Volume 21 Issue 3 - November 2015

Beat by Beat | Jazz Stories
Jane’s Day,
Jane’s Way
ORI DAGAN
Jane Bunnett’s day is so chock full that the only time we can
find to do an interview is at Ana Maria’s hair salon, down the
street from her Parkdale home. It’s a big week. Two nights ago
(October 20) she won Ontario’s Premier’s Award for Excellence; today
(October 22) is her birthday; and on Saturday night (October 24)
she performs at Koerner Hall with Maqueque and Emilie Michel. I
congratulate her on the Premier’s Award and ask what this particular
honour means to a five-time JUNO winner, two-time Grammy
nominee and Order of Canada recipient:
“First of all this is my third time up for this award, and every time,
the people in this category have been people that I respected. Some
of them I knew because they are closer to my field, but when I’ve
been seeing the other nominees and investigated and researched
what they do, I’m extremely honoured because I look at them and I
think, ‘That’s amazing, look what this person has done, look what
this person has done!’ and I’m saying it about everybody and then I
go, ‘Wait a minute, I’m in the same category!’ so that must mean, you
know? The jury, my peers are recognizing me in the same way. I’m so
very honoured.”
Bunnett’s talent is astonishing, her passion contagious and her
discipline inspiring. She is also lucky in love: her husband of nearly 35
years is producer manager and occasional sideman Larry Cramer. “He
is my other half in making these things happen. We are a real team …
my vision is not as strong as his vision. A lot of the time I can’t quite
see it, but Larry sees the end results. I just see all the work that has to
get done and I freak out. We’re a great team.”
The two have toured this planet dozens of times in the past 30 years,
acting as Canadian ambassadors, standing up for social and political
causes, collaborating with some of the very best in the world and
providing countless opportunities for others every step of the way.
“Sometimes it’s hard for us to stand back and just look at the total
body of what we’re doing because artists are so forward thinking and
you never know where your next bread and butter are going to come
from. To sit back and savour the moment, the recognition because we
are always moving forward – you finish a project and you’re on to the
next one – so to be able to stand back with Larry, it means so much to
us. And not to look like a materialistic person, but there is a monetary
value to the award that could not come at a better time, when we’ve
been stretched financially. We’ve set a certain standard for ourselves,
and it can’t be any less that that. Twenty records later, we have to keep
our standard high ... keep it interesting for yourself and your fans if
you have fans. So sometimes we have to beg, borrow and steal to make
a project happen.”
Making a living as a jazz artist in Toronto can seem nearly impossible
without a secondary income. Most jazz musicians teach either
privately or in a post-secondary institution. Although she is a natural
mentor, Bunnett has never had a regular teaching position, which
arguably has allowed for the 20 recordings under her belt.
“Who knows down the road, as I get older – I don’t know how
long my body can handle the running around – as a jazz musician
when you are doing what I’m doing, when you don’t have a teaching
position, you have to travel. To work I have to travel. There’s only
so much you can do in Toronto, there’s only so much you can do in
Canada, so you have to up and move, and so when I can combine that
with going into a university or a high school or a community arts
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