Josh Grossman's blog

Usually at this time of year we'd be in the thick of planning the upcoming festival, making offers and even getting certain shows ready for sale. But until we have more clarity on several fronts, we're in a bit of a holding pattern. I'm doing the usual agent outreach, but the conversations are a bit, well, absurd: "So what's the plan for the Festival?" "Don't know. Got any artists looking to tour?" "Don't know." Repeat.

You may have seen this week an excellent but heartbreaking New York Times article, by Nate Chinen, on the legendary pianist Keith Jarrett. In the article we learn that after two strokes, Keith will likely never return to the stage. Now 75, Keith's last performance was at Carnegie Hall in 2017, and while I had concerns about his silence since then, reading of his health struggles - in what is a very personal interview - was in many ways devastating: another legendary musician silenced and, selfishly, gone was the opportunity to see a legendary performer in action once more.

Live performance is coming back. It may not look or sound the same as it did eight months ago, but musicians are heading back to the stage, and audiences are heading back to venues. Given the increased efforts required from all involved to follow the health protocols, weigh the risks of being out and about, and even make less money, I thought I would offer a few thoughts on what, to me, makes a good performance.

For just over two years, before I started with Toronto Downtown Jazz, I had the privilege of managing a local children's choir. It was a fantastic experience - as the sole administrative staff for an organization of 120 choristers, I got to work on my managerial chops; but I also got to see the effect on the choristers of singing together, and learning from the inspirational artistic staff (headed up by the incredible Zimfira Poloz).

As much as possible, I try to maintain a positive outlook on life in general, and the various facets that make up what I do every day. I'm grateful to be surrounded by supportive colleagues and family, to have stable employment (which I recognize is a privilege at this time), and to be doing work which I continue to find challenging and stimulating. But I'm going to be honest - these past six months have been difficult. From work to home and everything in between, nothing feels normal, and in many ways I've been feeling "one step forward, two steps back."

For the past three Tuesdays at 1 pm, I've been tuning in to the webinar series Breaking Down Racial Barriers presented by CIMA and Advance.

It's right around now - the beginning of August - that we typically dive into planning the next TD Toronto Jazz Festival. And although there may be nothing "typical" about Festival planning this year, it is time to set our sights on next June - the pitches from agents are already coming in.

It's just about time to officially open the submission process for the 2021 TD Toronto Jazz Festival. And although at this point we don't know exactly what next year's Festival will look like, we are excited to get back to planning, and working towards presenting ten days of outstanding music. Plus - next year is our 35th anniversary!

Needless to say, these past few months have been challenging. At home we've done our best to settle into some sort of routine, which works better some days than others. But music is usually a constant. Whether I'm working in the basement or hanging with the family, we usually have some sort of music playing. I'm doing my best to keep track of new releases, and to catch up on recent releases or older recordings - I'm currently aiming to listen to every album on the Polaris long list.

Well this is weird. Usually at this time of year we'd be making final preparations for the annual TD Toronto Jazz Festival. I'd be writing blog posts about the various acts appearing at the Festival. And we'd have started the weather watch.