Travel & Music: Toronto to Montreal
I recently returned from a trip to Toronto and Montreal, because it’s Jazz Festival time for our Canadian neighbors. They hold jazz festivals from coast to coast, starting in June and ending in September.
About a year ago, I shared some thoughts on my Travel & Music blog piece in Vancouver. This time, let’s explore the east coast of Canada with Toronto and Montreal!
A garden space
Down by the harbor in Toronto, you can find the Toronto Music Garden. The garden is inspired by Bach's First Suite for Unaccompanied Cello, and created in conjunction with renowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma in account of his film “The Music Garden”.
Each of the suite's six movements corresponds to a distinct section of the garden:
Prelude: An undulating riverscape with curves and bends.
Allemande: A forest grove with winding trails (birch trees).
Courante: Flowing, meadow-like plantings.
Sarabande: An inward-arcing circle of conifers, envisioned as a poet's corner.
Menuett: A formal, symmetrical flower parterre with a circular pavilion.
Gigue: Giant grass steps forming a curved amphitheater with views of the harbor.
While I didn’t catch any outdoor concerts while there, they are held in the amphitheater of the garden.
It is a truly beautiful and peaceful location where much of the sound comes from birds and leaves rustling in the trees.
Walk Of Fame
Although located in Toronto, it is technically “Canada’s Walk Of Fame” with maple leaf stars embedded in the sidewalk. Given that I live in Los Angeles, I’ve walked the stars around Hollywood Blvd so many times. It was a very different experience here, where there was less fanfare in the area as a whole.
From Leonard Cohen to Alanis Morrisette and Michael Buble, it was a lovely reminder of famous Canadians in music. That being said, the inductees go beyond well-known entertainers, recognizing a broad spectrum of Canadian achievement. This includes athletes, scientists, philanthropists, and business leaders.
If you happen across one of the Music Compass QR codes, which are strategically placed on sidewalks in different neighborhoods across Toronto, it’s definitely worth giving it a scan. I absolutely love the celebration of music talent in the city, directing visitors and locals to the music scene that the city offers. I would be thrilled to see more cities embrace this and give local musicians and venues the opportunity to support music in this way.
A history of jazz
Moving onto Montreal, it was hard not to be excited by the overall vibe of the city as it commenced the 45th annual Jazz Festival. The Montreal Jazz Festival holds a Guinness World Record as the world’s biggest jazz festival, hosting over 2 million visitors annually. It takes over many city blocks in the Quartier Des Spectacles, with a variety of stages and a mixture of both free and paid events.
Canada has a strong connection with jazz, which became popular in the early 20th century, with touring musicians and vaudeville. During the Prohibition era (1920 - 1933), Montreal had a reputation as a “wide open” city, which drew both artists and crowds north. Canadians embraced the genre brought by the American musicians, adapting it to their own.
The entire festival was set up to be family friendly, flowing with music between all the stages, and was truly integrated into the city. I very much enjoyed the giant piano keys, which were being jumped on by kids in the daytime, and then adults took over as the night progressed. Even the occasional heavy rain didn’t cause much more than a pause as we collectively ran for cover (or popped up an umbrella for those that were more prepared).
A couple of favorite new discoveries for me were Les Royal Pickles, a swing band local to Montreal. They had people dancing within moments of taking the stage. Also, I was very impressed by New Jazz Underground performing their MF Doom suite. Definitely worth the late coffee to stay up!
I’m guessing this may not be the last time I attend this festival and I highly encourage anybody to give it a try. Beyond the beauty of Montreal itself, the festival is a vibrant celebration and, once again, an example of how a city can bring its musical culture the forefront - where it should be.