Jazz legend follows the beat of a different drum

By: Lenny Stoute

AT 70-PLUS YEARS, jazz legend Archie Alleyne continues to gig at a rate that would leave players half his age out of breath. In the early 1950s, Alleyne took his self-taught style from his kitchen to Toronto’s then red-hot jazz scene. A few years later, he became the house drummer at the Town Tavern, accompanying U.S. jazz legends Billie Holiday, Lester Young, Coleman Hawkins and Ben Webster.

After a car crash in 1967, Alleyne left music in order to bring soul food to Toronto with his restaurant The Underground Railroad; he didn’t play publicly again until 1982. Since then, Alleyne has been a much sought after musician and an avid social activist.

In the late 1980s, Alleyne and friend Rudy Webb created Evolution of Jazz (EOJ), a music and dance program aimed at connecting black youth with musical legacies. Today, Alleyne continues the work he started with EOJ through the Archie Alleyne Scholarship & Bursary Fund (AASBF).

“During the early days of EOJ,” says Alleyne, “we focused on school children in deprived areas where I felt the attention was most needed. For the most part, we’d go into the school with a little troupe of musicians and dancers. If there was funding, we’d rent a local theatre and bus the kids in. Part of it was to expose the youth to styles of black music that wasn’t angry music.”

The funding for the EOJ program came entirely from the Ontario Arts Council, and it was launched at a time when the provincial government was frantic to fund programs that addressed the circumstances and conditions of troubled neighbourhoods. “On occasion, certain schools had enough talented and committed kids that we went in there and mentored them through the show,” says Alleyne, “but all the performers in the show were kids from this school. After those shows, you could just see the pride and confidence radiating from them. We felt if, at the end of the day, we’d inspire one kid to take up music, then it was worth it.”

Today, along with EOJ, Alleyne uses the AASBF to provide specific support for aspiring young musicians. The fund consists of a mentorship program as well as an award that is provided to applicants in recognition of their achievements and to assist them in their musical education.

“The great thing about this program is it gives kids the opportunity to use their talents in a constructive way,” says Alleyne, “instead of it being wasted on the streets. Hopefully, we can continue to grow and help even more people. It is my hope that people will jump on board and support what we’re doing.”

The AASBF is open to students up to the age of 25, who are enrolled in a jazz program, graduates of a secondary school or in full-time attendance at a post-secondary institution, maintaining academic excellence and contributing to their community. (For more information visit kollage.ca.)

Watch Archie perform at The Rex here:

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Mother and Daughter team

A hospitality endeavour brings new challenges and rewards for one mother-daughter team.

By Stephanie Pollard

Rozz Entertainment Complex Centre has a restaurant, a banquet hall and a performance venue all under one roof. The brand new business on 200 Advance Blvd. in Brampton, Ontario is the brainchild of mother-daughter team Rosalind Blake-Sutherland and Tanika Blake.

And with the help of partners Lloyd Blake and Leo Sinclair, the pair aims to make its dream of offering affordable luxury a long-lasting reality. “For a long time, I wanted to get into the entertainment field,” says Blake-Sutherland. “I was always having little things going on like fashion shows or dinners.

I had this dream that I would have a place that offers up nice Caribbean fusion in an entertainment complex where we could have R&B, reggae and jazz artists.” With her business partners, Blake-Sutherland created the concept for Rozz in 2008, but it didn’t materialize until this past summer, when the doors finally swung open.

A versatile concept isn’t the only part of this hospitality equation. As Blake-Sutherland and Blake work to balance the mother-daughter and employer-employee bond, both are finding that their relationship has become deeper as well as more complicated. “I find it really hard separating employer from mother,” Blake says of the arrangement.

“Sometimes it doesn’t matter what she’s telling me, even when I’m in the workplace and it’s related to work, it’s almost like, ‘Mom is not happy with what I’ve done.’” For her part, Blake-Sutherland admits that because she depends on Blake for so much, her expectations tend to be extremely high.

“Sometimes I think she tries too hard to please me, I really do,” she says. Grievances aside, this mother-daughter team is constantly working to ensure that Rozz upholds its reputation of providing quality entertainment while giving back to the community through scholarships and other endeavours.

With business starting to boom, Blake-Sutherland and her daughter are confident this entertainment haven will be offering the royal treatment for years to come. “I see Rozz having about 10 different locations,” Blake-Sutherland says. Blake finishes her mom’s thoughts: “Also, what we have here are different components of business in one area so it would be great to see a Rozz banquet hall by itself or a Rozz restaurant by itself. That would be really great.”

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A giant of Jazz

The National Arts Centre honours Oscar Peterson, Canada’s famed jazz pianist, with a statue.

By Simona Siad

Canadian jazz composer and pianist Joe Sealy still remembers the first time he heard Oscar Peterson play. “I was 11 years old when my dad took me to Jazz at the Philharmonic in Montreal to see the Oscar Peterson trio,” recalls Sealy. “He was just amazing. I had never heard anything quite like that in my life.”

Now, aspiring Canadian musicians and fans alike will be able to remember the late Canadian jazz legend, forever. On June 30, renowned Canadian artist Ruth Abernethy unveiled her bronze statue of Peterson as part of this year’s Canada Day celebrations. The statue now stands proudly outside of the National Arts Centre in Ottawa, steps from Parliament Hill and the National War Memorial.

“The National Arts Centre wanted to honour Oscar Peterson because he was simply the best,” says Rosemary Thompson, director of communications and public relations at the centre. “His 65-year career as a musician, recording artist, composer and mentor is inspiring not only to Canada but to the world.”

Thompson says the idea first began when a group of prominent Canadians launched a fundraising campaign to create the life-sized sculpture of Peterson. Among the first donors to the campaign were Prime Minister Stephen Harper and his wife, Laureen, as well as former Ontario Premier Bob Rae and his wife, Arlene Perly Rae. Canadian jazz great Oliver Jones, national TV news anchor Lloyd Robertson and his wife, Nancy and businessman Harry Rosen and his wife, Evelyn, also contributed.

But when news broke about the idea for a statue, support  also came rushing in from around the world. “The reaction from Canadians was tremendous. Donations both big and small poured in from across the country. We had a donor from South Carolina, and another one from the United Kingdom,” says Thompson.

Peterson, a jazz pianist and composer who died of kidney failure on Dec. 23, 2007, is fondly remembered as one of the greatest jazz pianists of all time. He was called the Maharaja of the Keyboard by Duke Ellington, O.P. by his friends, and was a member of jazz royalty. Peterson released more than 200 recordings, won seven Grammy Awards, and received other numerous praise and honours over the course of his lengthy career.

“Oscar Peterson is a quintessential Canadian success story,” Prime Minister Harper says in a press release. “He came from humble roots to become a legendary performer who inspired countless artists all over the world. He deserves to be honoured in this prominent location of our nation’s capital.” Thompson agrees: “I think Mr. Peterson is beloved because he represents the best of what Canada should strive to be — a country where you can reach a pinnacle of success with hard work and determination,” she says.

“Oscar Peterson felt the sting of racial discrimination during his lifetime, but he used his art and his quiet strength to overcome.”

For Sealy, who is still performing and recording jazz decades after that first encounter hearing Peterson, the statue means even more. “It shows that anything is possible,” he says. “Oscar achieved this status through his hard work and his talent. He was an ambassador to Canada and [this statue] shows young Black children everywhere that these things are possible and achievable.”

“[After his stroke], he came back and, for the most part, was playing with one hand. What he was able to achieve, playing with half of what most other pianists had, he was still light years ahead of everyone else.” — Jazz broadcaster Ross Porter

“I don’t think we’ll ever see another jazz musician get the amount of credit that he received over the years. He was a wonderful inspiration to myself and so many other young pianists.” — Canadian jazz pianist and long-time Peterson friend Oliver Jones

“I just worshipped him as a musician … he just set the standard for jazz composition, as well as his incredible ability as a piano player.” — Liberal politician, former Ontario premier and Peterson fan Bob Rae

“He broke out of Canada, he’s one of the first people. We talk of Céline Dion, Shania Twain, Alanis Morissette and Bryan Adams. Oscar Peterson did what they did years ago as a black person. So what he’s done is incredible.” — Tracy Biddle, daughter of Montreal jazz pillar Charlie Biddle

“Somebody once said that [Franz] Liszt conquered the piano and [Frédéric] Chopin seduced it. Oscar is our Liszt.” — Late Canadian jazz journalist, lyricist and Peterson biographer Gene Lees

“I learned a lot from playing with him and it was great, what I would call, on-the-job training … playing in a situation like that where you never know what’s going to happen from one moment to the next.” — Jazz guitarist Lorne Lofsky

- With files from CBC

Maiko Watson says she now feels more comfortable in her own skin.

The former Sugar Jones singer has stripped away bubblegum pop for soulful sounds and control of her life

BY: Amanda Robinson

Her journey left her with a few bumps and bruises, but Maiko Watson says she now feels more comfortable in her own skin.

Armed with a unique fusion of acoustic soul, jazz and R&B, the singer-songwriter, producer and recent business owner is ready to once again make her mark in the music business, but in a much different way. The Winnipeg native is back in Toronto to promote her recently-released debut album, Sweet Vibration, which was put out by her own independent label, Labeame Records. “I was influenced a lot by jazz around the time I was writing this album and R&B and soul is kinda my roots in music,” she says. “The album is a combination of those things, and just me being more mature now.”

You might remember Watson from when she was in her early 20s — she was one of five members selected to be in the pop group Sugar Jones, which was formed in 1999 through the reality TV show Popstars. In 2001, she married Canadian musician Remy Shand, moved back to Winnipeg with him, and left Sugar Jones. Watson spent the next few years touring and singing backup for Shand’s band. They filed for divorce in 2006.

Looking back at her younger self, Watson says she knows she wasn’t ready for marriage after being taken on a whirlwind ride to fame with Sugar Jones. “I got married really fast. It’s like everything was happening all at once,” she says. “You’re not looking very far ahead. I know now that I didn’t know who I was back then. I feel a lot more comfortable with who I am now and what I want.”

Watson says this even though Sugar Jones’ debut album went platinum and spawned two Top 10 singles on the Canadian charts. The group was even nominated for a Juno, performed at the Air Canada Centre and opened for acts like Destiny’s Child. She admits leaving the group was a bit selfish. “I was more considering myself than members of the band,” she says. “But, at the same time, we all have our lives and I’m still in touch with most of the girls.”

Now an independent artist with an independent record label — far from the days of screaming fans, tour buses and industry parties — Watson describes her time with Sugar Jones as having given her an unrealistic view of the music industry. Watson now enjoys the daily grind because she says she has what she lacked while in Sugar Jones: a more soulful sound, creative control and, most importantly, the ability to determine her own success. “There’s a lot of work on the business side of things. It’s a lot of sending out packages, constantly contacting people and research. At the same time, I really enjoy it because you’re making things happen for you.”

After being on a rollercoaster ride for the last few years, Watson says she feels that this is the perfect time for her to re-emerge. She’s developing her sound as an artist and, with changes in the industry — artists becoming famous as a result of social networking websites like MySpace or iTunes, for example — her grassroots label may have a huge chance to succeed.

Watson has also taken control over her personal life. She’s currently single, enjoying her freedom and the ability to focus on making it to the top once again.

- Look out for Watson in the coming months, promoting her album and playing at festivals. You can check her music out at myspace.com/maikowatsonmusic