Showing posts with label jonnie bakan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label jonnie bakan. Show all posts

Saturday, February 7, 2026

Recording: Toronto Improvisers Orchestra

Artist: Toronto Improvisers Orchestra

Songs: [two pieces]

Recorded at The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge), January 11, 2026.

Toronto Improvisers Orchestra - [1st set, short piece]

Toronto Improvisers Orchestra - [2nd set, last piece]

I entered into the room with this set already in progress — which involved, in this case, Rod Campbell engaged in a discussion with his fellow musicians on possible ways to musically interpret a photograph of a snow-covered tree. Later, there would be some conduction (from Campbell as well as Susanne Farkas) which also involved discussion of how the group used their repertoire of hand signals. Otherwise, as with the second selection here, there were some freely-improvised sounds.

[The TIO is back in action tomorrow (Sunday, February 8th) starting at noon in the Southern Cross.]

Wednesday, April 25, 2018

Recording: Holger Schoorl Ensemble

Artist: Holger Schoorl Ensemble

Song: unknown*

Recorded at The Tranzac's Main Hall (Somewhere There Creative Music Festival – Show 5), February 25, 2018.

Holger Schoorl Ensemble - unknown

My previous experience of Holger Schoorl was mostly in the context of seeing him playing some really quiet guitar, so it was quite a revelation to see him performing with a large brass ensemble. (The full group was: Jonnie Bakan, saxophone; Chantal Cornu, tuba; Emily Denison, trumpet; Bea Labikova, soprano saxophone; Paul Newman, tenor saxophone; Patrick O'Reilly, guitar; Heather Saumer, trombone.) The set included a couple instrumentals, like this melancholy opener (complete with jaunty oompah coda), but the real heart of the set were School's darkly-comedic and disarmingly-witty lyrics — "mean-spirited" as he himself admitted. In the grips of a cold at this show and raspier than he wanted to be, I'm certainly waiting for another opportunity to hear that material.

* Does anyone know the title to this one? Please leave a comment!