Volume 25 Issue 6 - March 2020

BRENDAN MARIANI
Sarah Thawer kicks off Drum Week March 8
Lewis and bassist Rich Brown. Both Lewis and Brown are masters of
their respective instruments and both bring a deep sense of musicality
to their playing that extends far beyond technical accomplishments.
Playground, a five-piece ensemble led by McLean on drums, features
saxophonist Kelly Jefferson, guitarist Kevin Breit, keyboardist Matt
Giffin and bassist Marc Rogers.
While most of Drum Week will feature drummers, the kit-heavy
programming will be broken up midweek with a performance by
TorQ Percussion Quartet, a classical percussion ensemble made up
of Richard Burrows, Adam Campbell, Jamie Drake and Dan Morphy.
TorQ has collaborated with major orchestras – including the Buffalo
Philharmonic, the Toronto Symphony Orchestra and the Orchestre
symphonique de Montréal – has played at numerous festivals and is
highly involved in the realm of Canadian music education, performing
at many schools and student music festivals, as well as hosting the
annual TorQ Percussion Seminar during the summer months.
Next up, drummer Ari Hoenig, who has long been a champion
for younger musicians, and has consistently hired new and exciting
voices to complement his lyrical playing style. There is something
enduringly exciting about the unique creative tension generated
between improvising musicians of different generations, which is
precisely what Hoenig brings to Hugh’s Room Live on March 13, when
he appears with the trio of pianist Nitai Hershkovits and bassist Or
Bareket. Both Bareket and Hershkovits are in their early 30s, and both,
like Hoenig, are based in New York, appearing regularly at Smalls,
where Hoenig began a longstanding residency in 2003.
(As an aside, hiring younger musicians and providing them with
an on-the-road musical education was once standard within the jazz
community. You need look no further than drummer Art Blakey’s Jazz
Messengers band for a prime example of this tradition; Messengers
alumni include the likes of Wayne Shorter, Woody Shaw, Wynton
Marsalis, Terence Blanchard and Mulgrew Miller. The practice does not
exist to the same extent today, primarily for financial reasons: with
fewer gigs to go around, and less remunerative touring opportunities,
bandleaders tend to hire their peers and keep groups relatively
consistent over longer periods of time. This is not necessarily better or
worse; Shorter’s current quartet, with pianist Danilo Pérez, drummer
Brian Blade and bassist John Patitucci, would be a very different group
if its personnel changed every few years.)
Rounding out the week of Drum Fest is a special trio performance
by Jeff “Tain” Watts, whose musical output, over the past 40 years,
has been amongst the most prodigious of any working jazz drummer.
Beginning with the Wynton Marsalis Quartet in 1981, Watts has
played with the likes of George Benson, Harry Connick, Jr and McCoy
Tyner, has appeared as an actor in Spike Lee’s Mo’ Better Blues, and
recently, in 2017, received a Guggenheim Fellowship for composition.
Watts plays with a singular focus and intensity and is a consummate
drummer with an extensive command of the jazz tradition.
Women From Space
It is always reassuring to see smaller-scale festivals taking place in
Toronto within the jazz/improvised music community; though the
TD Toronto Jazz Festival and other large-scale productions play an
important role in the well-being of the scene, there is something
equally significant in the creation of space for artists and groups
who might not otherwise find the representation that they deserve
on Toronto’s cultural calendar. Artists working in the improvised/
D. In the Clubs (Mostly Jazz)
Belo. Mar 16 9pm Joyfultalk + Joyful Joyful.
Mar 18 6pm Significant Other w/ Nico
Paulo, 9:30pm Rae Spoon and Kim Barlow w/
Mohammad Sahraei. Mar 19 9:30pm Amanda
Rheaume w/ Sierra Noble. Mar 20 6pm Safe
as Houses & Rory Taillon, 9:30pm Robb Cappelletto
& Joseph Anidjar. Mar 21 9:30pm
Rebekah Hawker, The Pairs, Basset. Mar 22
2pm and 7pm Asian Riffing Trio. Mar 24 9pm
Dave Phillips / Death Kneel / Fleshtone Aura.
Mar 28 9:30pm Texas Wayne / Westelaken /
Sara Jarvie-Clarke. Mar 29 9pm Nat Baldwin
/ Charles Spearin / Sandro Perri. Mar 31 9pm
Kennedy Road.
Cameron House
408 Queen St. W. 416-703-0811
thecameron.com
Castro’s Lounge
2116 Queen St. E. 416-699-8272
castroslounge.com (full schedule)
All shows: No cover/PWYC
C’est What
67 Front St. E. (416) 867-9499
cestwhat.com (full schedule)
All concerts are PWYC unless otherwise
noted.
Mar 6 9pm James King & The Midnight
Hours. Mar 7 3pm The Hot Five Jazzmakers,
9pm Julia Tynes Band. Mar 8 7pm The Free
Spirits. Mar 13 9pm Built for Speed. Mar 14
3pm The Vic Lawrence Seven, 9pm Craig
Robertson, James Clark, and Alun Piggins.
Mar 20 9pm Bluenatics. Mar 21 3pm The Hot
Five Jazzmakers, 9pm Legion of Saints, Field
Study, and Countless Numbers. Mar 26 8pm
The Hiltz Family Singers. Mar 27 9pm Fool
Hearts. Mar 28 3pm The Boxcar Boys.
Emmet Ray, The
924 College St. 416-792-4497
theemmetray.com (full schedule)
All shows: No cover/PWYC
Grossman’s Tavern
379 Spadina Ave. 416-977-7000
grossmanstavern.com (full schedule)
All shows: No cover (unless otherwise noted).
Every Sat 4:30pm The Happy Pals Dixieland
Jazz Jam. Every Sun 4:30pm New Orleans
Connection All Star Band; 10pm Sunday Jam
with Bill Hedefine. Every Wed 10pm Action
Sound Band w/ Leo Valvassori.
Hirut Cafe and Restaurant
2050 Danforth Ave. 416-551-7560
hirut.ca
Every Sunday 3pm Hirut Sundays Open Mic.
First and Third Tuesday 8pm Fingerstyle Guitar
Association.
Mar 4 8pm BTBs Trio. Mar 6 7pm Tom Reynolds
Trio - Mennonite Fundraiser. Mar 8
8pm Brodie West and Eucalyptus. Mar 10
8pm Finger Style Guitar Association Open
Stage. Mar 11 8pm Elite Music Academy
Open Mic. Mar 13 8:30pm Don Naduriak
Jazz of the Americas. Mar 14 8pm Dunstan
Morey Quartet. Mar 15 8pm Brodie West and
Eucalyptus. Mar 18 8pm BTBs Trio. Mar 19
8pm four.30 Jazz Trio. Mar 20 8pm Steve
Koven Trio. Mar 22 8pm Brodie West and
Eucalyptus. Mar 24 8pm Finger Style Guitar
Association Open Stage. Mar 25 8pm Henry
Heiling & Eric St. Laurent Duo. Mar 26 8pm
Blues Jam. Mar 27 9pm Hirut Hoot Comedy
Night. Mar 29 8pm Brodie West and
Eucalyptus.
Home Smith Bar – See Old Mill, The
Hugh’s Room
2261 Dundas St. W 416 533 5483
hughsroom.com
All shows at 8:30pm unless otherwise noted.
See website for individual show prices.
Mar 2 8pm Dr. Mike Daley Presents: The
James Taylor Story. Mar 3 8pm Dr. Mike
Daley Presents: The James Taylor Story.
Mar 7 Paul James and His Band Pay Tribute
to Bob Dylan. Mar 8 2pm Yamaha Presents:
Sarah Thawer Band, 8:30pm
International Women’s Day w/ Jully Black.
Mar 9 Postmodern Jukebox’s Casey Abrams.
Mar 10 Yamaha Presents: Jimmy Cobb.
Mar 11 8pm Yamaha Presents: Lewis.Brown
/ Mark McLean’s Playground. Mar 12 Yamaha
66 | March 2020 thewholenote.com