Gloria Blizzard and Jesse Ryan talk on saving calypso; fiftieth anniversary reprise of the Frog Bog sound walk (bet no-one's said that before!); Gregory Oh on the necessity of failure and curatorial choices that break down barriers; fanfares for an uncommon man at the RCM; and festivals galore in our 20th annual summer green pages; plus a summer's worth of music in our listening room. All this and more!
MAINLY CLUBS, MOSTLY
MAINLY CLUBS, MOSTLY JAZZ JOHN ARANO Ian Cusson performed in a vocal concert by soprano Elisabeth St-Gelais with Louise Pelletier on piano. Music Mondays: Jumping over to the Music Mondays series at Holy Trinity Church behind the Eaton Centre, now in its 34th year, on July 22, the Obsidian Duo, made up of pianist Roland Tapia and mezzo soprano Camila Montefusco, has put together an intriguing program of music honouring ancestral stories and the topic of belonging. One of the featured composers on this program is, once again, Ian Cusson whose music will be presented alongside works by Alice Ping Yee Ho and Jeff Smallman, each representing cultures that have shaped Canada. Finally, returning to events happening during the month of June, the groundbreaking piano quartet Ensemble Made in Canada will also be featured at a New Music Concerts performance on June 12, with works by Franco Donatoni, Linda Catlin Smith, Sandeep Bhagwati, Vivian Fung and Nicolas Gilbert. And at the Luminato Festival, a daylong event on June 8 curated by Wavelength Music will include music by the NYC experimental composer and trombonist Peter Zummo who combines minimalism with “a whole lot more.” Wendalyn Bartley is a Toronto-based composer and electro-vocal sound artist. sounddreaming@gmail.com SUMMER TIME & the definitions go out the window COLIN STORY Every year in Toronto – at least for this west coast transplant – summer seems to arrive all at once. Parkas transform into t-shirts; boots to sandals; a pervasive dread that winter shall never end is replaced by a cautious optimism that a few brief moments of respite are at least theoretically possible. The summer has many of the same delights to offer as the regular season for the dedicated music patron, but festival season also offers the appealing prospect of being jolted out of one’s usual routines. There is a perennial question that swirls around the lineups of major summer jazz festivals, for example, one that routinely gets asked by musicians, jazz fans, and by just about everyone with a laptop and a social media account: but is it jazz? (For an interesting and thought-provoking read, check out the comment section from a May 8 post by the Instagram account Jazz Memes, which features appearances from a number of prominent jazz musicians discussing this very subject.) Without wading so far into this quagmire that my editor is tempted to excise this introduction, I would suggest that plurality seems to be a trend that many festivals are embracing this summer, and that creative programming choices which serve a number of overlapping community interests can yield exciting results. Below, check out a round-up of four Ontario festivals with both breadth and depth, all of which feature some of the best in Canadian music. DOUG KERR Church of the Holy Trinity Something Else! Festival – June 20-23 Taking place in Hamilton, this year’s Something Else! Festival continues its mandate to present “creative music, newer traditions in jazz, improvised music, the avant-garde, experimental sounds and adventurous art forms from all disciplines.” A DIY festival with an open spirit, ticketed festival shows take place at St. Cuthbert’s Presbyterian Church, with free shows at the Hamilton Public Library, and on the street, near the Jimmy Thompson Memorial Pool. (There are worse places to be, at the beginning of the summer, than listening to the Shuffle Demons in a pool.) Something Else! has a number of excellent shows on the docket, including a triple-bill on Thursday, June 20th at St. Cuthbert’s featuring festival opener Earth Wind + Choir, an adventurous vocal ensemble led by Sarah Good, Ugly Beauties, the incredible trio of pianist Marilyn Lerner, cellist Matt Brubeck and drummer Nick Fraser, as well as Gayle Young, whose unique compositions and self-made instruments close out the evening. On Saturday, June 22nd another 20 | June, July & August, 2024 thewholenote.com
16 UNMISSABLE CONCERTS INCLUDING Something Else Festival: The Shuffle Demons triple bill at HPL: the duo of Sakina Abdou and Dave Rempis, Torontobased violinist Aline Homzy’s Étoile magique and saxophonist Caroline Davis in duo format with guitarist Wendy Eisenberg. TD Toronto Jazz Festival – June 21-30 Ontario’s preeminent jazz festival, the Toronto Jazz Festival returns in its now-customary format, with a number of free outdoor shows throughout the Yorkville area, with stages on Avenue Road, on Cumberland, and in the Victoria College area of U of T, off of Charles. Ticketed shows will be taking place at some of the city’s most prominent (and comfortable) soft-seat venues, including Meridian Hall, Koerner Hall, and The Concert Hall. (Smaller, more intimate ticketed shows will also be taking place, in venues such as The Pilot and The Rex.) Highlights from this year’s ticketed offerings include the funky, gospel-influenced stylings of keyboardist Cory Henry (at The Concert Hall on June29), the classic New Orleans ensemble Preservation Hall Jazz Band (also at The Concert Hall, on June 22), and Toronto-based singer Amanda Martinez (June 26, at Koerner Hall). At Jazz Bistro, playing two sets per night on June 28 and 29, catch Superblue, the new group from vocalist Kurt Elling and guitarist/ bassist Charlie Hunter. Elling will likely be a familiar name to WholeNote readers; Hunter may not, though it is not for lack of appearances. Playing hybrid guitars on which he simultaneously crafts funky bass lines, chords, and melodies, Hunter has been a mainstay on the American jam band scene, as well as on recordings with the likes of John Mayer, D’Angelo and Snarky Puppy. A worthy show not yet on the schedule: a performance from the winner of the Toronto Arts Foundation’s Breakthrough Jazz Artist Award, which has traditionally been featured on one of the Toronto Jazz Festival’s free outdoor stages. This year’s finalists are drummer Sanah Kadoura, clarinetist Virginia MacDonald, and pianist Dánae Olano. Stratford Summer Music – July 18-August 11 A unique festival, Stratford Summer Music takes place, as the name suggests, in sunny Stratford, ON and features classical, jazz, Celtic music, mariachi and more. Performances take place at venues such as the ORDER YOUR TICKETS TODAY! brottmusic.com | 905.525.7664 From top: Sarah Kadoura, Virgina MacDonald and Dánae Olano: finalists for the Toronto Arts Foundation's Breakthrough Jazz Artist Award. thewholenote.com June, July & August, 2024 | 21
