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1585 Dundas St. W.    Phone: 416 588-0307     This is just a sampling of the many nightly acts performing at this venue. For a complete line-up of events, please click here

194 Queen St. W.   Phone: 416 598-2475
This is just a sampling of the many nightly acts performing at this venue. For a complete line-up  click here

For More Jazz Club Info, Please Click Here

Small World's 6th Annual South Asian Music Series

::  Small World Music has produced another stellar lineup for one of their annual signature programs; the Sixth Annual South Asian Music Series. This year's program truly offers something for every kind of South Asian music aficionado, in a similarly varied range of performance environments.
  One of Small World's longest-standing friends, the legendary tabla master Zakir Hussain, brings his astonishing Masters of Percussion concert to Roy Thomson Hall (May 9). The Enwave Theatre at Harbourfront hosts rising Indo-Canadian vocalist and dance star Bageshree Vaze (May 4) and the Hindi poetry singers, Gundecha Brothers (May 24).
  Home base for the series is Toronto's foremost world-music destination, the Lula Lounge, with three diverse and spectacular evenings: a Toronto Indo-jazz celebration with Tasa and Monsoon that will kickoff Lulaworld 2008 (May 8); groundbreaking Indian classical-chillout fusion sensation Abhijit Pohankar (May 15); and the infectious Juno-nominated Indian classical/jazz/funk/fusion of Autorickshaw will close the series (May 29).
  For a complete listing of the series and artist's bios, please click here

May 4 - May 29  Lula Lounge, Harbourfront's Enwave Theatre, Roy Thomson Hall   |   For prices and times please click here

Lula World 2008

::   Each night in this year's festival was chosen for a unique reason.
  Contributors Amanda Martinez, Aline Morales, Fado Blues, and Luisito Orbegoso have all reached milestone points in their careers with debut CDs and projects garnering unprecedented attention from both fans and media.
  SalsaAfrica - the first band actually put together by Lula Lounge was included because it is the embodiment of the growth and crossover between communities in the toronto music scene.
  The two Thursdays of the series featuring Tasa and Abhijit Pohankarare were contributed by presenting partner Small World Music as part of this year's south Asian festival. Montreal's Psychotropical Orchestra adds some alter latino flair to the series and the culminating night of the festival welcomes a veritable giant of the New York salsa scene - Fania All Star and Eddie Palmieri violinist, Alfredo de la Fe - to perform with the Lula-All Stars under the direction of Luisito Orbegoso.
  For more details on Lula World 2008, please click here

May 8 - May 17   Lula Lounge, Harbourfront's Enwave Theatre, Roy Thomson Hall   |   Admission: $10 - $25 for show only, $59 for show plus dinner

The Keith Blackley Trust

::  The Toronto Jazz Community has always stepped forward when one of its key members is waylaid by difficult circumstances resulting from illness or other unplanned events.
  In keeping with this long-standing tradition, a special concert will take place on Sunday, May 18^th, from 3:30 to 6:30 PM at Toronto's epicenter of jazz, "The Rex Hotel & Jazz Bar", benefiting the newly-formed "Keith Blackley Trust".
  Keith is a long-time integral part of the jazz scene in Toronto, having performed and recorded as a drummer with numerous cutting edge ensembles throughout the 1970s and 1980s. He has continued to participate in the jazz community as an avid fan and supporter of various jazz foundations, such as our most precious purveyors of real jazz, CKLN FM 88.1.
  Keith Blackley is currently recouperating from cancer-related major surgery, and he may be convalescing for some time.
  While he is in recovery mode, LMC Media and The Blackley Family (headed up by patriarch and esteemed drum teacher and author, Jim Blackley) are establishing The Keith Blackley Trust, which will not only benefit Keith Blackley's children (Colin, Jordan and Nigel), but will also support jazz on an on-going basis with an annual concert and the eventual endowment of scholarships to be presented to emerging jazz artists for further studies and other jazz-related projects.
  This year's debut event will be hosted by noted broadcaster and jazz journalist, Ted O'Reilly. The concert will also feature a number of musicians who have recorded and performed with Keith, as well as some of Canada's award-winning "A-List" jazz players. Included in the stellar line-up are Terry Clarke, Michael Stuart, Bruce Cassidy, Don Vickery, Duncan Hopkins, Gary Benson, Frank Wright, David Occhipinti, Mike Murley, Archie Alleyne, Robi Botos, Artie Roth, Lorne Lofsky and Pat LaBarbera.

Sun. May 18 3:30 - 6:30 PM  Rex Hotel & Jazz Bar. 194 Queen St. W. ( at St. Patrick St. )  |  Suggested $10 donation

Art Of Jazz Celebration

::  Featuring three outdoor stages with additional venues located throughout the Distillery District, The Art of Jazz Celebration is a unique celebration of jazz that has quickly emerged as a forward-thinking cultural event to watch.
  This year's festival, taking place at Toronto's historic Distillery District, will include: legendary Brazilians Hermeto Pascoal and Egberto Gismonti, the Cindy Blackman Quartet, Kelly Lee Evans, Elizabeth Sheppard and a duo series featuring Sheila Jordan and Steve Kuhn as well as Randy Weston and Billy Harper.
  Other highlights of this year's event will include a tribute to CODA Magazine and Sackville Records founder John Norris, Canadian recipient of the Art of Jazz Lifetime Achievement Award, the popular 'Jazz for Juniors' program, as well as clinics and workshops.

June 4 - June 8   Distillery District, 55 Mill St.   |   Tickets for all performances and events are on sale now and are available online by clicking here or by calling 1 888 222-6608.

Waterfront Blues Festival

::   The Distillery Blues Festival has moved to Woodbine Park and The Bandshell in The Beaches where three days of free Blues entertainment will be presented.
  Artists booked for the festival include:
Duke Robillard - multi Blues Music & W.C. Handy Awards winner and nominee; Maple Blues Awards winner

Watermelon Slim & The Workers - multi Blues Music Awards nominee; 2008 Maple Blues Awards winner

Paul Reddick & The Sidemen - W.C. Handy , Juno, and Maple Blues Awards winner

Sharrie Williams - 2008 Blues Music Awards nominee

Fathead - Juno and Maple Blues Awards Winners

Gina Sicilia - 2008 Blues Music Awards nominee

Root Doctor - 2008 Blues Music Awards nominee

Steve Strongman - 2008 Maple Blues Awards nominee

June 6 - June 8   Woodbine Park Stage & The Bandshell in The Beaches  |  Admission: Free  For more information and concert schedules, please click here

Mohammad Reza Shajarian with the Ava Ensemble

::  Singer Mohammed Reza Shajarian is a living legend and one of the most recognizable voices in Iran – sweet, soulful and dynamic, and he is the undisputed master of Persian classical song.
  Originally the music of the medieval royal courts, Persian classical music is deeply spiritual, and linked to Islam's mystical Sufi tradition through devotional poetry. This hypnotic modal music is stately and reflective, a vehicle for meditation and contemplation that still allows room for remarkable flights of solo spontaneity. Traditionally, the music is performed by a vocalist and accompanist, with an emphasis on vocal ornamentation and improvisation.

Fri. June 6    Roy Thomson Hall, 60 Simcoe St.   |   Tickets: $49.50 - $69.50    Phone: 416 872-4255   Or to order online click here

TD Canada Trust Toronto Jazz Festival

::  The city's biggest music festival celebrates it's 22^nd anniversary as the TD Canada Trust Toronto Jazz Festival welcomes some of jazz's biggest names to  the annual music love-fest entertains more than 500,000 people over it's ten day span.
 This year's Festival promises more with the addition of 10 venues in the Festival circuit, including the Diesel Playhouse, which will host two concerts.
  Off the heels of two sold out performances this past February, 14 year old dynamo Nikki Yanofsky returns with another solo concert,  and other notable concerts guaranteed to keep you movin' and include the funk maestro himself, Maceo Parker, Local songstress / trumpeter Ivana Santilli takes to the stage at Revival performing tracks off her highly anticipated third release, underground hip hop producer and sample based instrument wizard RJD2 brings his trademark beats on four turntables, one of the finest jazz / R&B bass players in the business, Marcus Miller plays the Opera House, Travis Sullivan's 18 piece, genre-bending orchestra, Bjorkestra  successfully fuses the music of Bjork with the improvisational and innovative concepts of modern jazz, and much more.
  From bop to swing, cool to fusion and all musical points in between, Toronto will play host to a musical celebration like no other. Soak up the cool sounds of jazz as more than 350 concerts across 40 locations take over the city!

June 10 – June 29  Various venues    |   For ticket and full schedule information, please click here

The Bad Plus

::  The Bad Plus is a collective made up of bassist Reid Anderson, pianist Ethan Iverson, and drummer David King. All three members are from the Midwest and they have known each other since their teens. After spending their formative 20s apart -- King as a session player in Los Angeles, Iverson as the musical director for the prestigious Mark Morris Dance Group, Anderson as a prominent player on the rise in the New York jazz scene -- they reunited in 2000 to play a club date in Minneapolis. The chemistry was immediate and obvious. They planned a second gig and a one-day recording session for the indie jazz label Fresh Sound and The Bad Plus was born.
  On this same first gig, the nascent group played their first rock cover, Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit." Thus began The Bad Plus trademark of complementing original repertoire with their takes on mainstream pop "standards" including ABBA, Black Sabbath, Radiohead, the Bee Gees, Rush, David Bowie, Queen, Blondie, Aphex Twin, Neil Young, and Bjork.
  While the covers helped to spread their reputation, they comprise less than 20% of the band's live repertoire. Anderson, Iverson, and King are all composers in their own right, each boasting a distinctive style. Iverson's music is the more intellectual and complex, Anderson's the more melodic and romantic, and King's the more rhythmic and surreal.

Fri. June 13   @ 8:00 PM   Glenn Gould Studio, CBC Building, 250 Front St. W.   |   Tickets: $32.50    Phone: 416 872-4255

TD Canada Trust Toronto Jazz Festival: Al Green

::   With over 20 million records sold and multiple Grammy Awards to his credit, Al Green has firmly cemented his status among music's legendary figures.
  A definitive figure of soul music, Green rose to prominence during the 1970s with his incomparable voice, full of falsetto swoops and nuanced turns of phrase. Hits such as Let's Stay Together, I'm Still in Love With You, Call Me and Here I Am yielded Green six consecutive singles on the Top Ten charts during this time. Just as those who came before him, like Sam Cooke or Otis Redding, a new standard for soul music was set – one that blended the gritty down-home sensibility of Green's Memphis roots with the sweeter sounds of Motown.
  Voted Canada's Best Jazz Festival in Canada for the last two years, more than 1,500 musicians will entertain as the TD Canada Trust Toronto Jazz Festival gets underway this summer, running June 20 – June 29, 2008. From bop to swing, cool to fusion and all musical points in between, Toronto will play host to a musical celebration like no other. Soak up the cool sounds of jazz as more than 350 concerts across 40 locations take over the city!
  Tickets for Al Green go on sale Mar. 26

Thurs. June 19  Sony Centre For the Performing Arts, 1 Front St. E.   |   Tickets: call Ticketmaster at 416 870-8000 or for online purchase, please click here

Return To Forever

:: After a touring absence of more than 25 years, the potent jazz-rock flagship quartet edition of Return to Forever returns in 2008. This highly anticipated reunion will see the group's classic lineup—Corea on keyboards, Al Di Meola on guitar, Stanley Clarke on bass and Lenny White on drums.

June 25 @ 8:00 PM   Sony Centre For The Performing Arts,  1 Front St. E.   |   Tcikets:  $42 - $128   Available in person at the box office or online through Ticketmaster by clicking here
 

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Concert and Events-at-a-glance calendar  click here

Updated at the end of each month

©Torontowide.com 2002 - 2008

TD Canada Trust Toronto Jazz Festival
Announces 2008 Lineup

Ticketmaster (416) 870-8000 or www.ticketmaster.ca
For detailed listings, more club shows and free concerts visit www.torontojazz.com
 

GRANDMASTERS Series
6/28 – MICHEL LEGRAND TRIO w. PHIL WOODS (Quartetto Guido Basso opens)
8pm - Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts, $30 - $120
7/02 – DAVE BRUBECK QUARTET & TORONTO JAZZ FESTIVAL ORCHESTRA
8pm - Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts, $40 - $130
6/23 – OLIVER JONES TRIO / AHMAD JAMAL
8pm - Toronto Star Stage, Nathan Phillips Square, $40


Mainstage Concerts
8pm, Toronto Star Stage, Nathan Phillips Square

6/20 – DR. JOHN (opening w/ The Wild Magnolias) $40
6/21 – SUSAN TEDESCHI (opening w/ The John Hammond Quartet) $30
6/22 – ALTO SUMMIT feat. Donald Harrison, Red Holloway, Greg Osby & Bobby Watson (opening w/ Geri Allen Trio) $30
6/23 – OLIVER JONES TRIO / AHMAD JAMAL $40
6/24 – BIG BAD VOODOO DADDY (opening w/ James Hunter) $25
6/25 – BLIND BOYS OF ALABAMA (opening w/ Cyrus Chestnut Trio) $30
6/26 – SALUTE TO JAZZ AT THE PHILHARMONIC feat. ROY HARGROVE $35
6/27 – JOHN ABERCROMBIE ORGAN TRIO / MIKE STERN TRIO / JOHN SCOFIELD TRIO $30
6/28 – ARTURO SANDOVAL (opening w/ Hilario Duran Trio) $30
6/29 – SALIF KEITA (opening w/ Toby Foyeh & Orchestra Africa) $30


Enwave Theatre
8pm, Harbourfront Centre

6/22 – RENAUD GARCIA-FONS $25
6/23 – BILL CHARLAP & RENEE ROSNES $30
6/24 – MICHEL DONATO TRIO feat. MARIN NASTURICA & JON GEAREY $25
6/25 – CHARLES LLOYD NEW QUARTET $40
6/26 – ERNESTINE ANDERSON & HOUSTON PERSON $30
6/27 – e.s.t. $25


Special Presentations
6/20 – MACEO PARKER - Sound Academy, $25 adv / $30 door
6/20 – IVANA SANTILLI w/ John Kong - Revival $15
6/21 – THE BILLY'S BAND - El Mocambo $15 adv / $20 door
6/22 – NIKKI YANOFSKY - Diesel Playhouse, $40
6/22 – THE BILLY'S BAND - Healey's Roadhouse $15 adv / $20 door
6/25 – RJD2 - MOD Club, $21 adv
6/26 – MARCUS MILLER - Opera House, $27.50 adv / $32.50 door
6/29 – LIZZ WRIGHT - Diesel Playhouse, $40
6/29 – TRAVIS SULLIVAN'S BJORKESTRA – MOD Club $20


Cabaret Series
8pm, The Old Mill Inn, 21 Old Mill Road

6/23 – MARCUS NANCE $30
6/24 – BILL CHARLAP & SANDY STEWART $40
6/25 – JUDITH LANDER & PHILIPPE NOIREAUT $30
6/26 – JUDITH LANDER & PHILIPPE NOIREAUT $30
6/27 – PATTI LOACH & PATTY ZENTILLI $30
6/28 – LOUISE PITRE & JOHN ALCORN $40


Supermarket Jazz Series
9:30pm, Supermarket, 268 Augusta Avenue

6/20 – THE NATIONAL PARCS w/ special guest Grand Analog10pm $10 adv
6/21 – Do Right! Saturdays w/ John Kong, DJ Fase & Circle Research
6/22 – Freefall Sundays, Open Mic
6/23 – TONY MONACO TRIO $17.50 adv / $22.50 door
6/24 – JAKE LANGLEY TRIO $15 adv / $20 door
6/25 – RYAN SHAW $17.50 adv / $22.50 door
6/26 – AMANDA MABRO $10 adv / $12 door
6/27 – JOSÉ JAMES QUARTET $10 adv / $15 door
6/28 – ALICE RUSSELL 9:30pm & 11:30pm, $17.50 adv / $22.50 door
6/29 – MEAGHAN SMITH 7pm, $10 adv / $12.50 door


The Pilot Tavern
22 Cumberland Street

6/20 – JULIE MICHELS- PARLEY $12
6/21 – ADAM SMALE TRIO $12
6/22 – ANDREW SCOTT QUINTET $12
6/23 – LUIS MARIO OCHOA $12
6/24 – CHRIS TARRY GROUP $15
6/25 – LESTERDAYS $12
6/26 – GENE BERTONCINI $20
6/27 – RITMO FLAMENCO $15
6/28 – DON THOMPSON REG SCHWAGER QUARTET $15
6/29 – ROXANNE POTVIN $15


Lunchtime Concert Series
12 Noon, FREE, Toronto Star Stage, Nathan Phillips Square

6/20 – GARY MORGAN & PANAMERICANA!
6/21 – CLASSIC JAZZ PARTY (1pm)
6/22 – EFFENDI JAZZ LAB (1pm)
6/23 – ART TATUM, PIANO STARTS HERE, BERNIE SENENSKY TRIO
6/24 – SAINT-JEAN-BAPTISTE DAY FEAT. MICHEL BERUBE, CHANTAL CHAMBERLAND & GEORGE EVANS
6/25 – LAILA BIALI TRIO
6/26 – QUINTETTO DENNER
6/27 – GALLOWAY'S SURPRISE SWING SESSION
6/28 – RICHARD WHITEMAN QUARTET (1pm)
6/29 – DAVIDSON MURLEY BRAID QUINTET (1pm)


Afterwork Concert Series
5pm, FREE, Primus Stage, Nathan Phillips Square

6/20 – FELIX STUSSI & GIVE ME FIVE
6/21 – STEVE KOVEN'S PROJECT REX (4pm)
6/22 – SLIDING HAMMERS (4pm)
6/23 – OUT OF ORBIT
6/24 – L'ORKESTRE DES PAS PERDUS
6/25 – CARLOS BICA & AZUL
6/26 – ALEXIS BARO SEXTET
6/27 – BILL KING'S SATURDAY NITE FISH FRY
6/28 – SOULJAZZ ORCHESTRA (4pm)
6/29 – NATURALLY 7 (4pm)
 

For more information, please click here
 

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