Toronto Summer Fun



It's been a super busy summer for us so far, but we're loving it!  We just got done a three week stint of playing almost nightly at Harlem Restaurant as part of the 2015 Toronto Summerlicious.  We had a blast connecting with new people, making new fans, challenging our strength, stamina and endurance, oh, and the food...Oy!  I think we all gained a few extra pounds during Summerlicious, but with the rising cost of food, the falling wages of musicians and the recession that nobody wants to talk about, it was so awesome to be fed and taken care of by the entire staff at Harlem.  You have all been so helpful and supportive and we are so grateful that you guys believe in us and believe in our music!

We continue to play every Thursday night at Harlem Underground (745 Queen Street West) and Every Other Friday Night at Harlem East (67 Richmond Street East).  Check out the Events page for the details.

The Jazz Festival was also really awesome.  We got to play 2 Jazz Festival gigs, the TBS Talent Search, saw Tower of Power, Booker T. Jones, and The Count Basie Orchestra, and most notably for us, we attended the Archie Alleyne Tribute at the Daniels Spectrum Theatre.  They had an amazing line-up of musicians and artists, inspiring speakers and a wall lined with tables that essentially served as a scrapbook for the life of the legendary Toronto jazz figure, Archie Alleyne.  We never personally got to meet him, but we felt the loss once we learned about the great man that was right under our noses.  He was a man that believed so strongly in nurturing future generations of jazz musicians who had limited access and resources.  We got to hear people like Shakura S'aidah and Jackie Richardson (who we also got to meet and connect with) recount their memories of him and how he just wanted so much to be in the service of mentorship.  Toronto needs more jazz cats like him and we aspire to one day leave behind even half the legacy he did.  Rest in Peace Mr. Archie Alleyne.

On another note, since we've had a chance to catch our breath and we're back to a somewhat regular schedule, Sean and myself have been working on new arrangements/covers and working on new original music.  We're really excited to announce that we will be hitting up Number 9 Studio in August to do some professional, live off the floor recordings.  So be on the look-out for that.  We're always open to new funding sources for our upcoming album by the way...just saying :o)

Anyway, here's one of Sean's arts & crafts projects...look he made a photo collage! 

Wild Man Blues - Sean Stanley