Mr. O's posting back to Press
Feb 2003
I just came across Mr. O's posting.
When I asked about comparable Canadian jazz compositions having impacted the global community I was responding to Neuf's contention that somehow feelings of hate contaminated his view of Weather Report's music.
I've followed the Canadian music scene since 1969 and other than Oscar's Canadian Suite, Moe's Swinging Sheppard and the Homecoming to some extent there's very little out there that compares to anything south of us or even the British jazz scene with John Surman, John McLaughlin and the like. My take on it is that local guys were more focused on making a buck - hoping to get something going in the lucrative Toronto studio scene rather than stepping out and taking on the world. This has never been a brave scene.
I think what Metalwood is making good moves. It's the world you have to face. I also think the Spadina Bus crew gave it a good crack but could only get so far without money.
I remember the Toronto bands of the early eighties since I was at CIUT at the time. Most were bland copies of someone's vision other than their own.
We can cry dollars - distance or whatever but none of that has anything to do with putting together a great piece of music. For my buck there's Christine Jensen, Lila Biala, Francois Bourassa, Rosemary Galloway writing exceptional music. That's not to say there isn't a lot more - just what comes to mind.
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