In this issue:
1. Event notes: Highlights around the corner,
coming up, and a little further down the road. Lots to get
excited about
2. Awards: Juno congratulations, Songlines Awards nominees
1. EVENT NOTES
There are extensive updates to the
event page recently.
Check it out, and make plans for a great musical ride in the next
few months. There's so much coming up in the near future, and in the
next few months (and the next year), that it's worth looking over
the listings, if just for the sense of anticipation. Here are some
highlights to whet your appetite.
a) A reminder of a few notable events this
weekend:
Friday: a tribute to the
late Ethiopian singing legend, Tilahun Gessesse who died
last April.
Francis Falceto,
who assembled the superb
Ethiopiques
series of CD's (now well over 20 volumes) called him "the
absolute and unequalled icon for an entire country". News and
biographical information about him, along with audio and video
links are available
here. As well, here's a
video clip of him performing a couple of years ago in Los
Angeles.
The night will
feature a lineup of some of Toronto's top Ethiopian and other
musicians, along with DJ AfroSonic.
Proceeds will
go to People to People Canada, a non profit organization that
assists HIV/AIDS orphans in Ethiopia and engages in HIV/AIDS
awareness and prevention programs in the Ethiopian-Canadian
community.
www.p2pcanada.org.
Friday and Saturday nights,
the great Cuban guitarist, Eliades Ochoa, makes his first
Toronto appearance in several years, playing at the Royal
Theatre on College St. in Little Italy. Leader of the
long-standing Cuban group, Cuarteto Patria, his career took a
big upturn when he became a key part in the Buena Vista Social
Club. His profile may be much larger now, but his music is as
wonderful as ever. A real treat. $59 at Soundscapes,
Ticketmaster and other outlets. A video clip of him performing
here.
Friday night, the
Trane Studio,
an excellent small club on Bathurst, celebrates its 7th
anniversary with performers including Waleed Abdulhamid and
Kahil El'Zabar from Chicago, trumpeter Brownman, and others.
b) There are a lot of other
particularly interesting shows coming up in the next few weeks;
check out the event listings. Just a few of them:
Jaffa Road and Yair Dalal
together at Hugh's Room, Apr. 25
Rahat Fateh Ali Khan at Roy Thomson, Apr. 30
The Henrys at Hugh's Room the same date
Carolina Chocolate Drops, May 4 at Hugh's
And as well, Small World Music has a few upcoming shows to look
for
Plus a great double-bill at
the Gladstone, May 7: Tichoana Maredza Quartet in the Melody Bar
(free). He's a member of Masaisai and has toured and played with
Oliver Mtukudzi. At 10, Njacko Backo and Kalimba host a huge
lineup of musicians, including Adam Solomon, Diana Braithwaite &
Chris Whiteley, Muhatadi and many more to raise funds for the
École Saint Albert Le Grand
in Bazou, Cameroon.
c) And it's now time to look down the road to
the great music festival season. Check the events page for more
info:
The annual
LulaWorld
festival. This year, it runs from May 5-30, with shows
most days (sometimes two!). It features its usual eclectic array
of music and musicians from Canada and around the world. This
year, it has a special focus
on the contributions made to
Canadian music culture by Latin America. Some excellent nights
have been booked.
Luminato:
Already noted here and elsewhere, it includes two amazing free
days of music in Queen's Park, June 12 & 19; no doubt those will
be among the year's highlights. There will be another free day
of world music on June 20; details not yet announced.
Toronto Jazz
Festival: the full line-up has been announced, and this year
includes a number of excellent roots artists, listed on the
events page. (The one to watch for in my opinion, is the Mavis
Staples/Allen Toussaint double bill). The full festival line up
is on the Festival website
Harbourfront weekends: One of the highlights of a Toronto
summer, the theme weekends, along with a few performers are now
announced
"The Divas": not an event, but there is a
remarkable run of 4 days with some great women singers starting
June 28: Cesaria Evora and Lura on a double bill at Roy Thomson
Hall, and then Bettye LaVette, Mavis Staples and Angelique Kidjo
on consecutive nights during the Toronto Jazz Festival.
Other shows that might catch your eye include
in May: Sharon Jone; Jason Wilson & Friends; June: Oliver
Schroer tribute/posthumous CD Release; Kevin Breit CD Release;
Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu, the highly distinctive Australian
aboriginal singer; Grievous Angel, a musical play about the late
Gram Parsons; July: Jimmy Cliff; Jane Bunnett's African-Cuban
Blues Summit with Jumpin' Johnny Sansone, Madagascar Slim and
Bill King; Alpha Yaya Diallo; and the Holmes Brothers in
August.
Koerner Hall:
The excellent Baaba Mall concert earlier this month was my first
opportunity to experience this new venue. Indeed, all the rave
reviews of it have been true. Great sound, great sightlines
(from virtually any seat), and quite beautiful. A great place to
truly experience music. (Except it's not a place you'll often
get a chance to dance to the music).
Fortunately, that sold-out show might have
helped encourage the Hall to book more world music shows for its
next season which has
just been announced. Concerts to watch for include October:
Buika, Hugh Masekela; November: "New Orleans Nights" with Allen
Toussaint, Nicholas Payton & the Joe Krown Trio; January: the
annual Maple Blues Awards; March: "Acoustic Africa" with Habib
Koité, Oliver Mtukudzi and Afel Bacoum; April: the Johnny
Clegg Band.
