Volume 22 Issue 5 - February 2017

JUSTIN RUIZ Thinking

JUSTIN RUIZ Thinking SMALLS continued from page 37 Beat by Beat | Jazz Stories more sophisticated recording system and we started recording every show, kept a log of who was on each gig. That started to grow very quickly, as weeks and months rolled by. So it became necessary to organize this library that was growing. I was thinking along the lines of back in the old days, in the 1930s, they used to put a radio wire in a club, and do live radio broadcasts in the clubs – that’s how Count Basie was discovered by John Hammond, who was driving his car in Chicago and turned on his AM radio and caught Basie’s band somewhere in Kansas City. The idea is that even if you have a small club you can shoot out the music electronically somewhere and it made sense to try the Internet. It got some traction right away, and this led to what has now become ‘Smalls Live’ which is a digital media company that has two components: live streaming, and our audio video archive that we have been working on since 2007. We wanted to make it all public and try to see if there was a way to make it all fair and beneficial for everybody. So we started to explore the ideas of what would be a fair model for sharing with artists and sharing with the public.” Wilner organized a couple of town hall-style meetings at Small’s where they invited musicians to come and speak and ask questions. “And we also did a couple of meetings with Union guys at the local 802 and musical reps – the idea was to ask what would be the fairest system in terms of payout, and we eventually came to the system we now have, which we call the Smalls Live Revenue Share project. Live streams are free, but if you want to access the archive you become a subscribing member – we call them “supporting members” and it’s a month. That allows you unlimited access to our library, which right now is about 12,000 recordings in there, and almost 2,000 musicians. We made partner with a tech guy and we designed a system whereby subscribers go to the archive and listen to shows or watch video.” The system records the number of seconds that subscribers are watching. Every artist at the end of a certain period is tagged with a total number of seconds that he or she was watched, either as a leader or a sideman on a gig. “So if someone watched the show and you’re associated with it, you’re going to get time credit, and so the money you get comes from how much you have been listened to. The other component that we offer is the fact that the recording itself is owned 100% by the artist. So if you come to Small’s and you play, that is your property, you have the right to not make it public, sell it any way you like, you keep 100% of the publishing and you keep the royalties from any original music. So we really endeavoured to make the fairest royalty paying system for musicians. That got launched in October 2015, and we are trying to build subscribers now. We are closing in on about 800 people that are paying a month at this time which doesn’t sound like a huge amount but it is enough to run this system. The artists have had two payouts where we gave away about ,000 to artists.” The amounts sound small, but the top 15-20 musicians in our system are getting substantially better payouts than what they would see from Spotify or any of these other services where they would be getting fractions of a penny. “They’d be getting a few hundred bucks, which can be a game-changer in an artist’s life. And of course as our subscriber base grows, so will their payouts. It’s been an interesting project – very successful, a lot of work. I don’t think our website is utilized the way it should be yet – I don’t think people are aware yet of what a resource it is. The number of recordings we have there is outstanding, including artists who are no longer with us. My goal is to hit 5000 subscribers worldwide.” How does it feel to be seen as a visionary, an innovator, an inspiration to jazz clubs around the world? “My hat is off to anyone that wants to run a jazz club anywhere – I have sympathy and love for anyone willing to take this path, it is a very thankless and generally speaking profitless job, but a very important one. Anytime I meet someone who is presenting this music, I support it heartily. The trick with a small business is that the guy who owns it has to work, you can’t really afford somebody to do your job. I’m glad to have all this responsibility. I relish it – I love my club and I love working there and performing there, I love the community of artists that hang out there. I think it’s a miracle that it exists and I want to keep going as long as we possibly can. All I can say is you have to work your ass off and not really expect much in terms of dough. People need jazz – they want it and need it – it’s a real service to humanity.” Following the success of Smalls, Wilner expanded the business to open Mezzrow, a magical haunt adorned by a Steinway, just a few doors down. One admission buys entry to both clubs on the same night. As our industry struggles to thrive and grow in an ever-changing world, we must keep an open mind; in clinging to the old, we must embrace the new. So subscribe to Smalls Live, support an artist on Patreon, and most importantly, go out to enjoy live music. Now’s the time! Spike Wilner Ori Dagan is a Toronto-based jazz musician, writer and educator who can be reached at oridagan.com 120 Diner 120 Church St. 416-792-7725 120diner.com (full schedule) All shows: PWYC (- suggested) Every Tue 6pm Leslie Huyler; 8pm Annie Bonsignore; 10pm Chris Brikett. Every Wed 6pm Laura Hubert; 8pm Lisa Particelli’s GNO Jazz Jam. February 2 6pm Julie Michels; 9pm Genevieve Marentette & Robert Scott. February 3 6pm John Amato & Joe Amato. February 4 6pm John Alcorn Sings George Gershwin . February 5 6pm The Jeni Show: Real People, Real Talk, Real Music ; Kim Boulter: Just Sayin’ . February 9 6pm Cynthia Fay; 9pm Nashville-Style Songwriters in the Round. February 10 6pm Caroline Martin-Rowe. February 11 6pm John Alcorn Sings Chet Baker . February 12 6pm Susan Cuthbert & JP Gedeon ; 8:30pm The Ault Sisters . February 16 6pm Ryley Murray Trio; 9pm Mandy Goodhandy’s Music & Madness Show feat. Whitney Ross-Barris, Sam Broverman, Arlene Cohen, Darryl Palmer. February 17 6pm LJ Folk. February 18 6pm John Alcorn Sings Jerome Kern . February 19 6pm A.J. Stewart; 8:30pm Merle Garbe Presents. February 23 6pm Stu Harrison & Stu MacDonald. February 24 6pm Sue & Dwight. February 25 6pm John Alcorn Sings Billie Holiday . February 26 5:30pm Quinn Dooley & Shania Silver-Baird ; 7pm OSCAR PARTY! Hosted by Jeni Walls & Jenna Warriner. D. In the Clubs (Mostly Jazz) Alleycatz 2409 Yonge St. 416-481-6865 alleycatz.ca All shows: 9pm unless otherwise indicated. Call for cover charge info. February 3 Urban Jive. February 4 Soular. February 10 Parkside Drive. February 11, 25 James King. February 17, 18 Lady Kane. February 24 Universal Boogie Band. Artword Artbar 15 Colbourne St., Hamilton. 905-543-8512 artword.net (full schedule) February 2 8pm The Distillery. February 8 8pm Mohawk Music Showcase hosted by Adrean Farrugia (piano) with Clark Johnston (bass) and feat. students Michael Morabito (sax), Alyssa Giammaria (voice). February 11 8pm Beg to Differ Trio: Tim Ninehouse (keys, voice), Doug Sikma (guitar), Steve Foster (drums) PWYC. February 17 8pm The Kirkendalls: Mark Caruana (voice, guitar), Tom Shea (bass), Jamie Shea (guitar), Mario Laquintana (drums). February 18 8pm The Ault Sisters (general)/(students). February 25 8pm Santerias. Bloom 2315 Bloor St. W. 416-767-1315 bloomrestaurant.com All shows: 19+. Call for reservations. February 14 7pm Elizabeth Shepherd Trio (includes dinner). 56 | February 1, 2017 - March 7, 2017 thewholenote.com

Beat by Beat | Mainly Clubs, Mostly Jazz! A Trio of Jazz Albums BOB BEN One of my very favourite Canadian jazz albums is one called Valentina, featuring a quartet led by Italian-Canadian pianist, composer and successful entrepreneur Mario Romano. Romano’s bandmates, including Pat LaBarbera on the sax, Roberto Occhipinti on the bass and Mark Kelso on the drums, support him on his imaginative journey through yet unexplored possibilities of old standards like Green Dolphin Street, A Night in Tunisia and Nardis. Romano revamps these tunes with stretched-out interpretations of the melodies, low-end ostinatos and fun new rhythmic underpinnings that frame the heads in interesting ways (without compromising their integrity). Valentina (released in 2010) is sometimes cerebral and complex, and sometimes primitive and aggressive, but it is, through and through, riveting and beautiful. Romano’s playing on the album is astoundingly unrestrained. I can’t speak for anyone’s ears but my own, and this is just speculation, but it sounds to me like after the three-plus decades he spent away from the music scene, he returned with a lot of pent-up creative and physical energy. The result was Valentina; I cannot recommend this album enough. With the exception of Romano, who has been conspicuously absent from the live scene for a number of years, every member of the quartet that played on Valentina can be found leading their own fine ensembles, and acting as sidemen about town; and each can be heard this month at least once. Kelso will be behind the kit with Rich Brown’s Abeng at The Rex on the February 23 and 24; on February 10 and 11 Roberto Occhipinti’s Stabilimento is reviewed on page 79. LaBarbera will be on the same stage with an ensemble featuring Kirk MacDonald as well as drummer Adam Nussbaum (about whom I am especially excited); and Occhipinti will be playing with his own quintet (Luis Deniz, Tim Ries, Dafnis Prieto and Manuel Valera) at Jazz Bistro on February 17 and 18. Coming full circle, in Occhipinti’s case the concert is to celebrate the release of a new CD, Stabilimento, featuring the quintet. Night School Twilight: Since she was a kid, Chelsea McBride has been writing original music. From when it started with, as she puts it, “messing around with little pop songs,” to the present in which she Blue Goose Tavern, The 1 Blue Goose St. 416-255-2442 thebluegoosetavern.com Every Sun 5pm Blues at the Goose with the Big Groove Rhythm Section. Burdock 1184 Bloor St. W. 416-546-4033 burdockto.com (full schedule) All shows: 9pm Cameron House, The 408 Queen St. W. 416-703-0811 thecameron.com (full schedule) Castro’s Lounge 2116e Queen St. E. 416-699-8272 castroslounge.com (full schedule) All shows: No cover/PWYC February 12 4pm Fraser & Daley. Cavern Bar, The 76 Church St. 416-971-4440 thecavernbar.ca (full schedule) C’est What 67 Front St. E. (416) 867-9499 cestwhat.com (full schedule) February 4, 18 3pm The Hot Five Jazzmakers. 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 February 2 9pm John-Wayne Swingtet: John Farrell (guitar), Abbey Sholzberg (bass), Wayne Nakamura (guitar), Alexander Tikhonov (clarinet). February 9 9pm Bossa Tres PWYC. February 16 9pm Vokurka’s Vicarious Virtuoso Violin PWYC. Garage, The @ CSI Annex 720 Bathurst St. 416-515-0200 February 16 7:30pm Jim Galloway’s Wee Big Band, feat. Warren Vache (cornet) . Gate 403 403 Roncesvalles Ave. 416-588-2930 gate403.com All shows: PWYC. Gift Shop Gallery 21 Rebecca St., Hamilton, ON Grossman’s Tavern 379 Spadina Ave. 416-977-7000 grossmanstavern.com (full schedule) All shows: No cover (unless otherwise noted). Every Sat The Happy Pals Dixieland jazz jam. Every Sun 10pm The National Blues Jam with Brian Cober. Every Wed 10pm Bruce Domoney. 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. February 3 Madette. February 4 JWT. February 10 Gyles. February 17 Fibralou. February 18 Jan-Jan. February 25 Kristin Fung. Hirut Cafe and Restaurant 2050 Danforth Ave. 416-551-7560 Every Sun 3pm Open Mic with Nicola Vaughan PWYC. February 3 8:30pm In the Round Concert Series: Mark Ripp, Pete Merilovich and Boris Buhot PWYC. February 4 8pm Ernest Lee & Cotton Traffic . February 7, 21 8pm Finger Style Guitar Association- PWYC. February 10 8pm E=MC2 with Don Naduriak & friends PWYC. February 11 8pm Smooth Jazz PWYC. February 17 8pm Sharron Katz Valentine Show PWYC. February 188pm Earnest Lee & Cotton Traffic . February 24 9pm Hirut Hoot Cabaret . Home Smith Bar – See Old Mill, The Jazz Bistro, The 251 Victoria St. 416-363-5299 jazzbistro.ca February 2, 3, 4 9pm Russ Little (trombone) Quintet with Michael Stuart (sax), Tom Szczesniak (piano), Scott Alexander (bass), Brian Barlow (drums) (Thurs)/(Fri, Sat). February 5 7pm Elvira Hopper: Body & Soul (& Bass) . February 7 7pm JAZZ FM’s Sounds of Italy Piano Series feat. Giovanni Guidi Tickets available through Jazz FM. February 10, 11 9pm Micah Barnes with featured guests Shakura S’aida (Saturday) and Alex Pangman (Sunday) accompanied by Michael Shand (piano), Russ Boswell (bass), Al Cross (drums) . February 12 12pm Steven Taetz and Melissa Lauren sing the music of Lorenz Hart ; 7pm Kevin Morris . February 14 9pm Jackie Richardson & Micah Barnes accompanied by Michael Shand (piano), Russ Boswell (bass), Al Cross (drums). February 16 9pm Galen Westen (guitar) Quintet with Michael Medrano Brindis (drums), Lukas Kytnar (bass), Danny Lerman (sax), Matt Horner (piano) . February 17, 18 9pm The Roberto Occhipinti Quintet (Fri)/(Sat). February 23 9pm Irene Jacob . 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+. February 3 Brenda Lewis (voice) feat. Margaret Stowe (guitar) . February 4 Alexis Baro & Pueblo Nuevo Jazz Project . February 9 8pm Winter Jazz Festival: The Bernie Carroll Project. February 10 Winter Jazz Festival: Tim Moher Quintet . February 11 Winter Jazz Festival: Steve Holt Quartet . February 12 4pm Winter Jazz Festival: Ian Shaw (UK) ; 8pm Winter Jazz Festival: Dave Young Trio with the Penderecki String thewholenote.com February 1, 2017 - March 7, 2017 | 57