Molly Johnson at Toronto Jazz Fest 2016
Thursday night saw us a week into the 2016 Toronto Jazz Festival and we were blessed with the legendary presence of Molly Johnson.
The nearly sold out tent at Toronto’s Nathan Phillips Square was transformed into a sultry, sweet jazz club and Molly had us eating out of her hands. Joined on stage by Colleen Allen, the pair carried us through a wonderful set of classics including Billie Holiday’s Don’t Explain, Bobbie Gentry’s Ode to Billie Joe and her wonderful original Rain plus many, many more.
Joined on stage by some amazing jazz musicians this set was magical and I’m so happy I was able to witness it. Molly moved about the stage and her joy was obvious to all. She bantered with the crowd, telling jokes and talking about her life here in Toronto. She took the time to acknowledge the crowd outside the tent with a “Shout out to the cheap seats, I see you!”
The Juno Award winner has been performing since she was a child, she attended the National Ballet School and performed in Porgy and Bess at The Royal Alexandra Theatre. Music was a strong pull for Molly and by the time she was 17 she was fronting a disco band. She sang lead for Alta Moda and The Infidels in the ’80s and she’s worked with Big Sugar, Tom Cochrane and Breeding Ground. She’s always dabbled in the jazz world but didn’t release her first jazz album until 2000. Molly’s latest release is Because of Billie and it’s available everywhere you can buy music.
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