Volume 25 Issue 4 - December 2019 / January 2020

varied program of standards and some seldom-heard songs, many
bearing her deft arranging touch. She also brought along her ukulele,
a new wrinkle she played on a couple of numbers. As I’ve come to
expect, there was nothing cutesy or gimmicky about this; in her hands
the tiny four-string guitar added a special sound and texture appropriate
to the given songs. And hers is not just any old ukulele, it’s a
J.F. Martin with a lovely plangent sound. In no time at all she had the
audience spellbound, not just with her singing, but with her sincere
presentation and effortless inclusion of them. She has a way of talking
about herself to the audience between numbers which is not selfindulgent,
but serves to draw back the curtain for the listeners and
make them feel a part of what’s happening. She talked about what
some of the songs meant to her or why she chose them and how privileged
she felt to be there making music for people who appreciate it.
The epiphany came as we were about to start the second set and
Karin said that she wanted to begin with a tune accompanying
herself at the piano, with trumpeter John Loach and her friend Geoff
Claridge, who was in the audience and had brought along his clarinet.
I took a chair at the entrance to the music room, glad to unexpectedly
be a part of the audience while in mid-performance. She told
the audience she was going to sing her new arrangement of an old
song that would be very familiar to them, especially to any who had
played piano when they were kids. It was Heart and Soul, along with
Chopsticks; one of the cliché duets all young piano students end up
playing with their teachers or parents.
She began s-l-o-w-l-y with a contemplative pattern of simple gospel
chords voiced in ringing tenths, ascending on off-beats, immediately
stirring and hypnotic. Then she entered with that subtle sultry voice
in unmistakeable jazz rhythm: “Heart and soul, I fell in love with you.
Heart and soul, the way a fool would do, madly…..” and it was goosebump
time. Meanwhile, behind her, John on cup-muted trumpet and
Geoff on clarinet, shared a written obligato part which beautifully
complemented what she was doing. Once again, musicians giving to
each other and to the rapt audience, putting themselves on the line
in a humble and fearless off-the-cuff offering. I was gone, swept away
and surprisingly – or perhaps not – tears welled in my eyes at the
sheer beauty of it. This is it, I thought, this is what music is. It felt like
being in church in the best sense, or like Christmas morning. With
this emotional reaction, there was some self-chiding: ”Steve, you old
softie, you.” But I couldn’t help it, Karin had lifted the song from the
parlour into something haunting and inspiring. Such is the generosity
of her transformative imagination. I’d completely forgotten that
the song had such lovely words and was originally a ballad by Frank
Loesser and Hoagy Carmichael, no slouches. Like all good things in
life, it was over far too soon and in typical fashion, Karin didn’t tie
Featuring some of Toronto’s
best jazz musicians with a brief
reflection by Jazz Vespers Clergy
Sunday, December 15, 2019 at 4:30pm
Ellington’s Nutcracker Suite
Brian Barlow Big Band
Sunday, January 12, 2020 at 4:30pm
Russ Little Quintet
Sunday, January 26, 2020 at 4:30pm
Colleen Allen Quartet
Christ Church wishes everyone
a very blessed Christmas
Christ Church Deer Park, 1570 Yonge St.
(north of St. Clair at Heath St.)
Admission is free; donations are welcome.
416-920-5211
www.thereslifehere.org
it all up in a neat bow but left the song hanging with an unresolved
dominant chord, hovering in the silent air like a question mark.
Disclosure: those who want to hear this wonderful rendition may
do so on Karin Plato’s latest CD, This Could Be the One (and believe,
me, it is), or in a live performance available on YouTube.
The second epiphany came during a gig with Mike Murley’s trio at
The Homesmith Bar on November 6. During the first break, an elderly
lady asked Mike if he could play Love For Sale, and he was so charmed
by her and surprised by her request that he assented, even though
he doesn’t often play that tune and was a little unsure of it in spots.
It came off quite well and indeed may become a permanent part of
our repertoire. On the second break, I was outside taking some nicotine
when a silver-haired elderly lady, well-wrapped against the cold
evening, came out and sat on her walker waiting for her friend to
fetch the car. I went over to her and asked if she had requested Love
For Sale and she smiled shyly and answered in her English accent,
“Yes, and I really enjoyed it. I asked for that tune because I really love
the way Sidney Bechet played it on one of his records.” I replied that
I didn’t know Bechet had recorded it, adding that had Mike known
he might have played it on his soprano rather than tenor, although
Mike plays the curved model rather than the straight horn like Sidney.
“Oh there was nobody like Bechet on that soprano,” she said. “Such
passion and authority, and that sound… God, I love him.”
“And Muggsy!” she continued. I started vibrating a little at this – she
was talking about cornetist Muggsy Spanier, whose playing I’ve loved
since I became a jazz fan. “People talk about Louis (Armstrong) doing
so much to bring jazz out of the rinky-tink and he did, but Muggsy
was great, he could
break your heart!”
I told her I was a
big Muggsy fan, too
and that he had that
heart-on-his-sleeve
streak of Irish sentimentality
that could
make you cry. I asked
her if she knew the
wonderful one-off
session Bechet and
Muggsy recorded
together in 1940 and
her face went blank
for a moment then
her eyes widened in
Muggsy Spanier
recognition. “Oh my, yes! Those two got to some romping!”
She told me that she was 91 and lived in a seniors’ apartment near
Christie and Bloor. “My husband died some years ago but I’ve made
friends with a 93-year-old blind man named George who lives down
the hall. You wouldn’t believe what he has in his apartment, everything
that Muggsy ever recorded and lots of other goodies. I go round
to his flat and we listen to these wonderful records. We have such
fun, jazz makes you feel so happy, so alive.” I thought… at 91 or otherwise,
we should all be so lucky. She was so lovely and interesting that
despite the cold I wanted to stay and talk with her some more, but I
had to go back inside and play. She said “My name is Joyce East and it’s
been so nice meeting you.” I couldn’t resist, I leaned down and hugged
her and she reached up and hugged me back warmly and gave me a
peck on the cheek. The pleasure was all mine, Joyce, nighty-night.
As Fats Waller once said, “One never knows, do one?” Karin Plato’s
stunning transformation of Heart and Soul and this chance encounter
with an nonagenarian hipster brought Christmas early to me this year.
I can’t thank either of them enough. My best wishes to you all for a
joyous Holiday Season and a Happy New Year.
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.
FRED LYON
26 | December 2019 – January 2020 thewholenote.com