But it will sell
But it will sell tickets.There was the occasion when LouisArmstrong and Lotte Lenya wererecording “Mack The Knife.” Betweentakes tape was running. I have a copyon cassette of Armstrong trying tohelp Ms. Lenya syncopate the phrase,“Mack The Knife,” and try as she might,she just could not get it right. The jazzinterpretation of those three little wordswhich came so naturally to LouisArmstrong, one of the great jazz singers,was completely foreign to Lotte.More successful were the collaborationsbetween Stephane Grappelli andYehudi Menuhin, but there is littledoubt as to which of them is the jazzer.More and more, the real jazzcontent of festivals is to be found insmaller venues. Maybe that’s how itshould be and has to be. The intimacyof a smaller venue lends itself to thespirit of the music and when jazzmoved into large concert halls it lost something. I am not trying totake away from the success of presenting jazz in a more formal set-in making their music successful in the concert hall environment, St. Philip’s Anglican ChurchA casual, relaxing hour of prayer + great musicwith the city’s finest musiciansSunday, June 5, 4:00 pmCountry Vesperswith Infinitely MoreAllison Lynn + Gerald Flemming St. Philip’s Anglican Church | Etobicoke25 St. Phillips Road (near Royal York + Dixon)416-247-5181 www.stphilips.netYehudi Menuhin and Stephane Grappelli.345 SoraurenAvenue[Dundas/Roncesvalles]Mark Kieswetter,Vanessa Lee, MiguelAngel Villanueva,David Occipinti,Mike Murley,Bill Gilliam, CharlieRingas, Robi Botosfor monthlyperformances &exhibitions416.822.9781for reservationsModern, Classical,Jazz, Folk, Worldmade some wonderful music, buthearing Milt Jackson in a club settingwas a far more satisfying jazz experiencethan listening to him within theWhich takes me back to the observationthat bigger is not necessarily betterwhen it comes to enjoying jazz. In fact,style of playing, Jackson left in 1974,causing the group to disband, althoughthey re-formed in 1981.It’s that time of year when I oftenbeen lost or missing, you understand.As I write this I am in Vienna enjoyingone of the few remaining jazz clubsthat operates on a six nights a weekpolicy. Jazzland is the name of thisfriendly cellar club and next year itwill celebrate 40 years of presentingjazz. It is unpretentious, but has ahistory going back 500 years whenit was an escape route in times of siege. The walls are lined withphotographs of famous jazz musicians who have played in the club.Long time readers of the column might remember earlier referencesto this jazz oasis, but it bears repeating that Axel and Tilly Melhardt,owners of the club, must be theBy the time you read this, my13 weeks of being on Jazz.FM91,Sundays from 4pm to 5pmwill have begun. I hope youwill give it a whirl and thoseof you who know me won’t besurprised to hear that each weekI will feature a recording whichdemonstrates humour in jazz,such as Lester Young singing “ItTakes Two To Tango,” and BillHarris and Ben Webster askingfor “Just One More Chance.”Happy listening.Jim Galloway is a saxophonist,band leader and former artisticdirector of Toronto DowntownJazz. He can be contacted atjazznotes@thewholenote.com.ALLAN WARREN 22 thewholenote.comJune 1 – July 7, 2011
Brassy SmorgasbordJACK MACQUARRIEOOPS! It’s red face time again. I’m guilty of a silly error. Manyyears ago I taught writing courses at a local institution ofhigher learning. It was my standard practice to emphasizecertain basics such as “get your facts correct.” Last month I brokeone of my own cardinal rules. I failed to check one very simplefact. I have known Eddie Graf for years. I spoke to him, his wifeand son, before writing abouthis birthday celebration, but hadnever asked the question, “Whatdid the short form ‘Eddie’ standfor?” It could have been Edward,Edgar, Edgwick, Edsel or evenEdwin. I guessed wrong. Hisname is Edwin not Edward. Myapologies, Eddie.Now for a look at thesmorgasbord of communitymusical happenings whichhave been unfolding and arescheduled for the coming weeks.Let’s start with a bit moreabout Stephen Chenette. Inlast month’s issue I mentionedthat Chenette had announced aspecial award for Eddie Graf and I alluded to some honours whichChenette himself had received in recent years. Most recently, hewas the recipient of the Canadian Band Association’s 2010 NationalBand Award. This award is presented to a CBA Member who hasmade an outstanding contribution to banding across Canada. Aftertrumpet studies with the likes of Arnold Jacobs, Rafael Mendezand others, and conducting studies with several top conductors,Chenette served as principal trumpet with the Denver SymphonyOrhestra, the Boston Pops, the Minnesota Orchestra and the St. PaulChamber Orchestra. He was a charter member of the InternationalTrumpet Guild when it was established in the 1970s and receivedthat organization’s Award of Merit in 2008. Now Professor Emeritus,Chenette recently retired from active teaching in the Faculty ofMusic at the University of Toronto where he was Head of Brass,taught trumpet, orchestral repertoire for winds, brass chambermusic and conducted the Concert Band, the Wind Symphony, andthe Brass Choir. He has also recently retired after many yearsas Director of Music of the Northdale Concert Band in Toronto.However, he is still keeping his musical skills sharp by activeparticipation in the trumpet sections of the Northdale Concert Bandand the Etobicoke Community Concert Band.Enough about our veterans of music for a while. It’s time toturn our attention to some highlights from younger members of ourmusical community. During the Hannaford Street Silver Band’sannual Festival of Brass weekend, in mid-April, I had the pleasureYouth Band’s Rising Stars competition. No fewer than 13 membersof the Youth Band entered the competition and performed their soloswith piano accompaniment in a recital format in January. Out of thatand Norman Engel. The Youth Band then learned the brass bandApril 15, at the Festival of Brass Friday night Youth Concert. movement of Gordon Langford’s Sonata, Serenade and Scherzo forperformance in the Faculty of Music at the University of Toronto.years ago on baritone. He is also a talented pianist and plays at theARCT level. In addition to performing from memory, what makeshis accomplishment more amazing is that he missed the dressrehearsal because he had to write two exams at UofT.Second place in the competition went to Matthew Ross whoperformed by HerbertL. Clarke. Ross is a native of Bermuda and is in second yearperformance at UofT, studying with Anita McAlister. He also hadexams to write at UofT on the day of the competition. This is Ross’ssecond year with the Hannaford Youth Band. Last year he playedThird place honours went to Rachel O’Connor on sopranocornet who performed Concertino by Ernst Sasche. Now in hersecond year of performance at UofT, O’Connor has played sopranocornet with the HannafordYouth Band for the last twoseasons. Before comingto UofT, she attended theEtobicoke School for the Arts.Plachta was awarded 0and a trophy that he willkeep. His name will also beengraved on the Rising Starsplaque donated by St. John’sMusic. He also performedhis solo with the HSSB onSunday, April 17, and receiveda recording of his performance.Ross received 0 andO’Connor 0. Both Rossand O’Connor performed oninstruments that have beendonated to the Youth Program by the family of the late Fred Mills.Hannaford Rising Stars winners: left to right – juror Curtis Metcalf,Jacob Plachta, juror Norman Engel, Rachel O’Connor, Matthew Ross. artist tuba virtuoso Patrick Sheridan. For his part of the program,METROPOLITAN UNITED CHURCH PRESENTSGeneral admission $ 25Students and seniors $ 20Children 12 and under $ 10Advance family pass $ 60for two adults and up tothree children, 18 and under(in advance only)416-363-0331 Ext. 51www.metunited.orgFRI JUNE 3 7:30 PMSAT JUNE 4 7:30 PMSUN JUNE 5 2:00 PMJOSEPHNARRATORPHARAOHDIRECTORMUSICAL DIRECTORCharles DavidsonKirsten FieldingMalcolm SinclairMarkus HowardBenjamin SteinA musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber (Music)& Tim Rice (Lyrics)Metropolitan United Church56 Queen St. EastToronto, ONPAUL O’CONNORJune 1 – July 7, 2011 thewholenote.com 23
