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I played the violin in my school’s various orchestras from grades 6-10. In grade 10, we played a few songs at Jazz Night where we dressed in black, and the girls would wear a scarf and the guys would wear a tie. Each music group wore a differently coloured accessory…I think the band wore red, the choir wore yellow, and we wore green. I believe there was a catered dinner for the audience, and we played outside on the basketball courts…in February. Granted, this was February in Saudi Arabia, but still, I remember wearing a black wool sweater and tights!
The Beaches International Jazz Festival is a two-week-long summer music fest now in its 26th year. The festival runs so many events in the Beaches neighbourhood of Toronto over those two weeks in July, and we visited the Streetfest, where Queen Street East is blocked off and is made a pedestrian zone. Every 20 metres or so, another band or musician is performing. The streets are lined with booths and food trucks, and you can saunter along while listening to great live music. Best of all, it’s free. And listening (or playing jazz) felt so much more relaxing on a warm summer’s evening vs a chilly February night at school!
