Shake Your Brass

After my yoga workshop, I headed to High Park to bid adieu to an acquaintance who was leaving Toronto forever on a globe-trotting journey. It made for a full day and I was feeling depleted by early evening. I thought to try some pick-me-up music at The Rex, the long-time Jazz dive on Queen St.

The Heavyweight Brass Band, a 4 or 5 piece brass band, recently released their sophomore album, Brasstronomical. But tonight, with the help of friends, they've expanded to a 15-member brass collection called "Heavyweight Big Band". The venue was packed, hot, and sweaty. When they started their set with Just The Two Of Us everybody dug the groove and the big sound. They did numerous pop songs arrangements with their older tunes (I Believe I Can Fly, Beat It, Telephone) but there were also originals on the new CD (You're On Your Own, Hypnosis). It was funky and not subtle. They essentially have two modes: loud and louder. That sort of sound did draw in a lot of passerbys as it spilled out the front door, but I was suffering from sonic fatigue halfway through their set. Though a second set was promised after a short break, I decided to call it a night.