Coming to Hugh’s Room on Friday, April 17 is singer/songwriter, guitarist and producer Gary Louris. He has built a deeply compelling body of music whose artistry and integrity has won the loyalty of an international audience and the respect of both critics and peers. Best known for his seminal work with The Jayhawks and Minneapolis rockabilly group
Safety Last, he has also worked with alt-rock supergroup Golden Smog. Gary's most recent recording, the largely autobiographical Dark Country, was released by Sham/Thirty Tigers in February 2025 and includes the song "Listening To Bobby Charles" which he performs following revealing interviews for WMOT-FM and The Current below.
It is with no small dosage of irony that highly acclaimed jazz pianists Bill Charlap and Renee Rosnes close their dynamic new duo piano album with the timeless standard “Never Will I Marry.” Marry, they have, and happily marry, they do, in musical terms on Double Portrait, a high point in their respective careers, and the first recorded example of what must be considered one of the finest and most empathetic piano duos in jazz history. Double Portrait is a work of significance and depth, but also flows with the casual and organic quality of musicians with an uncommon simpatico, in life as well as in art.
Double Portrait is the latest, and another proud entry, in a series of stellar projects on Blue Note for Charlap in the past decade, including readings of music by Leonard Bernstein and George Gershwin, and another special family project, with his mother, singer Sandy Stewart. In another musical family tree link, the pianist’s father was famed Broadway composer Moose Charlap. Charlap the Younger has earned the respect of critics and discerning listeners, and the praise of musicians such as Tony Bennett, whom the pianist has also worked with.
Rosnes, who originally hails from Vancouver, has been a prominent figure in NYC and the international jazz scene for many years. She has recorded fourteen fine albums as a leader, nine of them for Blue Note, and has been the pianist of choice for such artists as Joe Henderson, Wayne Shorter, JJ Johnson and Bobby Hutcherson. Rosnes is also a founding member of the dynamic SFJAZZ Collective, with whom she performed and recorded for six years. Renee's latest album, Crossing Paths (Smoke Sessions Records) is a salute to the music, composers and artists of Brazil and features contributions from Edu Lobo and Joyce Moreno. Crossing Paths has been nominated for a Juno Award for "Jazz Album Of The Year (Solo)." The ceremony takes place on March 29th in Hamilton.
Both pianists have been praised for representing the upper echelon of contemporary jazz piano aesthetics. Fittingly, TIME magazine once noted in a review that Charlap “approaches a song the way a lover approaches his beloved. He wants to view it from every angle – melody, harmony, lyrics, verse.” Rosnes was cited by the New York Times as “a virtuoso,” also noting that, in a concert, “no rhythmic inflection went unexplored.”
After marrying in 2007, the couple has subsequently performed live in duo format, and with Double Portrait, says Charlap, “finally, the time came that we were able to set it down for posterity. Itʼs a natural for us, both being admirers of each otherʼs work. The chemistry we have as husband and wife is naturally reflected in our music, and likewise, the chemistry we have as musicians is a part of our lives together.”
Double Portrait winds up being a unique expression of the artistry of each player, and an added third persona rises out of the interactive blend of the two players. For repertoire, the couple selected a diverse yet perfectly coherent range of material to explore and find mutual expression on. While both musicians continue to tend to their personal musical lives and projects, the Charlap Rosnes piano duo persona is now officially an ongoing venture, documented for the first time and for the ages. You can get a copy of Double Portrait from Renee's site right herewhile her Crossing Paths album is availablehere.
Watch a Bill & Renee duo performance from July 2025 along with a couple of selections from Double Portrait and a clip related to Renee's Crossing Paths album below.
With his new album receiving heaps of critical praise, guitarist Marc Ribot's show with Ceramic Dog tonight should be a rager!
Marc Ribot's Ceramic Dog
Live at Hugh's Room, 296 Broadview Avenue
Doors at 7pm. Show at 8pm.
$45+ in advance, $52+at the door.
Marc Ribot’s Ceramic Dog has pushed its long-brewing tension between traditional pop songcraft and avantgarde improvisational music to the breaking point, bridging its customary genre-agnostic approach with elements of glam boogie, minimalist disco, psychedelic boogaloo, garage-punk-against-the-machine agitprop, and so much more. Don't miss this rare opportunity to see Marc Ribot's Ceramic Dog performing live in Toronto tonight (Monday, June 23). Get tickets right here. They also play Montreal's Gesù (1200 De Bleury St) on Thursday (June 26) at 10:30 pm as part of the Montreal Jazz Festival. You'll find tickets right here. Watch a couple of Marc's performances with Ceramic Dog below.
UK country/soul duo My Darling Clementine will be playing Andrew's Place in Toronto on Sunday (April 6) at 2 pm.
My Darling Clementine Live at Andrew's Place
Sunday, April 6 at 2 pm.
Doors at 1:00 pm. $40 donation per person suggested.
Reservations and details: avb1964 <at> yahoo <dot> com
Don’t miss the highly anticipated Toronto return of My Darling Clementine, the critically acclaimed UK country-soul duo of Michael Weston King and Lou Dalgleish – the British George & Tammy! What began as a homage to the golden era of country duets with their 2011 award winning debut "How Do you Plead?" My Darling Clementine have now released six albums, played over 100 shows around the world and won numerous awards. Their most recent album, 2020's “Country Darkness” a collaboration with keyboard genius Steve Nieve best known for his work with Elvis Costello & The Attractions. My Darling Clementine's show at Hugh's Room matinee show slated for Saturday was cancelled by the venue but undeterred, the duo will be coming to Toronto this weekend, playing an intimate home show at Andrew's Place on Sunday (April 6) where they'll be showcasing songs from their forthcoming new album, as well as many fan favourites from their impressive catalogue, and will also include a mini set of the "songs of Elvis Costello." Note: a donation of $40 per person is suggested and all proceeds will go directly to My Darling Clementine. Before the show and during intermission, free drinks (beer, wine, pop, juice, water) and snacks will be provided. If you like, feel free to bring some of your own baking / snacks to share.
A must-see performance that Americana-UK calls “Spectacular,“ while Uncut Magazine wrote "King and Dalgleish have re-invented the country duet - the mingling of these two voices is just heavenly."
For more information about My Darling Clementine, visit their site right here. Watch a BBC performance of "I Felt The Chill" right here and check out a few clips including a great version of the Elvis Costello/George Jones classic "Stranger In The House" below.
Guitar slinger deluxe Albert Lee will be playing songs from his Lay It Down album at his Toronto show on Saturday, January 25.
Albert Lee at Hugh's Room Live
We never tire of listening to and watching this master musician, Albert Lee, as he shares his extraordinary guitar playing, his songs, and his stories of decades on the road.
This year, 2025, marks 66 years the virtuosic Albert Lee has been sharing his unparalleled precision and musicality to audiences around the world. His upcoming touring schedule includes many parts of The United States and the United Kingdom, in addition to Canada and more as he celebrates the release of his new album, “Lay It Down”. The album, recorded at the legendary Konk Studios in London is a tribute to some of Albert’s favourite artists and biggest inspirations.
His longtime friend (and touring partner), Emmylou Harris says of Albert: “A brilliant guitar player. His sound is unmistakable - often emulated, never equalled.”
What is truly so special is Albert’s obvious joy to be well and able to play for so many of us in concerts.
Tickets for Albert Lee's upcoming Toronto show at Hugh's Room Live (296 Broadview Ave) on Saturday, January 25 are $70 advance ($80 door) and available right here. Check out the lead off track from his Lay It Down album "Setting Me Up" below. You can get it directly from Albert's site right here: https://albertleeofficial.com/.
It's been some time since Toronto's Alex Pangman released a studio album of her own but I'm pleased to report that her fabulous new 33 debut for Montreal's Justin Time has been worth the wait. Evidently, Canada's Sweetheart of Swing couldn't think of any better way to spend her 33rd year than interpreting a well-chosen selection of classic American Songbook tunes popular in 1933 for a delightful concept recording.
For the sessions produced with Don Kerr at Rooster Studio last April, she was accompanied as always by her trusty Alley Cats in addition to singer pals Ron Sexsmith who sweetly duets on the Bing Crosby fave I Surrender Dear and Denzal Sinclaire who joins Alex on a lovely reprise of You Brought A New Kind Of Love To Me. Of course, the clever kicker for the album concept was that 33 would have a limited-run 33 RPM vinyl issue. Brilliant right?
Well, everything would be perfect if those hot new albums were back from the pressing plant in time for tonight's release party at Hugh's Room (2261 Dundas West) with singer/pianist Julian Fauth opening the proceedings at 8:30 pm, but even if the records don't miraculously appear, you can count on there being enough copies of the CD version of 33 to go around. In any case, you know that the always charming Ms. Pangman will be at her top-dollar best this evening with the superb support of her Alley Cats namely Peter Hill (piano), Chris Banks (bass), Glenn Anderson (drums), Jesse Barksdale (guitar), Drew Jerecka (fiddle, alto sax) and Ross Wooldridge (clarinet/tenor sax). Certainly not something you'd want to miss.
Unlikely as it may seem, long before Michael Bate made his name in this country skewering the rich, quasi-famous and the political elite as the co-founder of the Ottawa edition of notorious scandal sheet Frank, the British-born bane of Byron Muldoon was a stringer for Canadian Press when not playing steel guitar.
Stranger still, while on his way up (or down) the media ladder, junior reporter Bate somehow managed to score an interview with Gram Parsons in March of 1973, two months after the release of his influential solo debut GP (Reprise/Warner) featuring his new discovery Emmylou Harris. Bate's fortuitous encounter in Boston proved to be among the last recorded conversations with the doomed country-rock pioneer as Parsons tragically died in Joshua Tree, California from an overdose of morphine and tequila just six months later on September 19, 1973.
Now that Bate's shit-disturbing days with Frank are well behind him, he has decided to parlay his 30 minute interview of a lifetime into a low-key musical production – sans fancy choreography and Broadway cliches – called Grievous Angel: The Legend of Gram Parsons. While there's no shortage of traumatic events packed into Parsons short life to make for an epic tragedy worthy of the ancient Greeks – aside from the whole bizarre body snatching and ritual burning scenario that later unfolded – the production's success or failure will ultimately hinge on how effectively Parsons' timeless musical legacy is conveyed. It appears that Bate is mindful of that fact and astutely selected a couple of roots ringers of the appropriate age to play the vocally-demanding parts, namely Ottawa-based singer/songwriter Anders Drerup of Silver Creek in the lead role with Kelly Prescott (the daughter of Canuck country royals Randall Prescott and Tracey Brown) as Emmylou Harris.
Of course it's one thing to be able to hit the notes and quite another to deliver those classic songs with the sort of chemistry which marks the truly great duet pairings. No one will ever have the magic Parsons and Harris shared, that's a given, but the live recordings from a recent Grievous Angel performance at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa sound very promising (check the download links below).
You'll get a chance to see whether any sparks fly when Grievous Angel: The Legend of Gram Parsons makes it's Toronto debut at Hugh's Room (2261 Dundas West) on Saturday, June 26 at 8:30 pm. Tickets are $25 advance and $27.50 at the door.
