Hits and Misses

Daniela Nardi and DNA5
May 27 @ Pure Spirits Patio

High winds and menacing clouds threatened to end DNA5’s set early, but it was the faulty tech equipment that ultimately proved to be the thorn in Nardi’s side.

The feedback and lack of technical organization was the set’s ultimate downfall, delaying things for almost half an hour. Just when things seemed to be settling down at the soundboard, another round of ear piercing feedback rattled through the audiences ears. This was the norm for much of the first set.

The music had potential, but you just can’t groove to jazz when there is a looming threat of mechanical failure; everyone gathered on the Pure Spirits Patio doubtlessly started hoping for rain to put the ol’ girl out of her misery.

- Daniela Luchetta

Lee Pui Ming
May 27 @ Gibsone-Jessop Gallery

Pianist Lee Pui Ming was a sight to behold as her gift was surrounded by other’s art. The tiny woman, barely visible over the baby grand piano she was playing, would pause after every segment to allow traffic to flow in and out of the small gallery.

A story seemed to accompany her performance, at one point she pulled out some props - a tiny stool used to reach into the beast of a piano and stunt the tone of the key she harped on for the next three minutes.

She definitely drew in her audience however. There were a few in the front rows with their eyes closed, presumably in order to fully feel the message she put forth. Or they fell asleep. However, she was an incredibly talented pianist, this writer was mesmerized by the stealth of her finger movements over the ivory.

- Daniela Luchetta

Bob Brough Quartet with Carol McCartney
May 28 @ Pure Spirits Patio

The Bob Brough Quartet set was exactly what this jazz newbie expected from the Distillery Jazz Festival. Singer Carol McCartney’s sweet skeebadidobop–style vocals were trademark classic jazz. The back and forth between covers of classic tunes and original numbers from Brough, this set met all of this reviewer’s greenhorn expectations.

The Pure Spirits Patio outdoor setting at the historic Distillery District provided the perfect backdrop for this writer’s first foray into the world of live jazz. It will not be the last, thanks in part to the Bob Brough Quartet!

- Daniela Luchetta

Plan C
May 28 @ Trinity Stage

If there was anything that was not mellow about this festival, it was Plan C. The octet rocked the crowd with their brand of Latin-afro electro beats and had couples dancing at the foot of the stage with their significant others and new friends; the band elicited friendly and jovial behaviour among those in attendance.

Almost as if the band had hired them, one couple kicked the set off by cutting a perfectly choreographed rug. The program boasted Plan C as the standout performers at 2004’s festival. Ditto 2005’s festival.

- Daniela Luchetta

Emily Weedon Combo
May 29 @ Canteen Cabaret

Emily Weedon summed up her Distillery Jazz appearance perfectly when she said the Spanish song that concluded the first half of her two-hour set reflected Toronto’s multi-cultural population.

Weedon and her bandmates crafted a rich, multi-textured mélange of sounds that encompassed everything from contemporary sounding roots pop to songs that were straight out of a bygone era, transporting the audience to the cobbled streets of Paris and the canals of Venice.

Her versatile voice matched the music’s stylistic changes beautifully. She could sound like Emmy Lou Harris one minute and an old-time jazz and blues singer the next. She kept up an engaging between-song banter that was just as enjoyable as the music.

It wasn’t particularly surprising the audience seemed to be disappointed when she announced the final song of the set.

- Andrew Horan

RESURGENCE
Featuring Eve Egoyan, Anne Bourne with dancers Martine Lamy and Robert Glumbek
May 29 @ Dancemaker’s Studio

The faint sounds of the Royal Jelly Orchestra’s marathon main stage performance that could be heard during the calm moments of RESURGENCE provided a strange counterpoint to the tumultuous combination of improvised music and dance.

At times frighteningly intense and at others powerfully erotic, RESURGENCE took the audience on an emotional journey. Dancers Martine Lamy and Robert Glumbek matched the improvised music provided by pianist Eve Egoyan and cellist Anne Bourne perfectly. The choreography between the pair was absolutely phenomenal.

Bourne’s mournful vocals were reminiscent of Dead Can Dance’s Lisa Gerard and doubtlessly left more then a few people with goose bumps.

If any complaint was to be had with this piece it’s that it was too short! Though given the incredibly physical nature of Lamy and Glumbeck’s performance, one can’t help but feel a 20-minute running time was all they could have managed.

- Andrew Horan

Photography by S&H.ca staff