Mr. Miller’s TalesJ I M G A L L O W A YMARK MILLER IS probably the !nest author of jazz books thatthis country has ever produced. There. Having stated mycase right off the top, I am pleased to say that there is anew addition to his now substantial body of work. It is called WayDown That Lonesome Road, the story of Lonnie Johnson in Toronto,where he lived for the last !ve years of his life from 1965 to 1970.There might well be a lot of readers who would ask “Who wasLonnie Johnson?”Well, he was born into a musical family in New Orleans, in 1899,and was destined to be a pioneer jazz guitarist, credited with beingthe !rst to play single string solos on that instrument. In his earlycareer he was pretty well regarded as a blues player although hewasn’t happy to be pigeon-holed as such. But he went on to makerecordings in 1927 with Louis Armstrong’s Hot Five as a guest onI’m Not Rough, Savoy Blues and Hotter Than That, and in 1928 withDuke Ellington on Hot and Bothered, Move Over, and The Mooche.The book covers in some detail the early career of Johnson, butthe meat of this work deals with the years spent in Toronto and noone is better quali!ed than Mark Miller to tell that story.But in the grand scale of things, Lonnie Johnson is overlooked,like so many other musicians. And therein is a clue as to what makesMark Miller, the author, click.He is drawn to the stories of musicians who made signi!cantcontributions, but have been neglected because they weren’t “stars.”Who else would have so diligently researched and writtenan informative and entertaining book on the life and music ofValaida Snow or an equally rewarding look at the life of HerbieNichols — again, hardly household names. He likes to look forthe overlooked.It came as no surprise when I learned that Miller was researchinga book on Lonnie Johnson’s !nal years when he called Torontohome. It is a fascinating read set at a time before Yorkville becamefashionable and traditional blues and jazz were relatively popular.To those readers who were around in the days of “"ower power”and hippies, the book is a nostalgic trip down memory lane and adetailed study of Johnson’s life in a town where he felt welcome.Another important side of Miller’s life was his time as a reviewerand critic. He was the sometimes controversial jazz columnistfor Toronto’s Globe And Mail newspaper from 1978 to 2005. Hisreviews showed the same insightful and well-crafted standard ofwriting which is now so clearly evident in his books.His views were at times open toquestion with some of his readers,but nobody could ever deny thequality of his writing.Some of those same readerswere of the opinion that Millerhad a de!nite preference forthe more contemporary and“avant-garde” players and aresurprised, for example, thathe would devote the timeand energy to a book onthe aforementioned ValaidaSnow or Lonnie Johnson.A look at the contents ofA Certain Respect ForTradition, a volume of hisselected writings, will infact show a knowledgeMark Miller.and appreciation of a broadspectrum of the music. Mr. Miller does indeedhave a refreshingly open mind to his chosen craft.He eventually elected to give up writing his pieces for the newspaper.By way of explanation he had this to say: “The business of jazz,the media in general and the Globe in particular have all moved innew directions. Their various interests, and mine, simply diverged.”Perhaps he saw the writing on the wall, given that nowadays theFRED LUM32 thewholenote.comDecember 1 – February 7, 2012
mainstream media have by and large abandoned coverage of jazz. Inthe last few years more than half of all arts journalists were eitherdropped or moved to other positions. On the other hand there arearts blogs now competing for attention online by the hundreds ofthousands. But the lack of arts coverage in conventional newspapersspeaks volumes about where we are culturally right now.When asked to name some of his favourite musicians the listranged from contemporary bassist Renaud Garcia-Fons to Jelly RollMorton’s Red Hot Peppers via Django Reinhardt, Thelonious Monkand Gil Evans – it was a Gil Evans recording that !rst opened hisears and mind to jazz – showing a healthy open-minded approachwhich is re"ected in the subject matter of the ten books he hashad published.Looking at the evolving nature of the music, Miller sees a futurein which jazz will be seen as a small period of time in the overalldevelopment of improvised music in which melody, rhythm and amelding of musical in"uences from other cultures played an essentialpart and after which the texture of jazz changed radically, evolvingand reinventing itself while still retaining its creative force.If there is a tougher way of making a living in jazz by playing,then it surely is surviving as a writer about jazz. It is also a lonelyoccupation with no instant feedback from an audience, no applausefor a well written chapter or a well-placed turn of phrase.The loneliness isn’t necessarily a hardship. Some writers enjoy thesolitary working life and I suspect that Miller !ts the description.But that sits quite comfortably with his personal life in which headmits to enjoying tv, sports and the company of friends.He might also have included his interest in photography, but sincehis next project is likely to be a book of his own photographs, perhapsthat now goes into the “work in progress” category, eventuallyto become book number 11 in the ongoing tale of this Miller.As always, happy listening and, I might add, enjoy some reading.(In fact, you might want to start with a short excerpt from the prefaceto Mark Miller’s Way Down That Lonesome Road. You will !ndit in at the end of The WholeNote BookShelf on page 74.)Jim Galloway is a saxophonist, band leader andformer artistic director of Toronto Downtown Jazz. Hecan be contacted at jazznotes@thewholenote.com.I N D E X O F A D V E R T I S E R SAcademy Concert Series 55 Gallery 345 51Aldeburgh Connection 86George Heinl 22Alexander Kats 69Grace Church on the Hill 38All Saints Kingsway Anglican Church 47 Grand Philharmonic Choir 60Amadeus Choir 45Hamilton Children’s Choir 60Amici Chamber Ensemble 26 Hannaford Street Silver Band 7, 53Amoroso 77Heliconian Hall 64Annex Singers 41Hymn Society, Southern OntarioAradia Ensemble 4Chapter 67Associates of the TSO 56I Furiosi 42ATMA 5J.A.M. Global Arts 39Attila Glatz Productons 49John Greyson 69Aurora Cultural Centre 47,87 John McNab 39Bach Children’s Chorus 41Jubilate Singers 67Canadian Opera Company 27 Junction Trio, The 54Cathedral Bluffs Symphony Orchestra Kindred Spirits Orchestra 44, 6946Larkin Singers 57Choirs Ontario 70L’Atelier Grigorian 75Christ Church Deer Park Jazz Vespers Leon Belov 7032Liz Parker 70Church of St Mary Magdalene 41 LIZPR 68City of St Catharines 61Lockwood ARS 70Civic Light Opera 34Long & McQuade 33Classical 96 85Long & McQuade / New Horizons 31Cosmo Music 31Mary Lou Fallis 69Counterpoint Musical Services 67 Massey Hall & Roy Thomson Hall 3Dukes of Harmony 67Metropolitan Community Church 48Eglinton St George’s United Church 43 Mississauga Symphony 45Elmer Iseler Singers 17, 36 Mooredale Concerts 51Ensemble Polaris 48Music at Metropolitan 58Exultate Chamber Choir 46Music Gallery 13Figgy Pudding Chorale 43Music Toronto 9, 35, 37, 51, 52Musicians in Ordinary 50Nathaniel Dett Chorale 15National Academy Orchestra 68New Music Concerts 15, 43, 56Nocturnes in the City 68Norm Pulker 70NYCO 55Off Centre 59Ontario Philharmonic 46, 59Orchestra Toronto 36Organix 86Orpheus Choir 19Our Lady of Sorrows 38Pasquale Bros 67Pattie Kelly 70Pavlo 29Pax Christi Chorale 35Perlman & Farrugia 50Peter Mahon 17Queen of Puddings 38Ray Isaacs 28Richmond Hill Centre for thePerforming Arts 24Rose Theatre 23Royal Conservatory 11Scarborough Philharmonic 52Sheila McCoy 70Sine Nomine 44SinfoniaToronto 39Soundstreams 57St Marks’ Presbyterian Church 32St Michael’s Choir School 40St Philip’s Jazz Vespers 32St Thomas’ Church 47St Stephen in-the-Fields AnglicanChurch 69Steve’s Music Store 29Sue Crowe Connolly 70Syrinx Sunday Salons 42,59Tafelmusik 2Talisker Players 56Tallis Choir 41The Singing Voice Studio 67The Sound Post 30Toronto All-Star Big Band 33, 40Toronto Centre for the Arts 23Toronto Choral Society 44Toronto Consort 19, 55Toronto Masque Theatre 48, 58Toronto Mendelssohn Choir 38Toronto Opera Repertoire 27Toronto Operetta Theatre 50Toronto Philharmonia Orchestra 25, 54Toronto Symphony Orchestra 54, 68, 88TorQ 37U of T, Faculty of Music 21Univox Choir 42Via Salzburg 40Victoria Scholars 44Wychwood Clarinet Choir 43Yamaha Music School 70December 1 – February 7, 2012 thewholenote.com 33
What a range of stuff! A profile of Liz Upchurch, the COC ensemble studio's vocal mentor extraordinaire; a backgrounder on win-win faith/arts centre partnerships and ways of exploring the possibilities; an interview with St. Petersburg-based Eifman Ballet's Boris Eifman; Ana Sokolovic's violin concert Evta finally coming to town; a Love Letter to YouTube, and much more. Plus our 17th annual Canary Pages Choral directory if all you want to do is sing! sing! sing!
Arraymusic, the Music Gallery and Native Women in the Arts join for a mini-festival celebrating the work of composer, performer and installation artist Raven Chacon; Music and Health looks at the role of Healing Arts Ontario in supporting concerts in care facilities; Kingston-based composer Marjan Mozetich's life and work are celebrated in film; "Forest Bathing" recontextualizes Schumann, Shostakovich and Hindemith; in Judy Loman's hands, the harp can sing; Mahler's Resurrection bursts the bounds of symphonic form; Ed Bickert, guitar master remembered. All this and more in our April issue, now online in flip-through here, and on stands commencing Friday March 29.
Something Old, Something New! The Ide(a)s of March are Upon Us! Rob Harris's Rear View Mirror looks forward to a tonal revival; Tafelmusik expands their chronological envelope in two directions, Esprit makes wave after wave; Pax Christi's new oratorio by Barbara Croall catches the attention of our choral and new music columnists; and summer music education is our special focus, right when warm days are once again possible to imagine. All this and more in our March 2019 edition, available in flipthrough here, and on the stands starting Thursday Feb 28.
In this issue: A prize that brings lustre to its laureates (and a laureate who brings lustre to the prize); Edwin Huizinga on the journey of Opera Atelier's "The Angel Speaks" from Versailles to the ROM; Danny Driver on playing piano in the moment; Remembering Neil Crory (a different kind of genius)' Year of the Boar, Indigeneity and Opera; all this and more in Volume 24 #5. Online in flip through, HERE and on the stands commencing Thursday Jan 31.
When is a trumpet like a motorcycle in a dressage event? How many Brunhilde's does it take to change an Elektra? Just two of the many questions you've been dying to ask, to which you will find answers in a 24th annual combined December/January issue – in which our 11 beat columnists sift through what's on offer in the upcoming holiday month, and what they're already circling in their calendars for 2019. Oh, and features too: a klezmer violinist breathing new life into a very old film; two New Music festivals in January, 200 metres apart; a Music & Health story on the restorative powers of a grassroots exercise in collective music-making; even a good reason to go to Winnipeg in the dead of winter. All this and more in Vol 24 No 4, now available in flipthrough format here.
Reluctant arranger! National Ballet Orchestra percussionist Kris Maddigan on creating the JUNO and BAFTA award-winning smash hit Cuphead video game soundtrack; Evergreen by name and by nature, quintessentially Canadian gamelan (Andrew Timar explains); violinist Angèle Dubeau on 20 years and 60 million streams; two children’s choirs where this month remembrance and living history must intersect. And much more, online in our kiosk now, and on the street commencing Thursday November 1.
Presenters, start your engines! With TIFF and "back-to-work" out of the way, the regular concert season rumbles to life, and, if our Editor's Opener can be trusted, "Seeking Synergies" seems to be the name of the game. Denise Williams' constantly evolving "Walk Together Children" touching down at the Toronto Centre for the Arts; the second annual Festival of Arabic Music and Arts expanding its range; a lesson in Jazz Survival with Steve Wallace; the 150 presenter and performer profiles in our 19th annual Blue Pages directory... this is an issue that is definitely more than the sum of its parts.
In this issue: The WholeNote's 7th Annual TIFF TIPS guide to festival films with musical clout; soprano Erin Wall in conversation with Art of Song columnist Lydia Perovic, about more than the art of song; a summer's worth of recordings reviewed; Toronto Chamber Choir at 50 (is a few close friends all it takes?); and much more, as the 2018/19 season gets under way.
PLANTING NOT PAVING! In this JUNE / JULY /AUGUST combined issue: Farewell interviews with TSO's Peter Oundjian and Stratford Summer Music's John Miller, along with "going places" chats with Luminato's Josephine Ridge, TD Jazz's Josh Grossman and Charm of Finches' Terry Lim. ) Plus a summer's worth of fruitful festival inquiry, in the city and on the road, in a feast of stories and our annual GREEN PAGES summer Directory.
In this issue: our sixteenth annual Choral Canary Pages; coverage of 21C, Estonian Music Week and the 3rd Toronto Bach Festival (three festivals that aren’t waiting for summer!); and features galore: “Final Finales” for Larry Beckwith’s Toronto Masque Theatre and for David Fallis as artistic director of Toronto Consort; four conductors on the challenges of choral conducting; operatic Hockey Noir; violinist Stephen Sitarski’s perspective on addressing depression; remembering bandleader, composer and saxophonist Paul Cram. These and other stories, in our May 2018 edition of the magazine.
In this issue: we talk with jazz pianist Thompson Egbo-Egbo about growing up in Toronto, building a musical career, and being adaptive to change; pianist Eve Egoyan prepares for her upcoming Luminato project and for the next stage in her long-term collaborative relationship with Spanish-German composer Maria de Alvear; jazz violinist Aline Homzy, halfway through preparing for a concert featuring standout women bandleaders, talks about social equity in the world of improvised music; and the local choral community celebrates the life and work of choral conductor Elmer Iseler, 20 years after his passing.
In this issue: Canadian Stage, Tapestry Opera and Vancouver Opera collaborate to take Gogol’s short story The Overcoat to the operatic stage; Montreal-based Sam Shalabi brings his ensemble Land of Kush, and his newest composition, to Toronto; Five Canadian composers, each with a different CBC connection, are nominated for JUNOs; and The WholeNote team presents its annual Summer Music Education Directory, a directory of summer music camps, programs and courses across the province and beyond.
In this issue: composer Nicole Lizée talks about her love for analogue equipment, and the music that “glitching” evokes; Richard Rose, artistic director at the Tarragon Theatre, gives us insights into their a rock-and-roll Hamlet, now entering production; Toronto prepares for a mini-revival of Schoenberg’s music, with three upcoming shows at New Music Concerts; and the local music theatre community remembers and celebrates the life and work of Mi’kmaq playwright and performer Cathy Elliott . These and other stories, in our double-issue December/January edition of the magazine.
In this issue: conversations (of one kind or another) galore! Daniela Nardi on taking the reins at "best-kept secret" venue, 918 Bathurst; composer Jeff Ryan on his "Afghanistan" Requiem for a Generation" partnership with war poet, Susan Steele; lutenist Ben Stein on seventeenth century jazz; collaborative pianist Philip Chiu on going solo; Barbara Hannigan on her upcoming Viennese "Second School" recital at Koerner; Tina Pearson on Pauline Oliveros; and as always a whole lot more!
In this issue: several local artists reflect on the memory of composer Claude Vivier, as they prepare to perform his music; Vancouver gets ready to host international festival ISCM World New Music Days, which is coming to Canada for the second time since its inception in 1923; one of the founders of Artword Artbar, one of Hamilton’s staple music venues, on the eve of the 5th annual Steel City Jazz Festival, muses on keeping urban music venues alive; and a conversation with pianist Benjamin Grosvenor, as he prepares for an ambitious recital in Toronto. These and other stories, in our October 2017 issue of the magazine.
In this issue: a look at why musicians experience stage fright, and how to combat it; an inside look at the second Kensington Market Jazz Festival, which zeros in on one of Toronto’s true ‘music villages’; an in-depth interview with Elisa Citterio, new music director of Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra; and The WholeNote’s guide to TIFF, with suggestions for the 20 most musical films at this year’s festival. These and other stories, in our September 2017 issue of the magazine!
CBC Radio's Lost Horizon; Pinocchio as Po-Mo Operatic Poster Boy; Meet the Curators (Crow, Bernstein, Ridge); a Global Music Orchestra is born; and festivals, festivals, festivals in our 13th annual summer music Green Pages. All this and more in our three-month June-through August summer special issue, now available in flipthrough HERE and on the stands commencing Thursday June 1.
From science fact in "Integral Man: Music and the Movies," to science fiction in the editor's opener; from World Fiddle Day at the Aga Khan Museum to three Canadians at the Cliburn; from wanting to sashay across the 401 to Chamberfest in Montreal to exploring the Continuum of Jumblies Theatre's 20-year commitment to the Community Play (there's a pun in there somewhere!).
In this issue: Our podcast ramps up with interviews in March with fight director Jenny Parr, countertenor Daniel Taylor, and baritone Russell Braun; two views of composer John Beckwith at 90; how music’s connection to memory can assist with the care of patients with Alzheimer’s; musical celebrations in film and jazz, at National Canadian Film Day and Jazz Day; and a preview of Louis Riel, which opens this month at the COC. These and other stories, in our April 2017 issue of the magazine!
On our cover: Owen Pallett's musical palette on display at New Creations. Spring brings thoughts of summer music education! (It's never too late.). For Marc-Andre Hamelin the score is king. Ella at 100 has the tributes happening. All; this and more.
In this issue: an interview with composer/vocalist Jeremy Dutcher, on his upcoming debut album and unique compositional voice; a conversation with Boston Symphony hornist James Sommerville, as as the BSO gets ready to come to his hometown; Stuart Hamilton, fondly remembered; and an inside look at Hugh’s Room, as it enters a complicated chapter in the story of its life in the complex fabric of our musical city. These and other stories, as we celebrate the past and look forward to the rest of 2016/17, the first glimpses of 2017/18, and beyond!
In this issue: a conversation with pianist Stewart Goodyear, in advance of his upcoming show at Koerner Hall; a preview of the annual New Year’s phenomenon that is Bravissimo!/Salute to Vienna; an inside look at music performance in Toronto’s health-care centres; and a reflection on the incredible life and lasting influence of the late Pauline Oliveros. These and more, in a special December/January combined issue!
In this issue: David Jaeger and Alex Pauk’s most memorable R. Murray Schafer collabs, in this month’s installment of Jaeger’s CBC Radio Two: The Living Legacy; an interview with flutist Claire Chase, who brings new music and mindset to Toronto this month; an investigation into the strange coincidence of three simultaneous Mendelssohn Elijahs this Nov 5; and of course, our annual Blue Pages, a who’s who of southern Ontario’s live music scene- a community as prolific and multifaceted as ever. These and more, as we move full-force into the 2016/17 concert season- all aboard!
Music lover's TIFF (our fifth annual guide to the Toronto International Film Festival); Aix Marks the Spot (how Brexit could impact on operatic co-production); The Unstoppable Howard Cable (an affectionate memoir of a late chapter in the life of of a great Canadian arranger; Kensington Jazz Story (the newest kid on the festival block flexes its muscles). These stories and much more as we say a lingering goodbye to summer and turn to the task, for the 22nd season, of covering the live and recorded music that make Southern Ontario tick.
It's combined June/July/August summer issue time with, we hope, enough between the covers to keep you dipping into it all through the coming lazy, hazy days. From Jazz Vans racing round "The Island" delivering pop-up brass breakouts at the roadside, to Bach flute ambushes strolling "The Grove, " to dozens of reasons to stay in the city. May yours be a summer where you find undiscovered musical treasures, and, better still, when, unexpectedly, the music finds you.
INSIDE: The Canaries Are Here! 116 choirs to choose from, so take the plunge! The Nylons hit the road after one last SING! Fling. Jazz writer Steve Wallace wonders "Watts Goode" rather than "what's new?" Paul Ennis has the musical picks of the HotDocs crop. David Jaeger's CBC Radio continues golden for a little while yet. Douglas McNabney is Music's Child. Leipzig meets Damascus in Alison Mackay's fertile imagination. And "C" is for KRONOS in Wende Bartley's koverage of the third annual 21C Festival. All this and as usual much much more. Enjoy.
From 30 camp profiles to spark thoughts of being your summer musical best, to testing LUDWIG as you while away the rest of so-called winter; from Scottish Opera and the Danish Midtvest, to a first Toronto recital appearance by violin superstar Maxim Vengerov; from musings on New Creations and new creation, to the boy who made a habit of crying Beowulf; it's a month of merry meetings and rousing recordings reviewed, all here to discover in The WholeNote.
2016 is off to a flying start! We chronicle the Artful Times of Andrew Burashko, the violistic versatility of Teng Li, the ageless ebullience of jazz pianist Gene DiNovi and the ninetieth birthday of trumpeter Johnny Cowell. Jaeger remembers Boulez; Waxman recalls Bley's influence, and Olds finds Bowie haunting Editor's Corner. Oh, and did we mention there's all that music? Hello (and goodbye) to the February blues, and here's to swinging through the musical vines of the Year of the Monkey.
What's a vinyl renaissance? What happens when Handel's Messiah runs afoul of the rumba rhythm setting on a (gasp!) Hammond organ? What work does Marc-Andre Hamelin say he would be content to have on every recital program he plays? What are Steve Wallace's favourite fifty Christmas recordings? Why is violinist Daniel Hope celebrating Yehudi Menuhin's 100th birthday at Koerner Hall January 28? Answers to all these questions (and a whole lot more) in the Dec/Jan issue of The WholeNote.
"Come" seems to be the verb that knits this month's issue together. Sondra Radvanovsky comes to Koerner, William Norris comes to Tafel as their new GM, opera comes to Canadian Stage; and (a long time coming!) Jane Bunnett's musicianship and mentorship are honoured with the Premier's award for excellence; plus David Jaeger's ongoing series on the golden years of CBC Radio Two, Andrew Timar on hybridity, a bumper crop of record reviews and much much more. Come on in!
Vol 21 No 2 is now available for your viewing pleasure, and it's a bumper crop, right at the harvest moon. First ever Canadian opera on the Four Seasons Centre main stage gets double coverage with Wende Bartley interviewing Pyramus and Thisbe composer Barbara Monk Feldman and Chris Hoile connecting with director Christopher Alden; Paul Ennis digs into the musical mind of pianist Benjamin Grosvenor, and pianist Eve Egoyan is "On the Record" in conversation with publisher David Perlman ahead of the Oct release concert for her tenth recording. And at the heart of it all the 16th edition of our annual BLUE PAGES directory of presenters profile the season now well and truly under way.
Paul Ennis's annual TIFF TIPS (27 festival films of potential particular musical interest); Wu Man, Yo-Yo Ma and Jeffrey Beecher on the Silk Road; David Jaeger on CBC Radio Music in the days it was committed to commissioning; the LISTENING ROOM continues to grow on line; DISCoveries is back, bigger than ever; and Mary Lou Fallis says Trinity-St. Paul's is Just the Spot (especially this coming Sept 25!).
