Saturday
The Bar Side of the Gig: Glasses, Games, and the Host's
No. 07 4 min read
What the bar side of a big band night looks like: the glasses behind the counter, the games between sets, and the table that keeps a room together.
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Toronto Big Band Notebook
Sixteen chairs, one book of standards, and a dance floor waiting to open. This notebook gathers what we have learned watching and writing about big bands in Toronto: how the sections fit together, which tunes get people moving, and what makes a reception swing. It is written for anyone curious about the sound: planners, players, and listeners alike.
Last written The Bar Side of the Gig: Glasses, Games, and the Host's
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Notebook 2026
September 2026Pages 7
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Photograph No. 07 -
Friday
Photograph No. 06 What a Summer Strings Program Teaches About Ensemble Work
No. 06 4 min read
The audition, the coaching, and the closing concert: what an intensive summer strings program teaches young players about playing well together.
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Thursday
Photograph No. 05 A Seaside Room That Hears the Band
No. 05 4 min read
How a touring big band reads a Mediterranean venue: sound, sightlines, floor, wind, and what a room by the sea must deliver.
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Tuesday
Photograph No. 04 What a Reed Teaches a Horn Section
No. 04 4 min read
Lessons from the accordion and its reeds: breathing, blend, and the long note that carries a dancer across the floor. Notes for Toronto horn players.
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Saturday
Photograph No. 03 Where a Band's Library Comes From: Cue Sheets and Catalogues
No. 03 4 min read
How a big band builds its library: commissioned charts, published arrangements, catalog numbers, cue sheets and the quiet trade in production music explained.
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Thursday
Photograph No. 02 Haunted Halls, Hot Charts: Ontario Rooms Where Bands Played
No. 02 4 min read
From the Gibraltar Point legend to old theatres and inns, a look at the Ontario rooms big bands played and the folklore that follows them.
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Tuesday
Photograph No. 01 Halibut Cove: Bringing a Band to a Village Reached Only by
No. 01 4 min read
What it takes to carry horns, charts, and a rhythm section to Halibut Cove, Alaska, a village with no roads, no cars, and a dock instead of a loading door.
The dividers one section per divider
01
The Orchestra
How a big band is assembled, from brass and saxophone sections to the rhythm chair.
Pages 0
02
Swing Repertoire
The standards that fill a big band book, from Ellington and Basie to Miller-era dance tunes.
Pages 3 last written
03
Party & Reception
What a big band brings to a wedding, a corporate evening, or a dance floor full of guests.
Pages 2 last written
04
Toronto Jazz Scene
Rooms, players, and occasions that keep big band music alive across Toronto.
Pages 2 last written
Other stages
A short list of places where Toronto swing and big band music is worth your time.
Every town that still fills a room for live players has a desk like ours; a magazine of classic stages keeps the Athens edition of that beat.
What happens before the house lights drop is half the story, and a backstage entertainment desk writes that half with the same affection for the work.
A reception table owes every guest a safe plate; a guide to eating corn-free is the kind of careful reading a good caterer, and a good bandleader, respects.