Kicking off its Jazz On The Wing season Sunday, Sept. 28, Jazz Yukon chose to highlight the future of jazz with its selection of the Amanda Tosoff Quartet.
Amanda Tosoff is just 23 years old and is already recognized as one of Canada’s top new talents. She brings to jazz the teachings of respected jazz elders and the influences of a world made smaller by technology.
“I really respect the older musicians, some of whom I get to play with from time to time,” she says. “Many of my favourite musicians have such depth to their playing.
“You can hear all their musical and life experience.
“Every time I play with Mike Allen or Bill Coon, I hear this and learn something.
“The 60+ musicians grew up in the thick of it; they got to hear the masters in person.”
Alas, she and her band members do not have that experience, even though they have played together “for years”.
“But every generation is going to have different ideas about how the music should sound. The older musicians grew up when jazz was the popular music. This formed their opinions about what jazz is.
“Sometimes musicians from this generation can be less receptive to new styles of jazz, such as free jazz or more classically influenced jazz.”
Tosoff says she and her bandmates are more receptive to modern jazz influenced by pop, classical music, etc.
And the influences fly at them fast and furious as the Internet has connected jazz performers from all over the world.
She says a man from France recently bought her first CD online because he had just found out about it online.
“I think it is a good thing,” says Tosoff of technology. “Just don’t stop seeing music live.
“It’s great to listen to musicians on CD, but seeing jazz live is where it is at.”
Tosoff agrees that it would be easier to be rich and famous by playing rock and roll, but there is something about jazz that constantly inspires her.
“You never have to play the same thing twice,” she says. “I don’t have aspirations to becoming a star since the music I play is just not as popular.”
So she just enjoys playing with “some of my best friends” and says she hopes the audience will be able to hear that relationship in their music.
The Yukon Arts Centre audience will also hear the unofficial release of the Amanda Tosoff Quartet’s new CD, Wait and See. It contains mostly her music, while the evening’s performance will also include some Duke Ellington.
Tosoff says she is looking forward to visiting the Yukon for the first time partly because she finds smaller cities have very receptive and warm and welcoming audiences.
But she has also heard from other jazz performers that Jazz On The Wing is a “great gig”.
Tickets for the Sept. 28 show is available at the Yukon Arts Centre Box Office and Arts Underground.
