A shot rings out. A brother is down.
Red is the leaf that flows at his feet.
In loving memory, heard is a sound.
That sound is the wailing of Sylvain St. Amour. He's a musician. He's a dreamer. He's a cop. It is a hard job that takes a hard man, but, like the bell, his peal is purest when struck. It was the harmonica that mirrored the mourning in his soul...
"The harmonica chose me one night out in a blues bar in a Montreal suburb. I literally fell in love with the instrument and there was no looking behind after that. I have been approached by labels and distributors. They all somewhat told me that supporting troops and police officers was not commercially sound.” Sylvain St. Amour ruminates, “I would like to meet someone in the business that doesn’t think that supporting military and police officers is that bad for business. Hate the war, not the warrior! I decided to stay on the sidelines. I can still keep paying tribute to all the military personnel and to my colleagues; police officers killed in the line of duty."
"I am a French-Canadian from the province of Quebec, born and raised in one of the toughest parts of Montreal, Canada. My Mom and Dad were hard-working parents, they got divorced when I was ten. I have two brothers, I stand right in the middle. I was always ending up in fights. I was the rowdy type of young lad. Most of my school friends are surprised to learn that I am not in prison and even more surprised that I ended up being a cop. I would say that my military service saved me," Sylvain reveals, and this saint of love lives up to his name, sending out his call to the fallen for them to rise up from the streets and be remembered.
"I’m a cop who is so sensitive that he has the urge of singing out to communicate his experiences and perceptions of the world through his harmonica. I felt the urge of leaving the traditional musical path that many tend to identify to the harmonica. The great value of freedom of expression, that is so dear to everyone, but so difficult to set in motion, is also very present in my music. In order to express myself musically, in a free and honest way, I hobbled towards various musical horizons. My first album, 'Café des Solitudes', is an all-out harmonica project: the soft bellows of the harmonicist who refuses the institutionalization of his instrument."
Any who have heard what pours from him knows this to be true, as you soar to his songs, blending to make his blues an entire spectrum of harmonic hues. “Through this process, which at times felt more like an escape, the soloist suddenly became a melodist. My sound has matured into a swifter and more ringing musical phrasing. Latino and African sounds blend in perfectly with my playing while the main melody remains occidental. The influence of rock guitarists is very present in my music. The dynamic of the songs are very guitar oriented. Overall, my musical project is based on diversity and emotion."
"I have been harping in a way that is very unusual and lots of people that didn’t like harmonica, at first, told me that my sound really touched them. I'm ‘a ronin’ now, since I have no allegiance to any styles. I want people to know that there is a Harmonica player in Canada that says things differently by playing in such a way that no one has ever heard before."
It is certain that the spirits of the brave and dedicated men who served will hear Sylvain's threnody; reaching out to wherever they have found peace, as he says to them 'au revoir'...
| written by Joshua Schrader
