Dave Young Quintet at the Rex Dec 27th

The Rex really is the quintessential Toronto jazz club. Ask anyone where to find jazz, and you'll hear its name. It's been a fixture of the city's music scene for decades, offering up great music everyday. Though it's seen some updates over the years, it still exudes that old Toronto charm. "Where musicians come to hear jazz" is a fair summation, it reflects the quality of the music as well as the reasonable prices offered. Picture yourself sipping a beer in an old hall with tiffany style glasswork above, the hum of streetcars and the odd ambulance wailing by outside on the city's most iconic street. All of that while listening to great music, what else do you need? It's the perfect setting to catch a legend like Dave Young. The Band:

Dave Young - Bass Kevin Turcotte - Trumpet Johnny Johnson - Saxophone Brian Dickinson - Piano Nick Fraser - Drums Dave Young is a Canadian legend. He worked with Oscar Peterson for 35 years. On his first outings with him in a duet setting on tour in Japan, Peterson told him, "Do whatever you want and make it good." Imagine that pressure! He is equally adept in trios, quartets, tonight's quintet or even with a symphony orchestra. In a recent interview with Dave Mooney of Jazz Guitar magazine he emphasized some of the lessons learned from Peterson about the importance of group dynamics first and foremost. He also did a legendary stint with Lenny Breau's band from '61 to '66 and has shared the stage with countless other legends. Kevin Turcotte is another Canadian legend who's won Canadian trumpeter of the year multiple times. He's tutored numerous up-and-coming brass players at York University and has an interesting resume, including Juno award-winning bands, playing the trumpet parts for the Ethan Hawke Chet Baker biopic, Born To Be Blue, and even playing on 2017's excellent "Run 'n Gun" Cuphead's soundtrack. Brian Dickinson another mainstay on the Canadian scene. He's a two-time Juno winner (notice a pattern here?) who has played on countless recordings with tons of huge players. Head of the piano department at Humber College, where he's worked since the mid 80s, he's a gifted teacher, player and arranger. Johnny Johnson is a Juno award-winning sax player and multi instrumentalist. He not only is an in-demand session player but also taught at Humber and teaches Sax at U of T's jazz program. Nick Fraser is an extremely creative drummer who's played with the who's who of Canadian Jazz. His playing is well summed up by this quote from the Globe, "Fraser is a deft and sensitive percussionist with a hint of an enigmatic streak, a feeling for economical gestures, and an innate sense of form." - Mark Miller, The Globe & Mail. Nick is also a founding member of The Association of Improvising Musicians of Toronto, a non-profit organization dedicated to the Toronto improvisational community. The Music:

This evening we were treated to a wonderful set that leaned heavily upon Herbie Handcock tunes (particularly tunes from 1962's Takin' Off). Being a bass lead band, there were a lot of fun bass ostinato and riff tunes as well as more typical walking. The rhythm section at times made me feel like I was floating in the clouds, particularly on their excellent rendition of "Three Bags Full." At times it can seem to take on an ethereal feeling. You can get lost in this music. Dave Young is the sort of bass player who flips the stereotype, people actually stop talking during his solo. He plays with a killer groove and feeling. The horn section was a perfect accoutrement to the excellent rhythm section, with the sax stepping out just enough with his sequences and patterns channeling a very Coltrane vibe. He really sounds like he's pouring waves of emotion out of his instrument. Turcotte tends to play the horn a little more conservatively to balance out the sound; he employs plenty of virtuosic flurries and some nasty runs too, but plays with a great soft tone. Speaking of soft tone, the flugelhorn came out for "Tell Me A Bedtime Story." Again that killer rhythm section has me up in the clouds. The horns ducked out to give Young a chance to show off his trio chops during his excellent rendition of "My One and Only Love." It's a perfect ballad choice to show his expressiveness in his melody playing, with all those interesting interval jumps - just beautiful. Freddie Hubbard's "Super Blue" closed out the night in all its jazz funk glory, putting a groovy cap on the evening. The one thing I would say though is if you are going for music, try to get something near the front. At least tonight, the back was pretty loud for a band of such acumen. There's something to be said about having it more casual in the back for those who want to chat a bit and enjoy their Friday night, but it's a bit much for me. I think when you are in the front of the Rex there is enough of that hushed reverence for those that crave it and a little more working class casualness in the back for those who don't. Always a dance of balance I suppose. It's an amazing place to see amazing players without being too expensive and pretentious. Food Recommendation: Red Yuzu Chili Paste and Pollock Roe

Not mixed together, that's a bit much even for me. Bear with me, they are paired thematically. Fukuoka is probably best known for Tonkotsu Ramen. Hakata (half of the twin city that is Fukuoka) style Tonkotsu ramen is the meatiest, most unctuous of the ramen varieties. Super heavy pork broth, laced with garlic and ginger, that's awesome on a cold day. A lot of major ramen chains got their start in Fukuoka. But, Fukuoka is known for a couple other specialties as well - pollock roe and red yuzu chili paste. The former I hated whenever I ate it in Korea, where I lived for 15 years; but somehow eating the really good stuff in the right setting can often change your opinion on even the inferior kinds (sorry Korean friends). This is something that can be said for Jazz in a sense; it is a live music and seeing it in the right setting (i.e. the Rex) and with the right band (in this case an all-star lineup of Canadian jazz legends), you might find you begin to appreciate listening at home a little more than you did before, once you've felt "the magic in the temple" as it were.

Fukuoka even sells pollock roe flavoured Pringles if you can't handle the colour and texture of the original. But man it's good stuff.

Which brings me to the latter, I get that some people might be turned off by pollock roe, but to describe red yuzu chili paste in the parlance of our time, that shit is fire. Spicy, salty and sour - it's a strong flavour that can cut through rich fatty dishes or help make a meal out of a humble bowl of rice. Yuzu is an Asian citrus fruit with a unique flavour that's also nice in tea; but when it's mixed with salt and chilies, it's magic. Its more common cousin, green yuzu chili paste, is great too, perhaps with some fatty pork or a touch with some steak, a fancier Asian twist on beef and horseradish. The green tends to be a little hotter and easier to buy, But the Fukoaka red stuff is way better in my opinion. Especially with dumplings! What does this have to do with the set you might ask? Well a couple things, across the street from the Rex is the popular Ikkousha Ramen Toronto. Ramen isn't fancy food, it's very much a working class meal; and if we are staying humble to the Rex's roots, that's a perfect match. But would you know it, being a restaurant from Fukuoka, their gyoza comes with the option of red yuzu chili on the side!

Book Recommendation: Haroun and the Sea of Stories

Salman Rushdie "children's book," written to his son while in hiding after the Fatwa issued by Ayatollah Khomeini after the release of The Satanic Verses, is a beautiful and fantastical adventure story. There were a lot of nice moments during the set where the band seemed to just float along, piano and sax in particular weaving in and out. A fantastical, magical realism book is the perfect match. Our protagonist, the young Haroun Khalifa, goes on an adventure with his story teller father, Rashid, who has lost his gift. They set off to restore his oratorial skills and cure his poisoned homeland, meeting a colourful array of characters along the way - a bus driver who transmogrifies into a telepathic mechanical bird, a water genie and a gardener made out of seaweed to name a few. Censorship is to no surprise a big theme, but storytelling and the use of language are central to the plot. In reference to Rashid loss of speech:

This affliction of speech, central to the book, is paralleled by the affliction of the country, which is called Alifbay ("alphabet" in Hindustani; most of the names in the book derive from this language, and a convenient glossary is provided at the end). Haroun lives in "a sad city . . . a city so ruinously sad that it had forgotten its name. It stood by a mournful sea full of glumfish.

Alison Lurie, New York Times

Language is everything to the jazz idiom, something that can't merely be taught from a book, but through story telling. Passed through generations, the masters gift. Countless musicians have transcribed "Bird" and others, not to copy but to learn the language and tell their own stories. In the old New Orleans days, young horn players would try to copy the latest lick or sound. Beyond this, a good solo is like a good story. I was struck almost immediately by this on Turcotte's first solo of the night on "Driftin." It was a beautiful simple melody with plenty of space; he certainly paints a nice story. Young's solo is also catchy and melodic with a story-like cadence that draws in the ear. These are guys that know how to not just play, but story tell.

Drink recommendation 1: Collective Arts' Life in the Clouds
Again, I spent some time getting lost in the music, with my "head in the clouds." This is a very juicy, shotgun blast of fruit IPA; but don't fret, it's not sickly sweet. It's pretty balanced and a very easy drinker. It's also conveniently on the menu at the Rex as well as several other Ontario craft offerings.

Drink recommendation 2: Molson Stock Ale or Labatt 50

As an homage to the working class roots of the Rex, one might consider a classic domestic beer. Molson "Blue," as they used to call it, is the sort of thing I'd see the regulars drink at a place like Grossman's Tavern. Beer doesn't always have to be fancy and in this bracket it performs well.

Labatt 50 occupies a similar space for me, but with perhaps less of a personal connection. But how could you ignore that lovely sign, coaxing you in like a siren's call. Harken yourself back to a day of simpler beer and all it's malty goodness. In Summary: The Rex has a very high standard for its music and they have something amazing going on everyday. Catching an amazing show with some of Canada's top talent like this is something that tends to happen pretty often at the Rex, but tonight definitely felt like it had some magic. Just make sure you book a day ahead eh?