Jazz has a history of mentorship and tradition.
For Ontario’s Matt Dusk, he’s part of that long legacy line of sharing the musicianship and stories from one generation to the next.
As an undergraduate at York University in Toronto, the chancellor, the legendary jazz pianist Oscar Peterson, would sometimes pop in for a chat with the class of 10 to 15 students.
“It was like coffee with Oscar,” Dusk remembered.
Years later, while performing in Las Vegas for four years, Dusk had brushes with another great, Tony Bennett, with whom he shared a show room at the Golden Nugget.
Every three months or so, the pair reunited, and Dusk never missed one of Bennett’s shows.
“I saw every one because I knew, one day, I wouldn’t be able to,” he said. “He gave me the best education and advice. He was one of the last of those generations of crooners.”
Next month, Dusk will be on a 13-date tour of western Canada to promote Bennett’s music.
His circuit, which begins April 12 in Regina, includes a stop in Coquitlam on Friday, April 19, at The Show Theatre at the Great Canadian Casino — a stage that Bennett also once performed on.
Tickets for Dusk’s performance are now on sale.
The tour follows a release of a new album by the five-time JUNO Award nominee called The Book of Bennett.
The first single from the work, “I Left My Heart in San Francisco,” dropped last month on Spotify and iTunes.
Dusk told the Tri-City News today, March 25, that it’s his most rewarding tune on the recording because, after 40 tries over a year — and at the 11th hour — he finally decided to take Bennett’s advice of just being authentic.
“I did it in one take and said, ‘That’s it.’ I realized Tony Bennett was right; you just have to be yourself.”
But Dusk also loves the song because he can see the audience’s reaction.
“People get lost in it. They have their own experiences and memories that they bring to it. There’s nothing really to compare it to.”
For The Best Is Yet to Come: Dusk Sings Bennett tour, he’ll be accompanied by Adrean Farrugia on piano, Ethan Ardelli on drums and Dan Fortin on bass.
For tickets to see Matt Dusk at The Show Theatre at Great Canadian Casino (2080 United Blvd., Coquitlam) on April 19, 2024, you can visit the venue website.
