While the Festival may have ended for another year, jazz lives on in other parts of the province. From east to west, north to south, jazz festivals are a staple in Ontario and can be found in practically every corner.
The 2014 TD Toronto Jazz Festival has come to an end and we are now preparing for 2015! Submissions are being accepted and can be done electronically or by mail. In his first-ever artist interview, TDJ News Corps member Yanis Khamsi chats on the phone with John Scofield. They cover off a variety of topics - from the Uberjam band to music on the internet to the state of music in general. Hear the interview.
The band certainly had the freedom of the 1960's and 1970's. Not only did the band members switch instruments numerous times, but at one point Randolph invited anybody in the audience capable of playing guitar on stage to jam!
Thursday was made for jazz...Indeed, it was a very special night in Toronto jazz: legendary bassist Dave Holland’s PRISM and renowned guitarist John Scofield’s Überjam were about to take the stage for a grand co-headlining event.
The Dirty Dozen formed 37 years ago in the hopes of preserving classic New Orleans jazz. However, their time together has been an iterative process. Over the years, the band developed a sound frontman Gregory Davis compares to gumbo (a traditional southern dish combining various flavours and spices). After a brief dismissal of the rain, Davis and his bandmates got the ball rolling with an energetic dance number that inspired the crowd to stand up and clap along...
This was no ordinary jazz concert. Thousands gathered in Nathan Phillips Square to kick off World Pride. Premier Kathleen Wynne made a surprise appearance to anoint the festival, promising to make Ontario the most accepting place on earth for the LGBTQ community...
There’s a child within all of us—a spirit that comes alive when we do things like, say, skipping out on work to catch a show at the jazz festival. Pianist Hiromi Uehara, who is known to her fans as simply Hiromi, channelled that same childlike spirit Tuesday night.