Volume 23 Issue 6 - March 2018

it wasn’t the first time I’ve been floored by
DT’s class and generosity.
DT is getting on and in the last couple
of years has expressed a concern for
the future of jazz in Toronto and a keen
desire to get local government involved in
supporting it beyond the usual cosmetic
ribbon-cutting measures. He is well
connected and has been trying to sell local
politicos, including our mayor, on the idea
of establishing a permanent performance
home for jazz in Toronto, funded by both
public and private money. He was hoping
this could perhaps be a part of the Massey
Hall revitalization project, for example.
DT was hoping to use the release of The
Toronto Sound – a partially strategic title –
as a means of demonstrating to local politicians
the viability of jazz in Toronto – the
high quality of the music and the enthusiastic
support for it among local music
fans. He invited Mayor Tory and others
to attend, only to run into a brick wall of
shrugging indifference.
This deaf apathy caused DT no small
chagrin, so I’ve decided to take up his
cause here by asking a few pointed questions.
Why is it after all these years that
jazz in Toronto still doesn’t have a dedicated
and permanent performance centre,
the way other art forms like opera, ballet, theatre or symphonic
music do?
Yes, we’ve had clubs, but those have taken a hit in recent times.
Wouldn’t you think a city the size of Toronto, where jazz is taught at
three post-secondary institutions (York University, U of T and Humber
College) and which boasts a 24/7
jazz radio station in JAZZ.FM91,
could support – and deserves –
such a venue? The TSO has Roy
Thomson Hall, the COC and the
National Ballet of Canada share the
Four Seasons Centre and there are
numerous other venues for various
forms of theatre and dance.
Most, if not all, of these rely upon
some sort of government funding
as well as a well-orchestrated pipeline
of private donors to keep them
running. I realize jazz – usually
the out-of-town, big-ticket variety
– occasionally sneaks into these
places as an interloper – and that
jazz is sporadically heard at Koerner
Hall, Massey Hall, the Sony Centre and
other theatres. I also realize jazz is not as big a ticket or as entrenched
as some of these other art forms, but neither is it a cultural Johnnycome-lately;
it has existed for over a century now and has a long and
rich history in Toronto. The talent has certainly always been here but
the support for it has been sorely lacking in any official sense.
I’m not suggesting that jazz needs anything as grand as some of
these cultural palaces. I’m proposing a centrally located and modestsized
concert hall with the usual amenities, seating perhaps 400, with
an adjoining club space for more casual presentations, the screening
of jazz films, lectures and so on.
So why is jazz treated as a second-class citizen here? Is it because
it’s seen as an American import? Well, don’t look now, but most of the
music played at the aforementioned venues is European in origin. And
if nationalism is your game, then consider this: as a primarily improvised
music, jazz comes from inside the musicians playing it, so jazz
John MacLeod
Harley Card Quartet at Edmonton’s Yardbird Suite, November 2017
played by Canadians is directly Canadian.
When you listen to a Mike Murley or a Neil
Swainson or a John MacLeod play, you’re
listening to quintessential Canadians.
The notion of a dedicated jazz centre
isn’t as far-fetched as it sounds. Many
cities in Europe, which values art and
culture more highly than North America
does, have full-time state-sponsored
jazz orchestras with composers-in-residence
performing and broadcasting regularly
in state-of-the-art venues. Canadian
composers are frequent guest artists with
these groups – why doesn’t Toronto have
something like this?
We needn’t look as far away as Europe
though. Let us consider Edmonton, which
for 60 years now has had the Yardbird
Suite, entirely run by volunteers from the
city’s jazz society. It’s easily the best jazz
club in Canada and recently received a
much-needed renovation, courtesy of the
Alberta Heritage fund. Yes, that’s right,
government money being poured into
jazz. The recently and lamentably departed
Tommy Banks, an Edmonton cultural
icon and senator, likely had much to do
with this, but that only demonstrates
what political support of jazz can achieve.
If a smaller and more isolated city like
Edmonton has this, why can’t Toronto? What’s our excuse?
My advocacy for a full-time jazz performance centre is not intended
to take anything away from other Toronto jazz institutions such as The
Rex, Jazz Bistro, Home Smith Bar, JPEC, or JAZZ.FM. Their contributions
are all laudable and essential – it’s just that Toronto jazz could
use more of a central home which
could work hand-in-hand with
these other sites and organizations.
Such a centre would not only
require political support, but
that the Toronto jazz community
mobilize itself and get organized. So
if all you hardcore jazz fans – and
I know you’re out there – want to
know what you can do, try writing
a letter to your local representative
urging greater support for jazz.
Or the next time you’re in a club
that doesn’t have a cover charge for
the music, suggest to the management
that they institute one so the
band could be paid better. I know it
sounds crazy, but it might just work.
For years now, Toronto has in its heart
of hearts wanted to be New York. Well, New York has Lincoln Center
and Toronto has nothing of the kind; New York also has citizens who
know that jazz costs money. Coincidence? I think not.
If any of this sounds bitter or querulous, it’s not. I’m not personally
bitter because I’m 61 and have been playing jazz successfully for over
40 years, with just about everybody imaginable. I’ve had my innings;
it’s the future of jazz and young musicians I’m speaking on behalf of.
This may seem like a longshot jazz fantasy but we have to start somewhere,
perhaps with just the articulation of this simple wish and idea.
Besides, as the old song asks, I can dream, can’t I?
Toronto bassist Steve Wallace writes a blog called “Steve
Wallace – jazz, baseball, life and other ephemera” which
can be accessed at wallacebass.com. Aside from the topics
mentioned, he sometimes writes about movies and food.
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