Bourgie Hall presents

Toot Suite: When Jazz was King

Musical shorts with live jazz!

Toot Suite is a tribute to Montreal’s Golden Age of jazz. From the 1920s to the 1950s the good times rolled and the jazz was hot. For reasons rooted in geography, liquor laws, politics and race, people travelled from all over to experience the wild nightlife of this town. Particularly during the prohibition era, American tourists flooded establishments here that offered the best and latest entertainment, with jazz being a major draw. By WW2, Montreal’s swinging reputation drew thousands of enlisted men and local gals looking for a fun night out in smoky venues with smokin’ hot bands. This meant golden opportunities for musical artists from all over to shine on stage and develop their chops.
Taking place at the beautifully prestigious Bourgie Hall, the program will alternate between live jazz performance on stage and vintage musical film shorts that mostly feature Black jazz artists who performed in Montreal night clubs and music halls like Café St-Michel and Rockhead’s Paradise. All shorts come from the archives of CFS (Cinéclub de Montréal / The Film Society) and will be projected as 16mm film for added authenticity. Seen performing on the big screen in their glory days are Billie Holiday, Cab Calloway, Duke Ellington, Fats Waller and Little Burgundy’s own Oscar Peterson.

Marie-Ketely Gomes on bass/vocals, Betsaleel Jean-Charles on drums and Théo Abellard on piano will interpret classic tunes made famous by Billie Holiday, Fats Waller, Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong and more. Special guest solo pianist is local favourite, Taurey Butler, interpreting works by Oscar Peterson and others. As an added treat, he will also perform live to jazzy images of Paris captured on Kodachrome colour film in 1960 and not shown to any audience in over 50 years.

Thursday, November 18, 2021 at 7:30 pm

To purchase your tickets visit: www.mbam.qc.ca

Bourgie Concert Hall
1339 Sherbrooke Street West,
Montreal, Quebec
H3G 2E8

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