Nuit Bronze

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Sometimes the purest musical experiences emerge in the most unexpected of places. Earlier this fall I checked out Nuit Blanche for the first time, walked into Musideum at 401 Richmond West and chanced upon this incredible and accomplished quartet, just moments before they launched into this impromptu performance.

Friends and colleagues seem to agree, there is almost too much music in this city. The concert listings in Toronto’s Whole Note magazine can actually be immobilizing in their scope and diversity. Nonetheless I still try to get out there and check out some of the, let’s say, ‘less mainstream’ offerings, the Art of Time Ensemble‘s and New Music Concerts series of this town, or bands up from California or Nashville playing at Lee’s Palace.

Despite – or maybe because of - the huge popularity of the Nuit Blanche, I have had the distinct impression that it represents tokenism writ large: why shouldn’t there be all night, arts-related goings on every  weekend of the year, rather than one big blow-out event? The same feeling holds for Open Doors Toronto – like Nuit Blanche, my inclination has been to run in the opposite direction.

Nuit Blanche-phobic you might say, at least until this year when it suddenly became Nuit-Bronze!

Check out this hypnotic playing, the exquisite instrumentation and communal, close-knit arrangement of the four players. If you have yet to drop by and visit Musideum in Toronto’s ever-so-trendy Fashion District, you will be delighted by their hands-on collection of world instruments, a collection that truly compliments Toronto’s history and rich cultural diversity.

Do they have flutes? Hello-o!! And their prices ain’t too bad either!