Beat Columns (Live Music)

The Chinese New Year (CNY for short) is celebrated all over the world. Based on the lunar calendar, this year the auspicious date falls on January 31. Overseas Chinese communities celebrate CNY in various ways and several are represented in the Greater Toronto Area. There are however a few ritual common denominators among these groups. The first thing which might catch your eye is all the red and gold. Chinese households and businesses post as many red and gold paper decorations up around CNY as possible and each of these has a specific meaning. The essential notions embodied in them include the desirability of such universals as prosperity, luck and happiness throughout the New Year. You might see also intensely coloured depictions of the horse, 2014’s animal of the year.

Another recognised symbol of CNY are the red or gold envelopes – known as lai see in Cantonese or hongbao in Mandarin – which are typically given by married couples to single people, and especially to children, wishing them the universals described above. Tucked inside: nothing but crisp cash. To many, celebrating CNY is synonymous with special food shared with friends and family. In the GTA we’re spoiled with dozens of restaurants that cater to celebrants with special menus, often serving parties of ten or more. One authority advised me strongly to order a fish dish, as the Chinese word for it is “a homonym for abundance.”

Now to the main course of this column: music and other related forms of entertainment. These too have a place in CNY festivities. The lion dance, internationally emblematic of public Chinese festive events with its idiosyncratic loud musical accompaniment designed to animate public space, is a must-have CNY fixture with an ancient pedigree. Stirring both in sound and in the animated movements of the “lion/dragon,” its performance is meant to bring good fortune as patrons and audiences usher in the New Year. It is accompanied by drumming, cymbals and hopefully the bracing, awakening and auspicious sounds of a shawm. Martial arts and qigong demonstrations channelling good energy, as well as Chinese astrology auguring (hopefully) much more of the same also have a place in public events marking the CNY.

Downtown Chinatown may be the best venue to partake of the fun, after of course putting up some glittering decorations, giving or receiving red envelopes, pocketing the cash and enjoying a sumptuous feast. February 1 the Toronto Chinatown Business Improvement Association presents a free public festival launching at noon at the Chinatown Centre, 222 Spadina Ave. and continuing until 5pm. The action then begins up the street at the aptly named Dragon City Mall, 280 Spadina Ave. at 1pm. The lion dance performers will be there as will martial artists, Chinese theatrical dancers and selections from the several regional Chinese operatic styles. In addition the Toronto Zoo will show off their prized panda, one of China’s most celebrated and internationally recognised icons.

The Chinatown BIA evidently wants you to tarry at the festival, enticing visitors with a Wishing Tree, demonstrations of qigong and booths offering numerous fun CNY-themed all-ages activities. I need as much good luck this year as possible so I’ll likely visit the “dart playing to bring good luck” booth. In case you need an extra day to digest your Chinese feast the same two venues present the full program at both locations from noon until 5pm the next day, Sunday, February 2.

At the Library: Musically Celebrating Black History Month:  As I have noted in my columns in previous years February marks Black History Month. This year the Toronto Public Library is celebrating BHM by hosting an ambitious program of well over a dozen separate free music-centric workshops and concerts by mostly local musicians in branches all over the city. Most of the events are kid-friendly and are scheduled for 45 to 60 minutes, so my advice is to arrive a little early. For full details and locations please visit the TPL’s informative website, but I’ll highlight a few here to give a flavour of the programming.

The series kicks off Saturday, February 1 at 2pm with “Drumming with Amma Ofori” at the York Woods branch. Ofori and her troop of young percussionists will in TPL’s words, “rock the library with traditional African beats.” February 3 at 7pm audiences can join in “Hands-on Drumming with African Drums for Youth” at Don Mills branch’s auditorium. The Mystic Drumz youth workshop will feature demonstrations on African instruments including djembe (the very popular hourglass-shaped hand drum of West African origin), “talking drums” (smaller drums with adjustable pitch that can imitate vocal inflections), agogo (bells played with a stick) and other percussion. After the demonstrations, why not stay to learn to play one of the instruments and then perform an entire piece together? Space is limited, so best call the branch to register.

February 4 at 10:30am younger children will have a chance to enjoy a “Steel Pan Experience with Joy Lapps-Lewis” at the York Woods branch. Billed as the “Princess of Pan” – pan is a kind of tuned metal instrument born last mid-century in Trinidad – Joy Lapps-Lewis will take the audience “on a musical journey to explore the history and evolution of steel pan” music. Again, please call or visit the branch to register. On February 11, 6:30pm is the time for a “Calypso Party!” at the Annette Street branch. The TPL site’s description can’t be beat: “Jump up and join the fun in the Junction with Roger Gibbs and Shak-Shak. How low can you limbo?”

February 12 at 1:30pm the Humberwood branch hosts “Caribbean Folk Songs & Calypso.” Roger Gibbs will through music and stories trace the “Caribbean folk roots of calypso and how the music spread to the world.” February 15 at 2pm the award-winning kalimba (a.k.a. “thumb piano”) virtuoso, bandleader and storyteller Njacko Backo animates the Maria A. Shchuka branch. Njacko Backo performs the music, dances and stories of Cameroon, his West African homeland.

February 25 at 2pm the Tsingory Dance Company performs the dances and music of the island nation of Madagascar at the North York Central Library auditorium. Tsingory Dance leads the audience on the tour of the island, “showcasing the changes in Madagascar’s varying cultures and traditions.” Saturday, March 1 at 2pm, also at the North York Central Library auditorium, Frederic Sibomana performs stories and music of Rwanda and region. Titled “Contes et musique d’Afrique/Stories and Music of Africa,” Sibomana’s concert brings to a close TPL’s Black History Month celebrations.

Other picks: On February 1, the Royal Conservatory, Small World Music and Batuki Music co-present “Fatoumata Diawara with Bassekou Kouyate” at Koerner Hall purveying an exciting hybrid music dubbed “Malian blues.” The headliner is the hot Malian diva Fatoumata Diawara. She shares the stage with Mali’s Bassekou Kouyate, the jeli ngoni (a kind of plucked lute) master whose music has been compared to Ali Farka Touré and Tinariwen’s “electric desert blues.”

Musideum continues its intimate eclectic concert series on February 4 with “Lehera II: Anita Katakkar and George Koller” with a recital centred on the lehera, a concept in North Indian music in which a melody in a particular raga outlines the framework of the tala (time cycle here articulated by the tabla). In “Rakkatak,” her latest fusion project, Toronto tabla player Katakkar layers tabla rhythms with instrumental melodies and electronic soundscapes. The lehera itself is played by the veteran Toronto bassist and multi-instrumentalist Koller on the dilruba, a Hindustani multi-string bowed instrument of which he is perhaps the foremost Canadian exponent.

On February 21 at the Sony Centre for the Performing Arts the Soweto Gospel Choir offers its own tribute to Black History Month. Celebrating its tenth anniversary with an international tour and a new CD, Divine Decade, the award-winning, 52-voice South African Soweto Gospel Choir is renowned for its passionate gospel sound. The choir is also noted for its choral fundraising efforts in support of HIV/AIDS orphans, a cause in which it had an ally in the late Nelson Mandela.

Andrew Timar is a Toronto musician and music writer. He can be contacted at worldmusic@thewholenote.com.

In October of 2011 I wrote a piece about the debut performance on February 12, 1924 at Aeolian Hall in New York of George Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue with the composer playing the piano solo. The audience included Jascha Heifetz, Fritz Kreisler, Leopold Stokowski, Serge Rachmaninov and Igor Stravinsky. The evening, led by conductor Paul Whiteman, was billed as “An Experiment in Modern Music” and the focal point, Gershwin’s Rhapsody, was a huge success.

Well, on February 12 of this year, Maurice Peress, a conductor who has made a specialty of leading works in which the influences of jazz and classical music intermingle, plans to re-create Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue on its 90th anniversary. Peress will conduct Vince Giordano, an authority on recreating the sounds of 1920s and 30s jazz and popular music, and the Nighthawks with pianist Ted Rosenthal; the concert will be at Town Hall, only a block away from Aeolian Hall which is now part of the State University of New York.

The Toronto Scene: On Thursday February 27, 2014 at Massey Hall at 8pm The Spring Quartet, four jazz stars covering a wide range of age – three generations – and experience come together under the leadership of veteran drummer, Jack DeJohnette, with tenor sax virtuoso Joe Lovano, bass player, vocalist and Grammy winner Esperanza Spalding and pianist Leonardo Genovese. All are familiar faces to Toronto audiences with the possible exception of pianist Genovese.

Pianist Leo Genovese was born in Venado Tuerto, Argentina in 1979 and moved to Boston in 2001 where he studied at Berklee with, among others, Danilo Perez and Joanne Brackeen.

I am so accustomed to seeing Jack DeJohnette with Keith Jarrett – he has been with him for some 30 years – that it will be interesting, not to mention refreshing, to hear him in such a totally different musical space. Will we perhaps see more of that in the future?

Some other highlights of jazz in Toronto:

JPEC Series at the Paintbox Bistro continues with BrubeckBraid – David Braid (piano), Matt Brubeck (cello) Saturday February 8 and Luis Mario Ochoa Quintet – Hilario Durán (piano), Roberto Riveron (bass), Amhed Mitchel (drums), Luis Orbegoso (percussion), Saturday February 15.

If you head out to Old Mill and piano players are your thing, the Home Smith Bar is a happy hunting ground. Mark Eisenman has a couple of dates on February 1 and 28, as do John Sherwood (February 7 and 22) and Mark Kieswetter (February 8 and 21). Richard Whiteman, February 14, and Adrean Farrugia, February 15, round out the month making it a veritable feast of fingers on the keyboard.

I’ve written previously about the amount of jazz in churches without tooting my own horn, so this time I wish to report that I’ll be at Deer Park United Church on February 9 at 4:30 as part of their jazz vespers series with Mark Eisenman on piano and Rosemary Galloway, bass.

Primers: I’ve also written in the past about the large number of students taking jazz courses in colleges and universities. I sometimes feel, when a little cynicism rises to the surface, that their numbers have increased in direct proportion to the diminishing number of gigs. Students are taught by some of the most talented jazz musicians in the country who teach to  supplement their incomes as the number of gigs declines; their students then compete for the declining number of gigs.

One result of these changes in the business is that there are fewer opportunities to work one’s way up through the ranks and get the invaluable experience of rubbing shoulders with a variety of experienced players, since the newcomers are more likely to form a group of their own and play original music. So with my tongue firmly pressed into my cheek, and culled from various disreputable sources, I offer to those of you who previously would have learned these lessons along the way, the following two primers:

Hints on playing for jazz musicians:

Everyone should play the same tune.

If you play a wrong note, give a nasty look to one of the other musicians.

Carefully tune your instrument before playing. That way you can play out of tune all night with a clear conscience.

A wrong note played timidly is a wrong note.

A wrong note played with authority is an interpretation.

Markings for slurs, dynamics and ornaments need not be observed. They are only there to embellish the printed score.

When everyone else has finished playing, you should not play any notes you have left.

Happy are those who have not perfect pitch, for the kingdom of music is theirs.

How to Sing the Blues: A Primer for Beginners:

Most blues begin with “Woke up this mornin’.” It is usually bad to start the blues with “I got a good woman” unless you stick something mean in the next line.

 Example: “I got a good woman with the meanest dog in town.”

Blues cars are Chevys, Cadillacs, and broken-down trucks circa 1957. Other acceptable blues transportations are a Greyhound bus or a “southbound train.” Note: A BMW, Lexus, Mercedes, mini-van, or sport utility vehicle is NOT a blues car.

Do you have the right to sing the blues? Yes, if your first name is a southern state (e.g. Georgia), you’re blind or you shot a man in Memphis.

No, if you’re deaf, anyone in your family drives a Lotus or you have a trust fund.

Julio Iglesias, Kiri Te Kanawa and Barbra Streisand may not sing the blues. Ever.

Blues beverages are: malt liquor; Irish whisky; muddy water; white lightning; one bourbon; one scotch; and one beer. At the same time.

Blues beverages are NOT a mai-tai, a glass of Chardonnay, a Pink Lady.

Need a Blues Name? Try this mix and match starter kit:

Name of physical infirmity (Blind, Asthmatic, etc.) or character flaw (Dishonest, Low Down, etc.) or substitute the name of a fruit – Lemon – or use first and fruit names. Finish with the last name of an American President (Jefferson, Johnson, Fillmore, etc.)

Examples: Low Down Lemon Johnson; One-Legged Fig Lincoln, Lame Apple Jackson.

Need a Blues instrument? Play one or more of the following and sing with husky gravelly voice:

Harmonica, gih-tar, fiddle, sax, pie-anner (in need of tuning).

Now, you’re ready to sing the blues ... unless you own a computer.

Just kidding, folks!

Not kidding department: From the New York Times of January 14, 2014: “Springsteen and Clapton to Headline New Orleans Jazz Festival.” Need I say more!

Jim Galloway is a saxophonist, band leader and former artistic director of Toronto Downtown Jazz. He can be contacted at jazznotes@thewholenote.com.

As is usual with the beginning of a new year we expect to hear of the spring concert plans and other initiatives by community bands. While there is lots of information on such individual plans in the in-basket, this is also the season in many quarters for news of much broader initiatives promoting banding in this part of the country.

CBA (Ontario): The most notable of these is an initiative by the Canadian Band Association (Ontario). On Thursday, February 6, the Ontario chapter of the CBA will announce a bold campaign to promote public awareness of the activities of wind bands in Ontario. Their pre-announcement states: “The event is the formal launch for our campaign to promote public awareness of the activities of wind bands in Ontario, including, especially, adult concert, swing and brass bands, and the role they play in the arts, in life-long learning and in supporting community-building.” The slogan for this Concert Band Celebration is “If You Play, You Rock.”

This province-wide campaign celebrates the rich tradition of community bands and the important role they play in enriching community life. In the words of Graziano Brescacin, president, Canadian Band Association (Ontario), “Community bands are great to hear and rewarding to play in. This new campaign is a wonderful opportunity to celebrate the diverse music of our bands and highlight their role as contributors to the culture and vitality of communities across Ontario.” Several provincial and city politicians, among them the Honourable Brad Duguid, the local MPP and Ontario Minister for Training, Colleges and Universities, as well as dignitaries from the world of bands, have been invited to the launch ceremony which will take place Thursday, February 6 at noon at Wilmar Heights Centre, 963 Pharmacy Ave., Toronto. The launch will be followed by a one-hour free concert by the Encore Symphonic Concert Band under the direction of John Edward Liddle.

Here is the CBA(O) manifesto in support of this initiative:
1. Contribution to community-building. Wind bands take live music, for free and/or very affordable prices, to people who would not otherwise have the opportunity to hear live music played by a large ensemble. Wind band concerts can be a big support to individuals, both in the bands and in the audience. It is not uncommon for audience members to speak to friends who are band members to say how personally important and moving it was for them to hear these friends play. They state that listening to music makes us better citizens by giving us a common cultural understanding, and that listening to music together has been scientifically shown to increase how empathic we feel toward our fellow human beings. Making music together is about being friends and family on the same team; it’s the only team sport in which the entire family can play together.
2. Contribution to the arts. Wind bands have a unique sound, different from any other ensemble. It’s a great sound, and there is lots of music being written for them including much by Canadian composers. Wind bands perform the classics as well as music from the popular repertoire. These bands also innovate what and how they perform, in true artistic fashion.
3. Contribution to lifelong learning. Playing music is good for our brains. Playing music lets us learn about the particulars of the pieces being played, as well as the technical requirements of the instruments. For students, playing music with adults sets them up for success at school and later in life. Many young people have had the experience of playing in a wind band, giving them a productive focus at a time in life when, otherwise, they might have drifted.

New Horizons: Over the past few years I have mentioned many times the activities of the Toronto-based New Horizons bands. This month, I had the good fortune to receive an email message from Harlene Annett who is in charge of membership for the New Horizons bands in Peterborough. While I had known that there was an active group in Peterborough, I had no idea of the extent of their activities.

Since its inception this organization has grown significantly. They now have five bands, all with distinctive names, performing at different levels with the Odyssey band as the highest. They also have at least ten regular small ensembles. The Green, beginners’ band started in September 2013 and has 45 members, with 40 people waiting for the next band to begin next September. Membership in the bands is not limited to very basic instrumentation. In fact there are oboes in all bands and bassoons in three. All five conductors are university-trained in music and all perform regularly in other bands.

With the aid of a Trillium Grant they have been able to purchase several instruments including two tubas and two bassoons. They also have the distinction of having the only conch shell band in Canada!

Far-fetched? Well, I went off to the internet and can report that I have now received my first lesson on “how to blow a conch shell.”

There is so much to learn about their operations. If you are involved in the organization or administration of any band, a visit to their website at nhbpeterborough.com would be well worth the time spent.

Experienced beginners: While there is certainly healthy interest on the part of beginners, there also seems to be a growing interest in some band members to take up another instrument and/or to join another band. I have recently spoken to a baritone player taking up bassoon, a French horn player going for the euphonium, a violinist starting on trumpet and a saxophonist trying out the French horn. Are you considering a new instrument or looking for a second band? Let us hear from you.

Definition Department:This month’s lesser known musical term is Cadenza:  Something that happens when you forget what the composer wrote.

We invite submissions from readers. Let’s hear your daffynitions.

Jack MacQuarrie plays several brass instruments and has performed in many community ensembles. He can be contacted at bandstand@thewholenote.com.

SILVER ANNIVERSARY: Browsing through The WholeNote always allows for countless opportunities to discover new music and new musicians – new to the reader, that is. Occasionally, the same thing happens to me when I write this column. The Hot Five Jazzmakers are hardly newcomers to the Toronto scene – this month they celebrate 25 years of Saturday matinee performances at C’est What? – but hopefully they are new to some of you as well. This band specializes in traditional jazz of the 1920s and 30s, boasting an impressive 600 tunes in their repertoire, from forgotten gems to familiar ones. Many of these rhythmically infectious, charmingly sentimental tunes might make you dance against your will.

The Hot Five Jazzmakers is led by trombonist Brian Towers, a brainy Brit who moved to Canada to pursue a career in international banking some 35 years ago. Working with dollars for several decades, the figures in his heart were clearly musical ones all along.

“I had made a subconscious decision that I was not targeting the presidency of the bank as a career goal,” he laughs. Besides which, “playing jazz in good company, after a hard week at the office, is like recharging one’s batteries.”

Towers developed his passion for New Orleans style ensemble playing studying the work of bone players such as Kid Ory, Honoré Dutrey and Wilbur De Paris, to name a few, and was deeply inspired by the late Kid Bastien. His passion extended far beyond the bandstand as a founding member of the now defunct Classic Jazz Society of Toronto, and he also wrote the “View from Canada” column for the Mississippi Rag until it ceased publication. Towers is married to the very talented Janet Shaw, who functions like the jewel in the crown of this band, not only with her superb musicianship on various reed instruments, but also with her delightfully smoky vocals. (Check out their YouTube videos!)  Like her husband, Shaw is recently retired after a career in the pharmaceutical industry; she is now self-employed with her own consulting company.

“I can safely say that having a musical partnership with one’s spouse is a huge benefit to the band’s development” Tower says. Janet and I have very similar tastes in jazz and we have always developed our arrangements and repertoire 24/7 ... Also, traditional New Orleans jazz in the ensemble choruses is, for me, like a conversation. The counterpoint and polyphony is so much easier, when there is a close personal relationship between the individuals. Financially there are big benefits too. On tour we save the promoters a room!” Reflecting on a quarter century of gigs at C’est What?, Towers begins by reminiscing:

“It was February 11, 1989 and we were on trial. We had already had 12 months together playing in Guelph – were we good enough to attract support and audiences in downtown Toronto? Would it work and would we be allowed regular Saturday matinees? Thankfully, they liked us. Their speciality was traditional ales and beers and meals and traditional jazz seemed like a good mix to them. Management bravely allowed us to begin regular Saturday matinees on Saturday March 11, 1989. In those very early days our playing area was on the direct route between the kitchen and the dining area. We had to avoid clashes with waiters travelling at high speed, carrying heavily laden trays!”

Due to an excellent sound system and friendly management, they were able to tape record every session. “While occasionally depressing, it was a wonderful way of improving the band sound and dynamics. I have dozens of cassette tapes from those days which I cannot bear to throw away!”

Since 1989, The Hot Five Jazzmakers have produced 16 recordings – several of them captured live at C’est What? – which can be purchased directly off the stage. Along with Towers on trombone and Shaw on reeds and vocals, the band’s members are Jamie Macpherson on banjo, Andrej Saradin on trumpet, Reide Kaiser on piano and Gary Scriven on drums and washboard. Yup, washboard! Join the group in celebrating their silver anniversary milestone at C’est What on Saturday, February 8 from 3 to 6pm.

FRITES WITH SALSA: A valued player on stage and in every level of court in Ontario, Linda Ippolito is a classical pianist, litigation lawyer, alternative dispute resolution practitioner and teacher.  “I actually see them as one world, not as separate but integrated fields” she says, “music and law braided together on separate ends of the scale.”

A PhD candidate at Osgoode Hall Law School of York University, Ippolito’s doctoral studies focus on the intersection between collaborative music making and group negotiation, conflict resolution and transformation.

“My interest in the potential of one field to inform the other inspired my doctoral study,” Ippolito explains. “The study explored the question of whether or not we could shift the learning and skills development in conflict resolution away from our dominant culture mindset – one that focuses primarily on “war” and “game” metaphors – through the use of a music-based metaphor for negotiation and problem-solving – namely, the musical ensemble. Basically encouraging conflict resolution practitioners to not only “think like lawyers” but to look at problem solving from a more creative and collaborative perspective and to “think like musicians.”

Ippolito the performer is not only as intelligent and deeply nuanced as one might expect from the above paragraph, but also tasty and playful; her return engagement to the Jazz Bistro, is titled “Frites with Salsa”:

“The program features music by three of my favourite 20th century composers: The “frites” are the French selections by Poulenc, a group of his Improvisations and his Trois Novellettes. I adore Poulenc – his jazz-like ‘quoting’ of himself and others. The “salsa” is Ginastera’s  Creole Dances and Three Argentinian Dances – so multi-layered, polytonal and rhythmically vibrant. In the middle there is Albéniz’s “Evocation,” the first piece in his Iberia Suite, a piece I have never gotten a chance to play until now - and I cannot wait to hear it on the Red Pops Steinway which I regard as one of the finest instruments in the city.”

“Her music may be classically rooted, but the skillful way she weaves these intimate programs together speaks to a jazz heart,” says Sybil Walker, who books the talent at Jazz Bistro. “As in all great cabaret evenings, you always leave knowing a little more than you did when you arrived.”

Ippolito’s “Frites and Salsa” performance takes place at Jazz Bistro on Tuesday, February 18, with sets at 7:30pm and 9pm.

Ori Dagan is a Toronto-based jazz vocalist, voice actor and entertainment journalist. He can be contacted at jazz@thewholenote.com.

If you want to find out the first time Attila and Marion Glatz sold out their annual New Year’s Day “Salute to Vienna” live concert gala all you have to do is go back to the first time they presented it — New Year’s Day 1995 at the George Weston Recital Hall in North York. So what do you do when you hit a home run your first time up at the plate? Simple, you switch to a venue double the size, double the prices, and do it all over again ... and again ... and again. Charlie Cutts, CEO of Roy Thomson Hall was at that first ever event and had no hesitation offering the Glatzes the opportunity to move the event to Roy Thomson Hall, the big glass bonnet at Simcoe and King. “We like working with people who are good at what they do,” he says, simply. And the Glatzes certainly are that.

Truth be told, this magazine did not have a listing for that first concert at the George Weston, for one simple reason: we didn’t come into existence until September of the following year. But from then till now you can find them in every December/January double issue of The WholeNote, (most often as the “only show in town” in their mid-afternoon January 1 slot).

A number of well-known singers will perform in Toronto in December: on December 13 the tenor Marcello Giordani will sing arias and songs by Tosti, Bizet, Cilea and Puccini; on December 15 and 16 soprano Natalie Dessay will sing items from the Michel Legrand songbook; Richard Margison will perform “The Great Songs of Italy” on December 10 (all at Koerner Hall; there will be another performance of the Margison recital on December 7 in the Regent Theatre, Oshawa); on New Year’s Eve at Roy Thomson Hall “Bravissimo” will present a number of singers, including two Canadians (Wallis Giunta, mezzo, and James Westman, baritone). But the recital which I am most looking forward to is the one to be given by Phillip Addis, baritone, and Emily Hamper, piano, on December 19 at the Jane Mallett Theatre, St. Lawrence Centre. The main works on the program are Britten’s Songs and Proverbs of William Blake and Poulenc’s La fraîcheur et le feu. The program will also include Abendbilder by Wolf, two songs by Korngold and three new songs by Erik Ross.

Addis spent his high school years in Toronto. At that time he played the tuba and the euphonium. At one point he intended to become an engineer but at the last moment he decided that he would study music instead, a choice that we can all be grateful for. So he went to Queen’s, still intending to be a tuba player. But singing took over: after Queen’s, Addis studied for a diploma in operatic performance from the University of Toronto, which was followed by an apprenticeship at the Atelier lyrique de l’Opéra de Montréal. Since then he has sung many parts in many opera houses: he sang the high baritone role of Pelléas in Debussy’s Pelléas et Mélisande (at the London Proms last summer; under John Eliot Gardiner, no less); yet he has the lower sonorities which have allowed him to sing the title role in Mozart’s Don Giovanni. He is no stranger to lieder, having sung Schubert’s Winterreise and Schwanengesang, Schumann’s Dichterliebe and Mahler’s Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen.

Last summer, after his performance as Pelléas, a reviewer wrote that he sounded “like a young Thomas Allen.” I asked Addis about that and his reply was both diplomatic and sensible. It was not, he said, a claim he would himself wish to make but, if others thought of him that way, then it was a compliment that he would try to live up to. I heard Allen a number of times when I was young (and Allen was even younger); the performance that I especially cherish is one that I saw and heard on a video, that of the title role in Britten’s Billy Budd. That is a role that Addis has not yet sung. It is a part that, for both dramatic and musical reasons, needs a young singer. I certainly hope that sometime in the near future Addis will be given the chance to sing it.

We saw Addis most recently in the COC production of Puccini’s La bohème, where he sang in all performances, some of the time as Marcello, in other performances as Schaunard. After that it was off to southern California, where he sang in Britten’s War Requiem and as the Sprecher in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte and where on December 6 he will perform in Britten’s The Prodigal Son. After the Toronto recital he will travel to Paris, where he and Hamper will repeat the Toronto program and go on to sing Pelléas at the Opéra Comique. But what Addis is especially excited about is the production next July of Kevin Puts’ opera Silent Night, a work that dramatizes the brief Christmas truce during the first year of the First World War. The opera (first performed in St. Paul, Minnesota, in 2011) is based on the film Joyeux Nöel and Addis will be singing the role of the French lieutenant Audebert.

In the Toronto recital, Addis will be accompanied by Emily Hamper (we have in recent years trained ourselves to use the term “collaborative pianist,” but Hamper assures me that “accompanist” is good enough for her). She is also Addis’ wife and the mother of their young son Sebastian. As a vocal coach she is much in demand; she has worked with distinguished Canadian singers such as Gregory Dahl, Thomas Goerz, Roger Honeywell, Michael Schade, John Tessier — and, of course, Phillip Addis.

The return of Jennie Such: In an earlier column I wrote about singers who have retired and who have gone on to do other things. Among them was the soprano Jennie Such. Well, she is back. She is singing the first soprano part in a performance of Bach’s Magnificat along with the VOCA chorus of Toronto, conducted by Jenny Crober. The other soloists are Claire de Sévigné, soprano, Marion Newman, mezzo, Andrew Haji, tenor, and Alexander Dobson, baritone, at the Eastminster United Church, December 7.

Other events: JohnPizzarelli and Daniela Nardi will sing songs by Paolo Conte and Frank Sinatra at Koerner Hall, December 7.

At the Kingston Road United Church, December 8, Eve Rachel McLeod, soprano, and Jason Nedecky, baritone, are the soloists in a concert by the Toronto Beach Chorale, which will include music by Finzi, Holst and Vaughan Williams

There will be a chance to hear the winners of the Jim and Charlotte Norcop Prize in Song and the Gwendolyn Williams Koldofsky Prize in Accompanying on January 7 at Walter Hall.

Jennifer Enns Modolo, mezzo, and Bud Roach, tenor, will sing selections from the Cole Porter songbook, with the Talisker Players at Trinity-St. Paul’s Centre, January 12 and 14.

The Toronto Symphony Orchestra and the Amadeus Choir are performing Mozart’s Coronation Mass with Leslie Ann Bradley, soprano, Lauren Segal, mezzo, Lawrence Wiliford, tenor, and Gordon Bintner, bass-baritone, at Roy Thomson Hall, January 15 and 16.

Last June Domoney Artists Management presented “The Star of Robbie Burns” consisting of songs by Burns as well as selections from the musical Brigadoon.There will be a repeat of this concert in the Church of the Redeemer on January 25. Benjamin Covey, baritone, will sing again but there is a different soprano (Charlotte Corwin), a different pianist (Christopher Bagan) and a different narrator (Andrew Gillies).

Tracy Dahl, soprano, and Liz Upchurch, piano, will perform art songs and arias in the Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre, February 4.

Stephanie Blythe is the John R. Stratton Visitor in Music at the Faculty of Music, University of Toronto. She will give an art song masterclass on January 21, a masterclass on opera arias on January 23 and will perform, along with voice and collaborative piano students, in “An Evening of English Song” on January 24. Also at Walter Hall there will be free performances featuring voice studies and collaborative piano students on December 3 and January 14. On February 3, Walter Hall is the venue for the distinguished baritone Sir Thomas Allen to give the Geiger-Torel lecture. Tracy Dahl will give the Ricky Turofsky masterclass in voice on February 7 in the Geiger-Torel Room.

And in Oshawa: At the College Park Church on December 8, Allyson McHardy, mezzo, will be the soloist in a concert of works by Bach, Handel and Vivaldi given by the Durham Philharmonic Choir. 

Hans de Groot is a concert-goer and active listener, who also sings and plays the recorder. He can be contacted at artofsong@thewholenote.com.

Three pianists, Quebec-born and internationally celebrated, will all find themselves on stages in Toronto and vicinity over the course of six days in January 2014. The last time such a confluence of singular dexterity occurred was during the Glenn Gould 75th anniversary celebrations in late September and early October of 2007. Then, in homage to Gould’s love of the genre, Louis Lortie’s entire recital consisted of piano transcriptions by Bach, Grieg, Gould and Lortie; André LaPlante saluted the 50th anniversary of Gould’s Russian debut with music by Prokofiev and Shostakovich that curiously also included Mozart’s Piano Sonata K282; Marc-André Hamelin’s program comprised works championed and recorded by Gould, including Jacques Hétu’s Variations for Piano Op.8 and surprisingly Mozart’s Sonata in C, K545.

I happened to be in the audience at the Glenn Gould Studio when Hamelin began the second half of his concert by introducing the Mozart, saying that it was his least favourite of any Gould recording he heard growing up.

Hamelin began playing the piano at five. His pharmacist father was an amateur pianist enamoured of the pianists of the Golden Age — Vladimir de Pachmann, Benno Moiseiwitsch, Leopold Godowsky — and sufficiently proficient at the instrument to be able to play difficult pieces like César Franck’s Symphonic Variations and some of the Chopin Études. In a recent interview with Colin Eatock for the summer 2013 issue of Queen’s Quarterly Hamelin spoke candidly about his father’s early influence:

“Listening to these pianists [in his father’s record collection] taught me to view music with a great sense of freedom. Perhaps this wasn’t too healthy, from the perspective of today’s musicological advances, because I grew up with a disregard for the letter of the score. This is something I acquired later on. I believe it’s the combination of these two elements that make me who I am today, and make me do what I do the way I do it.”

From the age of 11 to 17 he studied with Yvonne Hubert at L’école de musique Vincent-d’Indy. Hubert taught LaPlante and Lortie among many others — Janina Fialkowska tells a wonderful story on CBC Radio 2’s This Is My Music about hearing LaPlante practicing Liszt when they were both students at the school in Montreal, she nine, and he two years older.

Hamelin has literally brought to light many works by 19th and 20th century composers whose compositions were rarely played in the last several decades. There’s an especially revealing response to Eatock’s question about Hamelin’s recorded music and whether he has followed “certain definable tendencies”:

“If you look at my discography, I don’t think you’ll find anything like it anywhere else. I’ve always had a taste for the unfamiliar, and a desire to bring it to the forefront — in the hope of enlarging awareness of the repertoire, and helping other pianists by offering them a greater diversity of things to choose from. And I’ve pretty much always been able to do what I wanted.”

Responding to a question about whether it’s his virtuosity that appeals to his fans, Hamelin answered:

“For many people, difficulty has an attraction all its own. But I don’t enjoy playing difficult music for its own sake — and I wish people understood this. If I do it, it’s because I believe in the music, and I’ll do whatever it takes to play it. But I want people to transcend virtuosity, and I’m a little less into that sort of thing now. I’ve found joy in simpler repertoire.

“And there’s a lot of the standard repertoire that I still haven’t done. For next year, I’ve programmed Schubert’s Sonata in A Major D.959 and his Impromptus — and I’ll be playing the Impromptus for the first time. But I’ll also revisit Nikolai Medtner’s Night Wind Sonata, which I think is an unsung masterpiece. It would benefit any young composer to study it very closely.”

Hamelin’s international career has maintained its lofty status. He’s currently artist-in-residence at London’s prestigious Wigmore Hall (where he made a memorable live recording slmost 20 years ago). He recently gave the first of five recitals there; the program’s first half was identical to the one he will be performing in Toronto January 21 and repeating in Lindsay the next evening. London blogger Frances Wilson summed it up: “The program traced a darkly lit narrative from the brooding opening bars of Hamelin’s atmospheric Barcarolle, through the sprawling musical landscapes of Medtner’s Night Wind piano sonata.” Here, he’ll be playing the last four Schubert Impromptus after intermission.

Hamelin is a pianist whose mastery of the mechanical aspects of music making has always been in support of his artistic vision, a means of fulfilling the music’s emotional content. Mark the date.

LaPlante and Lortie: LaPlante’s recital at the Narvesons’ Kitchener-Waterloo Chamber Music Series, in Waterloo January 18, harks back to that autumn week in 2007. Included in a program of the kind of virtuosic romantic music for which the pianist is known — Chopin, Liszt and a Busoni arrangement of the Bach Toccata, Adagio and Fugue in C — is the Mozart Sonata in E-flat K282 he played six years ago. Coincidentally he’s also performing the Jacques Hétu Variations Hamelin played during that same anniversary celebration.

Lortie will be leading the TSO from the keyboard in a performance January 22 and 23 of Mozart’s Piano Concerto No.22, K482 with its haunting middle “Andante” and elegant cantabile slow menuet that hijacks its “Allegro” third movement. “The important thing about a soloist being able to conduct,” Lortie says on his website, “is that he is a master of time in all senses.” He believes that it’s the time involved in rehearsal (“which ideally is as much time as needed”) that is essential. Since he believes that the Mozart concertos are true chamber music and that every player brings his own input to the playing of them, “you must have time to discuss phrasings with people.” People who play a Mozart trio or quartet will take hours to discuss their approach; he wants to bring those same values to the concertos.

Bezuidenhout: On the subject of Mozart, fortepiano specialist Kristian Bezuidenhout conducts the Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra from the keyboard December 5 to 8 in Mozart’s Concertos Nos. 9 & 11, K271 and K413. Like Hamelin’s, Bezuidenhout’s boyhood home had a massive record collection and by the age of 9 or 10 he was intimately familiar with Mozart’s music. He discovered his fascination with historic keyboards as student at the Eastman School of Music. “The scale of the piano went just far enough that one could recapture the sense of sturm and drang and tempestuousness that is present in Mozart’s music,” he observes in a video available on the Tafelmusik website.

Finally, a third pianist-conductor, Ignat Solzhenitsyn (son of the iconic Soviet writer and dissident), will, like Lortie, bring his talents to Roy Thomson Hall as part of the TSO “Mozart @258 Festival.” On January 11 he will perform the Concerto No.18, K456 with its second movement “Andante” exhibiting a pathos rare for the composer.

QUICK PICKS

Two in Waterloo: Highly touted American pianist Andrew Von Oeyen’s December 2 concert ranges from Bach’s Partita No.1 to Ravel’s La Valse; the gifted French pianist Jean-Philippe Collard’s eye-opening program January 15 consists of Debussy’s Preludes, Book I and Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition. Both at the Perimeter Institute.

Koerner Hall Debut: Russian-born pianist Kirill Gerstein who divides his time between America and Germany is that rare classical pianist with a jazz degree from the Berklee College of Music. His December 8 program includes two Ligeti Etudes, two Virtuoso Etudes by Earl Wild from songs by Gershwin and Pictures at an Exhibition.

COC Piano Virtuoso Series: RCM Rebanks Fellowship-winner Stefan Chaplikov takes on Beethoven’s massive masterpiece, the Hammerklavier Sonata December 10; fellow RCM Rebanks Fellowship-winner (and one of the few Arabs performing Western classical music), Algerian-born Mehdi Ghazi looks to reveal the passion in works by Rachmaninov, de Falla, Prokofiev and Messiaen January 7; young American Christopher Goodpasture plays Fantasies by Schumann and Hétu and Etudes by Chopin and Debussy January 16. All concerts are free and at noon in the Richard Bradshaw Auditorium.) 

Paul Ennis is The WholeNote’s managing editor.

Acclaimed actress and singer Jenni Burke is happy to be leading “Saturday Swing-Along” brunches at Jazz Bistro, taking place December 7, 14, and 21 at 12:30pm. Burke’s charming voice and warm stage presence, along with special guests and sing-alongs will offer folks from one to ninety-two a chance to get into the spirit of the season.

“I love this time of the year when I remember to take a moment to remember what it’s all about,” says Burke. “For all the material hoopla associated with the holiday season, its meaning doesn’t lie in the perfect gift, the obligations, the running around, all the glitter and bows, but in the birth of something lovely and new inside our hearts ... we are reminded at this time of year that we can be more than we are. That we can and should be the force of love in this world. A time to count our blessings and be grateful and experience the joy of giving.” Jazz Bistro will be accepting food donations at the door in support of Daily Bread Food Bank and CBC’s Sounds of the Season; those who bring a non-perishable donation will be admitted free of charge.

Anyone looking for a bargain on New Year’s Eve should hurry up and make reservations at Gate 403. Cover is only $10 for the evening, with entertainment provided by the Denielle Bassels Jazz Band. A recent graduate of Humber College, Bassels is a brilliant talent with more than just a gorgeous voice. Reminiscent of the late Amy Winehouse, the singer-songwriter’s music is all at once classic, contemporary and appealing. Gate 403 is an unpretentious venue, and one of the only clubs in Toronto that features live jazz and blues seven days a week. It’s certainly deserving of your continued support, and there is hardly ever a cover charge. That being said, most of the money the musicians take home for their hard work comes from the Pay-What-You-Can jar, so be sure to contribute, especially if you enjoy their performance. Generous tips make for excellent karma!

A few months back I had the honour of playing a gig with Canadian jazz legend Don Thompson. Afterwards we chatted about some of our favourite singers. He asked me whether or not I had heard Diana Panton, a vocalist he has been working with for years, with whom he recently toured Asia.

“Oh, they just love her over there ... people revere her singing over there,” he said. “They come to meet her after the show and they are in tears. She is so honest and beautiful and they really get it.” Asked whether she would be playing here anytime soon, he said no, I better just listen to her records, and so I checked out some of her work. Panton’s sensuous voice and her pared-down approach translate beautifully on recording, often sounding like she is whispering in your ear. Thankfully, some gigs have been booked since then, and we can all see and hear the Diana Panton Trio live on a few occasions in the near future. With the exquisite backing of Don Thompson and Reg Schwager, Diana Panton will perform Christmas material on December 12 and 13 at Brampton’s Rose Theatre, and on January 25 the three are at the Paintbox Bistro as part of an exciting series booked by the Jazz Performance and Education Centre, JPEC. As part of the same series, piano master Randy Weston will appear at the Paintbox on Friday, January 11; tickets for the series can be purchased at paintboxbistro.com

If you’ve never been to Hugh’s Room, there are some great reasons to check it out in the coming months. On Friday and Saturday, December 6 and 7, singing guitarist Leon Redbone makes a rare appearance. As reclusive as he is spellbinding, the enigmatic performer has amassed a sizable following thanks to his signature style; check out his YouTube channel for a taste of his tasteful talents. Meshing old-school jazz, folk, blues and ragtime with self-effacing comedy, the singular troubadour will be accompanied by pianist Paul Asaro and bluesman Colin Linden.

Speaking of troubadours, Toronto’s very own Rik Emmett will also be performing at Hugh’s Room, on Friday December 20, with Dave Dunlop on guitar. One of the founding members of famed 1970s/80s Canadian power rock outfit Triumph, Emmett struck out on his own as a singer-songwriter 25 years ago and has never stopped rocking. I had the pleasure of studying songwriting with Emmett at Humber College, where he performed new songs for the class week after week; his gift for melody, enchanting voice and performance style make this performer one Toronto should treasure.

The music of Chet Baker appears to be inspiring plenty of singers these days, including Shannon Butcher, who has just released an EP of seven songs made famous by the icon. Butcher has always been fascinated by Baker’s “Dark and aloof personal life, burdened by addictions, contrasted by his evocative performances that deeply connected him to his audience.” The resulting Butcher Sings Baker ranges from the melancholic "Almost Blue" to the effervescent “Happy Little Sunbeam,” and features Rebecca Hennessy on trumpet, a lovely choice for this project. The album can be found on iTunes or in hard copy, autographed live in person. Butcher performs at the Dovercourt House for the Saturday Night Swing Dance on December 21, and in duo with bassist Ross MacIntyre at Musideum on January 30.

Guitarists and lovers of jazz guitar should take note of an exciting few days at Chalkers Pub with Gene Bertoncini. Born and raised in New York City, the 76-year-old master guitarist has been playing this music for nearly seven decades, fusing together jazz, classical, pop and bossa nova styles on both acoustic and electric guitar. He has worked with Benny Goodman, Tony Bennett, Lena Horne, Buddy Rich, Wayne Shorter and Michel LeGrand, to name a few. On January 25 at Chalkers Pub, Bertoncini will appear in duo format with Dave Young; the following afternoon, January 26, he will be teaching a guitar clinic, and performing solo that evening. Anyone interested in hearing the guitar sing should not miss it!

Thank you all for reading and for your continued support of this vibrant scene, made all the more bright by your attendance and applause. Wishing you all a wonderful holiday and plenty of live music in 2014! (Our jam-packed In the Clubs listings start on page 61.) 

Ori Dagan is a Toronto-based jazz vocalist, voice actor and entertainment journalist. He can be contacted at jazz@thewholenote.com.

I’m writing this in November and already I’m getting tired of Christmas songs being pumped out at me in shops and restaurants.

It can be said however that despite all the blatant commercialism the season does promote a spirit of goodwill, at least for a day or two. And that’s more than can be said for the origins of the celebration which are to be found in Roman bacchanalia steeped in drunken revelry and, unfortunately, racism, the dates of which were borrowed by the Roman Catholic Church and sanitized more than just a little. If you want clarification on this subject I invite you to check out the origins of Christmas.

In the spirit of the season I offer this abridged version of a parody on “The Night Before Christmas”:

’Twas the month before Christmas, and all through the store,

Each department was dripping with Yuletide decor.

The Muzak was blaring an out-of-tune carol,

And the fake snow was falling on “Ladies’ Apparel.”

It was all too much for my soul to condone,

And I let out a most unprofessional moan.

The crowd turned around, and I’ll say for their sake,

That they knew in an instant I wasn’t a fake.

“I’ve had it,” I told them, “with fast-buck promoting,

With gimmicks and come-ons and businessmen gloating.

This garish display of commercialized greed,

Is so very UN-Christmas, it makes my heart bleed!

And that’s my rant for today.

Elementary – what’s on: Starting with the concert halls there is in fact quite a lot of activity over the next couple of months. The listings section of the magazine has a complete rundown but I have singled out a few events giving an overview of the forthcoming events.

Regarded by many as the best big band in the business, Jazz At Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis, will offer a program called “Big Band Holidays” at Massey Hall on December 9. Formed in 1987 they have since taken their music around the world garnering enthusiastic devotees wherever they play. I’m pretty certain that one of the numbers they will play will be their version of “Oh Tannenbaum” and if you go on their website you’ll find the entire version, not just a clip. Worth checking out.

If you’re looking for something a little more contemporary and vigorous, December 14 at the Winter Garden Theatre will find The Bad Plus belting out their very personal brand of music. Drummer in the group, Dave King, has this to say, “This band contains some of the most punk energy I’ve ever seen or felt as a musician ...”

On the other hand If you’re looking for some nostalgia you’ll find it on December 19 at Roy Thomson Hall when the Preservation Hall Jazz Band presents “Creole Christmas.” The group was formed in 1961 — before some of the current members were born and while the band is no longer the original genuine article the evening will bring back memories of days and music gone by.

Not quite downtown but it’s worth the drive on December 5 to the Flato Markham Theatre where The Manhattan Transfer “Swings Christmas.” The group has been performing since 1974 although it hardly seems that long since I first became aware of them. They went from strength to strength and in 1981 won their first Grammy for their recording of “Until I Met You,” also known as the jazz standard “Corner Pocket,” composed by Freddie Green, longtime guitarist with Count Basie. Their Markham appearance comes hot on the heels of an extensive European tour and if you like vocal jazz, and in particular four-part harmony, Markham Theatre will be your destination.

Two nights later on December 7 John Pizzarelli and Daniela Nardi, vocals, will be “Celebrating Frank Sinatra and Paolo Conte”at Koerner Hall; and at the same venue on December 14, Regina Carter and Nnenna Freelon will present an evening of Jazz, funk, Motown, African and soul music.

So you can see that if you choose to, the festive concert season could put quite a strain on your wallet, but heh, better for your soul than a new smartphone.

At your service: I have commented on the number of jazz vespers which have become part of the fabric that makes up the musical coat of many colours to be found in our city. They first saw the light of day, or rather evening, 14 years ago at Christ Church Deer Park. At that time the minister was Tim Elliott and the musician who convinced him that jazz vespers was a fitting addition to the musical life of a church was Toronto musician Brian Barlow. Over the years there have been five ministers at Christ Church Deer Park, but Brian is still in charge of the jazz policy. Other churches have followed suit and something that 20 years ago would have been unheard of, literally, and still considered by a narrow-minded few to be the devil’s music, is now an accepted way of expressing joy and communicating with people through group improvisation.

Brian’s programming over the next couple of months includes Christmas Vespers with “Barlow Brass and Drums” on December 15 and on January 12, Jazz Vespers “Tribute to Louis Armstrong” with Chase Sanborn, trumpet, and a tribute talk by Barlow. Then on January 26, Jazz Vespers will feature the Russ Little Quintet with Russ Little, trombone, Michael Stuart, saxophone, Brian Barlow, drums, Tom Szczesniak, piano, and Scott Alexander, bass. 4:30pm is the start time and attendance is free, donations welcome.

Time for a little religious humour? Try this one. A rabbi, a priest and a minister walk into a bar. The bartender looks up and says, “What is this, a joke?”

Clubbing around: In addition to the concert schedule there is the usual club scene which is well documented in the listings section, but I would like to make mention of some of the bookings at the Jazz Bistro on Victoria Street which is going some way to picking up the slack which has existed since we lost the Montreal Bistro and Top o’ The Senator. The Jazz Bistro is in fact at the same address as the Top o’ The Senator but there the resemblance ends. It is an elegant room with decent sight lines, reasonably priced food and a really fine piano. There is also an interesting booking policy thanks to the creative efforts of Sybil Walker who brings years of experience coupled with a keen knowledge of the music. Some of the artists who will be appearing over the next few weeks include a quintet on December 6 and 7 led by drummer Mark McLean featuring Kelly Jefferson, saxophone, Robi Botos, piano, Ted Quinlan, guitar, and Marc Rogers, bass. On December 19 to 21 Duncan Hopkins will share the bandstand with Mike Murley and Rob Piltch while the New Year gets off to a swinging start with Bernie Senensky on January 2 to 4, Neil Swainson and Don Thompson, January 9 to 11 and Dave Young, who will be there with his Tribute to Horace Silver Band for three nights, January 16 to 18. With Dave will be Kevin Turcotte, Perry WhIte, Gary Williamson and Terry Clarke. A week later, January 23 to 25, Bernie Senensky will take the bandstand with sax player Grant Stewart, his brother Phil Stewart on drums and Neil Swainson, bass. A strong line-up of home grown talent and if you haven’t yet visited this relatively new space then I would strongly recommend that you put it on your things-to-do, places-to-see list.

Meanwhile over at the Rex, one of the highlights has to be the appearance of John Tank on December 3. With him will be Bernie Senensky on B3 Hammond organ and Ted Warren, drums. Kitchener-born, John Tank moved to Toronto in 1970 but has made New York his home base since 1974, He has built a strong presence both there and internationally and this is a rare Toronto appearance.

All in all if you are a jazz fan “Yule” be able to have a good time.

Just a closing reference to the Christmas commercial madness —I leave you with this thought:

As Chico Marx said in A Night At The Opera, “There ain’t no Sanity Clause!”

I wish you merry listening and a jazzy new year. 

Jim Galloway is a saxophonist, band leader and former artistic director of Toronto Downtown Jazz. He can be contacted at jazznotes@thewholenote.com.

Since this issue of The WholeNote is a double issue covering the periods before and after the Christmas holiday season, I expected to be flooded with information on concerts devoted to traditional Christmas music. I also expected a small smattering of information on what might be in store in the community band world in the new year. I was mistaken. In my ad hoc unscientific survey of band activities, the clear pattern was that there is no pattern. The key word is diversity. Where to start? How are they diverse? How do they differ from the traditional activities we think of when we use the phrase “Town Band”?

Traditionally most town bands performed regularly in parades. Now, most community bands restrict their activities to concerts. In the more extreme cases, the word parade is akin to blasphemy. In other words, to play in a parade would be beneath their artistic dignity. A special bouquet then goes to the Newmarket Citizens Band. In a three-week period before Christmas the members of that town band are scheduled to perform in no fewer than five Santa Claus Parades interspersed with some free concerts at retirement residences. That is community service. At the other end of the diversity spectrum, many community bands perform one concert of Christmas or seasonal music.

As for concert programming, that too has diversified greatly. Few of the groups that we have heard from restrict their programming to band music only. Most have guest soloists, choirs or both. For the Milton Concert Band their special guests are the Kingsway Conservatory of Music Children’s Choir under music director Karen Sexton and a very special secret guest vocalist. They’ll cover the spectrum from Leroy Anderson’s Sleigh Ride to Morten Lauridsen’s O Magnum Mysterium. The Brampton Concert Band takes diversity further with both the Brampton Youth Concert Band and the Mayfield Singers from Mayfield Secondary School as guests. As an additional attraction, this year’s “Christmas at the Rose” will intertwine the music with story-telling presented by local Brampton actor Joe Rose. On the eastern front, out in Pickering, the Pickering Community Concert Band’s Christmas Concert will include theme music from Harry Potter films performed with synchronized video. To complete the mix, in addition to an audience carol sing-along they will be joined by the Pickering High School Jazz Band.

Plumbing the repertoire: Although their concerts will be past history by the time this issue is off the presses, I would be remiss if I didn’t recognize the creative efforts of professor Henry Meredith and his Plumbing Factory Brass Band in London. In their late November concerts they included a tasteful variety of Christmas melodies in original arrangements for brass band by band members. On the religious side, these included the Ukrainian folk chant Carol of the Bells, the 17th century French Canadian Huron Carol also known as Twas in the Moon of Wintertime and the premiere performance of A Christmas Carol Medley arranged by band member Ronald Morgan. On the lighter side there was The Parade of the Tin Soldiers (1897) by Leon Jessel and the March of the Toys (from Babes in Toyland) (1903) by Victor Herbert. Then, as frequently happens in their programs, there was the unknown Canadian gem most of us had never heard of. This time such a gem was The Mistletoe Galop (c. 1867–75, published by P. Grossman, Hamilton, ON)

Horizons past: From time to time I report on the happenings of the New Horizons bands. Now in their fourth season in Toronto, there are now five concert bands and one jazz class with another new group starting in February on Wednesday afternoons. A familiarization evening will be held for anyone interested in learning more about the New Horizons movement on Friday, January 31 from 7pm to 9pm at the Long and McQuade Bloor Street store in Toronto. The original intent of this movement, when it was started about 15 years ago, was to encourage older absolute beginners or those who hadn’t touched an instrument since school days to get into playing in a group. Having decided to look at diversity this month, I inquired about the musical backgrounds, if any, of the local New Horizons members. What I learned was surprising. Many had considerable experience in music, but on other instruments. Here again, an unscientific, informal survey was in order.

One of the dedicated members of the senior group, Alizon, who plays the oboe in the band, came to New Horizons with piano experience and as a singer. Maureen, new to the group this year, who picked up the French horn on her own, just happens to teach harp at the Royal Conservatory. Gail, on alto saxophone, with no previous musical experience, is one of the sort that I expected. Russell, a professional bassist, is now performing on tenor saxophone. Ken, a professional bassoonist and bass clarinetist, now embraces a tuba. He does admit though that carrying a tuba on public transit presents a challenge. Carol, with no prior experience, originally took up the flute and now plays that in the level two band. However, she had a long-suppressed urge to try drums. She now also plays drums in the level one band. One of the most interesting members is Randy. Having never played any instrument in his life, Randy, a seasoned member on flute in the level three band, is now trying his hand at composition. The members of the group hope to give his first effort a read through in the coming weeks.

Within that group there are two individuals who warrant special mention for their musical dealings with adversity. Lawrence, once an accomplished organist and choir director, was forced to relinquish his post when the arthritis in his hands reached the stage where he could no longer cope with a keyboard instrument. While the organ is no longer within his grasp, his musical talent is now expressed through the xylophone. Then there is Randall. Totally blind since birth, Randall is seen regularly carrying his euphonium at various band events around Toronto. He even performs frequently on euphonium at York University. I have grown accustomed to observing Randall’s proficiency on a valved instrument. To put it mildly, I was blown away when I spotted him holding forth on a large bass trombone during a recent visit to a New Horizons rehearsal. My exploration into diversity in the band world took me to places that I could not have imagined.

Readers write: Although there is a regular request in this column for readers to write, it rarely happens. What a joy this time to have two new responses to report, The first from reader John Ryerson offers a correction to my referral in the last issue to “a decision by the Toronto District School Board to cut the funding of some music programs in Toronto schools.” He states: “For the record, it was the Ministry of Education that wanted the ‘flex’ funding program removed but the TDSB wore it. Regards.”

Another reader response, with a twist of humour, came from “Suzanne.” Last month’s lesser known musical term was “basso continuo: when musicians are still fishing long after the legal season has ended.” Suzanne’s rejoinder requires careful pronunciation to fully comprehend.

“One of the more unsavory types out on the waters after the end of the legal season is the solitary and elusive bass angling for bass. I hope that this will change the tenor of the common belief that basso continuo is just a little harmless illegal fishy fun. One must also question Liona Boyd’s intentions. As you will note from her picture, (page 31, right next to your column), she appears to be just enjoying a little harmless R&R in a canoe. Or has she succumbed to this derelict basso continuo craze. After all let’s not forget that the guitar which she just ‘happens’ to have with her in the canoe is a popular choice for basso continuo illegal fishing types. I hope this clarifies things.”

DEFINITION DEPARTMENT

This month’s lesser known musical term is ben sostenuto: First cousin of the second trombonist.

We invite submissions from readers. Let’s hear your daffynitions. 

Jack MacQuarrie plays several brass instruments and has performed in many community ensembles. He can be contacted at bandstand@thewholenote.com.