Josh Grossman's blog

We had some pretty fantastic music on our stages yesterday to wrap up the official part of the 2013 TD Toronto Jazz Festival. There are still a few acts today and tomorrow - the list is below. Here's my recap of Saturday's activity:

How can it be the last official day of the 2013 TD Toronto Jazz Festival? I mean, I guess it makes sense - it's Saturday, I'm exhausted, my ears are full of great music, and Canada Day is right around the corner. But still - already? Well, here's my report on the second last day…

An impressive debut, some fantastic students, and lots of great music. This was my Thursday:

I had a hectic morning yesterday - as you may know, my big band performed at 12:30 as part of the Big Band Series - and so I'm a day behind on my blogging. As a result, I'm going to keep the two days worth of summaries fairly brief…

Tuesday June 25

I've probably already used that title for a blog post at some point in the last four years but I'm tired, it's hot, and the power is out at home, so my creative muse is clearly stuck in transit. But also, after yesterday's lineup, it's a most appropriate title. Here's the rundown:

If there was any doubt about whether summer had arrived in Toronto, it was put to rest yesterday - beautiful sunshine, and hot, hot, hot. I was particularly thankful yesterday for the big tent - which provided much-needed shelter for the 12:30 show - and the various air conditioned venues. Here's a quick recap of my Sunday:

So - did anyone notice that it rained yesterday? Yeesh…that was a lot of water falling from the sky. For the most part, I think, we were able to stay on schedule - thanks to all of the musicians for being good sports in sometimes challenging circumstances. All of our stages are covered, but that doesn't always matter when the rain is coming fast and furious like it did yesterday. Here's a rundown of my travels on the first full day of programming at this year's TD Toronto Jazz Festival:

I can now officially say that the 2013 TD Toronto Jazz Festival is underway! Last night's Motown revue at Nathan Phillips Square was pretty fantastic. Almost every inch of the square was packed, and the two performers - Martha Reeves (and the Vandellas) and Smokey Robinson gave everyone exactly what they were looking for. Here's a quick rundown of my day:

I guess we don't officially kick off the festival until this evening, but with Willie Nelson at Massey Hall last night - and some other great jazz happening around town - it certainly felt as though things were underway. Here's where I was:

• 12:15 pm - interview at Nathan Phillips Square with CITY
• 6:00 pm - Bloomsday at The Rex
• 8:00 pm - Willie Nelson
• 10:30 pm - The Brothas Concert at Lula Lounge

I'll let my tweets do most of the talking, but wanted to touch on a couple of things.

Jeanette (my wife) has a no-sympathy rule when it comes to my jazz-related galavanting. The rule, essentially, is this: if I have "one too many" and I wake up the next morning moaning about it, I get no sympathy. There's no finger wagging or "told you so" involved, but I'm certainly not getting a pat on the head and a gentle "there, there." All that to say, after last night's players party at The Rex, I got little sympathy this morning…