Volume 23 Issue 6 - March 2018

Beat by Beat | Mainly Clubs, Mostly Jazz!
Discovering New
Venues
DAVID PERLMAN
In the February issue of HalfTones, our between-print-issues e-letter,
we ran a story by Sara Constant on this year’s recipients of the TD
Toronto Jazz Discoveries Series Awards, now in its eighth year.
As described in that story, the series started in 2011 as a part of
the TD Toronto Jazz Festival’s outreach to local performers creating
original work, and to year-round, multi-venue jazz programming in
the city. “Each year, an assembled Toronto Jazz Fest jury selects four
projects to receive support and funding from the festival. Over the
last eight years,” the story continues, “the series has accumulated an
alumni list that serves as a veritable who’s who of local jazz innovators
–[helping] transform the festival from an annual affair into a yearround
showcase of local music-making.”
It’s not hard to see how this year’s four recipients fit the bill: Harley
Card’s Sunset Ensemble at Lula Lounge, March 1; the Heavyweights
Brass Band at Lula Lounge, March 29; Adrean Farrugia and Joel Frahm
at Gallery 345, April 27; and a show curated
by Aline Homzy titled The Smith Sessions
Presents: Bitches Brew at Canadian Music
Centre, April 28.
Just as interesting as the alumni, from
the perspective of this column, is taking
a look at the venues that have been the
most active participants in this initiative
over the years, both the ones you’d expect
to find mentioned regularly here, and also
the ones you might not usually associate
with jazz.
Lula leads: of the usual venues you’d
expect to be involved, Lula Lounge leads
the pack, starting with the series’ first-ever concert, a Fern Lindzon
CD release in April 2011. Since then the Dundas St. W. venue has
hosted series concerts by Jaron Freeman-Fox in February 2013,
a Heavyweights Brass Band CD release concert in March 2014,
D. In the Clubs (Mostly Jazz)
Alexander Brown in March 25, Sundar Viswanathan’s AVATAAR in
March 2016 and Chelsea McBride’s Socialist Night School CD release
in January of last year. And this year the beat continues with Harley
Card, March 1 and The Heavyweights in a return visit on March 29.
The Rex and Jazz Bistro: as you might expect, the city’s two premier
mainstream venues are both in the running for silver and bronze, with
three appearances each over the eight years. The Rex has been venue
of choice for a Barry Elmes Quintet CD Release in March 2011, a Nick
Fraser double-CD release in May 2016, and The Further Adventures of
Jazz Money (Dillan Ponders, Apt and Ghettosocks) in March 2017. And
the Bistro has hosted a Beverly Taft Meets the Nathan Hiltz Orchestra
CD release concert in April 2014, a first big gig for the Alex Goodman
Chamber Quintet in April 2015 and Robi Botos’ Movin’ Forward CD
Release in March 2015.
Gallery 345: When you get past those three obvious choices,
though, you’re entering some interesting territory – venues with audiences
more often in other genres but offering fertile ground for jazz.
Gallery 345 on Sorauren heads the list: Mike Downes in March 2012,
Shannon Graham and The Storytellers in April 2013, and the Nancy
Walker Quintet in 2014. Adrean Farrugia and Joel Frahm (April 27 this
year) will actually push Ed Epstein’s little-gallery-that-could ahead of
its more storied mainstream colleagues into the silver medal spot.
The Best Rest
Space doesn’t permit the same level of detail for the rest of the
venues used to date for the series, but
the point is that there are venues out
The Heavyweights Brass Band there for putting on shows for audiences
that are there to listen. The
Music Gallery, previously at St. George
the Martyr Church on John St., and
its new housemates at 918 Bathurst
Cultural Centre have been used four
times so far. Small World Music Centre,
Alliance Française, the late-lamented
Trane Studio, the Lower Ossington
Theatre, Knox Presbyterian and Beit
Zatoun have also all been used. This
year the Canadian Music Centre on
St. Joseph joins the list.
If the series continues to encourage adventurous venue hunting as
much as it does adventurous music-making, it will continue to serve a
worthwhile purpose.
publisher@thewholenote.com
As we work towards listing club events with our main listings in an integrated
searchable format, some listings here are less complete than they were previously.
Please visit the website addresses provided for specific venues or use the phone
number provided for more detailed information. We apologize for this temporary
inconvenience.
120 Diner
120 Church St. 416-792-7725
120diner.com (full schedule)
All shows: PWYC ($10-$20 suggested)
Alleycatz
2409 Yonge St. 416-481-6865
alleycatz.ca
All shows: 9pm unless otherwise indicated.
Call for cover charge info.
Every Mon 8:30pm Salsa Night. Every Tue
Bachata Night. Every Wed Midtown Blues
Jam. Every Thurs 7:30pm Claudia Lopez
Duo Jazz.
Mar 2 Graffitti Park. Mar 3 & 23 Gyles Band.
Mar 9 & Apr 6 Red Velvet. Mar 10 All Request
Band. Mar 16 Urban Jive. Mar 17 Sound
Parade. Mar 24 Soular. Mar 30 Parkside
Drive. Mar 31 & Apr 7 Lady Kane.
Artword Artbar
15 Colbourne St., Hamilton. 905-543-8512
artword.net (full schedule)
All shows at 8pm unless otherwise noted.
Mar 1 Toivi Unt. Mar 2 Edgar Breau (CD
release). $15. Mar 3 The Worst Pop Band
Ever. $10. Mar 4 7:30pm Celebration of
the Music of Ken Aldcroft $15/$10(adv).
Mar 24 Zero Point.
The Blue Goose Tavern
1 Blue Goose St. 416-255-2442
thebluegoosetavern.com (full schedule)
Every Sun 4pm Blues at The Goose.
Big Groove featuring Downchild’s Mike
Fitzpatrick & Gary Kendall with Special
Guests: Mar 4 Mike Branton & Jesse
Whiteley. Mar 11 Dylan Wickens & Tyler
Burgess. Mar 18 Jenie Thai & Fraser Melvin.
Mar 25 Mark “Bird” Stafford & Jake
Chisholm.
Bloom
2315 Bloor St. W. 416-767-1315
bloomrestaurant.com
All shows: 19+. Call for reservations.
Mar 29 7pm Hilario Durán Trio $55 Dinner
& Concert
Burdock
1184 Bloor St. W. 416-546-4033
burdockto.com (full schedule)
Mar 1 Graham Nicholas Album Release w/
Grady Kelneck. Mar 3 Emma Cook w/ Julie
Neff.
Cameron House
408 Queen St. W. 416-703-0811
thecameron.com
Mar 5, 12, 19 & 26 6pm David Leask (new
album Six in 6/8) No cover.
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 3 3pm The Hot Five Jazzmakers. Mar 4
7pm Women in Music, Vol. 4. $10.
Emmet Ray, The
924 College St. 416-792-4497
theemmetray.com (full schedule)
All shows: No cover/PWYC
Mar 4 6pm Robert Chapman Trio.
Gate 403
403 Roncesvalles Ave. 416-588-2930
54 | March 1 – April 7, 2018 thewholenote.com