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Toronto’s most unique saxophone quartet is back for two summer performances:

TD Toronto Jazz Festival presents Dialectica Sax Quartet and Hogtown Brass Quintet
Monday June 26, 7pm-9pm, Church of the Redeemer, Free admission

Music Mondays: Lunch hour concerts at Church of the Holy Trinity
Monday July 3, 12:15pm-1pm, Admission by donation

They are performing their signature, all original repertoire that fuses classical, jazz, pop, and Latin music.

For a preview, check out their live recordings here.

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bemused 3.jpgPortraits de Georgian Bay
Friday May 5th, 2017
Alliance Francaise de Toronto
Tickets available here

The evocative songs of bilingual (French/English) singer-songwriter duo “Georgian Bay” are performed in lush new orchestrations (with a 5 person chamber ensemble) arranged by the Spectrum Composers.

bemused 4.jpgTales from Turtle Island
Saturday June 3th, 2017
Alliance Francaise de Toronto
Tickets available here

Spectrum Music, brings storytellers and musicians together in a special concert in honour of Canada’s 150th birthday. “Tales from Turtle Island” features a remarkable ensemble of young and talented Indigenous performers to perform new works inspired by the storytelling tradition of Turtle Island, the land that encompasses most of North America.

Five new pieces by rising start Ojibwe playwright Yolanda Bonnell will be paired with compositions by five Spectrum composers. Actor Rachel Cantin will perform the pieces alongside an ensemble featuring acclaimed pow wow techno powerhouse DJ/electronic artist Classic Roots and members of the Metis Fiddler Quartet.

For more information on the Spectrum Music concert series visit spectrummusic.ca and see the world through a concert!

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shannon-graham-dialectica-5Dialectica will be performing on Sunday March 19th (the eve of the spring equinox) for “Six Saxes Sing for Spring”. A new work by Shannon “3 Pieces for Spring” will be premiered!

@ Burdock Music Hall in Toronto

Buy tickets: http://burdockto.com/shows/?show=560
$15 in advance, $20 at the door

Doors at 8:30pm, Show at 9pm

Two saxophone groups join to celebrate spring. Monsoon Trio – Andrew Kay (sax, Himalayan Singing Bowls), Jonathan Kay (sax, esraj), Justin Gray (Bass Veena, Electric Bass & FX), Derek Gray (drums & percussion) – has been creating music at the junction of jazz and Indian classical for ten years. Dialectica (Shannon Graham, Chelsea McBride, Olivia Shortt, and Samantha Etchegary) mixes classically- and jazz-trained saxophonists to explore the melding of these traditions. Jazz and Classical (East and West) meet here!

About Monsoon Trio
www.monsoontrio.com
https://soundcloud.com/monsoon-music/sets/monsoon-trio-pranaam

Listen to Dialectica’s “Live at the Music Gallery”

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Inspired by the logical formula for “denying the consequent”, in a new project by Shannon Graham the term Modus Tollens becomes a metaphor for challenging one’s initial assumptions, especially those that we make about art music and ourselves.

Modus Tollens CD_1400Graham’s sophomore record Modus Tollens offers a new musical direction from the chamber-jazz-pop large ensemble of her debut project The Storytellers. Modus Tollens takes a simple approach in the attempt to find beauty and sincerity in new musical creations. “With this project I wanted to break out of the box I had established for myself in my previous project. Right now I’m interested in exploring sincerity over irony, beauty over strangeness, simplicity over complicity, no unnecessary notes, and no extra instruments.”

This stripped down ensemble of piano and saxophone require that the compositions get straight to the essence of the music. Graham’s saxophone performance moves to the forefront in Modus Tollens. “Without the horns and strings from the Storyteller’s front line, the saxophone needs to be the main expressive melodic voice. I was afraid of that responsibility when I created the Storytellers, but at this point I feel that it’s something I need to do.”

Graham hopes this project will cause audiences to question their ideas about jazz and classical music, while encouraging them to question their personal premises and find liberation in their own unknown.

Listen here

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A blog post Shannon wrote for The Achromatics…a little insight behind the lyrics of the Achro-original song “Someday”

One of the first Achromatics original songs “Someday” might be more relevant now that when it was written a year ago.

The lyrics describe the desire to improve yourself but feeling frustrated and worried that you won’t succeed. Ultimately the song ends with a positive sentiment: that even though success can feel so far away, you just have to keep trying and never give up. As long as we keep trying, we can’t fail.

The concept of self-improvement can be extended to improving your community, other people’s lives, and the world. And lately, our world is facing dark times. It’s frustrating and scary, but the most terrifying idea is to throw in the towel and stop trying to improve things. As long as we’re still trying to make it better, we haven’t failed.

This is “Someday”

Light ink upon a page,
routine to start the day,
imagining how far it…

View original post 192 more words

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The Achromatics are back for their first show of 2017, at the iconic Lula Lounge. Get ready for a night of music and dancing as they bring their powerful female horn section, Motown-style vocals, a Latin-influenced rhythm section and a Top-40-calibre stage show (yes…silver pants included).

$10 Advance tickets ($15 at the door) available here.

For sneak previews of the show like them on facebook.