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8 years ago

Volume 8 Issue 10 - July/August 2003

  • Text
  • Festival
  • Toronto
  • Theatre
  • August
  • Jazz
  • Musical
  • Concerts
  • Arts
  • Quartet
  • Bach

y Jim Galloway

y Jim Galloway Summertime-And The Livin' Ain't Easy. IT's BEEN soRT oF A TRADITION BANDSTAND by Merlin Williams THE FIRsT CASU- yearrowxlexcept in the July Bandstand column to list ALTY IN WAR, when they are on summer band concerts separately for somepeoplesay,is ~ tour,JirnCullum readers' convenience. In going the truth, proved in ~ and his jazz band through the concert listings this time, the case of SARS J: play at The Land- it struck me that the single largest when the media ~ ing on San Anto- . group of events listed this month is - made it seem as if ~ nio's Riverwalk. TA DA! Band concerts! So you we were a city un- "' They play mu- won't have any trouble finding them dersiegeand wear- § sic from the in amongst the main listings. ing masks. I had ~ "Golden Age" of What IS worth noting is the ventwo recent trips into One who didn't cancel. Uianne songwriting and ues surrounding Toronto that are prethe States and had Reeves reopens The Car/u May 12 for the past I 4 sehting so many band concerts. Couto answer question after question about years have broadcast on public radio a chiching Park in Orillia, Dundum it. One morning in May I was visited weeklyprogrammeexploringtheear- Park in Hamilton, Rotary Park in by a tv crew from New York City do- Iy greats of jazz, the culture and the Bowmanville and the Burlington Cening a piece on the effects of SARS on characters. Each week, The Jim Cul- tral Park Bandshell are all presentthe city. What problems had I encoun- !um Jazz Band focuses on the contri- ing numerous concerts this summer. tered, was it affecting the jazz festival, bution of a particular composer or era It's also great to see a brand new had there been cancellations? in jazz history using archival tapes and new location this year. The Uxbridge Itwasanopportunitytotelltheworld live performances with guest artists Historical Society is donating a trathe problem had been vastly inflated - joining the regular lx###COLUMNCONTENT###- Lionel Hamp- diuonal gazebo style bandstand to the thatsomeonewearingamaskindown- ton, Benny Carter, Sweets Edison, Ni- Uxbridge-Scott Museum. The first townTorontowasmorelikelyatabank cholas Payton, Doc Cheatham and concert will be presented on Wed. robbery! The result? because I didn't Dick Hyman, to name only a few. July 16 at 7: 00, featuring the have a tale of woe to tell or a heap of Go back in time for an hour each Markham Concert Band. The secbad news to spread, the interviewer week, with Riverwalk Jazz on Jazz ond concert, on Wed. Aug. 13 at 'decidednottogoahead. Simply stated FM91 every Sunday at 4:00pm or 7:30, features the Newmarket Citi- - bad news is good for ratings. Wednesday at~:OOpm. zens' Band. In Sacramento, one night the band , These concerts will be held on the THE HECTIC PACE decided to play a joke on me. I was of the Downtown grounds of the museum located on introduced as being from Toronto and Jazz festival is easing, but don't lose the Sixth Concession of Uxbridge immediately they all started coughing the live jazz habit over the Summer. In Township. Travelling from Toronto, addition to the usual club activity there and wheezing on the bandstand. Not to is Beaches International Jazz Festi- take the · Don Valley Parkway and be outdone, I grabbed a small paper Highway 404 to Bloomington Road. napkin, placed it ov~r my mouth, and val July 23 - 27 at Kew Gardens, To- Drive east on Bloomington Road stuck my saxophone through it! ronto. Featured guests include Rita through the hamlet of Goodwood to · Perhaps we should have played Chiarelli, Hilario Duran ' the Richard the sixth concession and drive north "S(t)ars Fell On Alabama" Underhill Sextet and Montreal's Berapproximately two kilometres to 7239 nard Primeau. You can check out full n--~wALK ON 1'1v= JAZZ.FM91 details . ' at www.beachesJazz.com. . ConcessionSix. In these days when "steady" engage- Th · A ki k Make sure to bring a lawn chair, en, m ugust, you can c up you and a few bucks for the donation ments are very few and far between heels' at the Markham Jazz Festival bucket to help support this new co~­ Jim Cullum's story is nothing short of from August 15 to 17. Artistic Direc- cert venue. amazing. His dad was a clarinetist who tor, Hal Hill has. put together another For more information contact Lau- . played in the bands of Jack Teagarden interesting line-up of artists including ra Bradley at the u xbridge-Scott and Jimmy Dorsey before settling down the Beau Kavenaugh Blues Band, Rose- Museum; 905-852-5854 or visit the in San Antonio. As a teenager Jim maryGallowayQuintetandSusieAr- museum'swebsitewww.uxlib.com/ played comet in a band formed by his ioli Band. museum. father in 1962. The following year they For details on this one, go to moved into a club called The Landing. www .jazzfest.markham.on.ca TWILIGHT Here is the amazing part. He is still Happy listening! playing there! Six nights a week, all the U!""""""!!~HARKNETT CONCERTS Musical Services Ltd. MUSIC BOOKS 18 Brass - Woodwind - String Instruments - Guitar Buy direct from the Distributor AUTHORIZED DEALER FOR: Armstrong, Artley, Besson, Benge Boosey & Hawkes,. Buffet. Conn Getzen. Jupiter. Keilwonh. King Ibanez Guitars. Scher! & Ruth String Inst. www.harknettmusic.com BEST SELECTION OF POPULAR & EDUCATIONAL MUSIC Piano - Guitar - Instrumental Mid-Town Store 416-423-9494 943 Eglinton 'Ave. E. (W. of Leslie) (Next door to Robert Lowrey's Piano Experts) Main Store 905-477-1141 2650 John Street Qust North of Steeles) IN-THE-PARK JUNE JULY JULY 25th 16th 30th www.thewholenote.com DoN'T SAY YOU WEREN'T WARNED! WholeNote's Fifth Annual List of GT A Community and Concert B,ands will appear in our September issue. Please e­ mail your band's updated info to me 'at merlinw@attcanada.ca by August 1 to guarantee inclusion on the list. I need the name of the group, conductor's name, rehearsal day and time, rehearsal location, and a contact person with a phone number, e­ mail and web address, if applicable. Please don't make the assumption that your group will be listed this year just because you we!\! in last year. And if you aren't your band's contact person, show this to the person who is. SEVERAL OF THE YOUTH BANDS in the Toronto area start their auditions in mid-September. The Toronto Youth Wind Orchestra and the Hannaford Street Youth Band come to mind immediately. If you're thinking of auditioning for these groups, it'd be a good idea to start preparing now. Both groups can be easily located on the web, and they were both listed in last September's cover story on community bands. As for me, I'll be trekking down to Louisville KY, for the second annual Cardinal Saxophone Workshop in mid-July. It's the only time in my life so far I've been able to play bass saxophone in a section of bass saxes. It's truly an.awesome sound. See you in September! Saxophonist Merlin Williams is an Artist/Clinician for Jupiter Music Canadti. If you would like an upcoming band event to be featured in the' BandStand column, feel free to contact Merlin by e-mail, merlinw@attcanada.ca; on the web, http://members.attcanada.ca/ -merlinw/ or by phone at 416489- 0275.

Music THEATRE SPOTLIGHT by Sarah B. Hood Fringe Fare, Festival Fever and Farmyard Fun WHO WOULD BELIEVE THAT The Fringe of Toronto is already 15 years old? Running July 2 to 13, the festival still holds pretty well to the fonnat of 100-plus short plays in a plethora of venues around the Annex neighbourhood. Si~ce The Drowsy Chaperone, the Fringe has increasingly become a Petrie dish for the incubation of original musicals. Case in point: Top Gwz! The Musical, which had to extend its June remount at the Factory Theatre. Then there are Jerome Saibil and Eli Batalion (a.k.a. Foque Dans La Tete Productions), those Montreal boys who brought us last year's creative, intelligent Job, the Hip-Hop Musical. They're back with a rew Fringe show, called JOB II: The Demon of the Eternal Recurrence. The New York rock opera Sticks and Stones: Two New One Act Plays by Terri Muuss and Athena Reich, arranged by Jonah Speidel and adapted for guitar, bass and drums by John Link, makes connections between violence within fumilies and global conflicts. The first part, titled "Anatomy of a Doll" is about a daughter's struggle with abuse and addiction; the secooo, "Athena Under Attack", is a reaction to the terrorist attacks of September 11. Cabaret Sinistre presents the threepe r son musical La Mort De L'Amour, a disturbing tale of tragic love and murder by "Grosik Stirn" (with music and lyrics by Jordan M. Stewart). The show is perfonned by Stirn with Cabaret Sinistre members "Kattrin Totenstill" and "Quin De Gace", whose intriguing careers are documented on the company's website, www.cabaretsinistre.com. Seems that Stirn teamed up with mute vocalist Kattrin Totenstill in Berlin in 1896. They then met up with DeGace, a Paris clown, mime, magician and trouba= dour. (If the show's as inventive as the bias, it's worth the price of admission!) On tlmt topic, Fringe tickets are $10 (advance) and (door); and there are discounts for five-, ten- and fourteenshow passes. For more information, call The Fringe Hotline at (416) 966- 1062 orvisitwww.fiingetoronto.com. OUT OF TOWN The wonderful 4th Line Theatre produces site-specific plays about its rural neighbourhood in the barnyard of a former working farm, and in its surrqunding woodland and fields near Peterborough. This summer they're presenting two shows with music. The first, Jul 2 to Aug 3 is O:zmn Glsanom by Robert Winslow with music and lyrics by Susan Newman and Rob Fortin. It's a new show about the 1953 staging of the 1920s operetta The Belle of Barcelona by the Millbrook United Church choir. The second show is a remount ofToronto playwright Leanna Brodie's musical For Home and Country, about the vital Ontario Women's Institute, running from August 6 to 17. The only other summer premiere seems to be Fingers and Toes, by pianist Logan Medland, Aug 5 to 9 at the Bluewater Summer Playhouse in Kincardine. However, there are lots of other shows to choose from, like the charming 30s sendup Dames aJ Sea at Brockville's St. Lawrence Stage Company July 3 to 26, and the haunting Brecht/W eill collaboration Happy End at the Shaw from Aug 5 to Oct 31. For complete information about summer theatre festivals, contact the Associati~n of Summer Theatres 'Round Ontario (ASTRO) at 4164084556, or visit www.summertheatre.org. AS­ TRO members are also repeating last year's successful "Just the Ticket" promotion, which creates theatre travel packages around southern Ontario. To find out more, call l-800-0NTARIO or visit www .justtheticket.ca. .MEGAMUSICAL UPDATE The theatre landscape in town is still undergoing SARS-tectonic plate shifts. Disney's The lion King atthe Princess of Wales will close Sept 28. Mamma Mia! at the Royal Alexandra takes a summerhiatusasofJuly 1. This means the Mirvishes will have three September openings: Mamma Mia! resumes Sept 30; Chicago is coming to the Canon Theatre Sept 23 to Oct 19, and Ted Dykstra and Richard Greenblatt's durable Two Pianos, Four Hands - now dubbed 2P4H - takes over the Elgin Theatre from Sept 18 to Oct 5. Meanwhile, the touring production of Grease with Frankie Avalon (not a Mirvish show) will start its Hummingbird Centre run one day earlier than originally planned. It's now slated to run from July 15 to 20. Happy holidays to Whole Note readers until we return in the fall! Walch/or Sarah B. Hood's upcoming book Toromo: The Unknown City, co-written with Howard Akler, to be released on the weekend of Word on the Street in la!e September.

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