Tag Archives: Jazz Bistro

AUDIENCES WELCOMED BACK TO LIVE MUSIC SHOWS – JIM GELCER CELEBRATED WITH HIS SHOW AT TORONTO’S JAZZ BISTRO!

Toronto-based musician and composer, JIM GELCER, was thrilled to play his first LIVE public performance on Thursday November 4 at the venerable Jazz Bistro in downtown Toronto. Covid had caused all music venues to shut down over the past 20 months and we were certainly anxious to see musicians return to the stage – Jim was joined by Rob Piltch (guitar), Ross MacIntyre (bass), Rob Neal Christian (sax, flute, piano)…..pictured belowI sat down with Jim at the Aroma Café on Bloor St East a few days prior to his show, and asked a few questions about surviving the Covid lockdown, what it feels like to be back performing LIVE, and his new side gig teaching students from around the world via an online learning academy.

Jim, you had a great gig November 4th at Toronto’s Jazz Bistro – was that your first live show since Covid restrictions eased and audience capacities increased? Yes and no. I had a couple of shows last summer when they first eased the restrictions a bit, and there have been a few private events as well, but this is really my first club date as a band leader in 18 months.

You performed with 3 other great musicians: Rob Christian on sax, flute & piano; Rob Piltch on guitar and Ross MacIntyre on bass. Were you looking fwd to working with your fellow musicians after all this time? Absolutely! Especially this killer band. I’m a connector. And one of the things I like to do is bring people together who I think should know each other and would enjoy playing or working together. I’ve worked with each of these musicians individually, but never all three together and I think it’s a wonderful combination of talent.

Has the Covid isolation period offered any positive opportunities such as time to compose or arrange, listening to other musicians’ work? Yes, indeed! I was quite busy during Covid with film scores, production, and songwriting collaborations. In fact, I’ve just finished co-writing three Christmas songs with Jon Mullane, a songwriter from Nova Scotia, that will be released on his upcoming Christmas album (look for it on his Spotify, or wherever you listen to music).

You studied music as well as philosophy, so has a serious music education helped you with your career? So many new/young musicians have never picked up an actual instrument or learnt how to sight-read music – do you think there is still a need for traditional learning or do you feel music’s future lies with computers? A couple of years ago, I was lucky enough to be invited to teach music at the Toronto District School Board. I am so grateful for that, as it sustained me during Covid, and got me into teaching, which I had not done much of previously. During the pandemic I also started teaching privately, and have had students from as far and wide as Germany, Ukraine, Hawaii, and all over North America. So, yes, I believe that there is still a need for traditional learning.

If people want to learn more about you and your music, do you have a website or social media they could follow? Yes, I’m on Facebook (facebook.com/jgelcer). I’m also on Instagram and Twitter as @jimgelcer. And I’m even on Wikipedia! My website is www.gelcer.com

I’m so glad you had an enthusiastic audience at Jazz Bistro, must have been so great to play live again. And continued success with your music students around the world. (www.outschool.com)

INTERNATIONALLY ACCLAIMED FLAUTIST/COMPOSER RON KORB DEBUTS 20th SOLO ALBUM IN TORONTO

Last night (Wed. Oct.17), Grammy-nominated and internationally acclaimed RON KORB delivered a sizzling show from the stage of Toronto’s Jazz Bistro, introducing tracks from his latest solo album, WORLD CAFE, showcasing Latin-themed original instrumentals. Ron was joined on stage by world-renowned musicians who also played on the album: Bill Bridges, Bill Evans, Steve Lucas and Larry Crowe, with special guests Hilario Duran (piano) and Joseph Macerollo (accordion).

That same day, nomination ballots for this year’s Grammy Awards were also distributed to academy members around the world and all fingers are crossed that Ron receives another Grammy nod like his previous album, Asia Beauty.
In World Café, Ron takes us to sunny Spain, the island of Cuba, and the alluring lands of South America where he merges a rhythm from one region with a melody inspired by another. World Café represents a meeting place where people from many cultures can intermingle, laugh and make friends in a relaxed space – much like his own multicultural Toronto where this album was recorded.The packed audience at Jazz Bistro swayed to the rhythms and there was a lot of chair dancin’ during the two sets; the show must have blown up on social media based on all the phone cameras held high to catch the action….like this beautiful accordion solo from Joseph Macerollo…

The evening was hosted by the always-charming Miss Ziggy Lorenc (Zoomer Media) who many in the crowd remembered from her Citytv days – Ziggy now hosts a nightly show during the week on Zoomer Radio AM640 called Stardust and Midnight Blue. Here she is (below, L) with friend Barbara (R) and on stage MC’ing the show. As for many of Ron’s albums, the cover and accompanying 24-pg full colour booklet was designed by his talented wife, Jade, seen here (below, R) with fans. This next brief video was hard to shoot – all I wanted to do was dance!! So please pardon my cha-cha-cha moves and enjoy another brief taste of World Café here:

Ron’s final set resulted in multiple encores and lots of CD sales with some audience members purchasing multiple copies as presents for friends and family! To learn more about Ron, listen to World Café and previous albums, visit www.ronkorb.com or you can download World Café from Spotify, iTunes or Amazon. Thank you for supporting Canadian musical artists.

GRAMMY NOMINATED RON KORB RELEASES 20th SOLO ALBUM “WORLD CAFE” WITH OCT. 17TH CONCERT IN TORONTO

Three years ago, internationally acclaimed flutist & composer Ron Korb‘s album “Asia Beauty” was nominated for a Grammy in the Best New Age Album category. Ron has just released his latest album, “WORLD CAFE”, this time with a distinct Latin flavour, and it has been receiving a lot of attention from international music media as well as fans, and is rising quickly on various music charts. Ron’s previous albums have garnered critical and popular acclaim from around the world; he’s shared many musical journeys, from the wonders and mysteries of Japan and China, to the infectious joy and tender melancholy of Celtic song and dance. For his World Café album, he takes us to sunny Spain, the island of Cuba and the alluring lands of South America. He explores how things sound when crossing a rhythm from one region with a melody inspired by another. All the music is played by living, breathing musicians (no computer generated tunes here!) including renowned award-winning jazz, world and Latin musicians Hilario Duran and Johannes Linstead, with an emphasis on using acoustic instruments.

Here’s a quick taste of World Café …..

I recently sat down and chatted with Ron (fittingly, in a cafe) and asked him a few questions about his music….

With a personal collection of 250 flutes, your reputation as the “king of flutes” is well earned – which instruments did you play on this latest album? In World Café, the main instrument is my concert flute but I also used some Asian bamboo flutes and the ocarina on some tracks. I was also able to experiment with the Ellis-Korb flute mouthpieces that I’ve been developing with California flute maker Geoffrey Ellis. With the different cuts and various hardwoods we used, I could tailor the sound for each piece. It has been a long 6 year project creating the holy grail of embouchure designs and now Geoffrey and I are very excited about what we‘ve achieved together.Your previous album for which you received a Grammy nomination, Asia Beauty, explored Asian musical themes. What made you choose to record this latest album in the Latin style? World Café has been very well received but it has taken everyone by surprise, especially listeners who have just discovered my music in recent years. Older fans know I’ve already written and performed tunes like Casco Viejo, La Sirena, Desert Night and Dark Eyes. Even back in my student days I often would write tunes that had a Spanish flavour. Latin music is the rhythm of the heart and I had been looking forward to making an upbeat album with a Latin theme for many years. Now when I look at the finished physical CD I can hardly believe it is finally manifested. It’s like a dream come true and I’m very happy with the production and the way it sounds.How did you created the music for this album? For the last decade I have been writing songs with pen and paper. I have books of manuscript paper full of hand written sketches and ideas. When I’m away from home and an idea pops into my head I will just sing the melody or beat box the rhythm on to my phone and transcribe it later. After the musical phrases have had time to ferment, I revisit them and discard the less than brilliant sketches and focus on the melodies that have real magic. Some songs come together very quickly and others take years to find the right contrasting section. It’s always possible to finish off a song quickly but to write something really special takes a lot of time and effort.

It must be very rewarding to hear the completed album – what was the most enjoyable part of recording World Café? I would say the most rewarding aspect about making World Café is collaborating with the musicians. It is amazing to hear the songs come alive when you workshop it with a band. In the past, I used midi and computer software quite a lot but since doing my Ron Korb Live album in Quebec in 2004, I gradually transitioned to being completely acoustic. It’s far more expensive to work that way but I prefer the result. Working with legendary Cuban pianist Hilario Duran and guitarist Johannes Linstead was a particular highlight. When I wrote the song Hilario, I didn’t really think that he would record it. Again, this is like another dream come true. After I contacted him, Hilario invited me to his place and I showed him the song. He immediately liked it and suggested some Cuban players to join us on the recording. It was really a thrill to work with such authentic players.

Being so musical, you must play other instruments – which ones? Concert flute, bass flute, penny whistle, low whistle, shinobue, dizi, xun, bawu, Cambodian pie pook, ocarina. I play piano just enough for composing and songwriting. I also have sung backing and some lead vocals professionally.

On October 17th, Ron will be presenting World Café to a live audience for the first time. Performing at Jazz Cafe in Toronto, Ron will be joined on stage by an exciting group of musicians including Bill Evans (L) and Hilario Duran (C) pictured below with Ron.World Café represents a meeting place where people from many cultures can intermingle, laugh and make friends in a relaxed space – much like Ron’s own multicultural Toronto where this album was recorded. The album is available thru Ron’s website or via Amazon.ca, iTunes, Spotify & Tidal. Listen online or purchase the gorgeous full-colour hardcover 24pg CD package designed by Ron’s talented wife and photographer, Jade. These will be available at the event, too. Perfect as gifts, as well as for yourself. .