Beach Jazz and Reflection is back, with a local double feature. Malvern CI’s jazz ensemble and jazz choir will be the musical guests for the next edition, with a theme of Artistry in Rhythm.
There is no admission fee for the series, but a freewill offering will be collected. Music for the Soul: Beach Jazz and Reflection takes place at Beach United Church on Saturday, April 5, beginning at 4:30 p.m.
Acoustic Harvest presents a real treat for fans of down east Newfoundland music, as Ennis is set to appear on Saturday, April 5.
Ennis consists of sisters Maureen and Karen Ennis, whose down home folk has earned them a Juno, a SOCAN award and numerous East Coast Music Awards and nominations. They’ve released seven albums so far, and show no sign of slowing.
The sisters’ talent has been widely recognized, with the pair performing in Australia, the Middle East, Europe and across North America. They’ve performed with artists such as the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Jann Arden and the Chieftains. For more on Ennis, visit ennismusic.com.
The show takes place at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, April 5 at Robinson Hall, St. Nicholas Anglican Church, 1512 Kingston Rd., just east of Warden. Tickets are $22 in advance through acousticharvest.ca, or $25 at the door.
The Neighbourhood Unitarian Universalist Congregation concert series presents The Windermere String Quartet on Sunday, April 6 at 2 p.m.
The quartet formed in spring, 2005 to perform the music of Mozart, Haydn, Beethoven, Schubert and others on period instruments.
The quartet consists of Rona Goldensher and Elizabeth Loewen Andrews on violin, Anthony Rapoport on viola and Laura Jones on cello. All have performed with a wide variety of ensembles around the globe.
Goldensher is currently a member of Toronto’s Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra. Loewen Andrews is a member of the Hamilton Philharmonic. Rapoport is principal violinist with Sinfonia Toronto. Jones is assistant principal cello with the Hamilton Philharmonic.
Admission is $15. The show takes place at the NUUC’s Ratcliffe Hall, 73 Hiawatha Rd., southwest of Gerrard and Coxwell.
For more on the group see windermere.braveform.com. For more about the show visit nuuc.ca.
The Toronto Silent Film Festival runs in early April, with a special screening at the Fox Theatre on Sunday, April 6.
At 4 p.m., 1000 Laffs: It Started with Charlie will screen, with guest musical accompaniment by Laura Silberberg.
The 104-minute show will feature the legendary silent star Charlie Chaplin, as well as the work of his contemporaries. Laurel and Hardy, Fatty Arbuckle, Buster Keaton, Harry Langdon and Charley Chase will all add to the comedy at this special screening, timed to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Chaplin’s appearance on the silver screen.
Tickets for 1000 Laffs are $15, available through the festival website at torontosilentfilmfestival.com. The Fox is at 2236 Queen St. E., at Beech.
Five of Canada’s best poets are gathering at the Beaches branch of the Toronto Public Library to celebrate National Poetry Month.
Poetry City will take place on Thursday, April 10 from 6 to 8:30 p.m. at the library, 2161 Queen St. E. at Lee. Present will be Dennis Lee, Ronna Bloom, Ken Babstock, Karen Solie and Souvankham Thammavongsa. The event is free.
Lee may be best known to young ones – and those who were young once – for his book Alligator Pie, or as the composer to the theme song and much of the music in the television show Fraggle Rock. He has also written many works for adults, and cofounded the highly regarded House of Anansi Press.
Bloom has authored five books, and been translated into several languages. Her poems have been broadcast on CBC, displayed in public and recorded by the Canadian National Institute for the Blind.
Babstock was born in Newfoundland, raised in Ottawa and lives in Toronto, and has won numerous awards for his poetry. He has published several collections of his work, and is the poetry editor for House of Anansi.
Solie has worked as everything from a farm labourer to an English teacher, making her way from her native Saskatchewan to her present home in Toronto. She has been widely published in journals and anthologies.
Thammavongsa was born in a Lao refugee camp. She has published three books of poetry. Her collection Found was made into a short film by Paramita Nath, and screened at festivals around the world.
Joey Purpura’s Diamond in the Rough Neil Diamond tribute show is coming to the Beach.
Purpura says he has “lived and breathed Neil Diamond since 2004.” The Diamond in the Rough show has travelled the country and even to the Caribbean.
A gifted natural impersonator, Purpura found he had not only a similar sound to the legendary star, but also quickly developed a late-in-life love of the singer’s music.
To make his tribute more interesting, Purpura enlisted a Las Vegas designer to replicate Diamond’s 1970s finery, and uses the show not just to perform, but to tell the story of the singer’s life. Find out more about Purpura and the show at solitaryman.ca.
Diamond in the Rough takes place Friday, April 11 at the Baron Byng Beaches Branch of the Royal Canadian Legion, 243 Coxwell Ave. at Gerrard. Tickets are $15 in advance by calling 416-465-0120, or $20 at the door. A portion of the proceeds will go to the legion.
Beach singer Kristin Lindell, whose CD Overflowing received positive reviews in the pages of this newspaper, will be sharing the stage at a local house show with Putnam Smith, a singer and banjo player from Portland, Maine.
Lindell is a Beacher and local favourite, having performed around town, everywhere from C’est What? to the East Lynn Farmers’ Market. Her vocals are a great match with acoustic-based blues and roots music. Check out her tunes at kristinlindell.com.
Smith’s bio establishes his homesteading hipster cred by mentioning his log cabin home, his grandfather’s banjo and his letter pressed album covers – all by the end of the second sentence. Find out more at putnamsmith.com.
The concert takes place at 4 p.m. on Saturday, April 12 at a Kingsmount Park home. Tickets to the show, which will be followed by a potluck, are $10. Only 30 spots are available. Email kristin@kristinlindell.com for tickets and more details.
A Tribute to Vocal Jazz, featuring Cadence, takes place on Thursday, April 17 at Hugh’s Room, 2261 Dundas St. W.
East End resident and tenor Ross Lynde is one of the four vocal talents who make up the acclaimed a capella group, which covers many decades of musical styles using only their voices. With four albums to their name, Cadence has been established as a premier vocal jazz powerhouse.
The April 17 show is part of Jazz FM 91’s Sound of Jazz concert series. For tickets visit hughsroom.com. For more on the group, visit cadence-unplugged.com.
Morgan’s on the Danforth continues its weekly Jazzy Sundays, with duos providing entertainment during the afternoon.
Sunday, April 6 will feature Rita Di Ghent and David Restivo, while Gina P. and Scott Metcalfe will handle Sunday, April 13.
Jazzy Sundays take place from 2 to 5 p.m. at Morgan’s on the Danforth, 1280 Danforth Ave., just east of the Greenwood subway station. Visit morgansonthedanforth.com or call 416-461-3020 for more information.
Relish Bar and Grill, 2152 Danforth Ave., is an oasis of nightly live music on east Danforth.
Regular happenings include The BTBs on Wednesdays from 7:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m., Kiki’s Karaoke on Thursdays from 10 p.m. to close, the Danger Bees from 9 p.m. to close on Friday nights, the Stir It Up open mic night from 9 p.m. to close on Sunday nights and Bentroots from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. on Mondays.
Other upcoming performers include Jennifer Foster from 9:30 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. on Saturday, April 5; Jordan Glick and the Usual Suspects, covering brunch from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Sunday, April 6; Liane Fainsinger from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Thursday, April 10; Elena Harte, from 9:30 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. on Saturday, April 12; The Brickhouse Trio during brunch, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., on Sunday, April 13, followed later that afternoon by Cadre, 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.; and Clela, from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Tuesday, April 15.
Beach and East End rockers The Bleeding Lights have lent one of their tunes to a WoodGreen Community Services campaign.
Shirt Off My Back is a three-minute video created by clients of WoodGreen who have experienced homelessness or been at risk at some point in their lives. The video, viewable on WoodGreen’s YouTube channel, features those clients wearing shirts with their answers to the quest: what does it mean to have safe affordable housing?
The video is backed by the Bleeding Lights tune Candles. The band’s frontman Owen Kelly finds songwriting inspiration while jogging on the boardwalk.
For more on the band, visit thebleedinglights.com.
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