Issue Nine
The Montreal Bistro: Jazz Is Alive and Well And Living In Toronto by Tom Fleming
Entering the front door of The Montreal Bistro in Toronto...
Entering the front door of The Montreal Bistro in Toronto (corner of Adelaide Street and Sherbourne Avenue) is an interesting experience to say the least. At first blush, the exposed brick, wood beams and intimate lighting identify it as what it is; a quaint, quiet and intimate little bistro, like many others in the city. Its interior emanates a warm patina and welcoming aura that reeks of frequent and prolonged use, in a time when the bar scene was more about quiet conversation with good friends than it appears to be today. No throbbing bass, no huge amps, no endless litany of similar sounding tunes cleverly mixed and synced to pass seamlessly from one into the other, for the dancing pleasure of a young and enthusiastic (if not skilled) crowd. Simply good music played at a comfortable decibel level and (on the bar and lounge side) a simple menu of wholesome food and decent wine at reasonable prices. (Those wishing a more formal dining experience are ushered into a separate dining area in an adjoining room, featuring a more comprehensive menu.)
That’s what one sees at first blush. Closer inspection as one’s eyes adjust to the light, reveals that one has just stepped into a veritable museum of North American jazz and blues history. The walls are festooned with autographed pictures of jazz luminaries past and present, who have performed in this small out-of the-way lounge and many who still do. Jazz greats like Oscar Peterson, Clark Terry, Doc Cheatham, Nat Adderly, George Shearing, Diana Krall, The Boss Brass, Moe Koffman and Dick Hyman are but a few of the storied performers who have graced the stage of this quaint little venue, only slightly apart from the center core of Toronto.
The operative phrase here is “still do perform” because in this day of recorded music and Dee Jays (they’re cheaper and take up less drinking space than larger, live bands) excellent jazz artists still do perform here regularly, to a small but faithful and appreciative audience and the audience is often as storied as the performers, including from time to time, such luminaries as Robert Redford, Mary Tyler Moore, Burt Reynolds, Jeremy Irons, Lou Gosset Jr. and Norman Jewison. The Montreal is one of a handful of clubs in Toronto whose proprietors have championed the cause of live music and provided a regular venue for jazz artists and their small but enthusiastic and recently growing audience.
However, the pictorial history on the walls only hints at the wealth of stories the walls could tell if they could only talk. In the late nineteen-seventies and early eighties there was a thriving commercial music business in Toronto, providing a handsome living for an extremely busy and talented elite of studio musicians. Being flanked on the East by Sounds Interchange and across the street by Manta Sound, two of the city’s biggest and busiest commercial recording studios, the Montreal became the favorite watering hole for many of those extremely busy, well-heeled and oft rather irreverent musical elite. They would stop in to do a lively post mortem on a just completed gig or to grab a quick bite between bookings at one studio or another. In the days before cell phones, if you couldn’t reach a busy player via his answering service, more often than not you would find him at the Montreal enjoying his friends and a drink before his next session. In fact many projects and band rosters were dreamed up and agreed upon at the Montreal bar.
Almost anyone from the music community of that era or, in fact anyone who frequented the Montreal, has at least one story about some spectacularly funny thing that occurred while they were there. Most are not suitable for public consumption but they all help define the unique clientele and their penchant for living life large. Many have become exaggerated in fond and over-enthusiastic retelling, rendering them unrecognizable even to the people whom they feature.
One such story tells of a busy musician, with a tendency to extend his busy schedule with prolonged bouts of socializing after gigs, who called home considerably past the usual dinner hour, to inquire of his wife, “What’s for dinner?” to which his long-suffering and irritated wife replied “fried (expletive referring to excrement deleted)” His immediate rejoinder was, “just make enough for you and the kids. I think I’m going to be late.” Not funny for the wife but sufficiently funny to his companions to earn him a few more rounds of drinks he really didn’t need.
The Montreal Bistro is the culmination of a long-shared ambition for Lothar and Brigitte Lang who immigrated to Canada in 1973. Lothar was born in Germany, where he learned his trade as a chef and confectioner. He moved to Switzerland where he met and wed Brigitte. He also attended his first jazz festival in Montreux Switzerland and thus began his long and abiding commitment to music. The couple continued on to London and finally, emigrated to Canada in 1973.
It was in Canada that they finally got the chance to own their own club when they purchased the “Montreal Bistro” in 1981. Shortly thereafter, they purchased the “Café de Copains” a small jazz club, in 1983. They continued to own and operate it until it closed due to lease expiry in 1991, at which time they moved the popular jazz concept over to the “Montreal”, where it has been ever since. They have been partners in business and marriage for 29 years and take great pride in the quality of both the food and the music they offer to their patrons.
Jazz fans and musicians alike, appreciate the commitment that Lothar and Brigitte have so tangibly demonstrated to jazz music in Toronto and the “Montreal” continues to be one of the best venues in the region to listen to great music from both established and up-and-coming jazz artists.
If you’re looking for a pleasant evening featuring great food and great music, at reasonable prices, drop into the Montreal Bistro. You’ll find that jazz is alive and well at the Montreal. That’s the Montreal in Toronto.
–photos by dellas