The Montreal bassist, composer, founder of Effendi Records, and leader of the Auguste Quintet, entertained us with a multi-part set that began with "The Blues de Lunedi" and, 30 or so minutes later, after a series of time changes and segues through about 3 or more other tunes, concluded with "Nécessité".

The frontline saxophone players, Frank Lozano and Jean-Christophe Bérey, caught my attention most of the evening. Lozano played tenor in the Coltrane tradition, with tonal cries and scoops. Bérey insistently threaded his way through the music. They're both fine soloists.

All the while, Bédard's pizzicato was firmly yet unobtrusively underscoring and driving things along. The high tremolos of pianist, Alexandre Grogg, kept opening up the music's space, and Pierre Tanguay, in all his sticking glory, kept the time, and swung.

What struck me most this evening was that the multi-part tunes were fine, but the horn solos were more than fine.