identifying
identifying characteristic of who you are as a musician. And yoursound is not in the instrument … The sound is something that youcarry within your very being and that’s what comes out. So takesomeone like Sonny Rollins. I think that if you gave Sonny Rollins50 different tenor saxes, 50 different reeds and 50 different ligatures,he’s going to sound like Sonny Rollins, with some variation becausemaybe the instruments aren’t comfortable … But essentially what’sgoing to come out is Sonny Rollins … and I tell that to my students.I say, ‘Don’t look for the magic instrument, because there’s nomagic instrument.’”I don’t mean to suggest that one should slavishly imitate onemusician. As the saying goes, when you copy from one person that’splagiarism, but if you copy from everybody it’s called research andevery jazz musician is a product of what he or she has listened toand absorbed. Some musicians say they get ideas about their soundfrom players who don’t even play the same instrument as they do.It’s more about concept, phrasing and note choices.It’s the same magic that makes a melody stick in our head, and thesame magic that makes a particular improvised solo a classic.And that takes us back to Ian Bargh and the very elusive personaltouch he brought to his music.Finally, if we look ahead to the beginning of next month, onMarch 7 at 5:30pm in the Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre, FourSeasons Centre for the Performing Arts, one of our great Canadianmusicians who has the magic in his music will be performing. Hisname? Guido Basso. He, along with another master musician, DonThompson, will present a free concert of jazz classics and originals.If you are lucky enough to be there you will hear what the words inthis month’s column have tried to describe.Meanwhile, happy listening and try to make some of it live music.Jim Galloway is a saxophonist, band leader andformer artistic director of Toronto Downtown Jazz. Hecan be contacted at jazznotes@thewholenote.com.New Year AwakeningJACK MACQUARRIEWell, the holiday season, with all of its almost overlappingrehearsals and concerts, is past history. Then, like mothernature (with the exception of her one or two nasty outbursts),the community ensemble scene lapsed into a tranquil, semi comatosestate of inactivity. We have not heard of a single event scheduledfor January or early February. Then, well after Groundhog Dayand Family Day have past into history, we see the awakenings of anew season.The first musical events for the season brought to our attention arenot concerts, but are still events of considerable interest to membersof community ensembles. Long and McQuade will be presentingno fewer than five free clinics on successive Saturday afternoonsstarting February 4. If you play clarinet, saxophone, trumpet ortrombone, check for details at bloorband@long-mcquade.com. Thetwo which particularly caught my attention were sax and trumpet. Ifyou have never seen or heard contrabass, sopranino or soprillo saxophones,here’s your chance. The AllSax4tet will be performing oneight different sizes of saxes. As for the trumpet session, it will featurenone other than the incomparable Doc Severinsen, leader of theTonight Show Band for 30 years. Yes, he’s still actively performing.The other noteworthy event is “International Horn Day 2012”presented by the York University Department of Music on February10 at 7:30pm. This will feature Jacquelyn Adams with Clifton Hyde,guitar and Jeff Butterfield, drums, plus horn ensembles of all levelsfrom across southern Ontario, including the Toronto Symphonyhorn section, Tafelmusik horns and more. See the listing sectionfor details.Two concert offerings which have come to our attention breakwith tradition in quite different ways. The first of these will beThe City of Brampton Concert Band’s “Heroes and Villains” onSaturday, February 25. The concert will focus on the theme ofheroes and villains in the broad sense of its many manifestations inlife, history, nature, literature and art. Director Darryl Eaton hasassembled a fantastic range of guest artists to help explore theseconcepts in musical terms. Perhaps the quirkiest will be WilliamSnodgrass performing a whimsical version of The Flight of theBumblebee as a percussion solo. For more details check their websiteat www.bramptonconcertband.com.The second of these concerts with a different approach will be thatof the Markham Concert Band. In a departure from more traditionalprogramming, conductor Doug Manning decided to focus on workscomposed and/or arranged by Canadians. As an added feature, nofewer than four of these composers and arrangers will be in attendance.In the audience, to hear their compositions performed, will berenowned trumpeter Johnny Cowell and saxophonist Eddie Graf. Asfor the other two composers, they are band members Sean Breenand Vern Kennedy.A long time member of the Toronto Symphony, Cowell also madehis mark as a composer in the popular field. In fact, in the early1960s Cowell had more compositions on the Hit Parade than anyoneelse. Two of his compositions were number one on the charts worldwide. Walk Hand in Hand, now a wedding standard, and Our WinterLove are still popular today, almost 50 years later.Graf was a band leader in Canadian Army shows in England andEurope during World War II. On his return to Canada, he led hisown big band and was responsible for writing, arranging and conductingfor many CBC shows. Now in his 90s, Graf is still playingand turning out fine compositions and arrangements.Kennedy, composer and singer, had a long history with suchCBC shows as the Juliette Show, Wayne and Shuster and theTommy Hunter Show. In addition to playing trumpet in the band,Kennedy is a founding member of the Canadian Singers who willalso be appearing in this concert. Originally an octet and now a28 thewholenote.comFebruary 1 – March 7, 2012
vocal quartet, this group wasestablished in 1994 with the goalof singing music by Canadiancomposers. They will sing worksby both Cowell and Kennedy inthis concert.The fourth of the composersfeatured, and the youngest, isBreen. Still in his early 20s,Breen has been composing sincehis early days in high school. Heplays baritone saxophone in theband, and will conduct his ownSymphonic Overture for Winds.Featured soloist for thisconcert will be trumpet showman John Edward Liddle. An honoursgraduate of the acclaimed Humber College music programme, forthe past 30 years Liddle has pursued a varied musical career. Fromprincipal trumpet and soloist with many orchestras and concertbands in the GTA to smaller chamber groups as well as latin, jazzand dance bands, he has explored all facets of the trumpet repertoire.In his spare time Liddle conducts the Etobicoke Community ConcertBand, the North York Concert Band and the Encore SymphonicConcert Band.Among other works, Liddle will perform Graf’s three movementTrumpet Rhapsody and Cowell’s arrangement of La Virgin de laMacarena by legendary trumpeter Raphael Menez. In Cowell’soriginal composition Roller Coaster, a work for trumpet trio, he willbe joined by band members Kennedy and Gord Neill.We usually don’t receive much news about the concerts or otheractivities of the reserve military bands in Toronto, but one event hascome to my attention that warrants mention. It’s a special “VeteransAppreciation Concert” by the naval reserve band of HMCS York.My career in the navy, which spanned a good many years in a varietyof roles at sea and ashore, had its origins in music. It so happensthat, while still in high school, I was enticed into a naval reserveband with the exalted rank of “Probationary Boy Bandsman.” Whilemy time in the navy after high school did not involve music, I havealways had a soft spot for naval and marine bands. This concert bythe HMCS York Band will take place on Saturday, March 3 in Ajax.Finally, I would be remissif I didn’t give an update onNew Horizons Band activities.Locally, the Long and McQuadebands have now grown to four.Starting with one beginnersgroup in September 2010, theyhave grown to two daytimeand two evening groups forbeginners and intermediateplayers now numbering 100members. Now, under theumbrella of the University ofWestern Ontario New HorizonsBand, a New Horizons BandCamp is scheduled for July at Brock University in St. Catharines.The intent is to bring together musicians from Canada and the U.S.as a way of celebrating the 200th anniversary of the War of 1812.I’m sure that we’ll have more details in future issues, or visitwww.newhorizonsmusic.org.On a more serious note, it is with great sadness that we note thepassing of Bette Eubank, a long time member of the NorthdaleConcert Band. In addition to playing as a regular member of theband’s flute section, Bette was always there when someone wasneeded to perform the many thankless non-musical jobs in theband. Bette also devoted much of her time to entertaining in seniors’homes where she developed a special rapport with the residents. Shedeparted much too early.DEFINITION DEPARTMENTFor the past couple of years we have featured a variety of wackymusical terms in this spot. For a change, this month’s is one that Iencountered recently during a rehearsal. It is: Passissimo. I got nohelp from Grove’s Dictionary of Music and Musicians, the OxfordCompanion to Music or such websites as www.MusicTheory.org.ukor www.thefreedictionary.com. Can anyone help?INDEX OF ADVERTISERSJohn Liddleheadlines withthe MarkhamConcert Band.Jack MacQuarrie plays several brass instruments andhas performed in many community ensembles. He canbe contacted at bandstand@thewholenote.com.Aldeburgh Connection 7Alexander Kats 55Amadeus Choir 45Amoroso 58Aradia Ensemble 21Art of Time 12Associates of the TSO 43ATMA 5Aurora Cultural Centre 37Aurora Performing Arts 35b current / Theatre Archipelago 24Brock University Centre for the Arts 14Canadian Opera Company 31Canadian Sinfonietta 41Cathedral Bluffs Symphony Orchestra33Chamber Music Society of Mississauga41Christ Church Deer Park Jazz Vespers27Civic Light Opera 30Classical 96 69Continuum Contemporary Music 18, 36Cosmo Music 28Counterpoint Community Orchestra 45Counterpoint Musical Services 54ESPRIT Orchestra 3Gallery 345 31George Heinl 18Grand Salon Orchestra 45Heliconian Hall 51Hymn Society, Southern OntarioChapter 55I Furiosi Baroque Ensemble 22Jazz Performance and Education Centre37John Laing Singers 49Jubilate Singers 46junctQin keyboard Collective 37Kids 4 Peace 47Kindred Spirits Orchestra 20, 38Larkin Singers 32Leon Belov 56Living Arts Centre 10Liz Parker 54LIZPR 53Lockwood ARS 56Long & McQuade 27Miles Nadal JCC 44, 55Mississauga Symphony 36Mooredale Concerts 36Music at Metropolitan 32Music Gallery 35Music Toronto 9, 44, 47Musicians in Ordinary 38National Academy Orchestra 55Neapolitan Connection 38Nocturnes in the City 39Norm Pulker 56Off Centre 33Ontario Philharmonic 19Opera By Request 47Opera in Concert 47Opera York 42Orchestra Toronto 42Orpheus Choir of Toronto 11, 26Our Lady of Sorrows 34Pasquale Bros 54Pattie Kelly 56Pax Christi Chorale 25Peter Mahon 25Pilares Presents 40Queensmen of Toronto 56Ray Isaacs 23RCCO / Fridays@8 41Rose Theatre 15Royal Conservatory 4Scarborough Philharmonic 41Sheila McCoy 55Show One Productions 13Silverthorn Symphonic Winds 43Sine Nomine 40Sinfonia Toronto 13Sony Centre 70Soundstreams 48St Philip’s Jazz Vespers 26St. Olaves Church 42St. Stephen in-the-Fields AnglicanChurch 51Steve’s Music Store 16Sue Crowe Connolly 56Syrinx Sunday Salons 33, 46Tafelmusik 2Tafelmusik Baroque Summer Institute22Tallis Choir 45TDSB Vocal Arts School 24The Singing Voice Studio 55The Sound Post 20Tokai String Quartet 33Toronto All-Star Big Band 39Toronto Beach Chorale 36Toronto Centre for the Arts 31Toronto Chamber Choir 46Toronto Classical Singers 46Toronto Consort 7Toronto Operetta Theatre 13Toronto Philharmonia Orchestra 40Toronto School of Music 54Toronto Sinfonietta 38Toronto Summer Music 34Toronto Symphony Orchestra19, 71, 72University of Toronto Faculty of Music17Visual and Performing Arts Newmarket46VIVA! Youth Singers 25Windermere String Quartet 39Women’s Musical Club of Toronto 40Yamaha Music School 56York University 44Yorkminster Park Baptist Church 42Yves Léveillé Quartet 27February 1 – March 7, 2012thewholenote.com 29
