SoME THING NewBY /ASON.VAN EYKThere is a double-fold joy in having Cashian is even less known on thissuch an internationally active new side of the pond, despite a careermusic community based here in To- boasting worldwide performancesronto. On the one hand, our collec- and multiple CDs. Known for comtionof high-quality presenters, pro- posing energetic works with powerducersand performers act as a bea- ful rhythmic invention, the Orchesconthat attracts creators to call this tra w,ill perform Cliashian's Chamcityhome. On the other hand, our ber Concerto. The evening will benew music community members rounded out by works from Montravelthe world seeking musical treal-based Petar Klanac and the retreasures,which they bring back prise of an early Esprit favourite fromto feed our curiosity and expand American Joseph Schwanter. Forour horizons.details visit www.espritorchestraSeveral February events offer in- .com. For tickets call 416-366-7723teresting indications of this dual con- or visit www.stlc.com.dition, starting with two concerts for New Music Concerts capitalizesvisiting Argentinean-born, British- on the skyrocketing interest in Chibasedcomposer Alejandro Vifiao . . nese culture for its February 16thThese showcase events take place concert at the Glenn Gould Studio,on February 1st and 4th as part of Music from Beijing. NMC Artisticthe University of Toronto New Director Robert Aitken describes theMusic Festival; which was pro- concert's genesis: "Two years agofiled in the previous issue. in Austria I heard a very excitingA week later, Esprit Orchestra piece by Chinese composer Guop~focuses on the music of British com- ing Jia for pipa and 4 percussionposers George Benjamin and Philip which I felt should be heard in ToCashian in their concert titled Lajoie. ronto. The pipa player Wei-Wei Lart,Benjamin, while very well known although young, had already acquiredboth at home and internationally, has a substantial contemporary repertoire,yet to make a similarly big splash which I felt could form the basis forhere in North America. Esprit is a concert of music from Beijing. Byclearly aiming to fix the situation with chance, a new resident of Torontothis, their second concert to include Fuhong Shi also studied composiBenjamin's work.· this season. On tion in Beijing and little by little th(}February 11th at the Jane Mallett program evolved. China, like CanaTheatre, Esprit will perform his da, is a very large country with cerUpon Silence with mezzo soloist tain centres of composition and mostPatricia Green. Fellow Brit Philip of the music we hear in Toronto is20by Canadian composers of Chinesedescent from Hong Kong, soJTietimesTaiwan and. occasionallyShanghai. I thougqt this might·be anopportunity to investigate a slightlydifferent accent in Chinese music."PipaSoloistWei-Wei Lanjoins NewMusic Concerts iri this concert ofworld and Canadian premieres. Forinfo visit www.newmusicconcerts.com. For tickets call 416-205-5555.On February 18th Tapestry NewOpera Works holds a workshop forShelter, an opera in developmentfrom New-Zealand born, Torontobasedcomposer Juliet Palmer andlibrettist Julie Salverson. Inspired byPeter van Wyck's research on .theHighway of the Atom (the name givento a Canadian trade route overwhich uranium ore was transported,including the ore used by the UnitedStates to build atomic bombs suchas those dropped on Japan), this darkclown opera.tells the story of a nuclearfamily adrift in the post-atomicage. The Shelter workshop starts.at4 p.m. in Tapestry's Ernest BalmerStudio at the Cannery Building inthe Distillery District. For detail~please see this issue's listings. Fortickets 'call 416-537c6066 x. 221.The next day, SoundstreamsCanada presents the debut performanceoftheAmici Strings, Canada'slastest virtuoso ensemble. On February19th at the Glenn Gould StudioJoaquin Valdepefias will conductthis new musical powerhouse· in aprogram including music by 20thcenturyRussian heavyweight AlfredSchnittke and works from importantFritz Hauser joins Nexus at the.Music Gallery 011 February 27.Canadian creators Serge Arcuri, BrianCherney and Harry Freedman. Theconcert will also introduce the workof Lithuanian composer RamintaSerksnyte. Widely awarded and performedthroughout Europe, Serksnyteis an early career composer withan impressive roster of achievements.Her work is said to be dominatedby neo-romanticism, enriched withfeatures of minimalism, sonorism,jazz and folk music, and pervadedwith"Eastern contemplativeness andsubtlety. While it hasn't been specifiedwhich of Serksnyte's work theAmici Strings will perform, I'm hopingfor her extremely colourful DePrpfundis. For· more info visitwww.soundstreams.ca. For ticketscall 416-205-5555.On February 27th at 7:30 p.m.Nexus rejoins with Swiss percussionist,composer, improviser anddrum-set innovator Fritz Hauser atthe Music Gallery to celebrate thelaunch of their Out of the Blue CDproject. Toronto-based Nexus, stillconsidered one of the world's premierpercussion ensembles, metHauser in 1998 during the Stock-•st4t''r'!t1tfi#·'h4§4fi'E{·X·f14'l§UWIf ri
holm International Percussion Event, Jazz No 1-es courthouse, it served as a meetingyet it wasn't until 2004 that they had l l place for the Arts and Letters Clubthe chance to work together, meet-of Toronto in the early 1900's.ing again in Nashville. Now they by Jim Galloway In its new life the Courthousewill bring their collaborative results In November last year I wrote and an example of the club being will come to order on March 20 'to Toronto, which Hauser likens to about the difficulties of making a the classroom.and in its first week will present a"having 10 extra arms and ears and decent living as a jazz musician and Now, all too often, the class- different style of jazz each nightbeing surrounded by 150 years of deploring the fact that many of our room is the club.featuring some of our leading Tomusicalexperience." For details visit great talents have to teach in order Times have changed and jazz ronto groups.www.musicgallery.org. For tickets to make ends meet. In mid Janu- courses in colleges and universi- WholeNote's monthly jazz clubcall 416-204-1080. ary the IAJE - International As- ties are now a major factor in the -listings continue to burgeon (seeClosing out the month is the first sociation foi· Jazz Education - held development of emerging talent. page 51 for the details), but I'llconcert of the J oronto Sympho- its annual conference in New York One result is that the level of mu- -make mention of some of the upny'sthird New Creations Festival, with more than 8,000 registered sicianship, in a purely technical coming events in town this month.entitled-K11usse11 's Choice. On Feb- participants from 45 countries. sense, has never been higher. In Saturday February 10 will find aruary 28th_ at Roy Thomson Hall, There were teachers, students, Toronto alone, ·some amazing tal- double bill at Massey Hall of TheBritish composer and frequent TSO musicians and promoters represent- ents have emerged. A small army Bad Plus and the Roy Hargroveguest conductor Oliver Knussen will ing every segment of the music of extremely capable musicians is Quintet. Recently in New York Ioffer an English-heavy programme industry. The New York Times entering a dwindling market. caught Mr. Hargrove at The Bluethat promises to deliver the cutting even published a lengthy article Years ago, The Dave Brubeck Note and can state firmly that he isedge of contemporary orchestral about jazz education in the week Quartet made an album called "Jazz at the top of his game and one ofsound. Included in the mix are four preceding the conference. Goes To College", recorded at the most · inventive and excitingCanadian premieres: Julian Ander- Music education is big business. ·some campus concerts. Today it players you could wish to hear. .son's Book of Hours for orchestra Bill Mcfarlin, the executive direc- would be more fitting to say that. The next night.at the Bathurstand electronics, Simon Bainbridge's tor of IAJE was quoted saying that Jazz Cornes From College! What Street Theatre you can sampleScherzi, Mark-Anthony Turnage's the jazz education industry has is missing today is a healthy work- Such a Melodious Racket, anOn Opened Ground (featuring past quadrupled in the last 20 years. place. No matter how schooled and evening of AfriCan, calyp~o , spirTSO principal violist Steven Dann Walking through this musical expo skilled you are, without practical ituals, blues, ragtime, classical jazz,as soloist) and Knussen's recently that)s IAJE you might well imag- experience on a bandstand in front swing, bebop and . hip hop withrevised Symphony in One Movement. ine that jazz is booming. of an audience the music will be Jackie Richardson, Kollage, BillyThe lone Canadian composer to make The irony here is that although less than it might be. Newton-Davis; Conrad Coates andKnossen's cut is Gary Kulesha, jazz education.is indeed booming, This is not a put-down of the narrator Rudy Webb with proceedswhose Fireworks and Procession the prospects for jazz. musicians business of jazz education, but rath- going to St. Christopher Housewill sit alongside the Brits. For more have perhaps never been more er a fament for the environment, · Music Schoor & The Archie Alinfoand tickets visit www .tso.ca or· gloomy. There is less work, for long gone, that produced a Lee leyne Scholarship Fund .call 416-598-3375. less money - fewer opportunities Morgan, a Miles Davis, a Charles On the 12th the Old Mill/So come out and celebrate the to play for an audience - unless Mingus and a Charlie Parker. Jazz.FM91 has A Tribute to Loucity'screative connections. Gain a you happen to be a "star" on the It's no,t all doom and gloom, is Armstrong & Ella Fitzgeraldworldly musical perspective through festival and concert hall circuits. however, for another new club is with June Garber, vocals; Mikesome thing new.In earlier times, knowledge was about to be launched in downtown Lewis, vocals/piano and; ~evinJason van Eyk is the Canadian passed on by mentors, learned in Toronto. Live At The Courthouse Clark, trumpet; and oh the 26th AMusic Centre's Ontario Regional the school of hard knocks, through is on the site of The York County Trib11te to Jazz On Broadway withDirector. He can be reached at trial and error. In other words, the Court House, 57 Adelaide Street the Gene DiNovi Trio.416-96l-6601 x. 207 or most valuable lessons were on the East, built in 1851-52. The Court- IfI may end on a personal note,jvaneyk@musiccentre.ca. bandstand. Where will those op- house was the third to serve the on Friday February 23 The Oldportunities come from now? city of Toronto and saw many his- Mill continues its big band seriesJazz, in its early days,.was some- toric events including the last pub- with yours truly and The Wee Bigthing of an underground music and· lie execution in Toronto. After the Band kicking things off at 7pm.the tradition was handed down from building ceased to function as a Happy live listening.artist to artist, either by one-ononeNN = some serious modern repertoireteaching or by 'ear. MusiciansNNN = thoroughly modern repertoire cou~d do the equivalent of coming •NI = new improvised music up through the minor leagues; andConsult the Concert listings for details.don't · forget the after hours sessionswhere greenhorns, so toToronto and NearbyThursday February 01speak, had the chance of playingNN - 12 noon: COC. Bradshaw Amphitheatrewith more experienced musiciansNNN- 7:30: U of T Faculty of Music.and honing their skills. In 70s Torontofor example, there used to with a brief reflection by .Jazz Vespers ClergyFeaturing some of Toronto's best jazz musiciansFriday February 02NNN - 12: 10: U of T Faculty of Music.NI- 7:00: Music Toronto. Crossings be The Banana Factory, so calledSunday, February 4th - 4:30 p.m.because it had indeed been a bananawarehouse at one tirne, andSaturday February 03JOE SEALY & PAUL NOVOTNYNNN - 7:30: Canadian Opera Company.Sunday, February 18th - 4:30 p.m.NNN- 7:30: U ofToronto Faculty of Music. where every weekend there wereTHE DIXIE DEMONSSunday February 04after hours jam sessions whichNNN - 2:00: U of T Faculty of Music. went on until the sun was up! OutSunday, March 4th - 4:30 p.m.NN - 3:00 & 4:00: Toronto WinterCity of town visiting players workingTHE ROBI BOTOS TRIONI - 4:00: Association of Improvising Mu· at say Bourbon Street, would headsicians Toronto/Now Lounge.for the factory after their regularChrist Church Deer Park, 1570 Yonge StreetNN - 7:30: ArtFarm Musicians Collective. gig and sit in with the locals. It(north of St. Clair at Heath St.) 416·920·5211NEW Music QUICK PICKS was a learning experience for youngAdmission is free.CONTINUES ON PAGE 50 players who learned by listening An oflering is received to support the work of the church , including Jazz Vespers.FEBRUARY 1 2007 - M ARCH 7 2007WWW, THEWHOLENOTE-.COM 21'
