Two weeks ago I reported on the unfortunate demise of Cafe Paradiso, Ottawa's main jazz club. This week, I've got only good news to report from Toronto's main jazz club, The Rex Hotel.
It's been almost a month since we wrapped the 2012 TD Toronto Jazz Festival and I feel myself slowly going into jazz festival withdrawal. Happily, there are still lots of festivals to catch around Ontario over the next several weeks. In case you're suffering from similar symptoms, I figured I would list some of the upcoming festivals. As is always the case when creating these sorts of lists, it's likely that I've missed a few. If you notice something missing, let me know.
Some big news - both good and bad - from a couple of local jazz communities in the past couple of weeks.
Today was kind of weird, in a mixed-bag kind of way. I woke up on my own schedule; had no concerts to attend, no interviews to prepare; and spent the entire day with my family. But I also didn't hear any live shows, meet any new jazz fans, or see the great people I got to work with over the ten days of this year's TD Toronto Jazz Festival. Happily, there's a whole other wonderful world outside of festival-land (who knew?!), and on the festival front, we ended things on a high note...
Happy Canada Day! It's amazing to think that ten days ago we were launching the 2012 TD Toronto Jazz Festival...and here we are on the last day. I'm experiencing mixed feelings - I've truly had a great festival and am sad that it's ending, but I'm looking forward to reconnecting with my family and a return to a more regular sleep schedule.
Day 9 of the festival featured some music of a more mellow - but no less interesting - tone.
How can it be the second-last day of the festival already?! Day 8 featured some great conversation and some great music.
On Day 7 of the festival, I found myself frequently pulled away from events before I had experienced a good fill. The blessing and curse of a busy festival...Here are the details.
It's hard to believe that we're now into the last four days of the festival! These past few days have been particularly busy, and yesterday I had to choose between several night-time shows. Here's a quick run-down of my day.
Day five of the festival included activity which featured every generation of jazz musician and jazz lover, from high school students to long-time fans, from emerging artists to seasoned pros.
Day 4 of the festival provided lots of thrills for audience members, but also some not insubstantial spills...
The day got off to a bit of a discombobulated start. The KPMT Inside Track, scheduled to start at 12:30, was pushed back to 1:00 due to a city event on the square. The time change meant an errand I had to run took me away from the square exactly when Jim Galloway was sitting down with Roberta Gambarini. I had been looking forward to hearing the chat, but by all reports it was a great session.