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Volume 4 Issue 6 - March 1999

  • Text
  • Toronto
  • Theatre
  • Arts
  • Symphony
  • Performing
  • Jazz
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  • Classical
  • Contemporary
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~mCJRTI~~'J Classical &

~mCJRTI~~'J Classical & Jazz Radio Toronto! 24-hour member-supported radio! Program Highlights Eft BBC NEWS Daily Cfassica{ Music· Mon.-Fri. 1 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sun. 1 a.m. to 7 p.m: including: 1!iarlu ~usir Records in Review Opera "Canadian· Currents" with David Olds Sun. 6-7p.m. ~ill CJRT I~ ~'J I JAZZ "The Jazz Scene" with Ted O'Reilly Mon.-Fri. 3-6 p.m. Sat. 6 a.m.-Noon, 7-10 p.m. "Jazz with Bob Par/ocha'' Mon.-Fri. 8 p.m.-1 a.m. Sun. 10 p.m.-1 a.m. "Night Beat" with Mary Lou Creechan Sat. 10 p.m -1 a.m. PLUS .•. Big Bands, Swing, Folk, Blues & World Music Telephone: 416-595-0404 1-888-595-0404 Website: www.cjrt.fm ~iii CJRT I~ ~'J I B AZZ .NOTES BY JIM GALLOWAY Another month rolls arow1d ru1d the jazz scene in Toronto remains ru1 active one, helped considerably by the fact that a great deal of jaZz can be heard on radio in this city on a daily basis. For exrunple, CJRT-FM's ongoing year-row1d support for jazz is runply demonstrated by the fact that there are now 60 hours of jazz per week on the station and Ted O'Reilly, in particular; gives a great deal of air time in support of Cahadiru1 perfonners. h1 this respect the station plays a vital role in the jazz conununity ru1d deserves your support. · The final concert in the current CJRT-FM Sound of Toronto Jazz series, hosted by Ted O'Reilly, will be at the Ontario Science Centre Auditorium, 770 Don Mills Road on March 8th. at 8:00 p.m. and continues with its policy of featuring a broad spectnun of styles. The cmicerts are consistently good ru1d well worth attending; on this occasion the music is on the more contemporary side with a perfonnru1ce by the quartet ·of saxophonist Marie­ Jo Rudolf. There is free parking ru1d admission is .00. George Shearing is one of those names that everybody recognizes. His distinctive playing style ru1d wann personality, in addition; of course, to his great musicianship have made him one of the most popular and highly respected artists in jazz. It's always a treat when he comes to town ru1d the good Iiews is that he will be perfonning at the Ford Centre for the Perfonning Arts in the George Weston Recital Hall, 5040 Yonge Street, 870-8000 on. March 26th. With him on bass will be his long-time associate, virtuoso bassist, Neil Swainson. Mark it in your calendar. Tickets are from .00 to .00. Another interesting event this month is a concert on March 5th. in London, Ontario, by a contemporary big band which over the past five years has become a force to be reckoned with on the Toronto scene NOJO - the Neufeld-Occhipinti jazz Orchestra). h1 addition, there will be two special guests, New York based trmnbonist, Ray Anderson, ru1d from London, Ontario, vocalist Denise Pelley. Anderson is acknowledged as one of the most exciting ru1d creative trombonists in the world and previous appearances in Toronto, including standing ovations at du Maurier Downtown Jazz, have already established a large following for him in this neck of the woods. Denise Pelley has command of a rich, powerful voice and the ability to hold ru1 . audience with her considerable musical talent and warm personality. The concert is at the Althouse Theatre on Western Road. Tickets are .00 in advru1ce from the London Ticket Centre, 519-673-S715 ru1d .00 at the door, plus tax. Some other concert events of interest include the following:-On March 7th. at 7.30p.m. the West Hill United Church Concert Series continues with the Reunion Jazz Bru1d a.k.a. "Just Friends" in a programme of jazz and dixieland stru1dards. The address is 62 Orchard Park Drive, West Hill, 282~8566, and tickets are .00. Pekao Gallery, 1610 Bloor St. West, 588-7952 on Marcil 21st. at 3.00p.m., will again present Mellifluence, featuri1ig Paul Pacanowski on woodwinds with Joe Lagru1 on keyboards, Stu Steinhart on 6 string bass and synthesizer and Mike McLelland, Proudly Announcing: Jazz Notes is drums and percussion. Admission is .00. You might also spend an evening in Brantford at the Sanderson Centre for the Perfonning Arts, 88 Dalhousie Street, Brantford, l-800-236- 4726. On March 22nd. at 8.00p.m. pianist Bernie Seneilsky and the Frank DiFelice Jazz Trio will be in concert. Tickets are .00. For. a free evening of jazz on March 3rd. at 8.00p.m. the University of Toronto Faculty of Music will present Small Jazz . Ensembles at Walter Hall, 80 Queen's Park, 978-3744. The music will feature student arrangements of standards and originals. Although this column largely devotes itself to infonnation · about concert perfonnances, I think it would be remiss of me not to mention the fact that a true jazz legend in the fonn of Jay McShrum will be in Toronto from March 2nd. to 6th. at The Montreal Bistro, 65 Sherbourne Street, 363-0179. His piano playing andhighly individual vocal style make him the last remaining authentic perfonner still active in the original Kansas City style. His career spans 70 years ru1d ~nyone with an interest in the origins of jazz ru1d blues should hear this artist: · Have a good month and please get out there to support live music. It's the best way to hear it. · Jazz Notes & all WholeNote's features a're available at: www. thewholenote.com from March 1, 1999 WHOLKNon 's JAZZ N ons 1s sUPPORTED BY CJRT FM, J AZZ RADIO IN ToRONTO , I ToRONTo's ONLY COMPREHENSIVE CLASSICAL & CONTEMPOR,I\RY CONCERT LISTING SOURCE

\ Jeanne Lamon continued from page 4 there is one forte and one piano given in a movement - which doesn't mean they played everything at one volwne level. It just means we have a Jot more work to do than when you're playing something by a late romantic or a 20th century composer, where all the information is on the page. Absolutely everything is given that can possibly be written down. So all you are doing ti1en is reading the music, in a sense, to the audience. Yes it is very important and it can be well read or badly read, but you don't have a Jot of leeway. Whereas if you have different performances of baroque music, a Brandenburg or someti1ing, alti1ough the notes will always be the same, the tempos, dynamics and character ofti1e piece will vary enormously. l11at's a Jot of fun. Frustrating, but a great deal of fun. WholeNote: Do you feel, having done this for quite some time now, that you've got inside the head of at least certain composers? · Lamon: Yes, that does happen. l11ere are some composers who come up over and over again and you've studied so many ofti1eir works that you really feel that you're quite at home. When you have a piece of music by Bach in front of you or a piece by Vivaldi you think differently. You try to tl1ink as the composer might have or one of ti1eir violinists might have .t110ught. But it is only "might have" and that's the unlucky side. It is a broken tradition and there are so many questions that remain tmanswered and can never be answered with any certainty. WholeNote: How was it broken? Lamon: It died out with the French Revolution and with the American Revolution, with a Jot of revolutions .. They were big watersheds culturally. We always think of them as purely political moments but they certainly changed tl1e face of culture. I must say there is nothing worse ti1at could have happened to French culture· timn the French Revolution. It seems strange, but somehow in very repressive societies you sometimes get the greatest cultural'achievements. WholeNote: So how do you account for the popularity of baroque music today? Lamon: Why do people nowadays prefer Baroque music to Braluns or Schummm, whose music is also great music? To a certain extent that seems to be the case, m1d in tliat case it is not a question of quality at all. I think that we live in a world with a certain kind of aesthetic m1d I don't ti1ink people have time to go through all tl1e layers ti1at it takes to get to tl1e point in late Romantic music. Baroque music is very direct in its emotional message. It's also short and very to tl1e point. l11e movements are short. You cm1 get it in bite size pieces. People don't have time to sit down m1d listen to a move- Makers of fine historical keyboard instruments (416) 538-3062 www.interlog.coml- hpschdl Lamon: I think they must. I mean, we all hear one arrother's recordings and we all jet-set armmd the world in a very llll- baroque way, playing in other people's home towns, so, of course there is some cross- fertilization. Since we're so isolated in Toronto for us it's very welcome. I think it's very difficult for some of the groups in Europe who are constantly in is that there is a Jot of cacophony, everybody else's back yard and a Jot of disorder in our Jives and everybody's in their front yard contemporary music reflects tilat and it's just too much. very well, but I don't tilink There is a certain degree everybody really wants tllat to which· what we all strive to do reflected so realistically when is very lofty - to recreate the ti1ey go to a concert, when they broken tradition - sort oflike are listening to music to relax. p~ople two hlllldred years from l11ey wm1t something more now trying to recreate jazz from orderly, a little more harmonious. sheet music, without the benefit I think actually we live in of recordings. But in fact it has a world where spiritual things are been said, and I think there is not very valued m1d are not more th~ a kernel of truth in it, talked about or tJ1ought about that ~hat we are doin.g is actually very much. But I tilink that music creatmg the new mus1c of the late is a way of touching tile eternal, · 20th cen~. . t11e infinite. Witi1 all tonal music It s new mus1c for a Jot of I ti1ink - ti1is is certainly true for' · people, because if they grew up Mozart and BeetJ1oven _ you feel with baroq~e ~usic at. all they ti1at you liave touched something ~ew up Wlth.!t .solllldmg very that is infinite, call it God if you different.. Th1s IS a new so~d, like. But you know when you new so~d colours - ~e mus1c play contemporary music it is solllld~ like new mus1c, wh~n you harder to hear it ti1at way. I think ha.v~n t ~eard baroque mus1c on that baroque music fills a certain ongmal ms~ents before. It's need for something spiritual to got that exc1tement that we've counterbalance tJ1e rat race and been missing for the frrst half of tl1e money race m1d all ofti1at ' Jeanne Lamon, continues next age ment ti1at goes on for forty minutes. A piece that says it all in a three minute movement, followed by a two minute movement followed by m10ti1er three minute movement is sort of what people can hm1dle. People's attention spans are very short. And I ti1ink that baroque music (ironically, because it's not for ti1at reason that it is that way) just clicks in. It's good on tile radio-- they don't want people to change stations. We have an awful lot of pieces in which each movement is Jess than tluee minutes, mm1y one and a half or two minutes, and the radio stations just Jove it. Another reason, maybe, that the rest of the world is rmming on. WholeNote: There s a relatively small number of period orchestras in the world today. Do they influence each other? ~~ tfie souni post Canada's String Shop violins, violas, cellos & bows expert repairs & rehairs strings & accessories at guaranteed lowest prices Canada's largest stock of string fllUSic fast mail order service all prices in CDN $-Not a US$ price in the store! 93 Grenville St., Toronto MSS 1B4 ·tel (416) 971-6990 fax (416) 597-9923 ToRONTo's ONLY COMPREHENSiVE CLASSICAL & CONTEMPORARY CONCERT LISTING SOURCE

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