It's 25 years old, so one would think the TD Toronto Jazz Festival would be entitled to rest on its laurels a bit. Instead, festival organizers continue to evolve the 10-day event and look for fresh ways to draw new audiences, while keeping loyal fans entertained.
So this year's line-up of over 300 shows has lots of traditional and established jazz acts and plenty that are colouring outside the lines, too. And there's funk. Churnin' urns of burnin' funk, to paraphrase James Taylor.
In the first category, The Dave Brubeck Quartet is back for another year, this time playing at the acoustically beautiful Koerner Hall on June 24. At 91 years old, the piano player and pioneer of polyrhythms, has, by all accounts, still got it and puts on an amazing show. Other well known established players are Return to Forever on June 28 and the Dave Holland Quintet on June 25.
A little less tradtional and sometimes uncharacterizable are improvisational acts such as Trio M and The Ugly Beauties, both playing during the Incubator series at the Music Gallery. A different sort of non-traditional act is the celebrated soprano Jessye Norman who's at Koerner on June 28. It's always interesting to hear opera singers try their hand at a different genre. You can take the girl out of the opera, but you can't take the opera out of the girl, I guess.
Average White Band is an act you probably thought you'd never see again, especially not at a jazz festival, but I'm going to be front and centre at the mainstage for this one, gettin' down again to "Pick Up the Pieces." Other acts bringing the funk/soul/R&B/hip hop are The Roots on July 1, Bootsy Collins July 2 and Aretha Franklin who opens the festival with a free concert on June 24. Get out your elbow pads for that one.
Another new aspect this year is the change in main stage locale to the newly renamed Pecaut Square at King between Simcoe and John Streets. In the centre of the Entertainment District and close to many of the clubs and other venues hosting the festival this year, the location is ideal for music fans who want to take in as much as possible.
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