Oh là là.

For those of you out of the francophone-music-loop, Serge Gainsbourg is often considered to be one of the world’s most influential popular musicians. He experimented with every genre of music, from jazz to reggae, to rock and roll to mambo, to so many more. And he did them all well.

So, basically, we have a ridiculously talented French man who somehow manages to look fierce in a pinstripe suit jacket. I guess it’s true that le français est la langue de l’amour, because I have fallen hard.

Excuse me while I swoon.

blogUT is teaming up with the wonderful members of EFUT (check out their new shirts – sont-ils pas magnifiques?) to give away five double passes to an advanced (subtitled) screening of Gainsbourg: Vie Héroïque at the Cumberland Cinema (159 Cumberland Street) on Wednesday, September 14 at 7pm. The film depicts Serge Gainsbourg’s life, from his childhood in Nazi-occupied France to his rise to fame, as well as his steamy love affairs with Juliette Gréco, Jane Birken and Brigitte Bardot, who’s played by French beauty Letita Casta. César Award-winning actor Eric Elmosnino is featured as the title role.

The perfect movie for date night? I think so.

All you have to do to enter your name into the draw is post a YouTube video of your favourite French song as a comment. Comments will be accepted up until 11:59pm on Sunday, September  11th and we’ll be emailing the contest winners on Monday, September 12th. Please note that we will only accept entries from those who provide us with a utoronto email address.

So post a comment so that you can whip out le champagne, throw on your beret, and marchez on over to the Cumberland Cinema with that quelqu’un de spécial!
Or you can just bring a friend. That works too.

For all of you (and that’s all of you!) getting ready for those late nights of studying for exams, this little refresher is just for you! Performed by GEAK, this music video pays tribute to our favourite hideaway at U of T…that cement block dungeon we like to call “Robarts Library”. Good luck on exams all!

I am always on the lookout for free and fun events happening around campus. My hunt has led me to join the Facebook group of virtually every Student Union, it’s caused me to mark down every Varsity game and every free commuter pancake breakfast. Recently, however, I have discovered the gem that is the Hart House Orchestra. This past Thursday I went to go see a friend of mine perform; I was told that the event was free and to arrive early as the Grand Hall fills up fast. So, I entered the very formal and beautiful Great Hall about forty minutes early. . . only to find the room pretty much full already! I found a seat, and watched as the men in suit jackets and women dressed in varying degrees of “dressy-ness” funneled in to the room.

It was packed by the time eight o clock rolled around. And by packed, I mean people had pulled in their own chairs, people were crammed against walls—standing—and there were more people hovering in the entrance. The Orchestra finally started up with Tchaikovsky’s Slavonic March, Op. 31. If you don’t know what that is, don’t worry, I’m more into rock music myself. You don’t need to know the song to enjoy it, and enjoy it I did! It was amazing! I felt like I had fallen into some other century, some other time when music meant hours upon hours of preparation to learn how to play something perfectly; it was a huge contrast to a lot of the music on my iPod, which a kindergartner could produce in about half an hour using the right computer.

The Hart House Orchestra really is an amazing, and relatively secretive, jewel of U of T. Alumni, students,  and faculty at U of T all comprise this magnificently talented group of 80-90 musicians that get together and perform.  Speaking as someone who enjoys most music, and loves concerts in general, this was an amazing experience, and my wallet enjoyed it as well.  I discovered a new love for Russian composers, and also for the Hart House Orchestra. If you are interested in having a fun musical night, check out their website for more information, and also for updates on their next concert. Or, just check out their Facebook group (which just so happens to have this amazing tagline: “Rockin’ the House Since 1976“).

This year’s Toronto Jazz Festival played host to two legendary groups in two awe-inspiring and sold-out venues: The Dave Brubeck Quartet at Koerner Hall on Tuesday and The Keith Jarrett Trio with Gary Peacock and Jack DeJohnette at The Four Seasons Opera Centre on Wednesday. The Dave Brubeck Quartet gave a solid performance but one that has become somewhat less of a novelty since it was nearly identical to his concert last year and the year before. The Keith Jarrett Trio, on the other hand, gave a concert of sheer ingenuity and brilliance from start to finish, though I’d expect nothing less from this group of masters.

Dave Brubeck Quartet

On Tuesday, the current rendition of the Dave Brubeck Quartet, with Bobby Millitello on saxophone, Michael Moore on bass, and Randy Jones on drums, took the stage at Koerner Hall for one set of standards and one set of what Brubeck does best: his own pieces in odd time signatures. In the first set, they played, among others, “Gone with the Wind”, “Somewhere Over the Rainbow”, “On the Sunny Side of the Street”, and a medley of Duke Ellington Songs: “C Jam Blues”, “Mood Indigo” and “Take the A Train”. The interpretations were competent and fun to listen to, but this really isn’t where Brubeck shines and there are other pianists who have better renditions of these pieces. Nevertheless, it was nice to hear a few pieces that weren’t performed in the last couple of years. (more…)

On Monday night, I squeezed into a horribly uncomfortable, plastic seat down at Nathan Phillips Square to enjoy what can only be described as a fabulous evening of jazz music, albeit with lame acoustics. The Dave Young Quartet opened the evening with local jazz piano virtuoso Robi Botos, Botos’s brother Frank on drums, Kevin Turcotte on trumpet, and band leader Dave Young on bass. The group played a solid set which included “Me and the Boys” by Coleman Hawkins, “Mean What You Say”, Cole Porter’s “Dream Dancing”, and a very beautiful Danish folksong. The band was at its best when Dave Young and Robi Botos took centre stage, either with the melody or their melodious solos. These two are very talented Canadian musicians, staples of the Toronto jazz scene and for good reason.

After intermission, the high energy Stanley Clarke Band featuring Hiromi took the stage by storm with Clarke on electric and acoustic bass, Hiromi on a Yamaha grand piano, Ruslan Sirota on keyboards, and Ronald Bruner Jr on drums. Clarke started out the evening with some electric bass, which proves that if he were a less serious musician he could have been a seriously big-time rock star: he’s cool, he’s assured, and he’s incredibly good. Clarke took good advantage of the portability of the electric bass to move around the stage and play some great call and response music with each of his musicians, standing up close to them, one by one, and jamming.

At the end of the first piece, an audience member shouted out “You’re the king, Stanley” and Clarke responded “I’m just a bass player, that’s all”. But he is the king, not because he can be a rock star, but because of his incredible talent and skill on the bass. He is a one-of-a-kind bass player who can take the melody and have it work, who can play at the top and the bottom of the piece, and who can make melodic music with just a few notes. Of course, his mastery is best show-cased on what is thankfully his preferred instrument, the acoustic bass. After the first piece, much to my surprise and glee, Clarke set aside his electric bass in favour of the acoustic bass, and moved us into some middle ground between jazz and jazz fusion, but far enough away from pure fusion that I was happy. It was especially a treat to hear some pieces from the “Jazz in the Garden” album such as Clarke’s “Paradigm Shift (Election Day)”.

The group then went on to play a Return to Forever piece, which was even better than the first piece and featured a truly memorable drum solo by Bruner. When he lost his first drum stick during the solo, Clarke turned to him and said “you lost your drumstick! WOW!”. And then the comedy routine began: in the middle of his solo he starts beating the drum with his foot so that his hands are free to take a drink and wipe his face. Once he’s using both hands again, with a new soon-to-be-lost drumstick, he starts beating the drums in a regular pattern. As the pattern becomes familiar, Bruner encourages the audience to clap along, when he decides to mischeviously skip a beat as though to say to us “hah! got you! didn’t play that note!”. (more…)

Glorious day 2 in the festival but day one for us took place in the hipster netherworld of West Queen West where we could hop between several NXNE venues quickly and repeatedly. It all began at 9 pm.

Mountains & The Trees @ Gladstone Hotel Ballroom

As I got there it was barely 9 pm and the Gladstone ballroom was practically empty despite the show and first band having started at 8 pm. The thin crowd was mostly media by the looks of the plentiful amount of expensive professional DSLR cameras in sight. The Mountains & The Trees, a friendly looking guy/girl duo was introduced refreshingly in an honestly enthusiastic way by a CBC Radio 2 personality. Fronted by Jon Janes, fittingly and perhaps purposely dressed in a classic logo CBC sweater, on acoustic guitar and Jillian Freeman on a rotating everything else, The Mountains are a likable folk band from the Maritimes that exude earnest rustic charm. Their music is light and sprightly, simple and sparing, consisting of personal story/narratives that have a small town nostalgia mixed with a yearning for bigger and greater things. They’re at their strongest with their more energetic songs and when they sing duet. Janes has an easy and welcoming style which he paired with humorous soft spoken but interesting banter. On another song named “Carry On” he prefaces it with the fact that everywhere they played it in Europe, people mentioned how Canadian it was…joking that it most likely was due to the fact that it fondly recalls snow mitts, trees, and the outdoors. Freeman is an able accompanist switching easily from xylophone to harmonium, bells, and various percussion instruments while also doing backup vocals. The band wrapped up their set with Janes doing a song, “Letters to a friend”, a classic folk parable, solo in an even more intimate form in front of the stage amongst the now slightly bigger crowd. With its steady beats and dreamy storytelling vibe, The Mountains & The Trees is a band I would imagine would be the perfect soundtrack to be listening on a sunny long distance car trip across the Canadian landscape. (more…)

The Toronto Jazz Festival is coming up soon and this year has a particularly exciting line-up from both local and international acts, at affordable prices ranging from free to $40 for the main shows, and a bit more for the concert hall shows. But what should you see? Read on to find out BlogUT’s picks for the best shows to see each day and keep your eyes peeled on BlogUT for upcoming interviews with Alex Pangman, Hiromi, and Joshua Redman. We’ll also be posting reviews of the shows during the festival.

June 25th - 3PM, The Hogtown Syncopators @ The Rex (no cover); 5PM,  Alex Pangman & Her Alleycats @ Nathan Phillips Square (FREE)

The Hogtown Syncopators specialize in that old 1930s/1940s swing sound and they are darn good at it. But the real reason to check them out is to see the amazing virtuoso violinist, saxophonist, and singer, Drew Jurecka, one of Toronto’s most treasured musicians. I saw him perform with Alex Pangman & Her Alleycats in early June and was floored by his talent. His best instrument is the violin, but if you had only heard him play sax, it would be nothing to complain about. The Hogtown Syncopator’s lead singer can also belt it out and is worth a see. You can check them out on YouTube. Check out Alex Pangman & Her Alleycats at Nathan Phillips Square at 5PM for a free concert, and be transported back to the 1920s-40s for a wonderful good time. Keep your eyes peeled for our BlogUT interview with Alex Pangman.

June 26th – 8PM, Herbie Hancock and Brandi Disterheft @ Nathan Phillips Square ($60)

This should be an all-star show with the great jazz pianist Herbie Hancock. Check out our interview with Brandi Disterheft from the 2009 festival. You can buy your tickets online at Ticketmaster

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