The second act of a double bill, having just returned to earth after witnessing an Anthony Braxton performance during the first act, featured William Parker Ensemble, who performed a one act suite on "The Inside Songs of Curtis Mayfield" that seemed like a throwback to another period of time. How fitting that the civil rights movement, free thinking and questioning the motives of the powers that be, can ring as true today as they did during the civil rights movement and the peace marches of the

The AIM Toronto Orchestra conducted by Anthony Braxton put on an audio sensory show that for the most part sounded out of this world. An 18-member orchestra had been assembled from the rank and file members of The Association of Improvising Musicians Toronto; this organization was founded in late 2004 by Ken Aldcroft, Rob Clutton, Nick Fraser, and Joe Sorbara as a result of meetings with Vancouver guitarist and former New Orchestra Workshop (NOW) Artistic Director, Ron Samworth. In January 2005,

The theme for the 14th annual Guelph Jazz Festival - People Get Ready, The Future of Jazz is Now, held true to that concept and could even have been stated as the future of jazz is among us; it is youthful, energetic, alive, well and ever creative. The festival for those who may not be aware is the penultimate venue in North America for jazz experimentation, exploration and collaboration in performance and composition. Jazz mentors, legends, educators, master musicians and leaders in their fi

The northern jazz scene is alive and well, Molly Johnson performs to a near capacity audience, as witnessed by me while on holiday in cottage country this past week. Having missed Molly Johnson's recent performance in Toronto, this seemed like the perfect opportunity to check out her performance in support of her new CD, Messin' Around. Another good reason that motivated me was the idea of a new theatre, checking out the Algonquin Theatre going into its third season of existence, offic

Mela as he likes to be known took to the Pure Spirits Stage and at once became at one with the spirits of the Historic Distillery District. He explained to the audience that he had a new album and he would be playing most of the songs from the album, he said, "I would like to tell you what I’m trying to do, I want to combine the Afro Cuban with jazz and free jazz." Francisco Mela has that smokey sounding voice, of a raw Flamenco singer, full of passion and fire. He played with mallets and cre