniversary year what promises to be the very best ever. We’re
also very happy indeed to be welcoming two major new sponsors to
this year’s Festival: Loto Québec and TD Canada Trust. And many,
many thanks to Bell, who has significantly raised its contribution
to the event over the next three years.
Get down in the downtown
It’s any day now that music will be wafting through the downtown
streets like a warm summer’s breeze. And any day now that thousands
of music-makers invited from Canada and 20 countries abroad will be
transforming the quadrangle bordering Place des Arts into a gigantic
laboratory of sound. Altogether, there’ll be no fewer than 380 free
concerts on 10 outdoor stages, divided into 30 distinct series, not
counting the hundreds of street performers, Dixieland bands and the
like who’ll be mingling with the crowds. It’s their job to make sure
that the Festival’s free activities are plenty of fun for everyone,
and that lesser-known musicians get the chance to strut their stuff
to the crowds. All in all, get set for lots of musical surprises and
lots of old friends, when festivalgoers from all walks of life get
together to enjoy the unique international language of music that
transcends all differences between them.
Les Performances General Motors is the focal series of the Festival,
taking place at 9 and 11 p.m. on the Scène General Motors. Among the 10
concerts scheduled, most notable perhaps is the Besh o Drom ensemble
from Hungary, who’ve brought traditional Hungarian music into the
20th Century with a decidedly groove-oriented beat and a flair for
jazz improvisation befitting of the year 2004. Also appearing will be
the Suzie Arioli Band, headed by dynamic Suzie herself and faithful
companion Jordan Officer, serving up a sampler from their latest CD
That’s for Me. A talented and energetic Montrealer of Brazilian origin,
Monica Freire, is back by popular demand, and don’t anyone miss the
compelling Bettye Lavette, either, an inexplicably overlooked singer
of soul music.
Taking place on the same stage at 6 p.m. will be the Gammes General
Motors series, offering a varied menu of extremely accomplished
artists. Among others, festivalgoers can enjoy the overflowing
imaginations and contagious energy of the Orkestre des Pas perdus,
or perhaps listen in to the Effendi Jazz Lab event, featuring Effendi
recording artists. Also present will be the 2003 winner of the Grand
Prix de Jazz General Motors, Ontario native Nancy Walker, who’s back
with new material imbued with lavish shades of swing, bop and bossa
nova. It’s from among those appearing in this series that the winner
of the cross-Canada Grand Prix de Jazz General Motors contest will be
selected on Saturday, July 10 at 6 p.m, Altogether, it’s a veritable
showcase of Canadian talent, and not to be missed. Another prize up
for grabs is from Radio Canada’s Galaxie network, who’ll be awarding
the Prix Etoiles Galaxie de Radio Canada, as well as a cash prize,
to the composer of the best original song performed by any of the
competing groups. All contestants are clearly identified in your
programming guide, and it’s a great way to find out what’s shaking
on the Canadian jazz scene.
At the ever-popular scène Labatt Bleue in the Parc Fred Barry,
Les soirées Labatt Bleue will be catering to die-hard blues lovers
at 7 and 11 p.m. There will be young rock-blues singer-guitarist
Jonas in his third Festival appearance, as well as Jean Millaire &
Johnny Blue Band, whose leader wrote some of the greatest pages
in Quebec musical history for Offenbach, Corbeau and Marjo. Among
others on the program will be the one-and-only Stephen Barry Band,
whose founder Steve is one of the principal proponents of blues on
the Montreal scene. Come hear the energetic Henry & the Blue Kats,
including terrific harp player Rick L. Blues, whose performance was
truly outstanding last year on the same venue.
Also at the venerable blues oasis, this time at 11 p.m. will be the
Spectacles Labatt Bleue series, spotlighting groups from abroad,
and kicking off with 60s icon Brian Auger’s Oblivion Express, but in
21st Century mode. On stage, as well, will be the New York guitarist
and harmonica player Jon Paris (former bass man to Johnny Winter) who
was a major hit at the 2000 fest. An aboriginal group from northern
Ontario, The Pappy John’s Band, will star Murray Porter in his first
festival visit. Old blues hands Johnny Jones & The Groove Dudes will
be warming up the planks too, and, as in previous years, each of the
acts that happen on the scène Labatt Bleue will be repeated just a
bit later, at half-past-midnight, free of charge, in the Spectrum.
All states of the Art of Jazz will be represented at the Carrefour
General Motors on the corner of Jeanne Mance and de Maisonneuve at
6:30 p.m. Be there to hear Australian guitarist Tommy Emmanuel, who’ll
doubtless leave us all gasping for air as he did last year. Come
hear Buster (“machine gun”) B. Jones, the amazing 14-year-old
guitarist Brooksie Robinson, or Don Ross, who some consider to be
THE Canadian guitarist of our time. The extraordinary guitarist from
Madagascar D’Gary will begin with a solo performance and return for
a 9-o’clock show, in trio form on the same stage for the second half
of the evening, which constitutes the Contact General Motors series,
focusing on the international relatives of jazz music. Visitors will
be treated to the astounding sounds of ‘voodoo jazz’ by thrilling
Haitian saxophonist Buyu Ambroise, plus the super-charged world-jazz
sounds of the Hadouk Trio in their first North American performance. It
will also be your chance to hear the uplifting Armenian ensemble of
Souren Baronian’s Taksim and the Canadian singer of Indian origin
Kiran Ahluwalia, whose most recent recording earlier this year won
her the Juno Award for Best Canadian World Music album.
Happening at the Club Jazz TD Canada Trust (ensconced in Parc Hydro
Québec), the Jazz TD Canada Trust series will be sticking to its
double-show format, with 7 o’clock shows reprised at 10 p.m. Several
masters of their trade will appear, including Karl Jannuska, a drummer
from Montreal now living in France, presenting a stage adaptation
of his album Liberating Vines, a jewel of modern jazz-very rhythmic
and served up in quartet form. Pierre de Bethman, accompanied by the
Ilume Quintet is equal parts pianist and groover-in-sweetheart-mode,
a fine interaction of energy and harmony. Also appearing in the series
will be the Bill Mahar Quintet, who’ve played almost every edition of
the Festival since the beginning. On stage with the Streetnix, here’s
an opportunity to see how Bill holds it all together as band-leader.
Rendez-vous Loto Québec is a new series to be presented between 8
and 10 p.m. at the Scène Loto Québec, directly on de Maisonneuve.
Appearing will be Les Moonlight Girls, a terrific female trio from
Montreal who’ll pay musical tribute to the Andrews Sisters, who
dominated popular music from the 30s to the 50s. Ontario native Matt
Dusk renounced what might have been an operatic career to become one
of the most highly visible crooners in the country (and at just 24
years of age!) so this is where to be for standards fans. With a name
like Primitifs du futur, be forewarned when the 5 young Frenchmen
mix up world-musette, Django-esque guitars and old-style renditions
of newer pieces.
The Tropiques Bleue Légère series happens at 7:30 p.m. at the Scène
Bleue Légère (Parc des Festivals, on the corner of Bleury and de
Maisonneuve). International acts will be the order of the day,
including Franck Biyong & Massak, ex-member of the Sawt el Atlas
multinational Afro-beat project that follows in the footsteps of
Fela. Mexican group Los de Abajo is finally making a visit to the
Festival, with a refreshing musical cocktail that combines traditional
Mexican strains with Afro-Latin rhythms and rap: music to dance to. A
Moroccan now living in New York, Hassan Hakmoun was schooled in the
trance gnawa belief system, but sprinkles his music with funk, pop
and electronic. And Kofo the Wonderman lives up to his name. He’s
been banging his talking drum around the Big Apple for years, in
the authentic juju style of King Sunny Adé. He’s also got a way with
Afro-funk and Yoruba traditional chants.
At 10 p.m., once again this year we’ll be presenting the Groove Bleue
Légère series at the Scène Bleue Légère, where fascinating rhythm
takes center stage. Afrodizz, for example are Montrealers who also
take their cue from Fela, bringing Afrobeat to the 21st Century with
a decidedly funky lilt. Their new album Kif Kif is being released by
the British label Freestyle. Come hear Yerba Buena, a vast groove
factory including 9 musicians directed by guitarist Andres Levin
that blends Latin rhythm, Cuban religious music, American soul and
Afro-beat. Buscemi, hailing from Belgium, is known for the trip-hop
of their CDs, but on stage they take on a contagious, super-charged,
up-tempo house beat.
Soirées Jazzy Bell is presented at 8 and 10 p.m. at the new Scène Bell,
just at the entrance of the complexe Desjardins. The series features a
collection of brilliant artists, starting with fabulous Jimmy Bowskill.
Accompanied by harp player Jerome Godboo, Jimmy’s an old soul in the
body of a teenager, who sings blues like he’s actually been around
long enough to live it. (Jimmy riveted crowds in the same locale
last year, so watch out.) Next comes Dessy Di Lauro who’s worked
with Dubmatique, Ginette Reno and Cirque du Soleil. Accompanied by
pianist Ric’Key Pageot, Dessy offers up a synthesis of soul and jazz,
with Brazilian undertones. The ensemble Tortured Soul is rarely heard
in trio form with such an awesome sound and has been compared to the
groove of The New Deal and Jamiroquai. Come for the fine party fare.
The Brunantes series takes place at 8 and 10 p.m. on the Scène
du Festival, directly on the Esplanade of Place des Arts. It’s a
mixed program, featuring acts such as Without Words, whose bassist
Karine Chapdelaine, you may remember, won the Galaxie Award at last
year’s Festival for best original composition, entitled Prisoner of
a Dream. Inspired by the celebrated Hot Club de France that sprung
up just after the war, Hot Club de ma rue recently took Montreal by
storm with a cool blend of easy swing and gypsy-style jazz reminiscent
of Django. Lastly is a South-Korean group, the Jae Chung & Ben Ball
Ensemble. Chung is guitarist and Ball the drummer, for jazz in a
traditional setting.
The Movado Jams Sessions will take place in the Hyatt Regency
Montréal hotel, in the Salon Jeanne Mance, Foyer Level. This one’s
for night owls, because every night at 11 p.m., for the duration of
the Festival, Thuryn von Pranke will take to the ivories, Frédéric
Alarie to his specially designed double bass and Muhammad to his
drum set. Be there for the real thing, because musicians appearing
elsewhere in the Festival will be stopping by for some late-night
improv. Don’t forget that the Friends of the Festival Card gives
you priority access to the Movado Jam Sessions, because seating is
restricted and limited to those 18 years and over.
The Nightcap series is new this year and completely free of charge,
taking place at 11:30 p.m. on stage in the Savoy at the Metropolis.
The series features the Trio Pulse Nu Jazz Session with Dan Thouin
on keyboards, Max Sansalone on drums and Adrian Vedady on double
bass. It’s where to be on a real late-nighter, when these three
veterans jazz up a storm.
It all starts at noon!
They say midnight’s the magic hour, and that’s true, but when
you’ve only got 12 days for your Festival, you’ll want to start
early. Nothing goes better with lunch than jazz, anyway, so stop
by for the always-popular Les midis complexe Desjardins. Jitterbug
Swing is back to inaugurate the series at the Grande-Place du
complexe Desjardins, and make sure to hear the Canadian guitarist of
Brazilian origin, Celso Machado, who uses various parts of his body
and voice to produce guttural sounds that mimic the calls of various
animals. Story-teller and multi-instrumentalist David Amram, 74, has
rubbed shoulders with the likes of Jack Kerouac and Charlie Parker,
and was once guest conductor to no fewer than 17 symphony orchestras at
the same time. The charming, multi-faceted artist will be landing on
Planet Jazz this time though, in the Contact General Motors series at
9 p.m. While you’re there, discover jazz innovator Lubo Alexandrov’s
Kaba Horo, whose leader is of Bulgarian origin and the only guitarist
in Canada to play classical guitar without frets, like a violin.
The Petite Ecole du Jazz is applying the same formula as in previous
years, taking place from July 1 to 11. Come watch the Bande Magnetik,
the musicians of James Gelfand and the inimitable Jacques L’Heureux
apply their technique for teaching music to young people. Gathering
outside the complexe Desjardins at 2 p.m. and 3:30 p.m., be there as
they introduce basic notions of music to children, in an environment
conducive to fun and learning, with our Ste Cat mascot never far away.
Dixieland bands have been a Festival institution right from the
beginning, one of those signature details that gives the site its
particular ambiance and notifies festivalgoers that the party’s
underway. So they’ll be back again, naturally, bringing afternoon
sunshine to the site with summery sounds you can enjoy at the
Terrasse Grand Marnier during the Les midis Grand Marnier, at
noon, 1 p.m and during the 7 à 8 Grand Marnier, from 7 to 10 p.m.
This irresistible music can also be heard at the new scène Bell for
the Les Après midis Jazz, at 4 p.m., or during the Les 5 à 7 series
(at 5 p.m. and 6:15 p.m.) at the Scène du Festival on the Esplanade at
Place des Arts. You’ll also want to hear some of the young musicians
from various school bands who’ll be appearing in the always-popular
Les découvertes General Motors, at the Scène General Motors.
And that’s still not all!
None of the above includes the approximately 150 interior concerts
or the 113 musical groups who’ll be appearing in surrounding bars
and night clubs as part of the Nuits de Montréal dimension of
the Festival. Nor have we spoken at length about the incredible 4
free outdoor mega-shows we’ve organized for this spectacular 25th
anniversary edition. Starting with the Grande fête d’ouverture,
presented by Loto Québec and Bell to celebrate 10 years since the fall
of apartheid, the mega-show stars some of the greatest acts ever to
emerge from South Africa: Johnny Clegg and Ladysmith Black Mambazo,
joined by Montrealer of South-African origin, Lorraine Klaasen,
and staged by journalist Lucie Pagé. It’s all happening on June
30 on the Scène General Motors. And it’ll be just as hot for the
Evénement spécial Labatt Bleue “Fête du Soul”, celebrating American
Independence Day with the Funk Brothers, Joan Osborne, Sam Moore and
Jacksoul on July 4 at the corner of St. Urbain and de Maisonneuve. The
Soirée commémorative du 25e anniversaire (July 10) will be a perfect
opportunity for a picnic with the family at Place des Nations on
Ile Sainte Hélène. Be there when things start up at 6 p.m., with
performances by the Streetnix, followed at 7 p.m. by Vic Vogel and his
Big Band on stage, right where they were for the very first edition of
the festival in 1980. (The very special evening is being sponsored by
the Québec government in cooperation with the Parc Jean Drapeau.) On
July 11 at the Grand Evénement General Motors, come celebrate the dual
25th & 20th anniversaries of the Festival International de Jazz de
Montréal and the Cirque du Soleil on the main stage of the site. We’re
calling it “Soleil de minuit” (Midnight Sun) and the mega-show will
include Youssou N’Dour, Daniela Mercury, Jorane, les frères Diouf,
les voix du Cirque, I Musici and an Afro Brazilian percussion ensemble.
This entire free and spectacular show will be staged by Michel Lemieux
and Victor Pilon, under the musical direction of Guy Dubuc and Marc
Lessard. The huge street party will begin at 9 p.m. for a deferred
transmission at 9:30 p.m. on CBC Television and the French-language
network of Radio Canada. Giant screens on outdoor stages throughout
the site will make sure everyone gets to see the action.
The moon IS the spotlight at this year’s Festival!
Over the years, the moon has come to symbolize jazz, because both
shine most brilliantly at night. This year, we’ve adopted the moon
itself as the symbol for the 25th anniversary edition of the Festival
International de Jazz de Montréal. You’ll find her everywhere, on the
signage that guides visitors from one stage to another, to restaurants,
to the musical park and anywhere else they need to get to in the vast,
downtown pedestrian quadrangle during the Festival’s magical 12 days
and nights. You’ll even find the moon symbol on the pavement! There’ll
be banners, multi-colored lighting and an overall magic to the
site. And if there are so many candles on this year’s cake, we’re
sharing the honour with festival goers in a variety of ways, including
plenty of novelties to keep the site fresh and happening. Be sure to
travel the elevated pedestrian bridge from the Théâtre Maisonneuve,
because at the southern extremity on Ste. Catherine Street, visitors
can stop by the new Radio-Canada Studio to see extracts from the best
moments in the history of the Festival or even participate in a live
broadcast. Travelling north the length of St. Urbain Street, take a
moment to re-live jazz fest memories through the poster collection
we’ve installed there. At the end of the bridge, you’ll find yourself
in the Village du Festival, a civic area with its own Main Street and a
message board strategically located where visitors can leave personal
messages for one another. In the Village you’ll also find benches,
the ever-popular Bistro SAQ and Pub Stella Artois, plus restaurants
and a music kiosk. The Village occupies the north-east corner of
the Esplanade of Place des Arts and is the perfect complement to
the overall festival site – a place for cultural intermingling, and
most probably a good indicator of attendance. Make sure to plan it
so kids can stay awhile at the Musical Park and the make-up booth,
and don’t forget to stop by the Festival’s big souvenir stand.
For the last several years, the Festival has mounted a popular
Louisiana parade on the site. The very first edition even had the
Dejean Olympia Brass Band direct from New Orleans. For this 25th
anniversary, we’re bringing back the tradition of the Parade du
Festival with Swing Tonique, every day at 5:30 p.m., leaving from the
Scène Bell at the entrance to complexe Desjardins and crossing the
site through the Village du Festival to the Scène carrefour GM on de
Maisonneuve. As we’ve mentioned, this year the Festival is welcoming
a new sponsor, TD Canada Trust, who have lent their name to the Club
Jazz in the Parc Hydro Quebec. And we’re also welcoming the arrival
of Loto Québec, whose contribution allowed us to add another stage
behind Place des Arts, on de Maisonneuve boulevard, where the cream
of jazz singers will be featured throughout this year’s fest.
Remember, as well, that our own 25th anniversary edition of the
Festival is concurrent with two other auspicious birthdays. Because
Place des Arts and the Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal will
both be celebrating the respectable ages of 40 years, we’ve also
taken the opportunity to honor those venerable institutions that
have become so much the pride of Quebeckers over 4 decades. To
underscore the many years of partnership between the Festival and
those other major Quebec cultural institutions, stop by to see the
free exhibition entitled “Collection du Festival,” in the main hall
of the museum, which includes originals of all the works reproduced
for the Festival Gallery. The museum will be keeping its doors open
until 10 p.m. every night, except Sunday, Monday and Tuesday, to make
sure you can enjoy everything else the Musée d’art contemporain de
Montréal has to offer. Entry is just $6. Also, in the main hall of the
Salle Wilfrid Pelletier at Place des Arts, stop by to see a display
of all posters created for the Festival since its very beginnings.
The main corridor leading to Place des Arts will house an exhibition
of the finest photographs taken at the Festival over these last 25
years by the intrepid photographers of the La Presse daily newspaper.
While you’re on the site, make sure to visit the Festival Gallery in
the north-west corner of the esplanade at Place des Arts, specializing
in magnificent, limited-edition silk-screens signed by a number of
fine artists. This year, look out for music does this, which our own
multi-talented Lhasa has contributed to the Festival collection. Only
300 signed and numbered copies will be available, but you’ll also
find a “new” work by world-renowned Quebec artist Jean Paul Riopelle,
acquired by Festival founder Alain Simard in 1997. It’s called Big
Bang, Big Band which Riopelle’s estate has generously allowed us to
reproduce in a series of 75. All works are sold exclusively at the
Festival Gallery, including a number of pieces by Yves Archambault,
official illustrator for the Festival. Yves recently signed and
numbered the 25th anniversary poster, where silhouettes of a singer
and trumpet player together form the 25th anniversary numerals. Please
remember that all proceeds from the sale of posters will go exclusively
to financing the Festival’s hundreds of free outdoor shows, because
the Festival is – and shall remain – a non-profit organisation.
Don’t forget to stop by the Friends Tent, directly on Ste. Catherine
Street, because it’s there that you can pick up your Friends of the
Festival Card to enjoy the many special services offered courtesy of
General Motors. Card-holders will receive an entry form to the draw
for a Grand Prize of a General Motors (first prize: GM vehicles),
plus numerous daily treats, such as a free bottle of cold spring
water, sun lotion, sitting-down massages or the loan of a cushion,
for comfort where it counts during the Festival’s outdoor shows. Also,
if you attend any of the Pleins Feux series at Place des Arts, you’ll
receive a free non-alcoholic beverage while you’re there. And you’ll
always have the satisfaction of knowing that for the mere $15 you paid
for your Friends Card, you contributed directly to the financing of
the Festival’s 380 free shows on exterior stages. Remember: with your
Friends Card, you’ll also receive two $5-coupons redeemable against
the purchases of a Souvenir album and a 25th Festival compilation CD,
only on the festival site. Another distinct advantage of the card
is that you gain priority access to the Movado Jam Sessions in the
Salon Jeanne Mance at the Hyatt Regency Montréal Hotel, provided
you’re over 18 years of age.
Bell Info Jazz Bell information services
Answering all your questions
The official Info-Jazz Bell Program contains just about everything
you’ll need to know to get the most from our gigantic celebration
of jazz. Right there, in the very first pages, you’ll get a concise
grid that sets forth the entirety of this year’s programming, plus a
detailed map of the site. Thereafter follows a description of all the
concerts offered this year, both indoors and out. In all, there are
170 pages offering complete information concerning ticket purchases,
souvenir kiosks and rest areas, the art gallery and the many free
activities available at this year’s fest.
You can find your copy of the official Info-Jazz Bell program starting
today at the Spectrum, in Place des Arts and, over the coming days,
in all concert halls where shows will be taking place. Programs are
also available in many SAQ outlets throughout the metropolitan area. We
printed 200,000 copies, so you’ll find plenty in downtown hotels and
better-known record and bookstores in the downtown area. We’ve also
printed 600,000 copies of the complete Info-Jazz Bell pamphlet in
a practical, compact format, containing a complete schedule of all
concerts. You’ll find the pamphlet at most of the same locations as
your program. Both programs and pamphlets are also readily available
at the five Info Jazz Bell kiosks and at the Carrefour Info-Jazz Bell
on the esplanade at Place des Arts.
Grouped together under the name Info Jazz Bell, all information tools
provided by the Festival International de Jazz de Montréal are easy
to access for anyone who wants to get the most from our huge musical
celebration. You can visit the Info Jazz Bell du Festival internet
site at to print out the entire schedule of
free concerts, if you like, or call the Bell Info-Jazz line at (514)
871 1881 (for the Montreal region) or 1 888 515 0515, from anywhere
else in Canada or the United States.
A tourist service to help visitors organize trips to Montreal
during the Festival is available through our partner Alio. A number
of flexible package tours are also available, including airline
tickets, affordable hotel accommodation and even a complete Festival
Kit. Tourists can also find out about the huge variety of tourist
activities in Montreal and Quebec through representatives of Tourisme
Montréal and Tourisme Québec, who’ve set up tourist information kiosks
throughout the Festival site.
It’s taken a quarter of a century for the Festival International de
Jazz de Montréal to become what it is today, known around the world for
its easy-going pace, party atmosphere and unparalleled programming. So
for this 25th year, we sincerely hope everyone young and old will
find their way to our jewel of a Festival. It’s going to be one for
the history books, and yours to enjoy between June 30 and July 11,
2004. See you there!
For further information: Media Information: Myriam
Achard, Media Relations Director, (514) 523-3378, ext. 535,
[email protected]; Marie Eve Boisvert, Press Attachée,
(514) 523-3378, ext. 666, [email protected];
Alain Des Ruisseaux, Press Attaché, (514) 523-3378, ext. 608,
[email protected]; Public Information: Bell
Info Jazz Line, (514) 871-1881 or toll free 1 (888) 515-0515,
; Source: Festival International de Jazz de
Montréal, (514) 523 3378