LATIFA AKAY, İSTANBUL Wandering through the greenery of the well-tended public gardens of his home in İstanbul’s Ümraniye district, jazz percussionist Okay Temiz — a short, nonchalant figure dressed in khaki summer wear — resembles an intrepid explorer more than he does a globe-trotting musician. Yet the refreshingly unassuming 72-year-old …
Alain Londes The Alexander Brown Quintet played early in the day while Jayme Stone took to the same outdoor stage on Metro Square for the late afternoon show. Stone and his band played pieces from the Juneau-nominated Room of Wonders album which brings in polyrhythmic sounds based on folks dances …
By Bill Donaldson More often than not, jazz musicians move from youthful irreverence to spirituality as they mature. Examples abound, from Dizzy Gillespie to John Patitucci, from Duke Ellington to Wayne Shorter, from Randy Weston to Pete Malinverni, from Mary Lou Williams to Cyrus Chestnut. The fact that jazz can …
Alain Londes Canada Day was a delay of relaxation (relatively speaking) with a shorter list of performances on tap considering that this is a national holiday. At lunchtime under a cloudless sky, the young Toronto group, Heavyweights Brass Band, entertained the gathering at the Outdoor Stage. With Chris Butcher on …
Alain Londes A large and predominantly young crowd gathered in and around the Mainstage to see 5 After 4 and later Béla Fleck and the Flecktones as Toronto shifted gears towards the end of the work week before a long weekend. Béla Fleck gathered the original Flecktones for the first …
Tuesday, June 28, 2011. The Music Gallery, Toronto. Gord Grdina, Vancouver-based oud player and guitarist who gets mentioned is the same breath as jazz legend Jim Hall, who has recorded with Gary Peacock and Paul Motian, holds his Telecaster like an assault rifle. Grdina and his band played for their …
Glenn Astarita Trumpeter Cuong Vu is back in Seattle after spending years in major market cities such as New York and Boston working with numerous progressive-jazz luminaries, including a stint with guitar hero Pat Metheny. Here, Vu aligns with formidable young Seattle musicians, bassist Luke Bergman and drummer Evan Woodle …
Alain Londes Philadelphia born Kenny Barron had a rich history spanning over 50 years to showcase his influences, exceptional musical understanding and technical ability for the close to 90-minute solo performance that he presented for the Grandmasters Series concert at the Glenn Gould Studio. When going over his biography, Barron …
June 18, 2011, marked the passing of Clarence “Big Man” Clemons. Ethan’s offer for me to write something on the Big Man allowed me to dig out my Springsteen CD’s along with some other things Mr. Clemons had performed on. Listening to the music brought me back to my youth, …
Alain Londes When you have a real variety of styles, you know you have a real festival and Tuesday evening was a real case in point. For the evening portion of the programming, Vijay Iyer walked on stage at the Glenn Gould Studio for a solo piano performance as part …
