Today we want to share with you a truly memorable night we experienced recently.

It is a series of events that has led us to make several interesting discoveries and opened up a whole new world of sound and musical inspiration. Experimental and tropical!

It all started with last october's steemit meetup, where we met many talented and free thinking steemians, including our dear @soushi888. He is a very special guy that we appreciate a lot, he's a huge music lover like us and has been playing the saxophone for at least 10 years!.

One night while chatting on discord, he posted a flyer of his jazz improvisation band The White Whales, inviting everyone who wanted to come see them live on sunday november 12 at Club Balattou in Montréal!

Right away we thought: This cannot be missed!! We are true music fans, we love everything and we've heard a lot, but nothing could have prepared us for what awaited. Other than us there was @heroic15397 that decided to heed the call of music, being a music man himself, so we all met downtown.

Le Balattou, this hidden gem of Montreal (hidden in plain sight), is in appearance discreet and humble but it's inside that the magic happens! A club built for the love of music.

When we got there the band was setting up their equipment inside and we were warmly greeted right away by none other than the Club Balattou owner himself mr. Lamine Touré! This exceptionnal and charming man is an irreplaceable and major player in Montreal's music scene by giving a home to "world music".

He was the first ever to open up an African-Tropical club in Montreal. The Balattou (bal pour tous, ball for everyone) is where the famous International festival de Jazz de Montreal began 30 years ago. It is a fundamental part of our beloved city's history.

Here is a convivial and ideal place where you can appreciate music in an intimate atmosphere, with many very comfortable chouches facing the stage!

The White Whales are a jazz improvisation group that harness fluidity and freedom in an uncomparable way. This unique ensemble in wich our friend @soushi888 belongs to has 8 members. One drum, a guitar, bass, trumpet, keyboard, percussions, saxophone and vocals.

Gradually each member joins in to the projected rhythm and the adventure begins, leading us into the musical unknown.

Personally I really enjoyed the bluesy riffs and smooth guitar playing. The bassist was incredible too, with solid leads and lots of presence. The kind of guy you want in your band. He could make many bassmen blush!

Know that this venue is almost completely covered with mirrors. The two main walls are fully mirrored, also the stage ceiling and the little extension where the drum fits is totally covered. Wich makes it hard to take pictures without being dazzled by the reflexions. It's visually interesting in person tough!

Seriously, our steemian sax player just blew everyone away every time he started playing. We could really feel the ease in his way of expressing music, totally at one with his instrument and playing from the heart. That is true talent! The trumpeter was also one of Seb's favorite interpreters.. He has a weak spot for brass instruments.

Even if the club is kind of small and there's a bar on the left side of the stage, they have a swift and exceptionnal table service, so you don't have to worry about missing a thing! The cocktail menu offers many tropical drinks like the rhum punch, pina colada... The ultimate discovery was the volcano, it contains rhum mixed with a fresh homemade ginger juice, bold and spicy and really delicious!

On the left @soushi888, in the middle @heroic15397 and to the right Seb @philodendron, me I'm taking the picture...

It was a more than perfect evening that still had surprises in store for us. As the show was almost over @soushi888 came over to our table to grab a beer and chat, the rest of the band went on and improvised one last song, then all of a sudden one of the clients who had arrived not too long before took off his coat and got on stage to grab the mike. And he started singing... A voice so clear, a voice that just resonates in the soul, a voice of such beauty and honesty like only African song can express. Another client also joined in to deliver a monumental guitar solo!

In conclusion the evening was a success, the music, the ambience, the great company, there's nothing better! Definitely an experience to redo!!

                       By Elaine @philodendron