Toronto – Big Bad Voodoo Daddy was formed in 1989 by singer/guitarist Scotty Morris. It started as a three-piece, but quickly grew into its current big band lineup. They were at the forefront of the swing-craze of the mid-90’s, and were popularized by their appearance in the movie Swingers with songs like “You and me and the bottle makes 3 tonight (baby)” and “Go daddy-o”. You’d recognized them if you heard ‘em.

They appeared at the Nathan Phillips Square main stage, and the result was a high-energy show. People who were in their late-teens and early twenties during the 90’s swing-craze were dusting off those swing dance-moves that they paid good money for and thought they’d never get to use. The band was tight, and provided all the ingredients for a good time. They all wore cool cat jazz suits, and the brass played in front of 30’s style jazz stands. Classy.

The music was good. It wasn’t inspiring, but it was solid, tight, and full of energy. Big Bad Voodoo Daddy is still at it, cranking out the big band and doing what they do best: saluting and re-creating the old-school dance jazz that was so popular in the 30’s and 40’s. There were two highlights for me. The first was Scotty giving the crowd a history lesson about the Cotton Club, a famous prohibition-era NYC jazz club, with a salute to the late great Cab Calloway. The second was the bassist Dirk Schumaker. He looked like he was having so much fun spinning that stand-up bass of his and playing music that he loves. I was thoroughly envious of the man’s joie de vivre.

If I could have bottled some of it, I’d be set for life. 4/5.

[Note: this review was written by Brian, an avid Ahmad Jamal enthusiast well acquainted with Ahmad's discography.]

Toronto - Even if you haven’t heard of legendary pianist Ahmad Jamal, you’ve definitely heard the unmistakable sound he popularized.

In late fifties, Jamal’s understated, eloquent style influenced scores of other artists, famously inspiring Miles Davis’ during his First Great Quintet period. In more recent years, Jamal has been rediscovered by a new generation of artists: he’s been sampled on countless hip-hop records (Nas’ “The World is Yours”, Common’s “Resurrection”).

At his packed Festival Mainstage show earlier this week, the legendary Jamal put on a mesmerizing performance that found the 78-year old pianist still pushing his delicate, thoughtful sound into new directions.

He was accompanied by a stellar rhythm section consisting of his longtime bassist James Cammack, drummer James Johnson, and the odd-haired percussionist Manolo Badrena. The interplay between the latter two stole the show for me; it was exhilarating to watch them gradually evolve their patterns together into complex, crowd-rocking grooves.

I’ve been waiting for years to see Jamal perform, and his sparse, dynamic piano play was captivating to hear in person. The audience agreed with me, bringing the band back out for three standing-ovation encores. It was a treat to see Jamal continue to push his artistic boundaries well after his status as a jazz legend has been cemented.

4.5/5

Toronto – Renaud Garcia-Fons hails from a small Parisian suburb and is a double-bassist par excellence who fuses the very best elements of jazz, flamenco, and classical music. He played last Sunday at the Enwave Theatre (Harbourfront). It was a perfect combination of venue and performer; the end-result was nothing short of enchanting.

The Enwave Theatre has a maximum capacity of 420 people and has now become one of my favourite concert halls for live music. The acoustics are absolutely fantastic. In short, a great place for a vivid music listening experience. I’ve heard good things about this hall before, but after hearing some top brass musicians stretch their legs there, I now understand what the buzz is about. I can only struggle to describe how good they sounded in this hall.

Renaud Garcia-Fons was accompanied by flamenco guitarist Antonio Ruiz and percussionist Pascal Rollando. Together, they produced a well-rounded sound that was meticulously assembled. Renaud is a virtuoso and I mean this in the best meaning of the term. Sometimes “virtuoso” is synonym for “technical mastery”. That is to say the ability to play really technically challenging things effortlessly, but robotically. Renaud has the chops, but he’s a consummate musician capable of playing with feeling. He’s got full command of his instrument, and uses it to effortlessly fuse musical styles.

This was a perfect combination of beautiful music in a venue where listeners could really appreciate how damn good this trio sounds. A highlight of the jazz festival for me this year.

Renaud Garcia-Fons: 4.8/5.0

Note: The attached song (from his latest CD Arcoluz) is an instrumental that fuses jazz and flamenco.

 

 Renaud Garcia-Fons - Berimbass: Play Now

Mark’s Review

Toronto – What more can be said of Mr. Maceo Parker, the funktastic sax who played with James Brown for so many years? To say that this show was dripping with sweet funk would be an understatement. This show was pure dance party funk from start to finish, and the crowd couldn’t get enough of it.

As one friend stated, “there was a lot of confidence on that stage”. This was certainly the case. Maceo has assembled himself a super tight funk orchestra that knows how to rock like nobody’s business. It’s a very well put together sound, and you know that they know that they know it. They wore suits, and they came, and they threw down, and there was merriment.

It’s too bad that such a great show had to happen at the Docks (sorry, the Sound Academy). The sound was a little muddy at the beginning. Fortunately adjustments were made and the band came into balance after a few songs. Then it was just pure funk energy for two solid hours. I was hoping for a couple more Ray Charles tunes, but I was really glad to hear a bit of “Georgia on My Mind” on flute, and “You Don’t Know Me” during the encore.

The Sound Academy still sucks though. The acoustics are still bad. There are TV’s showing live feeds of the show all around the room. I suppose you can make an argument that then people who are farther from the stage can see what’s going on, but in my opinion it takes away from the actual musicians on stage. Who is going to face away from the band and watch the TV’s at the back of the room?

Sound issues aside, I don’t think the Docks/Sound Academy can ever really truly succeed as a great venue because of its location. It’s just too much of a hassle to get way out there, and then getting back is always difficult as cab’s take advantage of the location to extort the concert goers.

So all in all, this show unfolded as I expected. A fantastic band, and a fantastic show, just too bad it had to be at the Docks.

Maceo Parker: 4.8/5 Sound Academy: 3/5

Ricky’s Review
» Read the rest of the entry..

Toronto – The Bad Plus is a contemporary jazz trio comprised of classically trained pianist Ethan Iverson, straight-up jazz bassist Reid Anderson, and rock drummer David King. They hail from the Midwest of America and formed in late 2000.

Although The Bad Plus plays a lot of great fresh, material, what have really put them on the jazz-map have been their covers. Taking popular music of the time and re-interpreting them as jazz songs has been standard technique in the jazz lexicon. But what makes The Bad Plus stand out is their ability to re-interpret a song, as opposed to just shoehorning it into a jazz vocabulary.

For their part, The Bad Plus certainly met my expectations of seeing a jazz band of the highest caliber playing together and having fun. This was my first time at the Glenn Gould studio, and I was very impressed with the acoustics. One of my favourite moments was when they played a rendition of Neil Young’s Heart of Gold and all stopped playing their instruments and sang in unison using very quiet indoor voices. The best part was that even at the back of the room, I could hear it perfectly.

4/5

 

 Everybody Wants To Rule The World: Play Now

The downtown Toronto Jazz Festival is my favourite jazz festival in downtown Toronto. Now, I suppose some of you maybe thinking that sentence is a little self-evident. Why would I say such a thing? Was it to waste your time? Yes. Yes it was. But the reality is that there are a number of jazz festivals in Toronto every summer, and the Toronto Jazz Festival is still my favourite.

The Art of Jazz is a brand-new festival that started in the Distillery District. I caught a Brazilian pianist/guitarist by the name of Egberto Gismonti this year and it was pretty sweet. But as far as festivals go, this one is but a pup, starting life in 2005 as not-for-profit jazz organization. I think more word of mouth is needed so people can be aware of the great work they’re doing. But kudos to the Art of Jazz festival.

Next is the Beaches jazz fest. Sigh. Every year I say I’m not going to go. But every year I get lured by that magical combination of freeness and live music. I’m like a moth to a flame; a jazz-loving cheap moth that can’t say no to some free live music. As great as free is though, the Beaches jazz fest isn’t so much a jazz fest, as a street festival. I give the Beaches 5 out of 5 on the freeness scale, but maybe 3 out of 5 on the music scale.

Apparently beggars can be choosers. Because here I go: I sometimes wonder if the organizers had a conversation like this:

Festival Organizer #1: “Hey, remember how our first Beaches street festival was such a success with that one band we brought in to play on the street?”

Festival Organizer #2: “Sure was!”

F.O. #1: “And, then, then the year after that, we brought in 2 bands and they each had their ends of the street and the festival was like twice as good!?”

F.O. #2: “Absolutely!”

F.O. #1: “Well I have a great idea this year. Are you ready for it?”

F.O. #2: “What?!”

F.O. #1: “This year let’s have 400 bands. By my calculations, we will be 200 times better than our 2^nd year, and a full 400 times better than our 1^st year!!!”

F.O. #2: “How will we fit that many bands on Queen East?”

F.O. #1: “Simple, we’ll stack the bands directly on top of each other using stackable bandstands. I know a guy who could rent us a lift that would allow us to transport the least popular musicians to the very top stage. They’ll be the hardest for the general public to hear because they’ll be floating approximately 120 meters in the air. I’m a genius!”

F.O. #2: “Hmmm, why don’t we just space out the bands at ground level instead, but only about 15 meters apart. There will be ridiculous noise bleed between bands, but we should be able to fit them all in.”

F.O. #1: My idea is better.

But I digress. The beauty of the downtown Toronto Jazz Festival is that it’s a great festival for music-lovers. Top musicians are brought in from all over the world to shower us with their talent. Let’s look at some highlights:

Al Green - June 19 - Sony Centre
Ah, good ol Reverend Al Green. I just saw a really amazing video of him in 1978 where he sings “Love & Happiness” on Soundstage. It’s fantastic. I really wished I had stopped there, because then I watched a modern video of him prancing about in an all-white suit, looking too full of Love & Happiness. It was a little cheesy. But don’t let me stop you, Al Green is a veritable soul legend.

Maceo Parker - June 20 - Sound Academy
James Brown’s former saxophone player, this man is funk royalty, or funkalty. I’m super excited about this show! Catchphrase: “2% jazz, 98% funky stuff!”

Ahmad Jamal & Oliver Jones Trio – June 23 - Nathan Philips Square
Ahmad Jamal is a fantastic piano player. He’s got roots, but he knows how to contemporarize. ‘Nuff said.

Marcus Miller - June 26 - Opera House
Marcus Miller is one hell of a bassist. He’s played with Miles Davis and other jazz luminaries.

Dave Brubeck - July 2 - Four Seasons
This is a special event happening outside of the standard jazz fest. Dave Brubeck is a jazz legend. It’s certainly nice to see the old jazz guard kicking it old jazz-school.

For a full schedule and tickets, click here.

 

 Maceo Parker - Hallelujah I Love Her So.mp3: Play Now

 

 Al Green - Love And Happiness: Play Now