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 Hadar Noiberg?

Submitted by Josh Grossman on Mon Nov 19 9:57pm
Artist: 
Hadar Noiberg Trio

It is said that you are judged by the company you keep. If the idiom was applied to Israeli-born flautist Hadar Noiberg, the result would be overwhelmingly positive. Although she may be a new name, you'll certainly recognize some of her musical collaborators: she is a founding member of the jazz/world fusion group Yemen Blues, and has shared the stage with Anat Cohen, Omer Avital, Joel Frahm, Rufus Reid and many more. However, Hadar Noiberg stands perfectly well on her own.

What's so good about Benny Green?

Submitted by Josh Grossman on Wed Jun 13 3:42pm
Artist: 
Benny Green

A quick look at Benny Green's bio sheds some light on why he is one of the most respected pianists on the scene: he's either played with or lists as influences musicians who cover a huge range of styles within jazz. No wonder his playing is so interesting - his earliest exposure was to Charlie Parker and Thelonius Monk; he also lists pianists like Erroll Garner, Ahmad Jamal Bud Powell and Oscar Peterson as influences.

Who, exactly, is Kneebody?

Submitted by Josh Grossman on Mon Jun 11 5:29pm
Artist: 
Kneebody

On Kneebody's website, the bio for the Grammy-nominated, jazz-rock quintet is understandably vague: trying to summarize their music in one neat sentence (or paragraph) is no easy task. What I can tell you, is this:

  • They released their first album in 2005 on Dave Douglas' Greenleaf Music label
  • Their 2009 release, with Theo Bleckmann singing music composed and inspired by Charles Ives, earned the group a Grammy nomination
  • Trumpeter Shane Endsley has been named one of the Top 25 trumpeters of his generation by Downbeat Magazine

What's so good about Phil Dwyer?

Submitted by Josh Grossman on Wed Jun 6 2:31pm
Artist: 
Phil Dwyer

I like to start these posts with some sort of concise statement on why the musician being profiled is so important. I was going to do that with Phil Dwyer, but Canadian jazz legend Don Thompson does it so much more eloquently than I could. He says:

What's so good about Kurt Rosenwinkel?

Submitted by Josh Grossman on Thu May 31 3:06pm
Artist: 
Kurt Rosenwinkel

Kurt Rosenwinkel is, in my mind, quite simply one of the most exciting musicians on the current international modern jazz scene.

Who is Spectrum Road?

Submitted by Josh Grossman on Wed May 23 3:14pm
Artist: 
Spectrum Road

The short answer is this: Spectrum Road is an all-star quartet assembled to celebrate and pay tribute to the music of The Tony Williams Lifetime. The Lifetime, assembled by legendary drummer Tony Williams in 1969, performed a unique blend of jazz, rock and funk, and also traveled into the free jazz world heard on many recordings of that era.

And now, a bit more context.

What's so good about Roy Hargrove?

Submitted by Josh Grossman on Thu May 3 7:59pm
Artist: 
Roy Hargrove's RH Factor

Before we begin, I must reveal my bias. I'm a trumpet player. And so any other trumpet player with outstanding sound and technique is going to rank fairly high on my list. But that's not all that's good about Roy Hargrove...

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 Hiromi?

Submitted by Josh Grossman on Thu Apr 26 4:06pm
Artist: 
Hiromi: The Trio Project

As I indicated in yesterday's post about Bettye LaVette, some artists resonate with me from the first note I hear. Others take a little more time to sink in. For me, Hiromi Uehara falls into the latter category.

What's so good about Jacky Terrasson?

Submitted by Josh Grossman on Tue Jun 21 5:09pm
Artist: 
Jacky Terrasson

I got to see Jacky Terrasson perform live at the Zinc Bar as part of Winter Jazzfest in New York back in January. It was a standing room only crowd, and he did not disappoint - with his trio mates he played a solid 40 minutes of music: I don't remember any breaks, and I don't remember any talking until the end of the set. The audience was entranced - he moved from the keyboard to the inside of the piano and played inside and outside of harmonies...we never knew what to expect.

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