Concert Review: Jazz At Lincoln Center Take Massey Hall

Originally published on Torontoist, February 24, 2012

When the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra took the stage at Massey Hall on Thursday night, and music director and trumpeter Wynton Marsalis told the capacity crowd the band would be starting with “Calling The Indians Out,” from his Pulitzer Prize winning jazz oratorio, Blood on the Fields, there was thunderous applause. Then, almost scoldingly, a bemused Marsalis warned them, “Don’t clap first.”

Such is the mark of a musician who is always striving to move forward, even while working to preserve the past. If nine Grammy Awards and the worldwide sale of nearly five million copies of his recordings haven’t made Marsalis complacent, one has to wonder if anything would.

Much of the evening’s program was dedicated to Marsalis’ own compositions, written for big band, in a nod to his yearlong celebration of his fiftieth birthday.

Along with “Blood on the Fields,” we heard “Bamboula Dance,” from Congo Square(co-written by Yacub Addy), which is a composition dedicated to the New Orleans landmark that was the original breeding ground for jazz. Victor Goines, whom Marsalis called “perhaps the last of the great Creole clarinetists from New Orleans,” was featured on that number.

After New Orleans, we headed to New York with two works from a mass Marsalis composed for the 200th anniversary of the Abyssinian Baptist Church in Harlem. The throbbing bass line, call-and-response goodness, and singing alto sax of Sherman Irby on “You’ve Got to Watch the Holy Ghost” was enough to make this brunch-loving atheist understand why all those folks get up so early on Sunday mornings.

The official program ended with the climax of Marsalis’ composition, Big Train, “The Caboose,” which showed Marsalis and company’s infectious sense of fun on the bandstand to full effect. Even though, as the program notes say, “Brooks Brothers is the official clothier of the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra,” when the music is swinging this hard, all those sharp-dressed men look like happy little kids. 

There isn’t a weak link in the band, but standouts this particular evening included young trombonist Vincent R. Gardner, the always-elegant Joe Temperley on baritone sax, and the absolutely rock-solid rhythm section of Dan Nimmer on piano, Carlos Henriquez on bass, and Ali Jackson on drums.

Interview with Victor Goines from Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra

Previously published on Torontoist, February 23, 2012

Victor Goines went to kindergarten with jazz superstar Wynton Marsalis and, forty-plus years later, they’re still making music together.

If you’re a jazz nerd, you’ve been listening to and admiring Victor Goines for years. Born in New Orleans in 1961, Goines’s talent on all manner of saxophone and on the clarinet has led him to play with some folks you may have heard of, like Ray Charles, Bob Dylan, B.B. King, Diana Ross, and Stevie Wonder. Tonight, he will be appearing with Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra; we spoke with him on the phone after he wrapped a rehearsal in New York.

Torontoist: You’ve been with the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra since 1993, so this isn’t your first trip to Toronto. Any thoughts on the city and what it’s like to play at Massey Hall, a venue with such a solid jazz pedigree?

Goines: You know, Massey Hall, that’s special for the obvious reasons. Many, many great musicians have spent their time up in there, including that legendary recording with Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie. So to be a part of that tradition is fantastic. Who would turn down the opportunity to play where Charlie Parker did? Or where Dizzy Gillespie played? That’s about the closest we can get to them, in fact.

What can we expect from the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra on February 23?

One of the things about Jazz at Lincoln Center, and Wynton as Artistic Director, is our mantra that “all jazz is modern.” We’re willing to play, and we have the capability to play, things that come from the early parts of jazz history from New Orleans and then we’ll turn around and play not only something that has been created recently but something that has been created recently by a member of the band. We like to believe, and I think we’ve been somewhat successful, that we play the history of jazz. And that’s what our audience anticipates. We also have a large enough book [repertoire] that it allows us to really cater to the needs of our audience, because the audience is a very important part of the music. We may have a program picked but if that program turns out to be not ideal for that audience, Wynton has been know to change direction and play something else that he thinks will bring the audience more into the program.

Wynton comes by that behaviour naturally too, doesn’t he? His father Ellis (a piano player), who you’ve studied and played with over the years in New Orleans, is notorious for not planning programs ahead of time. That keeps the players on their feet, doesn’t it?

Yes, that’s very accurate! You know, as a student of Ellis’ and playing in his band for eight years, I’d say that was one of the most educational things in the world…that might be where Wynton gets some of that particular behaviour. 

Right now in Toronto we’re facing more budget cuts, and what some might even call hostility toward the arts, especially in schools. I’m wondering if you have any thoughts, as an educator with years as head of the jazz program at Julliard and now in your capacity at Northwestern, on the impact these cuts have on students?

Well, it’s difficult. What they’re doing by cutting arts in schools is taking away children’s exposure to music. And not just jazz, but to all music. So therefore, now, the average kid has no exposure at all. We always say at Jazz at Lincoln Center that music makes us better people. Everybody’s not going to be a professional musician and that’s not really that important. The prize is not being the best; the prize is being a participant. 

Tell us about your new Quartet recording, Twilight.

Twilight is a CD that definitely needed to come out now, because it’s been seven years since my last release. It’s on my own record label and it’s 10 of my different compositions…I like to take the opportunity, when I do a recording, to explore all the different avenues of what I can do. The Quartet is a group of really talented young musicians working with me, who are all former students of mine.

That’s so cool to see. Do you find it gratifying playing with your former students?

It is gratifying. I try to make sure whenever I play with them, that I recognize them on the bandstand so they know how I feel about them. You know, I remember years ago, Ellis Marsalis told me “never get on a bandstand with anyone you’re not willing to get in a fox hole with.” You have to trust the people you’re with. And it is very gratifying when your former students come to that level.

It also means you taught them well.

They taught me a lot of things along the way too.

Molly Johnson on the music business, motherhood, and letting the air out of Aretha's tires.

Previously published on Torontoist, November 27, 2012

Juno-winning jazz singer (and Torontonian) Molly Johnson hits the stage at Massey Hall November 30 to launch the venue’s 2013 jazz season. Audiences can expect a healthy dose of her trademark wit—also on display every weekend on CBC Radio 2—and the luxurious song-stylings that have made her an international sensation. Just like Jerry Lewis, Johnson is an honest to goodness big deal in France, and she is set to debut at Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola at Jazz at Lincoln Center in January. Her Massey Hall show will feature the Regent Park School of Music, which is as good a reminder as any of just how civic-minded she can be. Our interview is below.

Torontoist: We’re here today to talk about your upcoming concert at Massey Hall. A daunting venue to be sure, but you’re no stranger to iconic Toronto venues. I remember hearing a story about your first experiences on stage working at the Royal Alexandra as a little girl…

Johnson: I was not much more than a prop on stage. I was very young and they would shoo me out and then someone would take my hand and walk me off. I remember missing a lot of school and loving it. Ed Mirvish used to come watch us rehearse, standing at the back row of the Royal Alex, and would ask me to talk to him from the stage. He’d say “Don’t yell, this is the most beautiful theatre in the world!” I didn’t have any singing lessons, but back then, Ed Mirvish was my vocal coach.

He gave you good advice, too!

Yeah, we don’t need to yell. I can hear you perfectly when you speak to me with confidence and clarity, and so that was a big lesson from Ed. I guess other lessons were things like, always leave them wanting a little more and always take that beat before you walk on.

You always do that in concert settings!

I always do that, I do. I take that moment thinking about a lot of things. History and stuff, before I walk out there for sure. The other thing that was great about those days is that it was just a phone call to the house and down we would come. It was like going to camp! It was like a hobby that the family did, it wasn’t a career or anything other than a fun thing that we did as a family.

You try to keep that spirit in your work even today, don’t you?

I totally do. I feel like I was born in a trunk. I have always been doing some sort of monkey business!

There’s a kind of family atmosphere on the stage with your band. Is that the group that you’ve got on the 30th?

Yeah, the usual suspects! Robi Botos and Mike Downes and Larnell Lewis. My dad was a gym teacher, he was all about the importance of teams, and every position was important to the overall game. I have always come to the stage with a great team, and understanding that playing to their strengths and allowing my musicians the space to be fantastic works. And I am a bit lazy! I love to sit and listen to them play! I am a big believer in the team and that you don’t do anything alone.

Molly Johnson at the Ritz Carlton Hotel, Toronto (Photo by Tracey Nolan)

That’s certainly the game plan for your Massey Hall show on November 30. You’ll be featuring kids involved with the Regent Park School of Music.

I love the idea of opening up stuff that I fought so hard for to others. I’m also really interested in children’s music programs and that really scary corridor for all parents that work. That time period between 3 p.m. and 6 p.m. when they get home. We’ve lost a lot of kids in that time zone, and it doesn’t matter how affluent you are or not. This is a very dangerous time. I am a big believer in after-school programs, and Regent Park School of Music has been doing this particular bit of business for years where they’ve been teaching young children.

This is not just music. They have homework club. They have a lot of different places, ways for kids to plug in, but music is their over-arching business. It’s been proven over and over again how important music is for kids. It’s one of the things that gets cut first in our school programs and it worries me greatly. You talk to a great scientist or a great doctor or an interesting lawyer, and I guarantee you, they will have played an instrument as a child. It’s just a thing. It doesn’t mean that you go on to becoming a professional musician, but it definitely makes your brain work a particular way.

I also think in learning to play an instrument, you become a more informed audience in later life. There’s nothing a performer loves better than an informed audience, an audience that truly appreciates and understands the skill and dedication and focus and discipline to get to this point. It’s just a way better show if you’ve got an educated audience, and why not start young? I guess in answer to your question, I’ve brought along the Regent Park School of Music choir to do a few songs with me right off the top… I think we all love the sound of kids’ voices. It’s so pure, and I love that. Also, in the lobby, during our intermission, we’ll have another group of kids from the Jane and Finch area playing pan drum. The idea is that all my CD sales will go to this music program.

That’s really cool. Can you tell us about some of the special guests that are going to be joining you on stage that night?

Yes. Elizabeth Shepherd is a beautiful voice on the jazz scene. What I love about her is that she writes her own material as well as just beautiful interpretations of standards. She’s a great musician. She plays the piano, something I’m very envious of. I’m very envious of that skill. She’s a new mom, and that’s always interesting to see, how any working mom is going to sort that out. It’s a challenge to any working moms. Whether you’re a musician or a bank-teller, it’s a thing to work out. It’s always interesting to me to see others struggle with their balance. I know a lot about that. I’ve got other sort of surprises through the evening: a young, young guitar player, a Canadian kid name Lucian Gray. Lucian Gray was the first Canadian to get a full music scholarship to Berkeley. He’s going to rip the roof off Massey Hall. He’s just going to! To me, he is the future of jazz. He is very exciting.

I’m wondering what the first concert you ever saw Massey Hall was.

The first thing I probably saw at Massey Hall was one of those massive choirs, and I—probably in a public school situation—sang in one of those massive choirs at Massey Hall.

So many of us did, right?

So many of us did. I’ll say though that, a couple of weeks ago, I went to Massey Hall just to have a walk around to remind myself of what the heck I have gotten myself into. It’s one thing to stand on an empty stage and look out and see all those empty seats and really just hope and pray that they get filled. That’s a bit daunting because there’s a lot of red empty seats when you look that way. Then you turn around and look at the stage and realize just how huge that stage is. It was built to accommodate symphonies and choral music and choirs and big stuff. When you see it naked and you can see that back wall, you realize, I have to not only just fill these seats, but I have to put something on the stage and it better be good, or I’m in big trouble. That was something, to have a deep look at that stage empty like that, for sure.

Is it different performing at home than it is internationally? I mean, you’re such a big deal in France, how does that compare to home?

It’s crazy, but France’s landmass, you can put two and half Frances into Ontario. There are over 48 million people living in France. I don’t think we have 48 million people in Canada. When the artists lament about Canadians not loving culture, I say, “No, no, Canadians love their culture.” We love it, but we’re a very large country, very low population, and very diverse. Extremely diverse. We have a huge country music scene. We have a huge Asian music scene. We have a huge French-Canadian music scene. We have huge pockets, but there’s not a lot of us. So, my advice to Canadian artists is find other markets to supplement your Canadian market. Don’t try and put it off to, “Canadians don’t like culture.” Are you kidding me? They love it. We love it. We especially love our own.

I think so.

I feel very loved and very cherished here.

Anytime I see you perform, I feel that coming from the audience. It’s always a bit of a love fest.

Yeah, it should be a bit of a love fest, especially since Aretha Franklin’s cancelled! 

Wait. What?

Aretha was booked for the same night at Roy Thomson Hall! It was a bit of a nightmare for me. Of all the voices in the world, Aretha. I was threatening to go down to New Jersey and let the air out her tour bus tires. [She laughs.] You can print that. I gotta do what I gotta do. Everybody’s paying for this Massey Hall show. My mother bought a ticket. Everybody’s paying. I’ve got to fill seats. If you really love me, you’ll cough up the 35 bucks and come see my ass. My mother’s giving me the gears. I just say, “I have to use you as an example, Mama. I know you’re 80, (laughs) I don’t care.”