reviews
https://blasttoronto.com/the-duke-of-ellington/
Review by Joe Taylor, BLAST Toronto (February 11, 2024)
"I was fortunate to listen to a few hours of the Advocats Big Band when they performed at the Thornhill Golf and Country Club this past Saturday night (September 10, 2022).
The audience comprised 100 guests from the Tennis club segment, and the evening was billed as a dinner with the Advocats Big Band. Dinner, music and a dance floor. I saw the amazing line up of the band as I entered the Dining Room, imagining that in a room that holds 100 people at regular round tables, the sound would be overpowering and as a result, I would have a difficult listening evening. I did see however, the mixing engineer on the side with the mixing console who apparently had been working on the “perfect sound” for several hours earlier that afternoon. This gave me some hope!
The band was introduced and so began the most marvelous evening of Big Band music, with repertoire covering all the well-known standards, familiar songs we know and enjoy. The Band catered exactly for the audience that had turned up, so there was not one song that missed the mark. AND the sound? It was really the “Perfect sound” for that room size. Loud enough to create a necessary vibe, loud enough to encourage participation, but not too loud to make chatting difficult. The arrangements were excellent. The solos that did occur had a nice jazz feel, but did not stray from the melody so much, that the tune disappeared. Rhythm section carried the whole band tightly and rhythmically through every song. Piano parts were great. Brass smooth but punchy when needed. And OF COURSE, the vocalist Nina Richmond who never missed a note all night. A warm melodic voice, well mixed so that one could hear all the lyrics of these terrific songs – Ellington, Basie, Sinatra and so on. Her personality was confident and made us all feel the Band was REALLY playing just for us.
A great Musical Evening for me and for all my friends and associates who were there. Terrific. Thank you, the Advocats Big Band.
I would highly recommend them anywhere."
Howard
"I wanted to let you know that “In Full Swing” has been the #1 CD playing in my home office by a mile. It is a beautifully performed and inventively arranged eclectic collection of excellent songs (with particularly strong vocals). Your version of Skyfall is terrific, as are all of the songs more closely associated with a Big Band. So thanks to the Advocats for this excellent addition to my music collection and for providing terrific entertainment in these strange times."
David Morritt
"OMG I love it. Listening to it through the computer yesterday while attending to some artwork, I found it difficult to work. I would end up doing the keystrokes to the music & dancing in my chair! Then I would stop & applaud at the end. Particularly hard to work during "And All That Jazz". So glad I bought it."
L.K.
"Hi Nina! We loved your Advocats show last night! So many great performances by you and the band… Here's to Life!! Thank you for all you do to create beautiful moments we share and cherish long after the night has passed. It's so special for us..."
B.J.S.
"The selection of tunes was amazing, fresh, seemed like it was more and more new tunes and solo performances. The best-of-the-best was Count Basie and "Corner Pocket". ( yes, I have this CD with Sinatra ) and the Advocats really excel at reproducing this man's music! Now for the evening of vocals as a major part of the program of Big Band music: Nina, you were superb in voice and presentation skills with this vast selection of music. I would have enjoyed the many rehearsal sessions to appreciate all the exchange of ideas with the members of the Band. But the highlight of the evening for us was ..."All That Jazz". Outstanding vocals and presentation, Nina!"
Neil
"What can I say . . . the Advocats . . . this band, along with wonderful songbird Nina Richmond never ceases to amaze the crowd & what a CROWD they had last night at the Duke Live. Packed house. I'm sure people must have been sitting on the pool tables. It was wonderful! Well deserved appreciation for a night of Ella Fitzgerald. Thank you to all of you from all of us."
L.K.
"We had The Advocats play at our recent convention. All through their sets, I was madly texting folk staying in the hotel to come join the fun. This band is great, and our crowd danced up a storm. Hire them for your event, but, above all else, take the first opportunity you can to see them play."
Helen Nelson, Co-Chair, Bouchercon 2017 (World Mystery Convention)
"Family and friends of mine have been following the big band Advocats and their outstanding lead singer Nina Richmond for many happy years. We always come away from their concerts with that feel-good glow generated by an evening of great old standards and modern, uplifting hits. Hey, even the young kids get a kick out of their orchestrations and have been seen heading for the dance floor. Can't wait till the next gig."
G.H.
"Couldn’t make it to the Advocats Big Band performance last night? It was a stellar show, actually a rehearsal but you’d never know. A really fantastic ensemble with lots of classic big band tunes. I’d highly recommend catching one of their performances. Here’s their website: http://www.advocatsbigband.com/events.html"
St. Matthew's Bracondale House
"As the Old Chick 'n Deli the place had a definite unique vibe and to a large extent it has been recreated in this reincarnation. When you look at the overall picture, namely food, atmosphere and an excellent big band, the Advocats, the sum is definitely better than the individual components. The atmosphere was remarkably last century and if retro is your thing, then this is the place. Having not been there for 20 years, it was surprising to find the layout the same. However when you add the performance of the Advocats, who are an amazing big band, the venue takes on a whole new character, and for a Monday night, was packed. A special shout out to the lead singer Nina Richmond who provided a perfect counterpoint to the melodious sound ... In summary, a lovely evening with the Big Band providing the high point."
B.E.
"Nina; we just finished listening to your performance on Jazz. FM at 6:05 PM tonight !!!!!!! Your performance was superb and it was easy to visualize how you would have performed this song live at Seven44 in front of a "full-house" !! A lot of swing !!!! great pace and feeling for the lyrics !!! ; but the ending was your best yet !!!!!! Oh yes, your band was excellent and confident !!!!! I don't want to over-state how much I enjoyed it but it is great to say that " yes, I've seen them / her live several times."
N.S.
"What a way to enjoy a wonderful Saturday afternoon in TO, at the Rex Hotel listening to some wonderful jazz, big band. We were honoured to enjoy the Advocats, a 15 piece piece big swing band doing the 330 set...The music was truly incredible and I am not really a big band fan. Very intimate, a true Queen Street West Toronto institution."
TripAdvisor Canada
"On behalf of the executive committee for Eat To The Beat For Willow, we want to convey our deepest thanks and our most sincere gratitiude for the ongoing commitment of the Advocats to our event and this charity. As participants in Eat To The Beat since the inception of the event in 1996, the presence of the Advocats Big Band is a source of great enjoyment to the guests, new and old who attend each year."
R.L.H., CoChair, Executive Committee
"On behalf of the Angel Ball Committee and Providence Healthcare Foundation, thank you so much for a wonderful performance... The band was simply excellent... When the full compliment of 18-pieces took the stage, our guests were thrilled! As you know, they danced the night away - a direct result of the exceptional performance of the Advocats Big Band. It was our great fortune to have you as our entertainment at the Angel Ball."
L. C., President, Providence Centre
Review by Joe Taylor, BLAST Toronto (February 11, 2024)
"I was fortunate to listen to a few hours of the Advocats Big Band when they performed at the Thornhill Golf and Country Club this past Saturday night (September 10, 2022).
The audience comprised 100 guests from the Tennis club segment, and the evening was billed as a dinner with the Advocats Big Band. Dinner, music and a dance floor. I saw the amazing line up of the band as I entered the Dining Room, imagining that in a room that holds 100 people at regular round tables, the sound would be overpowering and as a result, I would have a difficult listening evening. I did see however, the mixing engineer on the side with the mixing console who apparently had been working on the “perfect sound” for several hours earlier that afternoon. This gave me some hope!
The band was introduced and so began the most marvelous evening of Big Band music, with repertoire covering all the well-known standards, familiar songs we know and enjoy. The Band catered exactly for the audience that had turned up, so there was not one song that missed the mark. AND the sound? It was really the “Perfect sound” for that room size. Loud enough to create a necessary vibe, loud enough to encourage participation, but not too loud to make chatting difficult. The arrangements were excellent. The solos that did occur had a nice jazz feel, but did not stray from the melody so much, that the tune disappeared. Rhythm section carried the whole band tightly and rhythmically through every song. Piano parts were great. Brass smooth but punchy when needed. And OF COURSE, the vocalist Nina Richmond who never missed a note all night. A warm melodic voice, well mixed so that one could hear all the lyrics of these terrific songs – Ellington, Basie, Sinatra and so on. Her personality was confident and made us all feel the Band was REALLY playing just for us.
A great Musical Evening for me and for all my friends and associates who were there. Terrific. Thank you, the Advocats Big Band.
I would highly recommend them anywhere."
Howard
"I wanted to let you know that “In Full Swing” has been the #1 CD playing in my home office by a mile. It is a beautifully performed and inventively arranged eclectic collection of excellent songs (with particularly strong vocals). Your version of Skyfall is terrific, as are all of the songs more closely associated with a Big Band. So thanks to the Advocats for this excellent addition to my music collection and for providing terrific entertainment in these strange times."
David Morritt
"OMG I love it. Listening to it through the computer yesterday while attending to some artwork, I found it difficult to work. I would end up doing the keystrokes to the music & dancing in my chair! Then I would stop & applaud at the end. Particularly hard to work during "And All That Jazz". So glad I bought it."
L.K.
"Hi Nina! We loved your Advocats show last night! So many great performances by you and the band… Here's to Life!! Thank you for all you do to create beautiful moments we share and cherish long after the night has passed. It's so special for us..."
B.J.S.
"The selection of tunes was amazing, fresh, seemed like it was more and more new tunes and solo performances. The best-of-the-best was Count Basie and "Corner Pocket". ( yes, I have this CD with Sinatra ) and the Advocats really excel at reproducing this man's music! Now for the evening of vocals as a major part of the program of Big Band music: Nina, you were superb in voice and presentation skills with this vast selection of music. I would have enjoyed the many rehearsal sessions to appreciate all the exchange of ideas with the members of the Band. But the highlight of the evening for us was ..."All That Jazz". Outstanding vocals and presentation, Nina!"
Neil
"What can I say . . . the Advocats . . . this band, along with wonderful songbird Nina Richmond never ceases to amaze the crowd & what a CROWD they had last night at the Duke Live. Packed house. I'm sure people must have been sitting on the pool tables. It was wonderful! Well deserved appreciation for a night of Ella Fitzgerald. Thank you to all of you from all of us."
L.K.
"We had The Advocats play at our recent convention. All through their sets, I was madly texting folk staying in the hotel to come join the fun. This band is great, and our crowd danced up a storm. Hire them for your event, but, above all else, take the first opportunity you can to see them play."
Helen Nelson, Co-Chair, Bouchercon 2017 (World Mystery Convention)
"Family and friends of mine have been following the big band Advocats and their outstanding lead singer Nina Richmond for many happy years. We always come away from their concerts with that feel-good glow generated by an evening of great old standards and modern, uplifting hits. Hey, even the young kids get a kick out of their orchestrations and have been seen heading for the dance floor. Can't wait till the next gig."
G.H.
"Couldn’t make it to the Advocats Big Band performance last night? It was a stellar show, actually a rehearsal but you’d never know. A really fantastic ensemble with lots of classic big band tunes. I’d highly recommend catching one of their performances. Here’s their website: http://www.advocatsbigband.com/events.html"
St. Matthew's Bracondale House
"As the Old Chick 'n Deli the place had a definite unique vibe and to a large extent it has been recreated in this reincarnation. When you look at the overall picture, namely food, atmosphere and an excellent big band, the Advocats, the sum is definitely better than the individual components. The atmosphere was remarkably last century and if retro is your thing, then this is the place. Having not been there for 20 years, it was surprising to find the layout the same. However when you add the performance of the Advocats, who are an amazing big band, the venue takes on a whole new character, and for a Monday night, was packed. A special shout out to the lead singer Nina Richmond who provided a perfect counterpoint to the melodious sound ... In summary, a lovely evening with the Big Band providing the high point."
B.E.
"Nina; we just finished listening to your performance on Jazz. FM at 6:05 PM tonight !!!!!!! Your performance was superb and it was easy to visualize how you would have performed this song live at Seven44 in front of a "full-house" !! A lot of swing !!!! great pace and feeling for the lyrics !!! ; but the ending was your best yet !!!!!! Oh yes, your band was excellent and confident !!!!! I don't want to over-state how much I enjoyed it but it is great to say that " yes, I've seen them / her live several times."
N.S.
"What a way to enjoy a wonderful Saturday afternoon in TO, at the Rex Hotel listening to some wonderful jazz, big band. We were honoured to enjoy the Advocats, a 15 piece piece big swing band doing the 330 set...The music was truly incredible and I am not really a big band fan. Very intimate, a true Queen Street West Toronto institution."
TripAdvisor Canada
"On behalf of the executive committee for Eat To The Beat For Willow, we want to convey our deepest thanks and our most sincere gratitiude for the ongoing commitment of the Advocats to our event and this charity. As participants in Eat To The Beat since the inception of the event in 1996, the presence of the Advocats Big Band is a source of great enjoyment to the guests, new and old who attend each year."
R.L.H., CoChair, Executive Committee
"On behalf of the Angel Ball Committee and Providence Healthcare Foundation, thank you so much for a wonderful performance... The band was simply excellent... When the full compliment of 18-pieces took the stage, our guests were thrilled! As you know, they danced the night away - a direct result of the exceptional performance of the Advocats Big Band. It was our great fortune to have you as our entertainment at the Angel Ball."
L. C., President, Providence Centre