Welcome to the Artistic Director's Guide

The Artistic Director's Guide is our way of taking you "beyond the bio". Here you'll find audio and video clips, and I'll describe what I like about each artist and suggest why he or she is important to the scene. So dive in—use the menu options above to find an artist, and let's seek to answer "What's so good about...?"

Josh Grossman, Artistic Director
Toronto Downtown Jazz

What's so good about The Bad Plus?

Submitted by Josh Grossman on Mon Apr 30 4:26pm
Artist: 
Bad Plus

I've been lucky enough to see The Bad Plus perform live a couple of times, and I have this to say: when a band is truly operating as a unit, it's as if the music is being made by some magical force. The musicians don't seem to be communicating; there are no obvious visual or aural cues being passed back and forth. Everything just kind of...happens. The Bad Plus is such a unit.

What's so good about Laila Biali?

Submitted by Josh Grossman on Wed Oct 20 2:08pm
Artist: 
Laila Biali

I've had the good fortune to meet, book and perform with a wide variety of musicians and it's always a treat to work with someone who is talented as a musician but also a wonderful person. Laila Biali is one of those people: an outstanding talent and possibly one of the most modest, down-to-earth people you could meet.

What's so good about Oliver Jones?

Submitted by Josh Grossman on Thu Sep 9 1:31pm
Artist: 
Oliver Jones Trio

It shouldn't be a surprise that Oliver Jones - who grew up only a few blocks away from Oscar Peterson, used to hang out on the Peterson stoop listening to Oscar practice, and took lessons from Oscar's sister Daisy - swings so hard. But Oliver Jones is more than just an Oscar Peterson contemporary - over a career spanning more than six decades Oliver has developed a well-deserved reputation as one of Canada's jazz treasures.

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