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NXNE Friday 19th

K-os @ Yonge & Dundas Square

8:30 pm on the sunny Friday evening found me hitting up one of the free NXNE shows at Y&D Square. Arriving just on time I valiantly dove into the beyond packed crowd of fans, random wanderers, and broke music lovers to get a better look at the Toronto emcee who strode onto the stage with a full sense of ownership. The crowd was diverse reflecting his appeal and his increasing mainstream status. K-os has a quick, rapid, and smooth delivery, that was backed by a full live band plus DJ/producer. Not bothering with intro stage banter, he launched right into his first song and then quickly blew through a couple of old hits like “Superstarr” and “Man I Used to Be” which prompted cheers. Like any good emcee K-os repeatedly engaged the crowd and by the time he launched into “Crabbuckit”, probably his most well known song, a significant number of the crowd were dancing as much as possible given the extremely tight confines.

DD/MM/YYYY @ The Gladstone Hotel Ballroom

It took until 11 pm for me to make it back into The Gladstone because Timber Timbre, a band that had topped multiple “best of” lists last year and which I definitely wanted to see, had previously played at 10 causing a massive overflow of people. Earlier the place had not only been over capacity, but was also endowed with a huge winding line of people outside that had stupidly arrived far too late.  After Timer Timbre’s set there was a sizable exodus, and only then was I able to make it in. Fortunately all was not lost as the next band was hometown heroes DD/MM/YYYY who play loud, jerky, fast, 80’s video game synthesizer drenched, rhythm and percussion driven math rock. Continue reading “NXNE Friday 19th”

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NXNE Thursday 18th

Glorious day 2 in the festival but day one for us took place in the hipster netherworld of West Queen West where we could hop between several NXNE venues quickly and repeatedly. It all began at 9 pm.

Mountains & The Trees @ Gladstone Hotel Ballroom

As I got there it was barely 9 pm and the Gladstone ballroom was practically empty despite the show and first band having started at 8 pm. The thin crowd was mostly media by the looks of the plentiful amount of expensive professional DSLR cameras in sight. The Mountains & The Trees, a friendly looking guy/girl duo was introduced refreshingly in an honestly enthusiastic way by a CBC Radio 2 personality. Fronted by Jon Janes, fittingly and perhaps purposely dressed in a classic logo CBC sweater, on acoustic guitar and Jillian Freeman on a rotating everything else, The Mountains are a likable folk band from the Maritimes that exude earnest rustic charm. Their music is light and sprightly, simple and sparing, consisting of personal story/narratives that have a small town nostalgia mixed with a yearning for bigger and greater things. They’re at their strongest with their more energetic songs and when they sing duet. Janes has an easy and welcoming style which he paired with humorous soft spoken but interesting banter. On another song named “Carry On” he prefaces it with the fact that everywhere they played it in Europe, people mentioned how Canadian it was…joking that it most likely was due to the fact that it fondly recalls snow mitts, trees, and the outdoors. Freeman is an able accompanist switching easily from xylophone to harmonium, bells, and various percussion instruments while also doing backup vocals. The band wrapped up their set with Janes doing a song, “Letters to a friend”, a classic folk parable, solo in an even more intimate form in front of the stage amongst the now slightly bigger crowd. With its steady beats and dreamy storytelling vibe, The Mountains & The Trees is a band I would imagine would be the perfect soundtrack to be listening on a sunny long distance car trip across the Canadian landscape. Continue reading “NXNE Thursday 18th”

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TO Jazz Festival: Interview with Joshua Redman

What: James Farm Band (including Joshua Redman)
When: June 30th @ 7PM
Where: Enwave Theatre at Harbourfront, $40 at the door or order online at Ticketmaster
More Information: Check out the James Farm myspace page to hear some great music samples.

Joshua Redman is one of the best jazz saxophonists and composers in the jazz scene today, so it was a great honour to interview him for BlogUT last week; he’ll be coming to Toronto on June 30th with his new collaborative project, James Farm. With clear influences ranging from his father, Dewey Redman, to saxophonist Sonny Rollins, Joshua Redman has developed his own unique style. It is a style that is very inventive and innovative, which so often makes you want to tap your feet, dance, and listen very closely. His albums have only gotten better and better. He is a very cerebral musician, articulate both in his performance and in his discussion of music, with a great sense of humour. Luckily for the music world, after completing his undergraduate degree at Harvard University in Social Studies, he turned down his offer at Yale Law School to pursue music, instead, in the early 1990s.

Joshua Redman is an amazing musician but also sincerely humble, thoughtful, and self-deprecating (“I have this book of études that are really kicking my ass, actually.”), which was clear throughout the interview and through the wonderful material he has compiled on his website talking about music. “To me, jazz has a built in modernity and relevance through improvisation”, he said, which is perhaps why even his recent rendition of “Surrey with a Fringe on Top”, on his 2007 album Back East, is my favourite rendition of the piece. On a personal note, I’ve been a fan and audience member since age 5.

Of his music, he says, “My goal as a jazz musician has been always to just try to play as honestly and expressively and creatively as I can: that’s what jazz is about to me. I’ve always believed that if you do that then your music will reach people, on an intellectual, and more importantly, an emotional level.” Read on to hear Mr Redman’s many other interesting insights.

Alex: How did you decide to play the saxophone?
Joshua Redman: It was just always the instrument that spoke to me. I was always intrigued by and loved the sound of it. I saw a connection to it, I guess, hearing great saxophonists like John Coltrane, Sonny Rollins, my father Dewey Redman, and Dexter Gordon. All these saxophonists had incredible sound. It was the depth of feeling the instrument can produce, the emotional range, the power of the instrument, and the poignancy of the sound. Of course, you don’t think in those terms when you’re 10 years old. Maybe I just thought it was cool. I played the clarinet for a couple of years before I started playing the saxophone and was interested in the clarinet but I always wanted to play the saxophone. Besides, the clarinet is too hard. Continue reading “TO Jazz Festival: Interview with Joshua Redman”

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TO Jazz Festival: Interview with Hiromi

What: The Stanley Clarke Band featuring Hiromi
When: June 28th @ 8PM
Where: Nathan Phillips Square, buy tickets online at Ticketmaster or arrive very early and purchase tickets at the door.
More Information: Check out this recent performance video for a taste of the music or go to Stanley Clarke’s website for a sampling of the new Stanley Clarke Band album released on June 15th.

On Wednesday, I caught up with the great jazz pianist, Hiromi, for a telephone interview, before her performance in Toronto at the Jazz Festival with Stanley Clarke on June 28th at Nathan Phillips Square. Hiromi recently recorded the wonderful jazz trio album “Jazz in the Garden” with Stanley Clarke, one of the best albums of 2009, and now they are touring together over the summer.

When you hear Hiromi playing impressive stride piano, you would never guess that her small hands can only stretch an octave: it certainly doesn’t sound like it! How does she do it? “It requires a lot of practicing to be able to play the right notes but I want to hear the sound and so I work hard to hear the sound.”

Hiromi has studied under Ahmad Jamal and Richard Evans, and had performed with both the Czech Philharmonic and Chick Corea at age 17. She has distinguished herself on the jazz scene with her impressively high energy, fast-paced, and always musical piano playing. When talking about her performing, she says “Whenever I have a great performance, my brain is so tired and that’s a good sign.”

Alex (BlogUT): When did you start playing the piano and what got you interested in the piano, in particular?
Hiromi: I was six years old and my mother took me to a piano lesson. None of my family are musical; they’re just regular people. My mom just thought music brings joy to life so she wanted me to play something but she never thought I would do it professionally! She just wanted me to have fun and I just fell in love with it. Continue reading “TO Jazz Festival: Interview with Hiromi”

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OH on Twitter: Chaos in Toronto!

So you’d think with it being summer and all, our dear old campus would be pretty dead and quiet. Not so, my dear friends! This week, St. George campus was buzzing with excitement yet again. I mean, between the G20 madness, tornado warnings, earthquakes, and exams…I would say it was damn eventful week!!

Did you run into trouble with this whole G20 hoopulah? Where were you when the earthquake struck? Did you survive the dreaded exam period? Check out what some other students have to say about it.

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TO Jazz Festival: Interview with Toronto jazz singer Alex Pangman

What: Alex Pangman & Her Alleycats, Free Concert
When: Friday, June 25th @ 5PM
Where: Nathan Phillips Square, Afterworks Series, TD Canada Trust Toronto Jazz Festival

On Monday, BlogUT caught up with Canadian jazz singer and composer, Alex Pangman, for a telephone interview, before her performance kicks off the Toronto Jazz Festival at Nathan Phillips Square on June 25th at 5PM with a free concert. Sometimes referred to as “Canada’s Sweetheart of Swing”, Ms Pangman specializes in standards from the 1920s up until about the mid 1940s, and refers to herself as an “anachronism in her time”. As the Toronto Star once wrote, “It’s time-travel magic whenever Alex Pangman breathes into a microphone and evokes the great jazz femmes of the 1920s, 30s and 40s.” I first saw Ms Pangman at the Old Mill in November 2009, picked up her Live in Montreal album, listened to it on loop for weeks, and went back for more at her Reservoir Lounge gig last week. Ms Pangman also plays some country music but, she says, “Jazz is where my heart lies”. In addition to catching her show at the Jazz Festival, you can catch Ms Pangman at the Reservoir Lounge on the first Tuesday of every month.

BlogUT: When is your next album coming out and what can we expect from it?
Alex Pangman: I have a new album coming out in the fall, which I just finished recording, with my band, the Alleycats. It’s in the can, as they say. It’s called “33” and we’ll be releasing it to iTunes. The “in hand version” will be as a 33rpm, and it’s all songs from 1933. It will be my first record since the double lung transplant.

BlogUT: How has having a double lung transplant affected your career and life?
Alex Pangman: Being so sick for so long, it sort of took me out of usefulness for quite a few years. Things being rocky enough that I had to have a transplant, it’s as if the hours on the table gave me back not only my life, as in the ability to breathe, but also gave me back my art. As a singer with lung disease, I could see my health stolen from me in little increments. It’s pretty awesome now to be able to stand in front of a microphone and belt it out without having to cough or wheeze. I would encourage everyone to sign a consent form to become an organ donor as you can really help change people’s lives for the better.

BlogUT: What songs will be on your new album?
Alex Pangman: We play “100 Years from Today” and “I Found a New Baby”. We also have some guest vocalists: Denzal Sinclaire sings a duet with me on “You’ve Brought a New Kind of Love to Me”.

BlogUT: How did you get interested in jazz and in music from the 1920s-40s?
Alex Pangman: I was disenchanted with the music of my generation and looking for some sort of inspiration. I found some old records in my mid-teens with music from that time which was such a pleasant discovery. I was drawn to an era of music where melody and substance were very important; those were really lacking in my generation. Continue reading “TO Jazz Festival: Interview with Toronto jazz singer Alex Pangman”

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NXNE 2010 Overview

On Wednesday the 17th, the music portion of this year’s North By Northeast Festival began, which for many years was the full extent of the festival, but since has come a long way. It has not only grown in size and quality but in scope as well. A few years ago the festival added a film component that has remainined very music focused in its programing. However, it has recently broadened its scope slowly to include more peripherally music-related fare like Sook-Yin Lee’s Year of the Carnivore, which is making its umpteenth Toronto film festival appearance.

This year also marks another expansion of the festival’s mandate with the premiere of its first interactive media conference, NXNEi. The conference kicked off the festival ahead of both the film and music schedules on Monday the 14th, though unlike the other two components which are far-reaching, it was restricted entirely to the Hyatt Regency Hotel.

NXNEi can safely be called a success and seemingly much-needed, considering it sold out, despite a limited mainstream media push, and included web luminaries such as the creative and audacious Ze Frank. With NXNEi, the festival in general took another step towards perhaps one day matching its venerable sister festival, South By Southwest, which has become unmissable both for indie music and new media followers.

This year, NXNE’s music lineup features 650 bands over five days and 50 venues with an increasingly kick-ass and extensive free lineup at Yonge and Dundas Square which includes not only The Raveonettes (8 pm on Sat. 19th),  Iggy and the Stooges (9:30 pm on Sat. 19th), and De La Soul (9 pm on Sun. 20th) but also 21 other great bands over four days (Thurs. 18th – Sun. 20th). In addition, there will be free shows all over the city from Union Station to Bellevue Park in Kensington with less established (and unspecified on the website at least) bands throughout the day. Single showcase tickets are available at the door of the venues, and the other two ticket options are 5 day festival ($50) or 1 day festival ($25) wristbands.

Check out some media show recommendations for further intel.

  • Now Magazine
  • Eye Weekly
  • Torontoist
  • blogTO