PERFORMANCES Amelia Curran (Tonight – Tuesday): The lovely and talented Amelia Curran returns for an intimate engagement at Glenn Gould Studio this evening and we are so excited to see her for a solo date after getting a taste of what she’s been up to when she opened for Whitehorse back in February. Also, have you seen this video (embedded above) yet? Ms. Curran debuts a stellar new song “Modern Man” on our own Soundboard, recorded at Toronto’s own Revolution Recording.
Jay Douglas (Friday): Jay Douglas is a Toronto and reggae music institution and he’s taking the Glenn Gould Studio stage with his 12-piece All-Star band this Friday night. You can read all about the impressive CV that Mr. Douglas has acquired on the event page and be sure to take a moment to view his recent visit to Revolution Recording where he recorded a cover of Bob Marley and The Wailers “Simmer Down” and listen to him on the Soundboard podcast. You can do both here.
If you Google “the greatest jazz concert ever,” you’ll be delighted to find that such an historic event took place at our own Massey Hall. Now, I’ll admit that it’s not quite a fair search: “The Greatest Jazz Concert Ever” is the subtitle of a live album of concert conveniently called Jazz at Massey Hall, but we’ll take the accolades just the same.
We’re now nearing what promises to be another epic concert — Herbie Hancock and Lang Lang at dueling pianos, with orchestra, are performing this Wednesday — and this has gotten us all reflecting on the history of jazz collaborations at Massey Hall.
Just what, you may be wondering, was this greatest of jazz shows? It took place in 1953 and featured Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker, Bud Powell, Charles Mingus, and Max Roach playing as a quintet together for the first and only time in their lives. Despite its greatness (and Greatness), the concert was poorly attended — in large part because it was competing against a live televised broadcast of a boxing match between Rocky Marciano and Jersey Joe Walcott. (Incidentally, boxing matches were also popular events at Massey Hall once upon a time.) Although only a few caught the show in person, the live album remains a vital piece in many jazz lovers’ collections. CONTINUE READING >
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