The Toronto Sun n Friday, May 20, 2011 SHOWBIZ 69

Jazz soars at Ten Feet Tall It ’s embar rassing that a
w o r l d - c l a ss c i t y l i ke ou r s
doesn’t boast a storied jazz club
like New York’s Blue Note, Ron-
nie Scott’s in London or Body &
Soul in Tokyo.
Sure, we had the Top O’ The
Senator and the Montreal Bistro,
but they folded and there have
been precious few attempts to
fire up a replacement.
The scene, of course, didn’t
die with those closings and
spots like Gallery 345, Chalkers
Pub, the Dominion on Queen,
The Old Mill’s Home Smith
Bar, Grossman’s, China House,
and Joe Mama’s, to name a few,
have filled that void by booking
ace local jazz musicians.
It’s no secret that booking
jazz or running a jazz bar is not
the most profitable of ventures,
but that hasn’t stopped an East
End caf from adding a third
jazz night to its roster.
“Our Thursday night jazz jam
was started for selfish reasons
initially,” confesses Andrew
Woodley, who manages Ten
Feet Tall on the Danforth with
Carin Redman. “We love jazz
and we’re spoiled every week
with being surrounded by some
of the best musicians in Can-
ada.
informing me that drummer
errol
nazareth
Rhythms N’ Rhymes
“The East End has very few
live jazz venues and there are
a lot of jazz musicians living
in this area, so this makes for a
great opportunity for them to
come and ‘work out’ with their
peers,” he adds.
The two say they were over-
whelmed by the response to the
first Thursday night jam.
“We were amazed at the big
turn out and how excited the
musicians and audience were
at the prospect of this being a
weekly event,” Redman says.
“There’s a very sup-
por tive community
feel at Ten Feet Tall, it
has a relaxed atmos-
phere where you can
do your thing and truly
be appreciated.”
Last Friday, a day
“PIRATES IS BACK AND IT’S BETTER THAN EVER!”
after telling me that the
Thursday night jams are
catching fire and that
he never knows who’ll
show up to play, Wood-
ley sent me an email
place to be, as the retro decor
Jason Marsalis, a member of the
famous Marsalis jazz family, sat
it on drums the previous night.
Ori Dagan, who performed at
Ten Feet Tall a few weeks back,
is back at the spot Saturday
with Gillian Margot. They’ll be
singing duets that Ella Fitzger-
ald and Louis Armstrong made
famous.
“Toronto has struggled to
keep jazz jams alive,” he says.
“Other than The Rex and Lisa
Particelli’s vocalist-friendly
Girls Night Out at Chalkers,
there hasn’t been a venue that
has embraced a weekly jam in a
very long time. I believe having
jazz jams is integral to keeping
the scene healthy and alive.”
Dagan says Ten Feet is “a fun
W. Andrew Powell, TheGATE.ca
suggests when you first walk in.
“The vibe is warm, the ambi-
ence inviting, the menu pleas-
ing, and there’s a healthy local
following of music appreciators
that love to listen.”
Dagan, who’s been working
with Margot on Saturday night’s
show for a long time, calls her “a
polished and classy performer
who makes excellent musical
decisions.
“When I first heard her sing-
ing, I was completely knocked
out; not only is her voice beau-
tiful, but she sings from the
heart.”
NOTE: Ten Feet Tall is at 1381
Danforth Ave. For more infor-
mation, call 416-778-7333 or
visit tenfeettall.ca

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