Rising Sun Celebrity Jazz Club

1. Introduction

From 1975 to 1991, impresario Rouè-Doudou Boicel made the Rising Sun one of Canada’s leading jazz and blues clubs, welcoming numerous international headliners while actively supporting the local scene^[1].

Over the course of the 1970s, declining public interest in jazz led to the closure of many Montreal clubs. In this context, the Rising Sun, founded in the spring of 1975, quickly established itself as one of the city’s main venues for the music, as several establishments disappeared one after another^[6]. Initially used as a rehearsal space for local musicians, the venue soon developed a regular program and became an important stop for touring artists.

Born in French Guiana, Rouè-Doudou Boicel left his homeland at the age of 23 before spending several years in Europe and settling in Quebec in 1970^[1]. From a modest background, a painter, poet and former electrician, he developed early on a deeply human and social vision of culture. Soon after arriving in Montreal, he became involved with underprivileged youth by founding the Centre de Visosonie, active from 1971 to 1975, an organization that offered artistic activities to children and teenagers in the Centre-Sud district^[1]. His interest in “visosonie” already reflected his desire to make music accessible to all by conceiving it as a global sensory experience, beyond traditional cultural frameworks.

Rouè-Doudou Boicel in front of the Rising Sun; La Presse fonds, P833,S2,D557, Archives nationales à Montréal, Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec (BAnQ)^[65].

Convinced that jazz had not yet said its last word at a time when many considered the music to be in decline, he made it his mission to revive Montreal’s jazz scene. In 1975, he opened the Rising Sun at 286 Sainte-Catherine Street West, under the evocative slogan: “Jazz is not dead”^[1]. The small, welcoming club quickly became an essential gathering place for jazz and blues lovers, before attracting renowned Canadian and American artists who made it a key stop on their tours^[1]. Over the years, the venue welcomed some of the greatest figures in African-American jazz and blues, directly helping to turn Montreal into a recognized destination on the international circuits of these musics^[1].

His approach remained deeply independent and hands-on. Aware of the economic realities of jazz, he recognized that running a club relied more on passion than on profit. He therefore developed an intuitive and pragmatic way of working, based on coherent programming, tight management and a constant ability to adapt. This combination of resourcefulness, intellectual curiosity and resilience allowed the Rising Sun to become a unique place in Montreal’s cultural landscape: a space where students, artists, outsiders, professionals, international musicians and a loyal audience crossed paths in a warm and deeply human atmosphere⁽²⁶⁾.

In 1978, he pushed his ambition even further by founding the Rising Sun Festijazz, presented on the stages of the Rising Sun and Place des Arts^[1]. For three years, this international jazz and blues festival enjoyed significant success and brought several world stars to Montreal, including Ray Charles, Art Blakey, Taj Mahal, Muddy Waters, Buddy Guy, Sarah Vaughan, Dizzy Gillespie and Nina Simone^[1]. Through this initiative, he sought not only to produce concerts, but also to offer new visibility to African-American musics and to demonstrate that Montreal could host the greatest figures in jazz and blues in a context respectful of their cultural heritage.

His contribution to Montreal’s cultural life was gradually recognized by several institutions. During the 20th Black History Month in 2011, he was named among twenty personalities who had left a social and cultural mark on Montreal and Quebec^[1]. That same year, the borough of Côte-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce named him a Grand Citizen in the Sports and Culture category. In 2013, the Black Coalition of Quebec awarded him the Mathieu Da Costa Prize for his contribution to Quebec society, before he received the Grand Prix Dynastie in 2018, recognizing the exceptional commitment of a member of Quebec’s Black community^[1]. He was also honoured in New York, French Guiana, South Africa and Senegal, testifying to the lasting influence of his work well beyond Montreal.

2. Bar des Arts: 286 Sainte-Catherine West Before the Rising Sun

A photograph of 286–288 Sainte-Catherine Street West shows the façade of the Paree Business Training Office and the Central Photo Cameras business, the future site of the Bar des Arts and then the Rising Sun, reflecting the commercial and lively character of downtown Montreal during the Red Light era. Archives de la ville de Montréal^[66].

Long before it became the Rising Sun, 286 Sainte-Catherine Street West already had a long history tied to Montreal nightlife. Court documents published in Le Devoir in October 1954, as part of the Caron inquiry into commercialized gambling in Montreal, identified the address among several establishments associated with illegal betting networks and downtown gambling houses^[67]. The texts notably mention the activities of bookmaker Harry Feldman, as well as several addresses on Sainte-Catherine Street West regarded by investigators as important sites of organized gambling^[67]. These revelations testify to the shady and lively character of Montreal’s Red Light district well before jazz arrived at the Rising Sun.

In the early 1960s, the building housed the Bar des Arts, an establishment combining cabaret, nightlife and cultural activities. An article published in Le Devoir in March 1964 notably announced an evening during which poet Gaston Miron read several of his texts before a Montreal audience^[67]. The newspaper also mentioned art exhibitions presented in a room called “Galerie Atys,” located directly inside the club’s premises^[67]. The venue thus belonged to a hybrid environment where poetry, visual arts, cabaret and nightlife intersected.

Despite this cultural vocation, the Bar des Arts remained associated with a sometimes unstable atmosphere characteristic of certain downtown Montreal establishments in the late 1960s and early 1970s. In March 1968, The Gazette reported that a group of three individuals vandalized the establishment, destroying furniture and several bottles of alcohol, causing damage estimated at about $2,000^[70]. A few years later, in February 1973, the club again made headlines following a shooting that occurred around 2:30 a.m.^[68]. According to newspapers of the time, several shots were fired inside the cabaret before an armed man fled along Jeanne-Mance Street, firing toward police officers who had arrived at the scene^[68]. Officers Jacques Cinq-Mars and Jean-Louis Hélie took part in the suspect’s arrest, while the investigation suggested a possible link with the Popeyes gang as well as with the murder of André Trudelle, shot in a taxi a few minutes later^[69].

A column published in Le Polyscope in February 1973 also confirms that the Bar des Arts was then hosting topless shows, describing an establishment where “a bunch of people were watching the little topless girl” before customers went up to the third floor for a beer^[71]. This testimony illustrates the nightlife atmosphere of the area surrounding Place des Arts in the early 1970s, at a time when this portion of Sainte-Catherine Street West remained strongly associated with Montreal’s Red Light cabarets, bars and performance venues.

When Doudou Boicel finally took over the premises in 1974 in order to found the Rising Sun, the place still bore the traces of this turbulent past. The establishment then required major cleaning and renovation work in order to transform the former cabaret into a venue devoted to jazz and blues^[8]. This transformation marked an important break in the building’s history and announced the birth of one of the most emblematic venues in Montreal’s jazz scene.

“On our first visit, when the owner handed us the keys to the Bar des Arts,” Doudou explains, “the atmosphere in that nude dancers’ club was quite surprising. We did not expect to find such a sordid place. We found awful, morbid catacombs. The place reeked of a scam. We cleaned it up fairly quickly, disinfected the premises, changed the carpet and built a new stage. Yolande and Ève, who worked at my vegetarian restaurant, Casa Doudou, came to help us.”

3. 1975: Jazz Is Not Dead

An advertisement published in The Montreal Star in December 1975 announces performances by the American Shades of Joy Dance Band at the Rising Sun, located at 286 Sainte-Catherine Street West, reflecting the beginnings of the international programming developed by Doudou Boicel within the Montreal club^[128].

Before the emergence of the Rising Sun, jazz in Montreal was going through a marked period of decline. In the early 1970s, the musical landscape was dominated by rock, disco and pop music, pushing jazz to the margins. Radio stations gave it little airtime, and local musicians had few opportunities to perform, forcing many of them to turn to studio work or advertising in order to survive. This situation contrasted with previous decades, when establishments such as the Casa Loma, the Penthouse, the Café Saint-Michel and the Tête de l’Art had played an active role in the city’s musical life^[8]. The Rising Sun thus appeared at a critical moment when several clubs were closing their doors, including Norm Silver’s Esquire Show Bar, Harry Milrot’s In Concert and Charles Burke’s Black Bottom. Rockhead’s Paradise, once one of the city’s most popular venues, remained active, but was then mainly focused on rhythm & blues and local jazz^[2].

In this context of waning interest, the idea of reviving jazz took the form of a deliberate, almost militant undertaking. “Jazz is not dead,” proclaimed the spirit of a crusade aimed at bringing musicians together and recreating a space for performance. This ambition, however, came up against complex social and cultural realities, including the division of musical circles along linguistic communities and distinct networks. It was within these circles that young English-speaking Montreal musicians were identified, often gathered around informal places where they could play and meet^[8]. Among these places, the Rainbow Bar & Grill at 1430 Stanley Street occupied an important position. Heir to a tradition of bars open to a marginal and diverse clientele, the establishment acted as a point of convergence for amateur and semi-professional musicians. A variety of styles were presented there — jazz, blues, folk and bluegrass — in an informal setting where different social backgrounds and cultural origins intersected. This parallel scene testified to an underground vitality, outside the dominant commercial circuits^[8].

The emergence of the Rising Sun cannot be separated from the Montreal context of the 1970s, marked by the presence of criminal activity in the bar and nightclub sector. Certain networks linked to organized crime then exerted influence over the operation of these establishments, complicating the process of obtaining the necessary permits and increasing the risks associated with any new venture. Municipal and provincial authorities, aware of this situation, introduced stricter control mechanisms, making the administrative process particularly demanding^[8]. In this climate, obtaining a liquor licence was a decisive step. The process involved exchanges with lawyers, officials and the permit control commission, in an sometimes opaque procedure marked by dubious financial demands and unexpected obstacles. The need to comply with multiple requirements — operating permit, liquor sales permit and municipal approvals — demanded constant discipline and perseverance. The founding of the club was therefore not simply an artistic initiative, but a genuine administrative and financial undertaking^[8].

From the outset, the Rising Sun set itself the mission of restoring jazz’s visibility and legitimacy in the city. This ambition took shape in a context where the music seemed to have been abandoned by institutions and the media, but where an audience and a community of musicians nevertheless remained ready to keep it alive. The establishment was thus part of a revival dynamic based both on individual commitment and on the rebuilding of an artistic network^[8]. The club’s success gradually helped revive Montreal’s jazz scene. Several new establishments then appeared, including L’Air du Temps, Chez Pancho, Le Milord, Café Mojo, Ivan Symonds’s Jazz Bar, Le Bijou, Le Monte-Carlo, Biddle’s, Le Pretzel Enchainé and Le Mustache. The media gradually began speaking about jazz in Montreal again, a sign that the music was regaining a more visible place in the city’s cultural life^[2].

The creation of the Rising Sun therefore appears as both a cultural and entrepreneurial initiative, born in an unfavourable environment but driven by a strong conviction: that jazz, far from having disappeared, remained a living force capable of bringing artists and audiences together around a shared place.

4. 1976: Montreal Discovers the Rising Sun

In the spring of 1976, the Rising Sun, also known as the Soleil Levant, quickly established itself as a rising venue on Sainte-Catherine Street West. With a capacity of about 150 seats, the club was already attracting a large audience, to the point of surprising its founder, Doudou Boicel, who soon began considering an expansion of the facilities. This early popularity marked a pivotal moment in which public success and structural ambitions converged, consolidating the club’s place within Montreal’s jazz scene^[13].

By April, the Rising Sun was described as a distinctive space, both intimate and warm, where jazz was heard in a subdued atmosphere accompanied by Caribbean specialties. This hybrid identity — at the crossroads of club, cultural venue and community meeting place — was confirmed with the holding of a first festival bringing together local musicians and New York ensembles, including the Multi-Stimulus Music Society. The club thus became part of an alternative performance network, complementary to institutions such as McGill University, where a dynamic jazz scene was also developing. Far from being a genre in decline, Montreal jazz in 1976 appeared to be in full transformation, nourished by both academic circles and independent clubs^[9][10].

An advertisement published in Le Jour in July 1976 announces the Rising Sun Festival presented at the Soleil Levant, bringing together several Montreal jazz artists and ensembles in what appears to be one of Doudou Boicel’s first major initiatives to make the club an important jazz crossroads in Montreal^[127].

In the summer of 1976, the Rising Sun confirmed this position with a large-scale festival presented from July 15 to 31. The eclectic and ambitious program brought together a wide range of local and international artists, reinforcing the club’s role as a space for performance, encounter and renewal for jazz in Montreal. This momentum continued into the fall, as the venue attracted major figures of international jazz, marking a decisive transition toward broader recognition^[11][12].

The appearance of Rahsaan Roland Kirk in September 1976 represented one of the first major turning points. Presented as the club’s first major headliner, he drew full houses and imposed an intense, immersive musical experience. The Rising Sun, located on the second floor of 286 Sainte-Catherine Street West, stood out for its sober decor and its closeness to the audience, encouraging direct interaction between musicians and listeners. Despite his physical limitations, Kirk displayed exceptional energy there, transforming each performance into a collective ritual in which improvisation, commitment and emotion merged. His appearance, whose memory extended into 1977 within the venue’s history, made a lasting contribution to shaping the club’s identity^[14][15][22].

In October 1976, the arrival of Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers marked a decisive stage. The Rising Sun then fully entered the international jazz circuit. This encounter acted as a true professional test for Boicel, who was confronted with the demands of the New York scene and a sometimes tense management style embodied by road manager Jim Greene. Despite these frictions, Blakey’s presence helped structure and professionalize the club’s practices, as it gained maturity and credibility. This appearance was not limited to a series of concerts: it redefined the venue’s standards and confirmed its integration into North American touring networks^[16][24].

An advertisement published in The Gazette in December 1976 announces a series of concerts at the Rising Sun featuring Dizzy Gillespie, McCoy Tyner and Pharoah Sanders, illustrating Doudou Boicel’s ambition to make the Montreal club an important crossroads for international jazz in the late 1970s^[129].

The following months confirmed this rise in stature. In November, Yusef Lateef’s quartet, featuring drummer Albert “Tootie” Heath, drew enthusiastic crowds with rich music blending Eastern influences, blues and modern improvisation. In December, the Rising Sun successively welcomed Elvin Jones, whose intense and evolving music extended the legacy of John Coltrane, followed by Cuban percussionist Mongo Santamaria, whose Afro-jazz set the room ablaze in a festive and multicultural atmosphere. Finally, singer Koko Taylor asserted the power of Chicago blues, further broadening the club’s musical palette^{[18][19][20][21]}.

The high point of this pivotal year came on December 31, 1976, when Dizzy Gillespie performed at the Rising Sun for the New Year’s celebrations. A major figure of bebop, he drew a considerable crowd and turned the evening into a landmark event. Beyond this performance, the relationship between Gillespie and Boicel was rooted in a deeper dynamic. Discovered by Boicel in his adolescence in French Guiana, the trumpeter became over time a loyal ally of the club, returning to play regularly and supporting its development through difficult moments. This relationship helped stabilize the Rising Sun and strengthen its international profile, making Gillespie not only a legendary guest, but a key figure in the venue’s history^[17][23].

Thus, 1976 marked a decisive transition for the Rising Sun: from an emerging club rooted in a dynamic local scene, it became within a few months a true hub of international jazz in Montreal, capable of attracting, welcoming and retaining the greatest figures of the genre.

“My meeting with the young promoter Sheldon Kagan allowed me to discover a group of students of Jewish origin while they were playing at the Windsor Hotel for an evening organized by Sheldon. The group was called Wintergarden: it was the first jazz-fusion orchestra to perform at the Rising Sun.”

5. 1977: The Rising Sun Becomes an Institution

In 1977, the Rising Sun definitively established itself as one of Montreal’s main jazz hubs, in a sense taking over the space left vacant by the disappearance of the In Concert club, whose closure had illustrated the growing difficulty of presenting major artists in an increasingly fragile economic context^[28]. Located at 286 Sainte-Catherine Street West, the club immediately stood apart from the city’s more institutional venues through its raw, intimate and deeply human character^[48][49]. A colourful staircase led to a long, narrow room with black walls and ceilings, dominated by a box of mirrors suspended above the stage, while other mirrors reflected an audience seated on mismatched chairs^[48][49]. Background music accompanied the arrival of customers, creating an atmosphere somewhere between a Montreal jazz club and a South Seas lounge^[48]. Despite the simplicity of the decor and certain technical limitations, the Rising Sun developed a unique, warm and unpretentious charm, where the immediate proximity between artists and audience transformed concerts into immersive and communal experiences^[48]. Spectators, often elegantly dressed and passionate about jazz, came above all for the exceptional quality of the music and the attentive listening the venue encouraged^[49]. The almost reverent silence that prevailed during performances helped make the club a true sanctuary of listening, a direct reflection of the personality of its founder, Rouè-Doudou Boicel, who valued authenticity, human closeness and a passion for jazz over material prestige^[49].

An advertisement published in Pop Jeunesse Rock in January 1977 announces a series of concerts presented at the Rising Sun featuring McCoy Tyner, Ron Carter, Pharoah Sanders, Stan Getz and Muddy Waters, reflecting the international ambition of the programming developed by Doudou Boicel at 286 Sainte-Catherine Street West^[126].

Born in Cayenne, trained in Europe and having spent time in Switzerland and Paris, where he studied art, Doudou Boicel first defined himself as a painter before working in various trades, including as an electrician, then turning to restaurants and club management^[28]. Refusing to see jazz as a simple commercial product, he summed up his philosophy in a phrase that became famous: he did not think “business,” he thought jazz. In a field with thin margins and high costs, he relied on resourcefulness, human networks and solidarity among musicians, beginning by presenting local groups such as Wintergarden before attracting international figures such as Dizzy Gillespie and Art Blakey^[28]. Often dressed in African robes and taking the microphone before shows to defend the survival of jazz in Montreal, Boicel gradually transformed the Rising Sun into a true site of cultural resistance: at once a refuge for musicians, a laboratory of listening and a stage open to the major North American circuits^[28].

As early as January 1977, this ambition was confirmed with the appearance of Pharoah Sanders, a major figure of the post-Coltrane current. His engagement illustrated the club’s ability to welcome jazz in full transformation, moving between meditative lyricism, bursts of raw energy and returns to bebop or ballad forms^[33]. A few days later, the Rising Sun shifted into the world of blues with Muddy Waters, whose sextet temporarily transformed the club into a true blues joint. Despite a noticeable fatigue linked to touring, Waters imposed a natural and powerful presence through classics such as Got My Mojo Working, Baby Please Don’t Go and Hoochie Coochie Man, confirming the Rising Sun’s role as a crossroads between jazz and blues^[34].

In February, the club continued this momentum with Ron Carter, former pillar of Miles Davis’s quintet, who presented a renewed conception of the double bass, now used as a melodic and harmonic instrument in its own right^[35]. Shortly afterward, Stan Getz, newly arrived from Copenhagen, delivered a performance praised for the maturity of his playing and the richness of his quartet, in which pianist Joanne Brackeen particularly stood out^[36]. In Boicel’s account, however, that same stay took a more chaotic turn: Getz disappeared at intermission, was found in a nearby bar, then returned to finish his concert under precarious conditions before causing new concerns the following day^[37]. The episode illustrates the sometimes unpredictable realities of the promoter’s profession, caught between artistic genius, human fragility and the need to protect both the audience and the club.

In March, the Rising Sun welcomed Willie Dixon, a central figure of Chicago blues and the author of a repertoire that became canonical, including Hoochie Coochie Man, Spoonful and Back Door Man^[38]. On stage, Dixon alternated narration, singing and bass playing, transforming each piece into a living, shared experience. That same month, the Bill Evans Trio offered the club one of the season’s most refined moments. Critics highlighted the finesse of Evans’s playing, the virtuosity of bassist Eddie Gomez and some reservations about drummer Eliot Zigmund, considered at times too forceful for the trio’s delicate aesthetic^[40]. Behind the scenes, Boicel recounts that Evans, worried from the moment he arrived, interrupted a performance by saying he could not play on the piano provided, forcing the owner to urgently find a new instrument^[39]. Despite these tensions, the concerts revealed music of almost sacred intensity, illustrating the full duality of the Rising Sun: the absolute grace of the music confronted with the hard reality of the business.

In the spring, a column devoted to the habits of Montreal jazz audiences described the Rising Sun as a true “chameleon,” capable of crossing boundaries between audiences and musical styles^[32]. In a landscape where each venue had its own public, the club stood out for its ability to bring together a young, diverse and culturally mixed crowd around programming that ranged from blues to contemporary jazz. This versatility was especially evident with John Lee Hooker, whose May appearance confirmed the Rising Sun’s drawing power among major blues figures^[42]. Accompanied by the Coast to Coast Blues Band, Hooker imposed his hypnotic boogie until the conquered room rose to its feet, clapping hands and stomping feet. The same period also saw the appearance of Nat Adderley, whose quintet delivered energetic hard bop nourished by bebop, Latin music and jazz-rock^[43].

A poster for the Soleil Levant – International Jazz Centre in Montreal announces, in June 1977, an ambitious series of blues and jazz concerts featuring Lightnin’ Hopkins, Buddy Guy & Junior Wells, Big Mama Thornton, Rahsaan Roland Kirk and Eddie Harris, illustrating the central role played by Doudou Boicel in the presentation of African-American music in Montreal.

The summer of 1977 further strengthened the club’s blues dimension. In June, Lightnin’ Hopkins returned to Montreal after several years away. Although he was accompanied by musicians who had rehearsed little together, which at times affected the fluidity of the performance, his presence alone placed the Rising Sun in direct continuity with the deep roots of American blues^[44]. In July, Big Mama Thornton in turn evoked the living memory of the blues, her voice remaining remarkably powerful after nearly forty years of career^[41]. That same month, the Junior Wells–Buddy Guy Band delivered a performance praised for its energy and collective groove, embodying all the vitality of electric Chicago blues^[45].

Alongside the club, the Rising Sun experience also extended through cuisine. The Café Créole, developed by Alex Boicel, Doudou Boicel’s son, added a family-oriented and artisanal dimension inspired by French Guiana^[27]. Acras, spicy dishes and fresh ingredients fully contributed to the identity of the place, where music, gastronomy and hospitality met in the same spirit of sharing. In the fall, Boicel further clarified his vision: aware that a jazz club brings in little and costs a great deal, he insisted on the need to maintain strong programming, create an authentic atmosphere and build a loyal clientele while defending an inclusive conception of jazz^[26]. His interest in “visosonie” reflected this desire to make music a global and accessible sensory experience. Despite financial difficulties, the Rising Sun was then attracting Michel Legrand, Mose Allison, Muddy Waters, B.B. King and Dexter Gordon, confirming its integration into the major jazz and blues circuits.

In November, Dexter Gordon in turn marked the season with broad, warm and sovereign playing, confirming the club’s place within a transatlantic network linking Montreal, New York and Europe^[25]. That same fall, Eddie “Cleanhead” Vinson, a personal favourite of Boicel, perfectly embodied the hybrid spirit of the Rising Sun through a blues tinged with jazz sophistication, nourished by humour, sensuality and a repertoire that included Hold It Right There, Alimony Blues, Kidney Stew and Cherry Red^[29].

The end of the year finally confirmed the remarkable aesthetic diversity of the Rising Sun. In December, Kenny Burrell, presented as Duke Ellington’s favourite guitarist, embodied a refined, subtle and deeply musical jazz based on economy of means and attention to the audience^[46]. A few days later, Jimmy Smith recalled the revolutionary impact of the organ in modern jazz, combining technical virtuosity, blues intensity and direct interaction with a crowd gathered close to the stage^[47]. Finally, at the very end of December, Bill Evans returned to the Soleil Levant, this time accompanied by Michel Donato and Philly Joe Jones. His impressionistic, fluid and introspective playing drew a full and attentive room, definitively confirming the Rising Sun as one of the most important spaces for Montreal jazz in the late 1970s, at the crossroads of artistic rigour, human proximity and living creation^[30].

6. 1978: The Rising Sun at Its Peak

A photograph of Doudou Boicel taken in front of the Rising Sun, beside a poster for Rising Sun Festijazz ’78, testifies to the central role played by the club in the visibility of African-American jazz and blues in Montreal between the late 1970s and the early 1990s; La Presse fonds, P833,S2,D557, Archives nationales à Montréal, Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec (BAnQ)^[65].

In 1978, the Rising Sun, also known as the Soleil Levant, reached the height of its cultural influence in Montreal. In just a few years, the establishment had grown from a modest rehearsal space frequented by local musicians into one of Canada’s main centres for African-American jazz and blues^[53].

At that time, the Rising Sun attracted a remarkably diverse clientele bringing together students, artists, professionals, outsiders, rich and poor, francophones and anglophones alike^[60]. Boicel nevertheless observed a revealing paradox: despite the strong Black identity of his programming, the audience remained mostly white^[57]. More than a simple club, the Rising Sun thus became a place of encounter, solidarity and cultural recognition where jazz was presented as one of African-American culture’s major contributions to world heritage^[57]. Despite limited resources, the club managed to maintain ambitious international programming, while fees for American artists often reached between US$4,000 and US$6,000 per week, not including transportation, lodging and taxes imposed on foreign musicians^[53].

The idea of an international jazz and blues festival took shape after Boicel travelled to Vermont in 1977, where he attended an event featuring, among others, Rahsaan Roland Kirk, who had already appeared at the Rising Sun^[60]. Convinced that Montreal could host an event of comparable scope, he set out to create a festival devoted to African-American music at Place des Arts^[50]. In the spring of 1978, dressed in his colourful clothing, he personally handed out promotional flyers at the entrance to the Vermont festival in order to convince American audiences that jazz was very much alive in Montreal thanks to the Rising Sun^[50]. Back in Quebec, he organized preparatory meetings at his Westmount home, approached banks, sponsors and the media, while negotiating directly with agents, producers and musicians in order to bring together several major figures of jazz and blues around the project^[60].

Difficulties, however, soon emerged. Boicel first had to convince the directors of Place des Arts that a blues festival had its place in Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier, some fearing that it would amount to little more than a rock show^[60]. The financial challenges were just as significant: to bring his project to completion, he practically mortgaged his Westmount house, took on major loans and continually negotiated new lines of credit^[51]. He also denounced the lack of government support as well as the many administrative constraints imposed on foreign artists^[50]. These tensions came to light in the spring and summer of 1978 when pianist Horace Silver was initially denied a work permit for a series of concerts planned at the Rising Sun from June 13 to 18^[54]. Federal authorities then argued that the establishment had not made sufficient efforts to hire Canadian musicians^[54]. The affair quickly took on a public dimension and also affected Rockhead’s Paradise, where American musicians accompanying the singer Jama were also blocked at the border^[55]. After reviewing the file, the authorities eventually acknowledged certain errors in interpreting the regulations, allowing Horace Silver to obtain his work authorization^[55].

7. 1979: The Rising Sun at the Heart of Montreal’s Jazz Revival

A photograph of Doudou Boicel inside the Rising Sun (1978); La Presse fonds, P833,S2,D557, Archives nationales à Montréal, Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec (BAnQ)^[65].

In 1979, several press articles testified to the exceptional vitality jazz was then experiencing in Montreal. In March, La Presse described a metropolis where clubs, festivals and performance venues devoted to jazz and blues were multiplying rapidly. The newspaper stated that Montreal then had more than 120 jazz orchestras and a dozen places where the music could be heard regularly, from small clubs to Place des Arts. In this context, Rouè-Doudou Boicel, owner of the Rising Sun, appeared as one of the main architects of this renaissance.^[75]

The Rising Sun was then part of a network of venues transforming Montreal nightlife, alongside L’Air du Temps, Rockhead’s Paradise, the Jazz Bar and the cinema-café Cinéma Parallèle. The scene attracted fans of historic clubs as well as students, young musicians and a new francophone audience more open to jazz, blues and African-American music. Pianist Maury Kaye even observed that Quebec jazz musicians could now imagine making a living in Montreal, a situation he considered new for the local scene.^[75]

In April, The Sherbrooke Record highlighted the role played by Alain Simard and André Ménard, then responsible for programming at El Casino, a venue neighbouring the Rising Sun on Sainte-Catherine Street West. The two promoters regularly presented major blues, jazz and rock artists there, including B.B. King, Dave Brubeck, Larry Coryell and John Mayall. This series of concerts and events in many ways formed the foundations of what would become, the following year, the first edition of the MONTREAL INTERNATIONAL JAZZ FESTIVAL. The proximity between the Rising Sun and El Casino thus reflects the extraordinary concentration of musical activity in this section of Sainte-Catherine Street West in the late 1970s.^[76]

A poster for the 1979 2nd Jazz & Blues Festival of the Rising Sun Festijazz features major figures such as B.B. King, John Lee Hooker, Clifton Chenier, Lightnin’ Hopkins and Oscar Peterson, illustrating the international ambition of the festival organized by Doudou Boicel at Montreal’s Place des Arts.

This effervescence culminated in the preparation of the second FestiJazz, organized by Doudou Boicel at Place des Arts on July 27, 28 and 29, 1979. In May, The Montreal Star announced an ambitious program spread over three evenings: B.B. King with the Dutch Mason Blues Band, John Lee Hooker, Lightnin’ Hopkins, Clifton Chenier, Big Mama Thornton, Eddie “Cleanhead” Vinson and Oscar Peterson, described as “Montreal’s gift to international jazz.” The article also emphasized Boicel’s already well-established reputation as a passionate organizer whose connections with artists allowed him to assemble an exceptional bill.^[73]

A few days before the event, The Gazette published a long profile of Boicel by David Sherman. The journalist described the considerable financial and logistical challenges faced by the owner of the Rising Sun in keeping his festival afloat. Boicel had then been working for nearly two years to develop the concept of festi-jazz, following a first edition held the previous year. His partner, Rose Matthey, helped administer the festival in the evenings after her day job as a social worker, while Rising Sun employees travelled across Montreal, the Eastern Townships and even Vermont to put up nearly 1,000 promotional posters.^[72]

“The Rising Sun posters created a poster-pasting industry that did not exist before in Montreal. Our competitors started making poorly designed posters. Others followed.”

A 1979 poster for the Rising Sun Celebrity Jazz Club announces a series of blues concerts featuring Sonny Terry, Brownie McGhee, Lightnin Hopkins and Albert King at 286 Sainte-Catherine Street West, testifying to the importance of Doudou Boicel’s club in the presentation of American blues in Montreal.

Sherman’s article highlighted the artisanal, family-based and community-oriented nature of the project. Several artists agreed to reduce their fees or ask only for travel expenses in order to support the festival. Despite expenses exceeding $100,000, pressure from banks and increased competition from summer events since Expo 67, Boicel remained determined to maintain a festival devoted to jazz and blues in Montreal. The profile presented him as an idealistic, passionate figure respected by musicians, at the centre of a network in which the Rising Sun played an anchoring role.^[72]

The day after the second Festijazz, The Gazette published an enthusiastic review of the three evenings presented at Place des Arts. David Sherman described the event as a landmark moment in Montreal’s cultural summer of 1979. Oscar Peterson was presented as the great triumph of the closing evening, capable of transforming the scale of the hall into an intimate experience through his virtuosity, harmonic mastery and ease between improvisation and precision. The journalist also emphasized the impact of his new African Suite.^[74]

A 1979 poster for the Rising Sun Celebrity Jazz Club announces a series of blues concerts featuring Sonny Terry, Brownie McGhee and Albert King at 286 Sainte-Catherine Street West, testifying to the importance of Doudou Boicel’s club in the presentation of American blues in Montreal.

The review also gave significant attention to the great blues figures brought together by Boicel. Big Mama Thornton impressed with her stage energy, humour and presence, while B.B. King stirred nearly 3,000 spectators during his Friday night performance. John Lee Hooker and Lightnin’ Hopkins were described as festival highlights, one for his hypnotic and minimalist blues, the other for his expressive playing and improvisations. Clifton Chenier, Eddie “Cleanhead” Vinson and several other musicians helped give the event the atmosphere of a major celebration of American blues and rhythm and blues.^[74]

Through these 1979 articles, the Rising Sun therefore appears as much more than a simple club: it became a crossroads where international musicians, independent promoters, journalists, jazz lovers, an emerging francophone audience and the nightlife scene of Sainte-Catherine Street West intersected. The second Festijazz confirmed Doudou Boicel’s place among the central figures of Montreal jazz and blues in the late 1970s, while placing the Rising Sun at the heart of a pivotal moment in Montreal’s musical history.

8. 1980: The Rising Sun Between Festijazz, Rockhead’s and Montreal Afro-Jazz

In 1980, Rouè-Doudou Boicel emerged as one of the most influential figures in jazz and blues in Montreal. In a long profile published by The Gazette, journalist Juan Rodriguez presented him both as owner of the Rising Sun, organizer of Festijazz and ambassador of African-American music. Based on Sainte-Catherine Street, Boicel dreamed of creating a true “jazz place” in Montreal inspired by the clubs of New York and Los Angeles, where the quality of the welcome mattered as much as the quality of the programming.^[79]

The article described an establishment deeply marked by the Caribbean origins of its founder. Sculptures, handmade objects, rum bottles and autographed photographs made up a warm decor, while the team took part as much in producing the shows as in welcoming the artists. Boicel stated that he regularly devoted twenty-hour days to his club, convinced that hospitality remained at the heart of the success of a place devoted to jazz.^[79]

An advertisement published in The Gazette in June 1980 announces the third edition of the Rising Sun Festijazz at Place des Arts, bringing together artists such as Nina Simone, Taj Mahal, Willie Dixon, Buddy Guy and Gerry Mulligan, testifying to the international scope reached by Roué Doudou Boicel’s festival in the early 1980s^[130].

This philosophy was reflected in the development of Festijazz, then presented as the most important jazz and blues festival in Canada. The third edition, held in July 1980 at Place des Arts, brought together Nina Simone, Gerry Mulligan, Woody Herman, Taj Mahal, Sonny Terry, Brownie McGhee, Lightnin’ Hopkins, Buddy Guy, Junior Wells, Luther Allison and Big Mama Thornton, among others. The festival confirmed Boicel’s ability to attract some of the greatest figures of North American jazz and blues to Montreal.^[79]

A few weeks later, Le Devoir published a more nuanced review of the festival. Despite some performances judged uneven, journalist Sylvaine Martin praised the exceptional presence of artists such as Sonny Terry, Brownie McGhee, Taj Mahal, Memphis Slim and Willie Dixon. The strongest moment, however, remained Nina Simone’s performance, whose interpretation of Ne me quitte pas was described as one of the festival’s great moments.^[80]

During the summer, The Gazette also emphasized the dynamism of the Sainte-Catherine Street West area. At the Rising Sun, legendary singer Jon Hendricks presented a notable show with his wife Judith Hendricks, his daughter Michelle Hendricks and a young Bobby McFerrin, still unknown to the general public. A few steps away, the Club Montréal welcomed the young Bryan Adams, illustrating the musical diversity that characterized the neighbourhood at the time.^[77]

Rockhead’s Paradise, 1252 St. Antoine Street, Montreal. Norman Marshall Villeneuve Archives. Concordia University.

The year also marked an important step in the expansion of Boicel’s activities. In October, he acquired the legendary Rockhead’s Paradise, located at 1252 Saint-Antoine Street, a historic Little Burgundy institution founded by Rufus Rockhead. His goal was to revive this landmark of Afro-Montreal entertainment while preserving its heritage. He was already considering presenting artists such as Nina Simone, Tito Puente, Eartha Kitt and Mongo Santamaria there, while also reserving a place for emerging local talent.^[78]

A photograph of the Rising Sun Afro Jazz Orchestra taken at Rouè-Doudou Boicel’s Rising Sun on December 10, 1980 illustrates the club’s role as a meeting place and showcase for African-American music in Montreal at the turn of the 1980s; photograph by Jean-Yves Létourneau, La Presse fonds, P833,S5,D1980-0492, Archives nationales à Montréal, Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec (BAnQ)^[131].

In December, La Presse announced the creation of the Rising Sun Afro Jazz Orchestra, a Montreal ensemble bringing together musicians from various cultural communities. Led in particular by Chilean trumpeter Victor Duran, the project fused salsa, soul, funk-jazz and Afro-Caribbean rhythms. Boicel thus wanted to demonstrate that Montreal could also produce its own Afro-jazz scene, rather than relying solely on invited artists from abroad.^[81]

Between Festijazz, the programming of the Rising Sun, the acquisition of Rockhead’s Paradise and the creation of the Rising Sun Afro Jazz Orchestra, the year 1980 marked the height of Doudou Boicel’s influence. More than simply a club owner, he became one of the principal architects of the presentation of jazz, blues and Afro-diasporic music in Montreal.^[79]

9. 1981: The Rising Sun in Transition Between Rockhead’s Paradise and the End of an Era

In 1981, the activities of Rouè-Doudou Boicel entered an important period of transition. While the Rising Sun, which had become one of the main jazz clubs on Sainte-Catherine Street West during the second half of the 1970s, began a gradual slowdown, the promoter devoted an increasing share of his energy to reviving the legendary Rockhead’s Paradise in Little Burgundy, which he renamed Doudou’s Rockhead Paradise. This shift is clearly reflected in several articles published during the year, which testify both to the prestige Boicel still enjoyed and to the challenges facing Montreal’s jazz scene in the early 1980s.^[82]

“The success of Doudou’s Rockhead Paradise also attracted sharks, including Georges Durst, a powerful businessman and a sly fox. Georges owned a restaurant that presented comedy shows. He was in fact a pioneer in this art form, which became very popular. He also owned two other clubs, Le Bijou and Le Monte-Carlo, which were not successful. Georges always gave me a warm welcome. I could see him coming. The success of the Rising Sun did not leave him indifferent. He needed to find a new formula to get into jazz. He then told me about his project and made no secret of the fact that he was going to hire Charlie Biddle. The restaurant was named Biddle.”

10. 1982: Financial Crisis, Return to Sainte-Catherine Street and the Survival of the Rising Sun

In 1982, the Rising Sun went through one of the most difficult periods in its history. In April, The Gazette announced the bankruptcy of the company Roue Dou Dou Boicel Productions, revealing the scale of the financial problems facing Rouè-Doudou Boicel after several years devoted to presenting concerts, organizing Festijazz and managing his Montreal jazz clubs. Since his arrival in Canada in the early 1970s, Boicel had nevertheless helped make the Rising Sun one of the main jazz centres on Sainte-Catherine Street West.^[87]

According to the newspaper, the difficulties intensified especially after the acquisition of Rockhead’s Paradise, bought about eighteen months earlier for nearly $200,000. Boicel had hoped to revive the famous cabaret founded by Rufus Rockhead and restore the jazz tradition of Little Burgundy, but the establishment failed to recover the attendance of its glory years. The transfer of the Rising Sun’s activities to Saint-Antoine Street also complicated the situation: located away from the main downtown nightlife circuits, the club attracted fewer customers than the former Sainte-Catherine Street location. Boicel briefly tried to diversify his programming with reggae shows before returning mainly to jazz. Despite the bankruptcy, several announced concerts, including some performances by Taj Mahal, were maintained.^[87]

A few weeks later, in May, journalist Brenda Zosky Proulx devoted a long report to the situation of the Rising Sun and Rockhead’s Paradise. She described sparse audiences, a difficult economic climate and the gradual decline of several Montreal jazz clubs. Where the Rising Sun had once attracted large crowds on Sainte-Catherine Street West, only a few customers now occupied a room designed to hold several hundred people. Despite everything, Boicel remained determined to preserve a jazz tradition he considered threatened. The report also returned to the historical importance of Rockhead’s Paradise, long considered one of the main gathering places for Montreal’s Black community and a refuge at a time when several establishments still practised a form of informal segregation. The journalist nevertheless emphasized how much Little Burgundy had changed since the neighbourhood’s great years, as urban transformation, population displacement and the closure of numerous clubs had deeply weakened local nightlife.^[86]

In July 1982, Boicel attempted a new start by reopening the former Sainte-Catherine Street West location under the name Rising Sun 1. This relaunch was based on the conviction that the public still associated the name Rising Sun with its original location rather than with the cabaret on Saint-Antoine Street. Some observers even considered the move to Rockhead’s Paradise a strategic mistake, since the area had become much less frequented than the main downtown club district. To mark this return to his roots, Boicel announced programming mixing jazz, blues and reggae, including performances by the Montreal group Indigo as well as the appearance of the famous Cajun accordionist Clifton Chenier and his Red Hot Louisiana Band.^[88]

In his book L’histoire du Rising Sun et ses légendes jazz & blues, published in 2008, Boicel looked back at length on this period. He explained that he had to start almost from scratch after the difficulties linked to Rockhead’s Paradise, with the help of his collaborators and support from the Bank of Montreal. According to him, a large part of the clientele had never truly followed the club in its move to Saint-Antoine Street, notably because of the neighbourhood’s reputation at the time.^[102]

Boicel nevertheless stated that the public gradually returned after the reopening of the Sainte-Catherine Street location and that the Rising Sun quickly regained its place among Montreal’s main jazz venues.^[102]

11. 1983: Between Jazz Triumphs, Financial Tensions and Fragile Ambitions

In 1983, the Rising Sun enjoyed a particularly favourable start to the year. In January, The Gazette published an enthusiastic review of performances by the young trumpeter Wynton Marsalis, then only 21 years old. In the article titled “Marsalis hot for sold-out Rising Sun shows”, journalist Peter Hadekel described full houses rarely seen in the recent history of Rouè-Doudou Boicel’s club, with spectators overflowing into the stairway and onto Sainte-Catherine Street West to attend the quintet’s performances. Already named jazz musician of the year by DownBeat magazine, Marsalis impressed with playing that had become freer, more intense and more emotional. Hadekel also emphasized the exceptional quality of the musicians accompanying him, including Branford Marsalis, Kenny Kirkland, Phil Bowler and Jeff Watts, confirming the Rising Sun’s reputation as one of the main Montreal venues capable of welcoming the new major figures of international jazz.^[89]

A few weeks later, the club again welcomed Nina Simone, one of the artists most closely associated with the Rising Sun since the late 1970s. In an article titled “Oh boy, Nina’s back in town”, journalist Thomas Schnurmacher described a relaxed and talkative artist, discussing her admiration for Jacques Brel and francophone Quebec as much as her personal life and the years she had spent in Europe. Welcomed at Boicel’s Creole restaurant before her performances, Simone then seemed to maintain a special relationship with Montreal and the club that had often hosted her.^[90]

This visit, however, quickly turned into controversy. A few days later, The Gazette reported that the singer abruptly interrupted her series of shows after a single evening following a financial dispute with Boicel. According to journalist John Griffin, Simone immediately demanded the share of the box-office receipts owed to her under a contract providing for 80% of door revenues, while the promoter wished to wait until the full engagement had ended before making payment. The conflict led the singer to leave for Los Angeles and forced the Rising Sun to refund ticket holders for the cancelled performances. The incident illustrates the persistent financial difficulties still faced by several Montreal jazz clubs despite their ability to attract internationally renowned artists.^[91]

These fragilities resurfaced a few months later. In June 1983, Le Devoir announced the cancellation of an important bebop concert presented as “Concert of the Century No. 2,” which Doudou Boicel was to organize at Place des Arts. The event was to bring together several major figures of American jazz, including Dizzy Gillespie, Freddie Hubbard, Benny Carter, Slide Hampton, John Lewis, Ray Brown and Mickey Roker. This cancellation testifies to the growing challenges faced by Montreal jazz producers in the early 1980s. It also contrasts with the artistic successes recorded at the Rising Sun, where Boicel nevertheless continued to attract some of the most important stars of world jazz while struggling to keep alive a scene that was becoming increasingly difficult to support financially.^[92]

12. 1984: The Perseverance of Rouè-Doudou Boicel

In 1984, the Soleil Levant celebrated its tenth anniversary in a context marked by both perseverance and economic difficulty. Several newspapers then highlighted the exceptional trajectory of the club founded by Rouè-Doudou Boicel, recalling that in 1974 he had bought a former dancers’ bar without imagining that it would become one of Montreal’s most renowned jazz clubs. To mark this anniversary, Boicel brought back the slogan that had accompanied the club’s opening in 1975: “Jazz Is Not Dead”. Despite growing competition from venues such as the Spectrum and the Théâtre Saint-Denis, the Soleil Levant continued its mission by presenting a new series of concerts featuring, among others, Eddie “Cleanhead” Vinson, Joe Pass, Larry Coryell, Hank Jones and Dizzy Gillespie.^[98][95]

The profiles published on this occasion in Le Devoir and La Presse described an aging establishment, still decorated with elements salvaged from the defunct Rockhead’s Paradise, but still driven by the passion of its founder. As debts accumulated and the Montreal International Jazz Festival, led by André Ménard and Alain Simard, now captured a significant share of media and public attention, the Soleil Levant remained one of the last Montreal venues devoted almost exclusively to jazz and blues.^[94][97]

In August 1984, Le Devoir published a text signed by Rouè-Doudou Boicel following the death of blues singer Big Mama Thornton. Entitled “The Blues Is in Mourning”, this tribute traced Willie Mae Thornton’s path from her childhood in segregated Alabama to her rise among the great figures of American blues. Boicel recalled that the singer had performed at the Rising Sun for several weeks in 1983 and had even stayed at his home in Westmount for nearly two months. Taking the opportunity to denounce the music industry’s indifference toward several blues pioneers, he mentioned Lightnin’ Hopkins, Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, T-Bone Walker, Freddy King, John Lee Hooker, Sonny Terry, Brownie McGhee, Clifton Chenier and Buddy Guy, before concluding that Montreal blues lovers would keep “only happy memories” of the singer.^[93]

A few weeks later, in October, La Presse devoted an article to the return of legendary drummer Art Blakey to the Soleil Levant, then presented as Montreal’s oldest jazz club. Denis Lavoie recalled the fundamental role Blakey had played in the emergence of musicians who later became famous, such as Freddie Hubbard, Chuck Mangione and Wynton Marsalis, while also emphasizing the close ties between Blakey and Doudou Boicel, who said he had learned a great deal from the drummer during the club’s early days. A former collaborator of Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Thelonious Monk, Dizzy Gillespie, Wayne Shorter, McCoy Tyner and Bud Powell, Blakey still appeared driven by the same energy and the same desire to move jazz forward. His appearance at the Soleil Levant ultimately symbolized the philosophy that still animated Boicel ten years after the club’s opening: despite debts, competition and the transformations of the scene, jazz and blues remained very much alive.^[96]

13. 1985: The Rising Sun Between Blues, Reggae and Montreal Hardcore

A 1985 poster announces a G.B.H. concert at the Rising Sun with Genetic Control, presented as the Montreal band’s farewell show, featuring a photo montage capturing the raw energy of the hardcore punk scene of the time.

In 1985, the Rising Sun on Sainte-Catherine Street West continued its transformation into a venue with increasingly eclectic programming. In its “Best Bets” section, The Gazette noted the club’s musical diversity as early as January, announcing both Montreal punk-hardcore shows with Genetic Control and League of Dead Politicians and a reggae evening featuring Jah Cuttah.^[101]

This evolution marked an important shift from the initial identity of the Rising Sun, long associated almost exclusively with African-American jazz and blues under the direction of Rouè-Doudou Boicel. Despite this diversification, the club nevertheless remained deeply linked to the Montreal blues scene. Still in January 1985, journalist Len Dobbin’s Jazz Notes column announced the appearance of blues singer and bassist “Big” Miller, accompanied by pianist Big Moose Walker. Presented as an important figure in North American blues, Clarence H. Miller was then associated with a long career that had notably crossed paths with Jay McShann and Jon Hendricks. The article also recalled his participation in the Canadian documentary Big and the Blues, produced by the National Film Board.^[98]

The column also mentioned that Roué Doudou Boicel had just released the album The Great Blues Immortals, bringing together recordings made in Montreal with several figures of African-American blues and jazz, including Rahsaan Roland Kirk, Esther Phillips, Lightnin’ Hopkins and Big Mama Thornton, captured either at the Rising Sun or during the 1980 Festijazz at Place des Arts. Despite the financial difficulties of the early 1980s, the club therefore continued to act as a venue for musical presentation, record production and encounters between American artists and the Montreal scene.^[98]

A 1985 punk poster announces a “Christmas With” evening at the Rising Sun featuring Circle Jerks, Asexuals and The Syndicate, illustrated with an anarcho-punk character wearing a Santa hat in the raw graphic style typical of the underground hardcore scene.

At the end of the year, the Rising Sun also welcomed Montreal’s rapidly growing hardcore punk scene. In December 1985, The Gazette published a review of the Circle Jerks concert presented at the club with Montreal bands Asexuals and Syndicate. In his article entitled “L.A. hardcore music comes to town”, journalist Michael Mirolla described the arrival in Montreal of California hardcore associated with Los Angeles’s radical punk movement. He notably emphasized the presence of Keith Morris, former singer of Black Flag and now leader of the Circle Jerks, as well as the extremely energetic atmosphere of the show presented before a packed room.^[100]

Mirolla also noted that a significant portion of the audience had come from a Motörhead concert presented the same evening at the Spectrum, a sign of the growing connection between the hardcore punk and heavy metal scenes in the mid-1980s. The journalist also emphasized the important place occupied by local groups, especially Asexuals, then considered among Montreal’s most notable hardcore bands. Through these shows, the Rising Sun now appeared as a venue open to a multitude of musical styles, ranging from jazz and blues to reggae, punk and hardcore, reflecting the profound transformations of Montreal nightlife in the mid-1980s.^[100]

14. 1986: Rouè-Doudou Boicel Defends the Rising Sun

In April 1986, The Gazette announced that Rouè-Doudou Boicel, owner of the Rising Sun on Sainte-Catherine Street West, had returned from a three-week trip to Haiti, where he had been invited to organize an international jazz festival in Port-au-Prince scheduled for February 1987. The article noted that Dizzy Gillespie was to open the festival, while B.B. King was also among the confirmed artists. The event was to bring together jazz, blues, reggae and salsa performances, once again illustrating Boicel’s desire to move beyond the Montreal framework and develop international music projects linked to African-American and Caribbean music.^[104]

In October 1986, Le Devoir published an open letter by Doudou Boicel denouncing what he considered a campaign of discrimination by the Montreal Musicians’ Guild against the Rising Sun (Soleil Levant). The club owner stated that his establishment had been placed on a blacklist for allegedly hiring musicians who were not members of the American Federation of Musicians. Boicel argued, however, that several of the accusations were unfounded.^[103]

In his letter, Boicel also accused the Guild of applying different rules to the Rising Sun than to other Montreal venues that also presented rock, punk, reggae, blues and jazz shows with non-member musicians. He recalled that the Rising Sun had played an important role in organizing the first international jazz festivals in Montreal in the late 1970s under the name Rising Sun Festi-Jazz. Through this position, Doudou Boicel presented himself as an independent defender of Montreal’s music scene in the face of institutional and union pressures within the cultural milieu of the time.^[103]

15. 1987: Rufus Rockhead, Living Memory of Montreal Jazz

In May 1987, The Gazette announced a series of tribute performances devoted to Rufus Rockhead at the Rising Sun on Sainte-Catherine Street West. Organized by the Association pour la Promotion et la Diffusion de la Culture Noire du Québec, led by Rouè-Doudou Boicel, the event aimed to recall the historical importance of Rufus Nathaniel Rockhead, a Jamaican immigrant who became the founder of the legendary Rockhead’s Paradise and a major figure in Montreal cultural life^[105]. Opened in the early 1930s at the corner of Saint-Antoine and de la Montagne streets, his cabaret stood for several decades as one of Montreal’s most famous Black venues^[105].

In the article, Doudou Boicel argued that Rufus Rockhead and his cabaret should be recognized as an important part of Montreal heritage, on the same level as several of the city’s historic sites. The text also recalled that after the Quebec Liberals returned to power in the early 1960s, the club resumed its activities before being sold to Boicel in 1980. It then operated under the names Doudou’s Rockhead Paradise, then Rising Sun 2, before its permanent closure in 1982^[105].

16. 1988: The Reign of Reggae at the Rising Sun

In 1988, the Rising Sun moved almost completely away from its original vocation as a jazz club to become one of Montreal’s main venues for reggae. The cultural columns of The Gazette repeatedly mentioned the regular presentation of reggae artists and groups at 286 Sainte-Catherine Street West, notably during a spring tribute festival to Bob Marley, as well as through the presence of ensembles such as Swinging Relatives, Urban Bushmen, Mike Anthony and the Sons of Light, Roots Movement, Mango 3 and Jah Children. On several occasions, journalists even described the club as a place where the Rising Sun “goes reggae”, underlining the dominant place this music now occupied in its programming. This reorientation reflected both the evolution of Montreal audiences’ tastes and Rouè-Doudou Boicel’s persistent desire to promote music from the Afro-Caribbean diaspora. Although a few blues and jazz concerts continued to be presented occasionally, 1988 clearly marked one of the periods most strongly associated with reggae in the history of the Rising Sun.

17. 1989: Rouè-Doudou Boicel’s Cultural Battle

In November 1989, The Gazette published an important profile of Rouè-Doudou Boicel, a key figure in Montreal’s jazz, blues and reggae scene since the mid-1970s. In the article entitled “Club owner boosts black culture”, journalist Paul Wells presented Boicel not only as the owner of the Rising Sun, but above all as a committed defender of Black culture in Montreal. From the opening lines, Boicel summarized his mission by declaring: “I am an African. It is my duty to protect this culture,” a statement that reflects the deeply cultural and identity-based dimension he associated with his work as a promoter and presenter^[106].

The profile looked back at the opening of the Rising Sun in 1975, at a time when Montreal still had a nightlife strongly marked by jazz and blues clubs. Under Boicel’s direction, the establishment quickly became one of Montreal’s main venues devoted to African-American music. Several major international jazz and blues figures performed there during the second half of the 1970s and the early 1980s, to the point that musicians such as Art Blakey personally recommended the club to their American colleagues, aware of the importance of supporting a Black entrepreneur in Montreal’s cultural milieu^[106].

Wells also highlighted Boicel’s role in creating the first editions of Montreal’s Festijazz. Presented at Place des Arts in 1978, 1979 and 1980, the event was one of the first large-scale attempts to give Montreal an international festival devoted to jazz and African-American music. Through his work as a promoter, Boicel helped bring internationally renowned artists to the city well before the arrival of the major festivals that would later contribute to Montreal’s cultural profile on the world stage^[106].

Despite these successes, the 1980s proved difficult for Boicel and the Rising Sun. The article mentions, among other things, the sharp rise in interest rates at the beginning of the decade and the boycott imposed by the Musicians’ Guild starting in 1982, two factors that complicated the arrival of American artists and weakened the club’s finances. Boicel nevertheless refused to give up and continued presenting blues and reggae shows at his Sainte-Catherine Street West establishment^[106].

The profile then took the form of a personal questionnaire that offered a better understanding of Boicel’s personality and convictions. Born in Cayenne, French Guiana, on July 10, 1938, he said he had studied at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris and defined himself as much as a painter, writer and man of culture as a music promoter. He also stated that he had produced several films for Radio-Canada, including Une place au soleil, devoted to the realities of Black communities in Quebec^[106].

His answers reveal the breadth of his artistic and intellectual interests. He said he appreciated Beethoven as much as Mozart, mentioning The Marriage of Figaro in particular, while also citing Béla Bartók and John Cage among the composers he admired. In literature, he mentioned Victor Hugo, whom he considered one of the great humanists, as well as Jacques Prévert and Oscar Wilde. He also expressed admiration for Black intellectual and political figures such as Malcolm X and LeRoi Jones (Amiri Baraka), whom he regarded as important thinkers of his time^[106].

Finally, Boicel discussed his attachment to Montreal while also voicing certain criticisms of Quebec society at the time. Although he described Canada as a free country, he nevertheless felt that many attitudes remained narrow when it came to the realities of Black communities. He explained that he devoted his life to promoting Black culture “in all its dimensions” and to improving the economic and social situation of Black people. This statement effectively summarizes his conception of the Rising Sun, which he saw not only as a music club, but also as a cultural and identity-based space at the heart of Montreal^[106].

The questionnaire also offers a rare glimpse into his daily life in the late 1980s. He mentioned living in Westmount, driving a Dodge van, preferring old stone buildings and particularly liking dogs. A film lover, he also cited French director Bertrand Tavernier. Taken together, his answers paint the portrait of a complex figure — intellectual, cultural activist, entrepreneur and passionate music lover — who continued, despite the difficulties, to defend the place of Black cultures in Montreal’s artistic life^[106].

18. 1990: From the Ashes of the Rising Sun to Its Rebirth on Saint-Laurent Boulevard

In March 1990, the Rising Sun on Sainte-Catherine Street West was devastated by a violent fire that abruptly ended nearly fifteen years of activity at one of Montreal’s leading jazz, blues and reggae clubs. The Gazette described a four-alarm blaze mobilizing between 80 and 100 firefighters to prevent the flames from spreading to neighbouring buildings. No casualties were reported, but the damage was considerable: the establishment was almost entirely destroyed, and several businesses in the area suffered smoke and water damage^[107].

The disaster represented far more than the loss of a business. Since its opening in 1975 under the direction of Rouè-Doudou Boicel, the Rising Sun had established itself as a major venue for African-American music in Montreal. The fire also destroyed an essential part of that memory: sound equipment, a record collection, a recent piano and, above all, numerous concert recordings that Boicel considered irreplaceable^[107][113]. The tragedy became even more personal when his four-year-old daughter Aimuna was in the building when the fire broke out. After a few anxious minutes, Boicel found her safe and sound on the ground floor and left the scene with her in his arms. Although no immediate evidence of arson was found, he nevertheless suspected a deliberate act in a context he considered tense since his return to programming more centred on jazz^[107][113].

The timing was particularly cruel, since the club seemed to be regaining momentum. A few days earlier, a concert by saxophonist Archie Shepp had drawn such a large crowd that several spectators had to be turned away at the door. Convinced that the Rising Sun still had a loyal audience, Boicel announced in the days following the disaster his intention to start again “as quickly as possible”^[113]. In an article published shortly afterward, journalist Mark Lepage described him surrounded by posters and memorabilia, determined to rebuild despite the scale of the losses^[110].

Lepage nevertheless emphasized that the fire came after several already difficult years, marked by conflicts with the Montreal Musicians’ Guild and financial problems that had weakened the establishment. For Boicel, the permanent disappearance of the Rising Sun would deprive many artists of an essential workspace and further reduce the visibility of Black music in Montreal nightlife. Rather than seeing it as an ending, however, he presented the ordeal as an opportunity for a new beginning^[110].

A 1990 photograph shows Rouè-Doudou Boicel in front of the new Rising Sun venue on Saint-Laurent Boulevard; La Presse fonds, P833,S2,D557, Archives nationales à Montréal, Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec (BAnQ)^[65].

This relaunch took shape as early as the summer of 1990, when Le Devoir announced that the Soleil Levant had found a new home at 5380 Saint-Laurent Boulevard, in the former Le Milieu cinema. With approximately 538 seats, the new venue allowed Boicel to leave behind the cramped Sainte-Catherine Street premises and move into a space capable of hosting large-scale concerts, festivals, record launches and multidisciplinary events^[109][112]. The choice of the Main was also strategic: at the turn of the 1990s, several former cinemas and theatres there were being reinvested by alternative venues, music bars and independent promoters. Boicel thus sought to reposition the Soleil Levant at the heart of a new Montreal cultural corridor^[112].

The new venue also gave him the opportunity to broaden his mission. While keeping jazz, blues and reggae at the centre of its identity, he wanted to open the space to African music, South American music, funk, emerging Montreal rap, experimental performances, theatre productions and community events. He notably announced preparations for a reggae festival and emphasized the importance of offering a stage to Quebec, African-American, African, European and Caribbean artists^[109][112].

In September, The Gazette confirmed that this rebirth had become a reality. Located between Fairmount and Saint-Viateur streets, the new Rising Sun now occupied a venue of about 600 seats, nearly three times larger than the old location. Boicel acknowledged that the Sainte-Catherine Street club had become too small for his ambitions, even though this change of scale represented a significant financial risk^[108]. To support this relaunch, he could rely on a vast network developed over fifteen years of programming, including the support of André Ménard, co-founder of the Montreal International Jazz Festival, as well as musicians such as Dizzy Gillespie, Buddy Guy and Taj Mahal^[108]. The programming planned the return of Blue Monday evenings, reggae, rap, blues, funk and rhythm and blues concerts, as well as new, more experimental projects intended to encourage emerging Montreal talent^[108].

A few days later, in his Jazz Notes column, Paul Wells announced the return of Dizzy Gillespie to Montreal for a series of benefit performances at the new Rising Sun. This highly symbolic gesture highlighted the solidarity of the music community toward Boicel, while also confirming the club’s desire to broaden its programming with projects such as the États Soniques series, devoted to improvised and avant-garde music^[111].

Through this succession of events, 1990 appears as one of the most dramatic and decisive moments in the history of the Rising Sun. The fire destroyed the original venue, its archives and part of its material memory, but it also triggered an ambitious relaunch on Saint-Laurent Boulevard. From an intimate club devoted to jazz and blues, Rouè-Doudou Boicel’s project evolved into a larger venue open to reggae, funk, rap, experimental music and a wide diversity of cultural expressions. Despite losses, debts and uncertainties, the Rising Sun remained a symbol of cultural resilience at the heart of Montreal^{[107][108][109][110][111][112][113]}.

19. 1991: The Soleil Levant Between Memory, Resistance and Survival

In 1991, the Soleil Levant appeared at once as a place of memory, a space for cultural presentation and an institution weakened by the economic realities of the beginning of the decade. As early as February, La Presse placed Rouè-Doudou Boicel’s club within the celebrations of Black History Month, alongside other Montreal venues such as Balattou. The article highlighted the growing importance of Afro-Montreal initiatives and recalled that several Black artists, despite their major influence on Montreal’s cultural life, remained too little known to the wider Quebec public. Oscar Peterson, Oliver Jones, Normand Brathwaite, Boule Noire and Charlie Biddle were mentioned as essential figures in a musical heritage still insufficiently recognized^[120].

In this context, the Soleil Levant played a central role. Boicel stated there that Montreal possessed a rich Afro-Montreal culture and that municipal authorities were finally beginning to recognize its importance. The club’s special programming illustrated this desire for recognition with the Count Basie Orchestra, then directed by Frank Foster, a Dutch Robinson show devoted to Marvin Gaye, the announced presence of Geraldine Hunt and a tribute to Charlie Biddle, bassist and major cultural bridge-builder of the Afro-Quebec scene^[120].

A few days later, The Gazette published a major feature entitled “Black Magic”, placing this news within a much longer history. The article presented Montreal as one of Canada’s great jazz centres in the 20th century, thanks in particular to the clubs of Little Burgundy and downtown, including Rockhead’s Paradise, the Café St-Michel and the Terminal Club. It also recalled that several Black musicians, both Canadian and African-American, found in Montreal a relatively open space for work, while still facing various forms of discrimination in hotels, clubs and performance circuits^[115]. In this continuity, Rouè-Doudou Boicel and the Rising Sun were presented as heirs to a long history of presentation, cultural resistance and musical transmission. Relocated to Saint-Laurent Boulevard after the 1990 fire, the club continued to defend jazz, blues, reggae, Haitian music, zouk and the earliest forms of Montreal rap^[115].

In March, this community dimension took a particularly moving form during a tribute concert organized at the Rising Sun in memory of guitarist Ivan Symonds, who had died a few days earlier on the same day as saxophonist B.T. Lundy. The Gazette described musicians arriving through the melting snow, instruments in hand, to honour one of their own in an atmosphere far more intimate than that of the major summer festivals. Before the concert, Boicel spoke briefly and invited children present in the room to light a candle in front of the stage in Symonds’s memory^[116]. This moment of reflection revealed another reality of Montreal jazz: that of a fragile milieu, made up of musicians often forced to survive through scattered gigs, far from the visibility offered by the major summer events. Even before a modest audience, the Rising Sun remained a place of gathering and solidarity, where the memory of local musicians could be honoured by their peers^[116].

A 1991 poster announces the 4th Reggae Festival at the Rising Sun, presented by Smokey Joseph with the Kishi Band, illustrating Rouè-Doudou Boicel’s club’s anchoring in Montreal’s reggae and Afro-Caribbean scenes in the early 1990s.

But this cultural function was not enough to protect the club from financial difficulties. In the summer of 1991, less than a year after its reopening on Saint-Laurent Boulevard, the Soleil Levant went through a major crisis. La Presse reported the organization of benefit shows intended to support the establishment, then threatened with closure. Several Montreal artists agreed to perform free of charge, including Dutch Robinson, Willy Ray, Michelle Sweeney, Geraldine Hunt and Goldie Alexander, as well as local reggae groups such as J.R. Express, Jahlin and Roots Movement^[119]. This mobilization testified to the music community’s attachment to Boicel’s club, perceived not only as a performance venue, but as a community space where jazz, blues, reggae, rhythm and blues and Afro-Montreal music intersected. The presence of the Petits Tambours du Mont-Royal, directed by Marc Séguin, as well as a blues evening with the Alain Charest Blues Band, also showed the breadth of the programming defended by the club despite the crisis^[119].

A few days later, The Gazette confirmed the gravity of the situation: the Rising Sun had to close its doors temporarily, while Boicel sought to obtain financial assistance of about $150,000 from municipal, provincial and federal authorities. The debts then amounted to about $100,000, notably because of high rent, operating costs and the work required to adapt the former Théâtre Le Milieu to the needs of a concert hall^[114]. La Presse in turn returned to this closure in an article entitled “Endetté, le Soleil Levant ferme ses portes”, emphasizing that the club, after sixteen years of existence, found itself strangled by the costs of its new location, the recession and the structural difficulties of the entertainment industry^[117].

Boicel, however, vigorously defended the importance of the Soleil Levant, which he presented as one of the rare places where several Black Montreal musicians could work regularly. He recalled that over the years the venue had welcomed artists such as Muddy Waters, Willie Dixon, Buddy Guy, John Lee Hooker, Sonny Terry, Brownie McGhee, Lightnin’ Hopkins, Dizzy Gillespie, Rahsaan Roland Kirk, Art Blakey, McCoy Tyner, Yusef Lateef, Joe Pass and Archie Shepp, while also recalling its role in organizing a jazz festival at the end of the 1970s, before the arrival of the Montreal International Jazz Festival^[117]. Despite the conflicts, financial losses and obstacles accumulated since the 1990 fire, he thus continued to present the Soleil Levant as an essential institution for the presentation of Black music in Montreal and for the development of the reggae, blues, R&B and Afro-Montreal scenes^[117].

Finally, in December 1991, Boicel spoke publicly in La Presse through an open letter entitled “Montréal Blues: Depressing Reportage”. He criticized a series of Radio-Canada programs that he considered reductive and demoralizing for Montreal’s Black communities. According to him, the report too often associated Afro-Canadians with crime, poverty and marginalization, without sufficiently highlighting their professional, cultural and economic successes^[118]. This position confirmed that his commitment extended far beyond the management of a club. By invoking figures such as Oliver Jones, Oscar Peterson and the Biddle family, Boicel insisted on the importance of offering young Afro-Montrealers positive role models and a fairer representation of their community. Through the Soleil Levant, but also through his public interventions, he thus pursued the same struggle: to have the richness, complexity and contribution of Black cultures to Montreal recognized^[118].

20. 1992: The end of an era

Published in March 1992 in Le Devoir, the article “The Era of the New Rastas” examined the transformations of Montreal’s reggae scene and tropical discotheques in the early 1990s, while also returning to the difficult situation of the Rising Sun and its owner, Rouè-Doudou Boicel^[121]. The report presented Boicel as one of the leading figures in the presentation of Black music in Montreal since the 1970s. Founder of the Rising Sun in 1975, he had helped make the club a major venue for jazz, blues and reggae, welcoming over the years international artists such as Muddy Waters, John Lee Hooker and Buddy Guy^[121]. However, the economic realities of the early 1990s now made it much more difficult for an establishment devoted mainly to Black music to survive. After the fire that destroyed the Sainte-Catherine Street West location in 1990, Boicel relaunched the Rising Sun on Saint-Laurent Boulevard, but operating costs, taxes, municipal regulations and declining attendance quickly complicated this rebirth. According to him, major festivals and transformations in the entertainment market had also profoundly changed the place of jazz and blues in Montreal nightlife^[121].

In this context, the article revealed that Boicel was attempting to reinvent himself by taking over the Club Sensation, located at 316 Sainte-Catherine Street West. Presented as a tropical discotheque more oriented toward reggae, dancehall and popular Afro-Caribbean music of the early 1990s, the venue embodied a new reality of Montreal nightlife, more centred on dancing, a festive atmosphere and a broader clientele^[121]. Through this transition, Le Devoir showed how Boicel sought to adapt his approach to Montreal’s cultural and commercial transformations. Even though the Club Sensation moved away from the jazz and blues model historically associated with the Rising Sun, he continued to defend an important place for Black and Afro-Caribbean music in Montreal’s cultural landscape^[121].

21. Distinctions & Legacy

Published in July 1996 in The Gazette, journalist Joe Fiorito’s article “The incandescent Doudou Boice” looked back on the career of Rouè-Doudou Boicel and his major role in the development of jazz, blues and Black music in Montreal since the 1970s. Originally from French Guiana and having arrived in Montreal after a period in Paris, Boicel quickly became an essential figure in the music scene thanks to the Rising Sun, which over the years welcomed some of the greatest figures in international jazz and blues, including Art Blakey, McCoy Tyner, Buddy Guy, Willie Dixon, Sonny Terry, Brownie McGhee, Lightnin’ Hopkins, B.B. King, Sarah Vaughan, Bill Evans, Dizzy Gillespie and John Lee Hooker. The club thus became one of the main crossroads for African-American music in Montreal^[122].

Fiorito also returned to the creation of Festijazz in the late 1970s, an event presented at Place des Arts and now considered one of the precursors of the future Montreal International Jazz Festival. Despite the skepticism of several cultural players at the time, Boicel helped demonstrate that a major festival devoted to jazz could attract a large Montreal audience^[122]. The journalist nevertheless recalled the many difficulties he faced over the years: high operating costs, tensions with certain cultural institutions, conflicts involving the Musicians’ Guild and chronic lack of funding. After acquiring the legendary Rockhead’s Paradise, relaunched under the Rising Sun name, Boicel accumulated debts and was ultimately dealt the severe blow of the 1990 fire. Despite one final attempt to relaunch on Saint-Laurent Boulevard, the club would never fully regain the stability of its best years^[122].

Fiorito nevertheless described Boicel as a deeply respected figure in Montreal jazz circles, admired for his determination and his commitment to presenting Black music. He also emphasized the importance of the many recordings made at the Rising Sun, notably through the Rising Sun Collection series released by Justin Time Records, which preserves part of the club’s unique atmosphere and musical evenings^[122]. In the final lines of the report, Boicel appears more personal and nostalgic. Living in Notre-Dame-de-Grâce, where he was then running a Creole restaurant, he said he continued to follow with affection the younger generations who had frequented the Rising Sun. Watching a child cross the room, he confided: “Some of my kids were raised in the Rising Sun. I miss those days.” He added that he would probably open another club if he still had the energy — and that it would likely still bear the name Rising Sun^[122].

An advertisement published in La Presse in July 1958 announces concerts by Oscar Peterson, the Modern Jazz Quartet and the Jimmy Giuffre Three as part of a first Montreal jazz festival^[132].

A few days after the publication of this profile, an open letter by Montreal columnist Jim Little qualified certain historical points surrounding Festijazz. Published in The Gazette, it recalled that Montreal had already hosted several major jazz events well before the late 1970s, notably the Jazz at the Philharmonic tours organized by Norman Granz as early as the 1940s, as well as various festivals presented during the 1950s and 1960s^[123]. Internationally, it is generally recognized that the first international jazz festival was held in Nice, France, in 1948, with Louis Armstrong among the main headliners^[133]. This clarification echoes, in particular, an article published in The Gazette in July 1958 about what was then presented as Montreal’s first jazz festival at Lafontaine Park, bringing together Oscar Peterson, the Modern Jazz Quartet and the Jimmy Giuffre Three^[124]. However, while Rouè-Doudou Boicel’s Festijazz cannot be considered the first jazz festival in Montreal’s history, there is no doubt that it was the city’s first major international jazz and blues festival, held as early as 1978, two years before the creation of the Montreal International Jazz Festival, and bringing together at Place des Arts several of the most important North American jazz and blues figures in an event of unprecedented scale at the time^[130]. Despite these historical clarifications, Little nevertheless recognized the importance of Boicel’s work in the development of Montreal jazz in the late 1970s and in demonstrating that a major event devoted to jazz could take root in Montreal over the long term^[123].

In 2008, more than fifteen years after the closure of the Rising Sun, Boicel publicly revisited this adventure with the publication of the book L’Histoire du Rising Sun et ses légendes jazz & blues. In an article in Le Devoir, journalist Caroline Montpetit then presented the club as an important part of Montreal’s musical heritage and emphasized the major role played by Boicel in the presentation of Black music in Quebec^[125]. Through his memories, he sought to preserve the memory of a place he considered a space of cultural transmission, artistic resistance and human encounters. He recalled that the Rising Sun was not only a performance venue, but also a meeting point between international artists, local musicians, students, intellectuals and passionate jazz and blues lovers^[125].

A photograph of Rouè-Doudou Boicel, founder of the Rising Sun Celebrity Jazz Club, shows him wearing the insignia of Chevalier de l’Ordre de Montréal, an honorary distinction received in 2018 recognizing his exceptional contribution to the development of jazz, blues and African-American music in Montreal; photograph by Sylvain Légaré.^[1]

Even after its closure, the Rising Sun remained associated with an era when a small independent downtown club could still link Montreal, New York, Chicago and the great Black American musical traditions. Through his testimonies and the many distinctions he received over the years, Boicel recalled the importance of independent promoters in Montreal’s cultural history. Among the honours bestowed upon him were the 20^th Black History Month in 2011, the title of Grand Citizen of the Côte-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce borough that same year, the Mathieu Da Costa Prize in 2013, the Grand Prix Dynastie in 2018, as well as his appointment as Chevalier de l’Ordre de Montréal, the highest honorary distinction awarded by the City of Montreal. His work has also been recognized internationally, notably in New York, French Guiana, Senegal and South Africa^[1].