On the stand now

Toronto Big Band Notebook

Sixteen chairs, one book of standards, and a dance floor waiting to open. This notebook gathers what we have learned watching and writing about big bands in Toronto: how the sections fit together, which tunes get people moving, and what makes a reception swing. It is written for anyone curious about the sound: planners, players, and listeners alike.

Between numbers, the room keeps talking at the counter while the next set waits on the stand.

Reading the Floor: How a Big Band Paces a Reception

From the first soft chords of cocktail hour to the last request before the lights come up: how a big band builds and rests the energy of a reception, set by set.

GIG-003 inked 06/10/2026

Latest numbers

The page that runs the room: every cue, dynamic, and cut-off lives on this stand before a note sounds.

The Chart: What an Arrangement Tells the Band

Seventeen players reading the same page at the same time: what a big band chart actually tells each chair, and why the loudest passage always arrives last.

BAND-004 inked 06/10/2026

A brass and reed band in grey nineteenth century uniforms on a museum lawn at dusk, sheet music on black stands, warm lamplight on the bells of the horns.

Southern Horizon: A Civil War Era Band We Keep on File

What Toronto big band readers should know about Southern Horizon, the Virginia ensemble behind an old domain, its records and its research.

BAND-003 inked 23/09/2026

A wooden counter at a small hall lined with pint glasses and a punch bowl, warm amber lamps, guests in half-light leaning in with the bandstand blurred behind.

The Bar Side of the Gig: Glasses, Games, and the Host's

What the bar side of a big band night looks like: the glasses behind the counter, the games between sets, and the table that keeps a room together.

GIG-002 inked 19/09/2026

A string quartet coaching session in a sunlit Oberlin rehearsal room, four players leaning over shared scores, bows caught mid-phrase in afternoon light, framed from behind the cello.

What a Summer Strings Program Teaches About Ensemble Work

The audition, the coaching, and the closing concert: what an intensive summer strings program teaches young players about playing well together.

TUNE-003 inked 18/09/2026

A big band on a low seaside terrace at dusk, brass section at the rail, open windows showing dark water, warm lamps on the parquet dance floor.

A Seaside Room That Hears the Band

How a touring big band reads a Mediterranean venue: sound, sightlines, floor, wind, and what a room by the sea must deliver.

GIG-001 inked 17/09/2026

Close view of an accordion's reed bank and bellows folds on a wooden rehearsal-room table, warm side light, shallow depth of field with saxophones in soft focus behind

What a Reed Teaches a Horn Section

Lessons from the accordion and its reeds: breathing, blend, and the long note that carries a dancer across the floor. Notes for Toronto horn players.

TUNE-002 inked 15/09/2026

The stand waits for the chairs: three rows of desks and cases before a Wednesday rehearsal.

Seventeen Chairs: How a Big Band's Sections Fit

Five saxophones, four trumpets, four trombones, four in the rhythm section: the classic big band headcount, and what each chair actually owes the room.

BAND-002 inked 14/09/2026