Thursday March 3
Thursday March 3 ●●7:00: Kaleid Choral Festival. A Kaleidoscope of Voices with Rajaton. See Mar 2. MARCH 3 MARIE-JOSÉE LORD & QUARTANGO: TANGOPÉRA FirstOntarioPAC.ca | St. Catharines ●●7:30: FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre. Marie-Josée Lord and Quartango: Tangopéra. 250 St. Paul St., St. Catharines. 905-688-0722. . Friday March 4 ●●12:30: Don Wright Faculty of Music. Fridays @ 12:30 Concert Series. Works by Brahms, Martinů and others. Sharon Wei, viola, and Stephan Sylvestre, piano. Von Kuster Hall, Music Building, Western University, 1151 Richmond St. N., London. 519-661- 3767. Free. ●●1:30: Don Wright Faculty of Music. Voice Fridays: Canadian Composers of Song. Patricia Green. Talbot College, University of Western Ontario, Room 100, 1151 Richmond St. N., London. 519-661-3767. Free. ●●7:30: Isabel Bader Centre for the Performing Arts. Ensemble Series: Soundstreams Canada. MacMillan: Seven Last Words of Christ; Schafer: The Fall into Light; Nystedt: Immortal Bach. Soundstreams Canada’s Choir 21. Guest: James MacMillan, conductor and composer. 390 King St. W., Kingston. 613-533-2424. and up; .50 and up(st); and up(faculty/staff). Saturday March 5 ●●1:00: Don Wright Faculty of Music. London Music Scholarship Foundation Competition, Second and Final Round. Von Kuster Hall, Music Building, Western University, 1151 Richmond St. N., London. 519-661-3767. Free. Also 8:00. ●●2:00: Kawartha Concerts. Little Big Frog. Masks, puppetry, poetry, music and dance. Faustwork Mask Theatre. Market Hall B. Concerts Beyond the GTA C. Music Theatre Performing Arts Centre, 140 Charlotte St., Peterborough. 705-878-5625. ; (youth/ child). Also Apr 3(Lindsay). ●●7:30: Cellar Singers. Light Perpetual 2. Duruflé: Requiem and Motets. Jennifer Enns Modolo, mezzo; Matthew Cassils, baritone; Children’s Community Choir of Midland; Mitchell Pady, conductor. St. James Church, 58 Peter St. N., Orillia. 705-481-1853. ; (st). ●●7:30: Chorus Niagara. Eternity: Bach Mass in B Minor. Featuring 27 dialogue free short films created to mirror the 27-part musical structure of Bach’s work. Clevé: Sound of Eternity (film; Canadian premiere). Jennifer Krabbe, soprano; Anita Krause, mezzo; Charles Sy, tenor; Geoffrey Sirett, baritone; Chorus Niagara; Orpheus Choir; Talisker Players. FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre, 250 St. Paul St., St. Catharines. 1-855- 515-0722 or 905-688-0722. ; (sr); (under 30); (st); (child). 6:30: Preconcert chat. Also Mar 6 (See Section A. GTA, Orpheus Choir of Toronto). ●●8:00: Don Wright Faculty of Music. London Music Scholarship Foundation Competition, Second and Final Round. Von Kuster Hall, Music Building, Western University, 1151 Richmond St. N., London. 519-661-3767. Free. Also 1:00. Sunday March 6 ●●2:00: Don Wright Faculty of Music. Traditions. Western University Jazz Ensemble. Mocha Shrine Centre, 468 Colborne St., London. 519-661-3767. Free. ●●2:00: McMaster School of the Arts. Ensemble Concerts Series. Flute Ensemble. Convocation Hall, UH213, McMaster University, 1280 Main St. W., Hamilton. 905-525- 9140 x27671. Free. ●●3:00: John Laing Singers. Resplendent and Romantic. Featuring music for choir and virtuoso piano. Works by Beethoven, Buhr, Brahams Bergs, Rossini, Schubert and Whitacre. Guest: Paul Thorlaksen, piano. St. Paul’s United Church (Dundas), 29 Park St. W., Dundas. 905-628-5238. ; (sr); (st); free(child). ●●3:00: University of Waterloo Department of Music. Sawatsky Visiting Scholar: Music of Sir James MacMillan. Choir 21; UW Chamber Choir; Grand Philharmonic Choir. St. Peter’s Lutheran Church, 49 Queen St. N., Kitchener. 519-885-0220 x24226. ; (st/under30); (youth/child). Monday March 7 ●●8:00: Kitchener-Waterloo Chamber Music Society. Heidi Wall, piano. Bach: Prelude and Fugue from Bk.1 No.21 in b-flat; Liszt: Transcendental Etudes Nos.11 & 12; Haydn: Sonata No.52 in E-flat H.XVI:52. KWCMS Music Room, 57 Young St. W., Waterloo. 519-886-1673. By donation. Fundraising concert (tax receipts over ). Due to space constraints, this month’s Music Theatre listings appear online only. Please visit thewholenote.com/MT for music theatre events not carried in our daily concert listings, as well as Quick Picks for daily listings of particular interest to followers of music theatre. Priceless Gene continued from page 12 120 Diner 120 Church St. 416-792-7725 120diner.com (full schedule) Every Wed 6pm Genevieve Marentette; 8pm Lisa Particelli’s Girls Night Out Jazz Jam. February 2 6pm Emily Coulston; 8pm Mermaid & the Bear. February 4 6pm iSpy feat. Rebecca Everett; 8:30pm Nerissa Kay & Reuven Grajner. February 5 6pm Denielle Bassels. February 6 6pm Natasha Buckeridge & Kevin Wong; 9:30pm Lily Frost & the Kelvinators. February 7 6pm Ben Walker Project; 8pm Beat by Beat | Jazz Stories be from New York. I came down to visit and to take some lessons and later received a grant from the Canada Council for the Arts to relocate here temporarily and study. I fell in love with the place and the people and decided to stay. I feel a real kinship with the large but still tight-knit group of musicians I play with and listen to here and find Jamie Reynolds and Melissa Stylianou myself inspired to explore different musical directions as a result.” Stylianou performs regularly in New York City, especially at the 55 Bar in Greenwich Village, where she has held down a monthly residency for the past six years. Of all the venues in New York City, this casual, cozy and unpretentious spot is perhaps the most Rex-like. “Toronto will always be my home, but New York is the source of much of my creative inspiration. Living in New York is an intense proposition. I’ve found I need to be really present all day long here: to navigate this crazy city and get where I need to go ... to be aware of my surroundings in the interest of my personal safety, and to grab opportunities for connection with the people in my life. And being the parent of a toddler in the city adds some interesting elements - what little time I have to work on my craft and the business of music is often squeezed into tiny cracks in my life.” The silken-voiced Stylianou will be performing a concert titled “Everything I Love” at the Toronto Centre for the Arts on Saturday February 13, launching an exciting new series presented by JPEC (Jazz Performance and Education Centre). “I’m really excited to be coming up to play this concert. Jamie Reynolds (my husband and musical collaborator) and I have been exploring the voice/piano setting since our first musical meeting in 2003, and we both love the intimacy and space this format provides. We’ll be playing repertoire which stretches from Fats Waller and Irving Berlin to Bjork and Annie Lennox, along with some of our original songs. We’ll be joined by my friend (and former member of the Melissa Stylianou Sextet back in the day!), John MacLeod on cornet and flugelhorn.” The TCA JPEC series continues February 27 at the Toronto Centre for the Arts with “Justin Gray’s Synthesis” fusing Indian music and jazz, featuring Justin Gray on bass, Derek Gray on percussion, Ravi Naimpally on tabla and special guest Ted Quinlan on guitar. On March 5: “Jazz n’ Pizazz” with Jane Fair on saxophone, Rosemary Galloway on bass, Nancy Walker on piano, Lina Allemano on trumpet and Nick Fraser on drums. Tickets are and for students. Visit jazzcentre.ca for details. Ori Dagan is a Toronto-based jazz musician, writer and educator who can be reached at oridagan.com. D. In the Clubs (Mostly Jazz) Darlene Stimson. February 9 6pm Chris Birkett; 8pm Jessica Stuart Few. February 11 6pm Janet Whiteway. February 12 6pm Hello Darlings. February 13 6pm Joanne Morra; 9pm Chris Tsujiuchi. February 14 6pm Beth Anne Cole; 8pm Fergus Hambleton. February 16 6pm Heather Luckhart; 8pm Mirian Kay. February 18 6pm Ori Dagan & Dave Young. February 19 6pm Kathleen Gorman. February 20 6pm Stu MacDonald. February 21 6pm Julia Pal; 8pm Kristina Nojd. February 23 6pm Amir Brandon; 8pm Weatherstone. February 25 6pm Beverly Taft. February 26 JOANNE GREEN 42 | February 1, 2016 - March 7, 2016 thewholenote.com
Beat by Beat | Mainly Clubs, Mostly Jazz! Loud Outfits BOB BEN Cutting through the huge sound of the horns behind him, Martin Loomer plays the appropriate chords in the appropriate order on his electric guitar, laying down the time as authoritatively as any drummer. He wears a contagious grin and what looks to me like a bright orange jumpsuit. Which is super cool. If there’s anything I admire, it’s a loud outfit, and there are few outfits louder than a bright orange jumpsuit. Martin Loomer’s Orange Devils have a monthly gig, on the second Monday of every month, at The Monarch Tavern. They play music by big bands of the 1930s and 40s, like those led by Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Fletcher Henderson and more, with skill and authenticity. And who better to bring these charts to life than someone who makes his living as a music copyist? I first became aware of Loomer through the Orange Devils’ vocalist Rita di Ghent about three years ago – almost to the day – at the end of January 2013. Since then, I’ve chased down the Orange Devils, and Loomer himself, attended several of their gigs and bombarded him with questions, as you do with those more experienced in your field. I guess I must have asked the maximum number of questions he could answer at a gig or on Facebook, because he eventually invited me and a friend to come to his house to talk about composing and arranging. We convened in his living room, me, my friend, Loomer, his wife Karen, their cats, and a tray of muffins and tea, and we talked about a lot: family, education, cartoons and video games and, even at points, music. Once we migrated from the living room, Loomer showed us his score collection, which might be the largest number of scores I’ve ever seen in one room, music libraries included. This was a long while ago, but one thing I remember clearly is marvelling at how messy Duke Ellington’s handwriting was. The Orange Devils combine Martin Loomer Loomer's encyclopedic knowledge of the repertoire with the expertise of those sharing the bandstand with him: people like John McLeod, William Carn, and Richard Whiteman (including, up until recently, the late Dr. Kira Payne who passed away on January 2: Payne doubled flawlessly both on alto and tenor saxophones, and as a musician and an accomplished M.D.; she is missed by the community). Go hear this band with no skepticism. Just go. I have no doubt you will like it. Turbo Street: Another fairly large band – as distinct from a big band – I’d like to draw everyone’s attention to is Turbo Street Funk. If you don’t know them by name, you might recognize them from their busking days on major street corners around the downtown core, including Queen and Spadina, Bay and Bloor and so on. The band plays a combination of original tunes and pop standards, modern and otherwise, tightly arranged and performed by recent graduates of the big three music schools in the city. Turbo Street Funk will be bringing their outdoor dance party indoors on February 9 at Fat City Blues. This, friends, is the month when the city begins to thaw. Or, it will be if there is any justice in the world. Come out and celebrate. With any luck, I’ll see you in the clubs. Bob Ben is The WholeNote’s jazz listings editor. He can be reached at jazz@thewholenote.com. D. In the Clubs (Mostly Jazz) 6pm Kevin Barrett & Julie Michels. February 27 6pm Jordana Talsky. February 28 6pm Janel Jones & Bob Ben; 8pm Whitney Ross- Barris sings Tom Waits. Alleycatz 2409 Yonge St. 416-481-6865 alleycatz.ca All shows: 9pm unless otherwise indicated. Call for cover charge info. February 4 Pick up the Pieces. February 5 Royal Pains. February 6, 27 Soular. February 11, 25 The Flow with Carlos Morgan. February 12 Nine Times Band. February 13, 20 Lady Kane. February 18 Solo & Duets Concert Series. February 19 Universal Boogie Band. February 26 Switchbeat. Arbor Room 7 Hart House Cir. 416-978-2452 harthouse.ca February 26 9pm Jim Lewis. Artword Artbar 15 Colbourne St., Hamilton. 905-543-8512 artword.net (full schedule) February 11 8pm Jazz vocal jam with Sue Ramsay Trio . February 13 8pm Valentine sweet harmonies by The Ault Sisters . February 18 8pm Jazz with Jesse Martel and band. February 19 8pm Jazz with the Scott Taplay Group . February 25 8pm Nicole Chambers & Lauren Cumberbatch . February 26 8pm Blues, Funk, Groove w/ Wayne Janus Trio. Black Swan Tavern, The 154 Danforth Ave. 416-469-0537 February 12 7pm(Fri)/1pm(Sat, Sun) Winterfolk XIV: Top Talent from Nova Scotia to Nashville . Blakbird, The 812b Bloor St. W. 647-344-7225 theblakbird.com (full schedule) Bloom 2315 Bloor St. W. 416-767-1315 bloomrestaurant.com All shows: 19+. Call for reservations. February 14 7pm Amy McConnell (voice) Trio with Ross MacIntyre (bass), Mark Keiswetter (piano) (with dinner). Blue Goose Tavern, The 1 Blue Goose St. 416-255-2442 thebluegoosetavern.com Every Sun 4pm Blues At the Goose with the Big Groove Rhythm Section and special guests. Burdock 1184 Bloor St. W. 416-546-4033 burdockto.com February 15 7:30pm Love Hangover 2016 with Abigail Lapell, Heather Luckhart, Isabel Fryszberg, Shelby Lamb (voices) Tony Quarrington (guitar) (adv)/(door). Castro’s Lounge 2116e Queen St. E. 416-699-8272 castroslounge.com (full schedule) All shows: No cover/PWYC C’est What 67 Front St. E. 416-867-9499 cestwhat.com (full schedule) February 6, 20 3pm The Boxcar Boys. February 13, 27 3pm The Hot Five Jazzmakers. Chalkers Pub, Billiards & Bistro 247 Marlee Ave. 416-789-2531 chalkerspub.com (full schedule) or visit www.averyraquel.com De Sotos 1079 St. Clair Ave. W. 416-651-2109 desotos.ca (full schedule) Every Sun 11am Sunday Live Jazz Brunch No cover. Emmet Ray, The 924 College St. 416-792-4497 theemmetray.com (full schedule) All shows: No cover/PWYC AVERYRAQUEL Featuring: Joel Haynes - Drums Mike Pelletier - Bass Rob Fekete - Piano FEBRUARY 23, 2016 7:00PM at the door The Jazz Bistro 251 Victoria St. Toronto, ON jazzbistro.ca • 416.363.5299 Call for reservations thewholenote.com February 1, 2016 - March 7, 2016 | 43
