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Montreal Bistro closed it's doors this morning after 20 years!

:(

What the? I was just there last month. Lothar had given his reassurance that he'd be open. That's just terrible news :angry: Last year it was the Top of the Senator that closed up.

How did you hear this?

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I see the website is down now too, so it must really be happening. But I got this text by using the wayback machine archive:

Since 1983, we have been very fortunate to present some great Jazz in Toronto.

How can we forget Oscar Peterson's surprise gig followed by Marian McPartland and George Shearing? I 'm still smiling. Other special highlights include Clark Terry, "Sweets" Edison, the Kenny Barron Trio w/ Ben Riley, the Geoff Keezer Quartet, get this...w/ Joshua Redman, Christian McBride & Leon Parker. The list goes on, Diana Krall, Lew Tabackin, Jay McShann & Jim Galloway, Ray Bryant, Kenny Wheeler, Dick Hyman & Ralph Sutton [two Pianos,… just magic !], Cedar Walton, Tommy Flanagan, Junior Mance.

Need more? Doc Cheatham, Ranee Lee, Joey DeFrancesco, Bill Mays & Ed Bickert [what a duo!], John Abercrombie, Bob Berg, Wallace Rooney, Fred Hersch & Don Thompson, Nat Adderely, Moe Koffman, Joanne Brackeen, Rob McConnell, Oliver Jones, the backbones of every jazz club Peter Appleyard, Gene DiNovi, Phil Nimmons and of course all the other great JAZZ MUSICIANS who put a smile on our faces!

So tell your friends and spread the good word, yes, Jazz is alive and well at the Montréal Bistro.

And don’t be confused – it’s the Montréal in Toronto!

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I am just pissed off now here at work. This venue was the only place in the city to hear top-name performers. Among other things I was at the Geoff Keezer trio recording taping that was done there in 1991. And just a few weeks ago to see a friend launch his CD to a packed crowd.

http://jazzelements.com/index.php/07/06/to...huts-its-doors/

Toronto’s Famed Jazz Club Montreal Bistro Suddenly Closes

Jazz fans in Toronto got a shock yesterday when they discovered their beloved club the Montreal Bistro has shut its doors for good. The club has been a jazz institution for more than 25 years and closes just one year after the Top O’ the Senator, Toronto’s other long standing jazz venue.

Home to both established and emerging artists, the Montreal Bistro was often compared to New York’s Village Vanguard for its richness of talent and the notable recordings captured there.

The Montreal Bistro was run by owners Lothar and Brigitte Lang, who were recently honoured for lifetime achievement at the National Jazz Awards. Industry speculation is such that the Langs were having a lease dispute with their landlord and chose to fast-track a discussed retirement as a result. In brief emails to the Toronto Star Lothar wrote: “After a long fight to overcome several severe setbacks and with no immediate help on the horizon, we had to close…. We wish the circumstances were different. It is not easy for all of us to realize that after 25 years we just lost our livelihood.”

A note on the door informed customers of the closure. “Dear Patrons, The Montreal Bistro has closed its doors for good. Thank you for all your support and loyalty for so many years,” read the typewritten note taped to the door of the Sherbourne St. venue yesterday.

Many view the loss as irreplaceable, although many argue it is not a reflection on the music itself. None can deny the Montreal Bistro breathed Canadian jazz history, presenting such legends as Oscar Peterson and Phil Nimmons, as well as nurturing the early careers of such up-and-comers as Diana Krall and Joshua Redman.

Thank you, Brigitte and Lothar, for taking a chance on jazz.

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Damn - this is just sad news. I knew the place as the 'Cafe des Copains' during my time in the city and always though that it was perfect of its type, as a small intimate venue. Great music, generally appreciative audiences and very nice food, as I recall. Extremely civilised ! Probably my favourite evening in there was one time it was full up and got to stand with my beer smack bang next to John Lewis as he did his mini-suite 'Paris' tribute. Incredible ! The memory recalls great evenings listening to Pat LaBarbara, Jay McShann, Sir Charles Thompson, Joanne Brackeen....

(sigh)

Edited by sidewinder
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Wow, that was amazingly abrupt -- with the Senator there was plenty of lead-up, but in this case there was no forewarning at all. -- It was a great venue, though I found the programming increasingly conservative/sameish in recent years. I'll miss it especially for its zero-tolerance policy about noisy patrons & its good piano & discreet amplification. I think the last time I was there was a little while back, for Randy Sandke + Dick Hyman. Most memorable gig was when I scooted over to catch the last set of Dave McKenna's last night in Toronto (what turned out to be the last time he played Toronto before his retirement). McKenna's touch & harmonies were especially lovely that evening, & he was very gracious when I called out a final request of "Tickle Toe" (at the point when he was actually planning to stop playing for the evening). -- Oh yeah, I remember seeing Jack DeJohnette sit in with John Abercrombie & a local rhythm section when Jarrett's trio was passing through town. Barry Elmes came back on stage after & he looked both chastened & exhilarated as he returned to the kit. -- What else? Barry Harris chiding & teasing the Toronto pianists in the audience from the stage & forcing them to come up & play an original of his. Jessica Williams appalled when between sets I mentioned that I had her first album (not one she's proud of). A two-piano duo between Don Thompson & Fred Hersch. One of Ralph Sutton's last Toronto gigs. Harold Mabern doing "Black Orpheus". Kenny Barron doing "Caribbean Fire Dance" for solo piano, not a tune I expected to hear in that context. Ellyn Rucker & Ed Bickert doing "In Your Own Sweet Way".

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More from the Star. (By the way, the new jazz reviewer at the Globe JD Considine seems to be ignoring this story entirely--so far all I've seen is a tiny announcement by Guy Dixon in the Arts section).

**************************************************************************

`Little problems' doomed jazz club

Recent lost dates, low turnouts sapped Montreal Bistro

Owner shut the door because he couldn't make July rent

Jul. 7, 2006. 07:01 AM

ASHANTE INFANTRY

ENTERTAINMENT REPORTER

Lothar Lang says he's down but not out, and was as surprised as everyone else at his need to suddenly close the Montreal Bistro & Jazz Club.

The 59-year-old German native, who moved here with his Swiss wife Brigitte in 1973, says he is out of work and on the brink of declaring bankruptcy. The couple are faced with the legal implications of walking away from the last 18 months of their venue's five-year lease.

Still he hasn't lost his renowned sense of humour. "We finally have time to clean the house for a change," he quipped in a phone interview yesterday. Well, barely - the Langs have been inundated with phone calls and emails since news got out Wednesday that the end had come for their 25-year-old club, a full-time jazz destination since 1991.

Lang made the difficult decision Sunday after reviewing the books and realizing he wouldn't be able to pay his July rent.

"The last three months have been extremely tough for business," he said.

The Bistro had managed to stay afloat through the business decline wrought by SARS in 2003 and the departure of nearby recording studios, but Lang said they were finally done in by a recent series of setbacks:

A local power outage on the Victoria Day weekend that knocked out Saturday - their busiest night.

A diminishing audience, especially among jazz fans from France who usually started showing up in April and May.

Three sell-out shows by pianist Jay McShann were cancelled in May due to the Oklahoma elder's illness.

Lukewarm turnouts during their just-ended Toronto Jazz Festival dates, despite packed shows for some acts such as pianist Cedar Walton and saxist George Coleman, who was the last to grace the Bistro's stage Saturday night.

"Do I blame it maybe on too much jazz?" mulled Lang. "I don't know. Maybe people are getting tired of it. Maybe people (in outlying areas) are looking in the paper and seeing there was another shooting wherever in the city and wondering if it's worth it to come in. We don't know."

With the traditionally slow summer weeks looming, Lang decided to bail.

"Yes, I could've called the landlord up like in previous years and said, `Can I split the rent up in half and pay the rest later?' But you dig yourself deeper in the hole.

"Before all the little problems started, I approached the landlord several times to find a solution - to either reduce our space or give us a rent reduction. We just couldn't come to an arrangement ... but he has been as helpful as he possibly could be, under the circumstances."

Looking after the Sherbourne St. site for the unnamed owner is Mary Jane Lawson, director of commercial property for Colonia Treuhand Management Inc. She said yesterday they were "deeply sorry (Lang) was not able to continue."

"He was a great tenant," she said, adding that everyone was still "shocked" at the closing and no decision has been made about the future of the premises. "I guess we'll be looking for a restaurant to replace him."

While considering filing for bankruptcy, Lang stressed that the Bistro staff of 20 have all been paid. He said that after a break, he and his wife will be "looking at another opportunity," preferably in a location with a lot of foot traffic.

"We'd like to get back into jazz. Yes, we're looking for another place, we're definitely looking for investors.

"We're looking for the next generation who wants to do what we started 25 years ago; then we could be mentors."

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  • 8 years later...

Coming in to this extremely late, I was doing a quick scan of the papers and it doesn't look like there is any place in Toronto that hosts several day sets by out-of-towners (like Chicago's Jazz Showcase). That's definitely a shame. I see a couple of upcoming shows at The Rex of some interest, but these are just one night affairs. They're also quite a bit later than I really prefer to be out, so we'll just see.

Pretty much everything else I see is just local jazz for color (or colour) where the music drowned out by patrons eating and drinking. Well, fortunately I didn't move here for the jazz, but it's still a shame.

If there is a venue I am missing, please do let me know.

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What a contrast with the in-town lineup back in 1989/90. I remember attending the Bermuda Onion with the likes of Elvin Jones, Louis Hayes, Phil Woods, Barney Kessell, Mongo Santamaria, Lee Konitz and Pharoah Sanders. 'Top O' The Senator' with Joe Henderson, Red Rodney etc.. Cafe des Copains for solo recitals by Stanley Cowell, Cedar Walton and many others. George's Spaghetti House for Moe Koffman, Ed Bickert etc. plus the likes of Miles on at Massey Hall. Sadly, that nirvana didn't last..

The Rex Hotel used to have a local Hammond B-3 group on for one or two nights a week, which was always fun.

Lots of NYC-based groups passing through the town (often at the start of wider North American tours) back in that era.

Edited by sidewinder
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