Volume 21 Issue 3 - November 2015

Beat by Beat | Mainly

Beat by Beat | Mainly Clubs, Mostly Jazz! stage, I nudged my friend and said, “This is definitely going to be my favourite.” I had said before that Sophia Perlman was my favourite jazz singer in the city and then quickly corrected myself. “One of my favourites. Top five.” The finale of the anniversary celebration invited the participation of the audience. A bunch of people with conducting experience came on stage, divided the audience into sections, and conducted each respective section in a rendition of the round Music Alone Shall Live, while Mary Lou Fallis accompanied us on the piano. “All things shall perish from under the sky. Music alone shall live, music alone shall live, music alone shall live, never to die.” The song is true. If not literally, then in some other way. Music may not survive the heat death of the universe, but it is transcendent and universal. It has existed since before recorded history and it – or at least evidence of it – will exist after our species has gone extinct. It could have been my imagination, or the nature of the music, or the elevation of the stage, or just the fact that we were in a church, but for me, it was a reverent moment. There was no dancing or even standing (excepting the conductors). Only a bunch of people simultaneously expressing a belief we all share, and which none of us takes lightly. Sophia Perlman: Vocal diamonds. Earlier that week I had gone to the Reservoir Lounge, a venue with less light, more food, and a louder audience, to hear Sophia Perlman. Accompanied by Farrugia on piano, the band also included Richard Underhill on alto sax, Jeff Halischuk on the drums and Mike Carson on bass. It was a marvellous show. The finale of the night, a cover of Paul Simon’s Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes, complete with vocal harmony from the band also invited audience participation. Before the night was over, everyone was on their feet. Most people danced. I’m not one for dancing, but I couldn’t sit for it. I had to sway. The music aside, the setting was different. The stage was less elevated. No one was in formal attire. Most people were drunk (I was not) and at times willing to talk over the band (also not I) – which I think made it all the more meaningful and beautiful when the audience did choose to hand over their attention to the musicians on stage. “Ta na na, Ta na na na” is not quite the statement that “music alone shall live, never to die” is. Nonetheless it lifted in a similar way to the Sophia Perlman at Trinity-St. Paul’s Centre (late September 2015) round in the church. So in retrospect, maybe it wasn’t the words. Maybe it was the joy of making music with other people. For the aforementioned jazz singer, Sophia Perlman, a large part of the joy of making music – specifically improvised music – with other people is the spontaneity of it. Jazz musicians aren’t known for their creative inflexibility or physical tension, but even in this idiom you will rarely see someone as loose, relaxed, comfortable on stage and comfortable in her skin as Perlman is. JOSHUA GOLDHAR C. In the Clubs (Mostly Jazz) bloomrestaurant.com All shows: 19+. Call for reservations. November 26 7pm Sophia Perlman (voice) Trio with Adrean Farrugia (piano), Ross Mac- Intyre (bass) (includes dinner). Castro’s Lounge 2116e Queen St. E 416-699-8272 castroslounge.com (full schedule) All shows: No cover/PWYC Every Wed 6pm The Mediterranean Stars. C’est What 67 Front St. E (416) 867-9499 cestwhat.com (full schedule) November 7, 21 3pm The Boxcar Boys. November 14, 28 3pm The Hot Five Jazzmakers. Chalkers Pub, Billiards & Bistro 247 Marlee Ave. 416-789-2531 chalkerspub.com (full schedule) De Sotos 1079 St. Clair Ave. W 416-651-2109 desotos.ca (full schedule) Every Sun 11am-2pm Sunday Live Jazz Brunch hosted by Anthony Abbatangeli No cover. Dominion on Queen 500 Queen St. E 416-368-6893 dominiononqueen.com (full schedule) Call for cover charge info. Emmet Ray, The 924 College St. 416-792-4497 theemmetray.com (full schedule) All shows: No cover/PWYC November 1 8pm Matt Marantz (sax) Quartet with Alex Goodman (guitar), Rick Rosato (bass), Jimmy MacBride (drums). November 2 7pm Jacob Damelin Trio; 9:30pm Keith Price (guitar) Trio with Mark Godfrey (bass), Curtis Nowasad. November 5 9pm John- Wayne Swingtet: Wayne Nakamura (guitar), Abbey Sholzberg (bass), John Farrell (guitar). November 8, 22 5:30pm Monk’s Music. November 8 8pm Autobahn: Jeff LaRochelle (sax), James Hill (piano), Ian Wright. November 9 7pm Christian Overton Quintet. November 12 9pm Bossa Tres: Victor Monsiváis (guitar), Abbey Sholzberg (bass). November 15 8pm Parker Abbott Trio: Teri Parker (piano), Simeon Abbott (piano, organ), Mark Segger (drums). November 16 9:30pm William Carn & Kelsey Grant (trombones). November 19 9pm Vokurka’s Vicarious Virtuoso Violin with Ed Vokurka (violin), John Fletcher (guitar), Abbey Scholzberg (bass). November 22 8pm Avi Granite & Ted Quinlan (guitars). November 23 7pm Max Senitt Trio; 9:30 Mark Godfrey Quartet. Fat City Blues 890 College St. 647-345-8282 Garage @ CSI Annex, The 720 Bathurst St. 416-619-4621 livefromtheannex.com November 3 ‘Live From the Annex’ monthly Cabaret (adv). Gate 403 403 Roncesvalles Ave. 416-588-2930 gate403.com All shows: PWYC. November 1 5pm Keith Price Blues Music from Winnipeg; 9pm Diablo’s Dust. November 2 5pm Mike Daley Jazz Trio; 9pm Bruce Chapman Blues Duo. November 3 5pm Howard Willett Blues Duo; 9pm Grant Lyle Blues Music. November 4 9pm Julian Fauth Blues Night. November 6 9pm Fraser Melvin Blues Band. November 7 5pm Bill Heffernan and His Friends. November 9 9pm Chris Staig Trio. November 11 5pm Michelle Rumball with friend; 9pm Julian Fauth Blues Night. November 12 9pm Kevin Laliberté Jazz & Flamenco Trio. November 13 9pm Denielle Bassels Jazz Band. November 14 5pm Bill Heffernan and His Friends. November 18 9pm Julian Fauth Blues Night. November 20 5pm Sam Broverman Jazz Duo. November 21 5pm Bill Heffernan and His Friends. November 25 9pm Julian Fauth Blues Night. November 28 5pm Bill Heffernan and His Friends. November 30 Kalya Ramu Jazz Band. Grossman’s Tavern 379 Spadina Ave. 416-977-7000 grossmanstavern.com (full schedule) All shows: No cover (unless otherwise noted). November 1 4:30pm New Orleans Connection All Star Jazz Band; 10pm The National Blues Jam with Brian Cober. November 2 9:30pm The Band is called NO BAND REQUIRED. November 3 9:30pm Ms. Debbie & The Don Valley Stompers. Harlem Restaurant 67 Richmond St. E. 416-368-1920 harlemrestaurant.com (full schedule) All shows: 7:30-11pm (unless otherwise noted). Call for cover charge info. November 2, 9, 16, 23, 30 Neil Brathwaite. November 5, 12, 19, 26 Dirty Jazz. November 7 Liz Loughrey & Adrian X. November 13 Mellow Dee. November 14 Kristin Fung. November 20 Gyles. November 21 The Jay Danley Ethiojazz Group. Hirut Cafe and Restaurant 2050 Danforth Ave. 416-551-7560 Home Smith Bar – See Old Mill, The 56 | Nov 1 - Dec 7, 2015 thewholenote.com

She has clearly worked hard at developing this craft, and she must know how good she is. But yet, offstage, she is as uncomfortable with flattery as anyone. When I told her I had transcribed one of her scat solos (All of Me at Shops at Don Mills, available on YouTube), she laughed nervously and said: “Don’t do that, I don’t know what I’m doing!” Imagine the luck that must be involved, to build a career of not knowing what you’re doing! Her voice has a rasp to it. Not the kind that comes from years of smoking, but the kind that might come from shouting excitedly about something for a few minutes. The rasp isn’t the defining feature of her voice, but to me it adds something to the performance that’s difficult to nail down. It’s shading. Musical shading. The rasp is good. But through the rasp comes a voice that is clear, powerful, and shockingly huge. I’ve only heard her perform live three times – each at a different venue, with a different ensemble. And each time the experience was radically different. In fact, if it wasn’t radically different, it wouldn’t be worth attending, never mind writing about. When she was a novice on the Toronto scene, Perlman says she found it “baffling, and at times really frustrating” how fluid lineups were. But – as evidenced by the performances I’ve seen, and the ease with which she adapts – she’s gotten used to that since then: “The beauty of belonging to this community is that every time you stand onstage, and take stock of who’s there, you realize there are two things at play: you have a relationship with everyone on the bandstand to some degree. Usually. But most of the time, they all have their own relationships with everyone else on the bandstand – a whole other collection of shared musical experiences, some of which don’t include you!” I’m excited, and I hope you’re excited, too: You can catch Sophia Perlman adapting to all manor of different factors at two listed gigs this month (and possibly more): one at Bloom in Toronto with Adrean Farrugia and Ross MacIntyre on November 26; the other at Manhattans Pizza Bistro & Music Club in Guelph with Terra Hazelton, under the name PerlHaze. Bob Ben is The WholeNote’s jazz listings editor. He can be reached at jazz@thewholenote.com. Hugh’s Room 2261 Dundas St. W. 416-531-6604 hughsroom.com All shows: 8:30pm (unless otherwise noted). November 1 Joey DeFrancesco Trio (adv)/(door). November 3 Tom Paxton .50(adv)/(door). November 4 Daniel Champagne (adv)/(door). November 5 Oliver Swain’s Big Machine – Never More Together Album Launch (adv)/.50(door). November 6 Ian Thomas (adv)/.50(door). November 10 JP Cormier – Take Your Chances Tour .50(adv)/(door). November 11, 12 Howard Jones – Solo Piano Performance .50(adv)/.50(door). November 13 8th Annual New Orleans Stomp! featuring Gregg Stafford & Detroit Brooks (adv)/(door). November 14 Carlos del Junco & The Blues Mongrels (adv)/.50(door). November 15 7:30pm Micah Barnes & Friends “Uptown: Tribute to The Apollo Theatre” .50(adv)/(door). November 16 Sherman Downey & Matthew Byrne (adv)/.50(door). November 17 Dione Taylor – CD Release – Born Free (adv)/.50(door). November 18 Eric Andersen (adv)/.50(door). November 19 The East Pointers (adv)/.50(door). November 20, 21 Stan Rogers Tribute C. In the Clubs (Mostly Jazz) (adv)/.50(door). November 23 8pm The Cherry Trees Band & Friends – A Fundraiser for the Water for Life Initiative (adv)/(door). November 24 Catholic Family Services of Toronto Foundation presents Jazz Night to End Woman Abuse (adv)/(door). November 26 Jay Aymar – CD/Book Release (adv)/.50(door). November 27 A Man called Wrycraft presents 10th Annual Heart of Saturday Night – A Live Concert Tribute to Tom Waits (adv)/(door). November 28 The Last Waltz – A Musical Celebration of The Band (adv)/(door). November 29 2pm Ken Whiteley’s Sunday Gospel Matinee (adv)/.50; 8:30pm The Last Waltz – A Musical Celebration of The Band (adv)/(door). November 30 Tara Beier & The Silverthorns (adv)/(door). Jazz Bistro, The 251 Victoria St. 416-363-5299 jazzbistro.ca November 1 7pm The Nathan Hiltz (guitar) Trio with Pat Collins (bass), Morgan Childs (drums) plays Gershwin . November 3 8pm The Eric St. Laurent (guitar) Quartet with Paul Pacanowski (sax), Jordan O’Connor (bass), Attila Fias (piano) . November 4 8pm Hump Day Blues with Michael Pickett . November 5, 6, 7 9pm The Steve Koven (piano) Trio with Rob Clutton (bass), Anthony Michelli (drums) (Thurs)/(Fri, Sat). November 10 7am Jazz FM – Piano Series. November 11 8pm Hump Day Blues with Professor Piano Scott Cushnie . November 12, 13, 14 9pm The Dave Young (bass) Sextet with David Restivo (piano), Terry Clarke (drums), Kevin Turcotte (trumpet), Landen Viera (sax), Drew Jurecka (violin) Plays Ellington (Thurs)/(Fri, Sat). November 15 8pm The Nightwatchers: Rupert Wates (guitar) and Bartosz Hadala (piano) . November 18 8pm Hump Day Blues with Shakura S’Aida . November 19 8pm George Olliver (voice) with Tony Padalino (piano), Peter Mueller (guitar), Eli Eisenburg (bass), Paul Delong (drums) . November 20, 21 9pm Broadsway: Heather Bambrick, Julie Michels & Diane Leah . November 22 7pm I hear Music: The Lorraine Foreman Songbook . November 26 8pm Swing Night with Colin Hunter (voice) and the Anthony Terpstra (drums) Seventet: Richard Whitehouse (piano), Dave Field (bass), Paul Tarussov (trombone), John Little (trumpet), Steve Mac- Donald (tenor sax), Anthony Rinaldi (bari sax) . November 27 8:30pm Colin Hunter (voice) with the Joe Sealy (piano) Quartet: Paul Novotny (bass), Daniel Barnes (drums), Alison Young (sax) . November 29 7pm Preludes and Pralines . Jazz Room, The Located in the Huether Hotel, 59 King St. N., Waterloo. 226-476-1565 kwjazzroom.com (full schedule) All shows: 8:30pm-11:30pm unless otherwise indicated. Attendees must be 19+. November 6 Paul Mitchell (trumpet) Quintet with Mike Massaro (sax), Joel Haynes (drums), Rob Fekete (piano), Clark Johnston (bass) . November 8 4pm Christian Howes Band (Ohio) . November 13 Benjamin Deschamps Quartet (Montreal) . November 14 Carol McCartney (voice) Group with Brian Dickinson (piano), Kieran Overs (bass), Reg Schwager (guitar), Chris Robinson (sax), Terry Clarke (drums) . November 20 New Vibes Quintet with Andy Macpherson (percussion and vibraphone), Dan Brennan (bass), Gary Tomlin (drums), John Zadro (piano), Jerzy Kaplanek (violin) . November 21 Alex Dean’s Three Baritone Band . November 27 Jason White Trio . Joe Mama’s 317 King St. W 416-340-6469 joemamas.ca Every Tue 6pm Jeff Eager. Every Wed 6pm Thomas Reynolds & Geoff Torrn. Every Thurs 9pm Blackburn. Every Fri 10pm The Grind. Every Sat 10pm Shugga. Every Sun 6:30pm Organic: Nathan Hiltz (guitar); Bernie Senensky (organ); Ryan Oliver (sax), Morgan Childs (drums). KAMA 214 King St. W. 416-599-5262 kamaindia.com (full schedule) All shows: 5pm-8pm. La Revolucion 2848 Dundas St. W 416-766-0746 restaurantlarevolucion.com (full schedule) Local Gest, The 424 Parliament St. 416-961-9425 Lula Lounge 1585 Dundas St. W. 416-588-0307 lula.ca (full schedule) November 3 8pm La Otra Orilla .75(adv). Manhattans Pizza Bistro & Music Club 951 Gordon St., Guelph 519-767-2440 manhattans.ca (full schedule) All shows: PWYC. November 3, 18 John Zadro. November 7 Parker Abbott Trio. November 8, 22 Stan Chang. November 11, 25 Jokela, Vogan & Cooley. November 13 PerlHaze: Sophia Perlman & Terra Hazelton. November 14 Ori Dagan Trio. November 17 Brad Halls. Mezzetta Restaurant 681 St. Clair Ave. W 416-658-5687 mezzettarestaurant.com (full schedule) All shows: 9pm, (unless otherwise noted). Monarch Tavern 12 Clinton St. 416-531-5833 themonarchtavern.com (full schedule) November 9 7:30pm Martin Loomer & His Orange Devils Orchestra . Monarchs Pub At the Eaton Chelsea Hotel 33 Gerrard St. W. 416-585-4352 monarchspub.ca (full schedule) Wednesday shows: 7pm. Thursday shows: 8pm. All shows: No cover. November 4 The Ault Sisters. November 5 Mark “Bird” Stafford. November 11 Soren Nissen Trio. November 12 Crissinger Band. November 18 Cara Matthew. November 19 Michael Schatte. November 25 Brownman Electryc Trio. November 26 Jack de Keyzer. Morgans on the Danforth 1282 Danforth Ave. 416-461-3020 morgansonthedanforth.com (full schedule) All shows: 2pm-5pm. No cover. November 1 Fall Back into Jazz with Ilana Waldston (voice), Bernie Senensky (piano), Steve Wallace (bass). November 29 Lisa Particelli’s ‘Girls Night Out’ Jazz Jam. Musideum 401 Richmond St. W., Main Floor 416-599-7323 musideum.com (full schedule) November 1 8pm The Steve Koven Trio . November 6 8pm On Topic . November 8 3pm Beth Anne Cole: “LOVE A Gershwin Tune” . November 13 8pm Coleman Tinsley . November 14 8pm Peter Campbell . November 15 3pm Joel Sheridan Sings Billie & Frank . November 19 8pm Malkah Lerner & Andrew Downing . November 22 8pm Eva Green: Compared to What . November 24 8pm Steve Amirault . November 28 8pm Rose Stella . Nawlins Jazz Bar & Dining 299 King St. W. 416-595-1958 nawlins.ca All shows: No cover/PWYC. Every Tue 6:30pm Stacie McGregor. Every Wed 7pm Jim Heineman Trio. Every Thu 8pm Nothin’ But the Blues w/ guest vocalists. Every Fri 8:30pm All Star Bourbon St. Band. Every Sat 6:30pm Sam Heinman; 9pm All Star Bourbon St. Band. Every Sun 7pm Brooke Blackburn. thewholenote.com Nov 1 - Dec 7, 2015 | 57