Trombone Shorty and Orleans Avenue

Every time I see Shorty live I can't help but think of his appearance on Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip.  His skill and versatility is so off the charts...and he's only 25 years old! You just know this is just the beginning for him.

 

The Soul Rebels

The Soul Rebels killed it last night at the Opera House.  What a treat to have the 416 feel like the 504, if only for a couple of hours.

In Conversation with George Benson

I had the absolute pleasure of chatting with George Benson in anticipation of his upcoming Toronto Jazz Festival show.  The Grammy-winning jazz legend talked about his latest album and his mainstream appeal.

Read the whole interview here.

Toronto Jazz Fest: Karrin Allyson in Performance

Karrin Allyson put on a lovely show at the Enwave Theatre tonight.  There's something about her luxurious voice and cool exterior that makes me feel like I want to sit by the window in my penthouse, wrapped in my silk robe and do the New York Times crossword puzzle.  Let's not think about the fact that I have neither a penthouse, silk robe or a talent for crosswords, OK?

Karrin Allyson in performance, Sunday, June 24, 2012

Toronto Jazz Festival Preview

Roy Hargrove at the 2007 Festival

Wondering what show to take in at the Jazz Fest this year?  My preview piece is up on Torontoist.  Hope you enjoy!  Let me know if you take any shows in this weekend and stay tuned for my photo coverage and exclusive interviews with Janelle Monáe and George Benson!

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Street Party Bootcamp: Lessons learned at the Toronto Jazz Festival Free Aretha Franklin Concert

Depending on who you ask, the free Aretha Franklin concert that the Toronto Jazz Festival brought to David Pecaut Square on Friday night was either a remarkable success or a resounding failure.  There were 18,000 people in attendance, and no shortage of opinions.  Nobody seems to have any issue with Ms. Franklin, or her opening act, local band Jordan Johns and The Blue Angels.  If anything made Friday night feel like a party, it was the musicianship.  The problem seems to be two fold; if you are going to tell people you are throwing a "street party" it had better feel like a party and if you promise them a free Aretha Franklin concert, they had better be able to hear Aretha Franklin.

Hundreds of concert goers who had the foresight and time to line up and obtain wrist bands were able to experience the show up close and in person inside the big white tent.  To accommodate the thousands who came expecting an outdoor show and were disappointed to find the diva in a tent, the festival set up a "big" screen.  Unfortunately, only a fraction of the people in attendance could see the screen.  This wouldn't have been met with such disdain if the audio outside of the tent was sufficient.  Sadly, at one point, both Aretha and the horn section were drowned out by a car radio, somewhere near Simcoe Street.  

The last time Aretha Franklin performed a free show in Toronto it was on an outdoor stage in front of Holt Renfrew.  It was a much smaller production (no band, just a piano) and a shorter show (maybe six songs) but the production was far superior.  Something is out of whack if a department store is putting on a better show than a twenty five year old music festival.

The first lesson is for the Toronto Jazz Festival:  

Torontonians are clearly inspired by your programming and want to take part in this festival.  You're doing something right.  Next year, try again, take the training wheels off and really put some muscle into the production values.  Try to keep the talent out of the tent, bring them outside where everyone can see.  Invest in some bigger screens and most importantly, provide the listeners with something to listen to.  I'm loath to bring up Montreal, but it's worth mentioning that they've been getting the big, free, street party right for years now.  What are they doing that you're not?

Lesson number two for the Toronto Jazz Festival:  

Parties require atmosphere.  Pipe some music into the crowd during the pre-show (the silence was deafening).  Hire some street performers to come in and entertain the crowd while they wait.  Better yet, put some local jazz talent on the outdoor stage!  Partner with some businesses who want to provide thousands of potential customers with free samples.  You can't count on the audience to create the party atmosphere all by themselves.  

With all that said, the party guests are responsible for creating some of the fun as well.  If you threw a party and things weren't perfect, it would be incredibly rude of your guests to stand around, arms folded, tweeting about how much your party sucks.  Here are some big Street Party / Free Concert lessons for audience members:

- lower your expectations

- be flexible

- bring a chair, blanket or cushion

- make the most of it - bring friends, a deck of cards, a book

- have a plan B, if you're not enjoying yourself, get out of there!

- always remember, this is FREE!

While I was walking around, observing the crowd before the show started I realized what a wonderful example of Toronto's citizenry had been gathered.  We were there in numbers, a lot of us.  Young, old, every race, music fans and curiosity seekers alike.  The evening may not have been perfect, but it was inspiring to see so many people having a great time together.  We'll get better at this Street Party thing Toronto.  Practice will make perfect.

Toronto Jazz Festival Day One: VERTIGO

Venerable Toronto jazz mainstay The Rex has, for the second year in a row, chosen "Saxophone Summit" as their theme for the jazz festival, lending an enviable cohesiveness to their programming.


The 11pm show last night featuring a roster of young local talents including sax favourite Quinsin Nachoff did not disappoint the standing room only crowd. The compositions were complex rhythmic structures and the overall sound was offbeat without sacrificing accessibility.



For more on drummer Michael Herrings outfit, Vertigo visit: http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/musician.php?id=16362

Toronto Jazz Festival Day One: SHARON JONES AND THE DAP KINGS

The soul continued to flow at the Toronto Jazz Fest last night when Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings took to the mainstage. The Dap-Kings are best known for backing Amy Winehouse on her monster hit Rehab and one of my personal favourites from Winehouse's canon, You Know I'm No Good.


They provided a truly funky danceable backdrop for Jones to colour with her powerhouse vocals and vibrant stage presence. It was a treat to see the kind of enthusiasm that Jones and the Dap-Kings inspire in an audience. Folks were dancing, storming the stage and singing along. Many crying cathartic tears when Jones paid tribute to Michael Jackson with a rousing rendition of the Jackson Five fave I Want You Back.


A Sharon Jones and The Dap-Kings show isn't a concert as much as it is an event, a happening. If you ever have the opportunity to catch them live, I'd suggest taking it, and putting on your party pants and your dancing shoes. You're going to need them.

For more information on Sharon Jones and The Dap-Kings visit their website:http://www.daptonerecords.com/

Toronto Jazz Festival Day One: SONNY ROLLINS

It's not often you get the chance to see a living legend on stage and that is, without a doubt, the status that Sonny Rollins carries with him these days. Rollins isn't the kind of player to rest on those laurels though. If there was one thing evident in his playing last night it was a continuing sense of exploration and a monster work ethic.


With his horn seeming to be sort of plugged into his iconic visage, Rollins paced the stage, interacting with his band and the crowd, jutting around and almost dancing during the bouncy calypso (not St. Thomas) that he closed the set with.

The opening was a relentlessly rhythmic and repetitive piece that showcased the eclectic instrumentation that Rollins favours these days including a conga player I have yet to identify (it was not Kimati Dinizulu who he regularly plays with), Bob Cranshaw on electric bass and Clifton Anderson on trombone. While Cranshaw's bass sounded driving, clean and modern off the top of the show during this searching, almost trance like tune once the program turned to standards like Irving Berlin's They Say It's Wonderful and Ellington's In A Sentimental Mood it was suddenly incongruent.

The conga player mercifully laid low during the Berlin, but found many ways to shoe-horn in jarring triangle riffs, tambourine hits and rhythms on the conga during the Ellington that pulled focus throughout, especially from lovely trombone work of the capable Anderson.

The most striking element of the evening had to be Rollins magnificent tone. He remains singular sounding, with perhaps a shadow of the influence of his idol Coleman Hawkins in his lower register. His sound is one of the reasons he is one of the greats and it is still there in all its glory.

The crowd gave Rollins at least a partial standing ovation upon his entering and then again after every number during the concert. He seemed unphased throughout, focussing on the task at hand not speaking or introducing the tunes, acknowledging that what had just transpired was something special only as he left the stage, fist raised triumphantly, as if in both solidarity and victory.



For more information on Sonny Rollins visit his website www.sonnyrollins.com

Toronto Jazz Festival Day One: SOUL STEW

The first free outdoor show of the 2009 Festival (there was no lunch time show on the first Friday this year) featured Canadian band Soul Stew, anchored by the powerful vocals of Michael Dunston. Soul Stew brings the party with by the book renditions of soul, R&B and funk tunes. By the book, with the exception of special guest Robi Botos on keys. If there is a funkier man in the city of Toronto, I don't know who it is.




The Toronto Jazz Festival has always been better about programming actual jazz music then a lot of other popular and well attended fests like Beaches Festival and the world famous Montreal Festival. While nobody would argue that what Soul Stew does is jazz, if there is a place for this kind of alternate programming it is at the after work series when people are ready to soak up the sun, enjoy a beer and dance their troubles away.




Of particular note was a fun medley of Stevie Wonder's "I Wish" and "Sex Machine". Dunston tore the (non existent) roof off the dump and the crowd couldn't get enough. It was a joyful, raucous party to kick off what promises to be a great festival.



For more information on Soul Stew visit their website: http://soulstew.ca/

Radio Silence

So I've been on radio silence these last few days because I've been up to my nostrils in jazz. It's the Toronto Jazz Festival this week - which means barrels of both work and fun for me. Just stopping by to share a few quick pics from some of the great shows we've hosted so far.

The Lovely Terra Hazelton and The Hogtown Syncopators.

"Sliding Hammers" all the way from Sweden.

My friend and yours Andrew Scott (with Archie Alleyne on drums).

Ahmad Jamal. Ahmad Jamal. Ahmad Jamal.