Posted by On July 19th, 1998 I went to Ottawa’s Confederation Park to see the T. S. Monk Sextet play with the NAC Orchestra. It occurs to me that this might have been an Ottawa Jazz Fest concert. If so it probably marks the first time I attended what has become my favourite local music fest. It must have been.
Although the Jazz Fest has taken place during the last two weeks of June as long as I can remember, and this show was in July. So maybe it was a special summer presentation put on by the National Arts Centre.
Either way I’m not entirely sure why I was there. Though I love jazz and admire every Thelonius Monk performance I’ve ever heard (which admittedly isn’t as many as I would like – there’s only so much time in the day and there are still Stones albums I haven’t heard yet), I can’t see myself shelling out money back then to hear his son play, even if he is a world-renowned drummer in his own right. Just not enough star-power for me at the time.
And really, when it comes right down to it I don’t remember much – if anything – about this concert. I have vague memories of seeing the orchestra play outdoors but I know I saw them play on the lawn at the War Museum, so those memories might be bleeding in. That said, I also have flashes of a jazz band grooving away with the orchestra behind them, but I’ve seen the orchestra play with jazz guys plenty of times, so again it might be just a memoramalgam.
I guess the bottom line is that I really should be writing these things under hypnosis.
Todd Man Out 