If you look at my Instagram post with David Lee, he eloquently explains the purpose of the importance of this festival. Lately Blast Toronto has been to some events that have strong messages about maintaining a healthy music scene. We here at Blast Toronto wants to get the word out to you about these moments so we all can be a part of a new musical movements that celebrates the rising stars. We want you to go out and discover your love for music again. The TU Jazzfest is a great place to start your search.
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The reason we show up
On the Saturday night I went out to see the hottest jazz band in Toronto. The Jeremy Ledbetter Trio was the final act of the night, and they truly made new fans from that performance. I could tell by the guy sitting next to me an ahead of me. After the show, this band was swarmed by a lot of young musicians who are really looking up to this band. They bought the albums and T-shirts and even made a big sign for the show. Who brings signs to a jazz show? These are dedicated fans and a band like the Jeremy Ledbetter Trio deserves these accolades. It was so refreshing seeing young musicians with hope in their eyes to be the next big thing. This is reason number 1 for going to events like this, so we can have musicians really connecting with an open audience soaking in all that original energy.
Sunday with Chardavoine & the Evolution
I had to come back and see if there were still some magical moments on a Sunday. Well, I sat down just as Chardavoine got on stage and began to introduce his musical world to us. He is a Haitian-born and Brooklyn raised guitarist who blends his Haitian roots with a modern jazz sound.
From the opening notes, I knew there was something special brewing. The way this band grabs onto the flow of his guitar playing, you could feel the pull of a strong river calling you to ride the swift current. So, I just let it all go to see where I could go.
If I had to compare sounds to help you along, I was hearing a blend of Pat Metheny and Carlos Santana. I would rate this artist as the best Travel agent around, because he just sends you to some of the most beautiful places.
Channell: The Global Jazz Ensemble
This woman is on a mission. She would love to play with all the different musicians of the world. I have been noticing this pattern of thinking with other musicians. With the world so closely knit these days, musicians have access to this newfound connection.
Channell is from Boston, and she brought 3 of the 4 members from different parts of the world. We had Wolf from Germany on Bass, we had Sujae Jung from Korea on Keyboards, and we had an invisible member named Gabriel Maia from Brazil. He had problems with his visa and could not make the show.
Channell stayed with some of the older pieces of jazz and clanged and banged her drums quietly as she sang some cool standards.
The show took a big turn when she told us she was trying out a new direction and took the audience by surprise with her two pieces instrumental called, “Cycle of endurance/ Passages”. This was a very new and exciting direction. It started off with a mantra similar to Coltrane’s A Love Supreme. Soon you begin to shoot you off into a different void of discovery. It was a ticket to ride a different cosmic wave, and it was incredibly visual.
Once you landed safely back to earth Channell finished off on a really happy note with the early jazz classic, “On the Sunny side of the street”.
Simon Williams Group
I only caught part of this set, due to Blast interviewing musicians for our Instagram and You Tube channel. When I did arrive, they were doing a cut from Miles Davis’ album, “We Want Miles”. I arrived at the right time. The second last song was a sonic blast from the Concorde. It was controlled chaos in the sky! I was really surprised to hear them announce that they were going to do a piece from our own Toronto bassist, Rich Brown from his 2004 Rinse the Algorithm. I was very happy to hear Toronto representing Toronto.
Ane Nunez
It felt like a lot of people were here for Ane Nunez. The small stage was very crowded and while she sang her beautiful standards, some people looked for more space so they could dance together. It was a very chilled atmosphere with people having their quiet romantic moments all around this tent. After her show, I caught something interesting. A man came up to her keyboardist and presented him a special reward. It was a Canadian Mint that honoured musicians.
Matys Colpron
The last acts up are the recipients of the Band of the Year for the TU Jazzfest 2025. See the photo below. They are a Montreal-Based band with genre bending styles that will feed your imagination. Sorry Toronto, but we really need up our jazz game if we are going to be competing with Quebec for top jazz spot.
They opened their set with Burn, and it really did set the stage on fire for what they were about to unfold in front of us.
As I opened myself up to this jigsaw puzzle only to be amused at songs that rhythmically challenge the drummer and took wild turns in mid stride.
This is a band that sends you down the rabbit trail into very quick moments of wonder.
TU Jazz 2026
After the success of seeing brand new and high-quality music, my final thought goes out to all the people who run this festival. A big Thanks to everyone involved who are there to see the next wave of musicians grow their talent for us to enjoy for years to come. Just imagine seeing a new band here and falling in love with them and then add 20 more years where you can say I have seen this band 20 times. This is what makes music special. This is the event that can give you this opportunity. Of all the bands I have seen over the two days I was here, I only have seen two before, All the rest were brand new, and I would see them all again.
I invite you to come next year and to open your mind to brand new sounds that may be part of your soundtrack to your life.
A few highlights from the weekend:
Here are a few links to check out.
www.instagram.com/chardavoine123/
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