Monday, July 12, 2010

Hot and Sweaty Jazz at the Rex - Hendrik Meurkens Quintet

The night was hot - almost too hot for the likes of Toronto. Yes the G20 riots are fast becoming a distant memory, and the same street that saw so much breaking glass and smashed police cars is back to normal. On this same street is where you will find The Rex. This is The IT place to see some great jazz performers. The other night was no exception. In 40 degree heat Hendrik Meurkens and his quintet enthralled an extremely hot sweaty crowd with a killer performance.

Check these clips out from that night. These guys really excelled, even with the heat. Hendrik is a virtuoso on both the harp and the vibes - and he's also got some great in between songs patter. After the first set he joked that the band had to get off stage to change their shirts, with all of the heat in the room. For all it's charm, The Rex is not air conditioned, so performers and the audience were dripping with sweat after only a few minutes.

Kudos to the band though - from these clips it is clear these guys were the coolest in the room!



2 comments:

  1. Thanks so much for the information!

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  2. I've never been to this club when I was in Toronto but thank you for the tip! I'm used to visit jazz clubs here in Vancouver (Revel most often) so during my next trip I have to check it out :).

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