Ian Clarke spotted at Spotted Dick

Celebrated British flautist Ian Clarke gave a concert in Toronto at St. Andrews on Bloor Street. The program was a nice assortment of his own music with some standard repertoire such as a Bach Sonata and the Carmen Fantasy. After the show a bunch of us Diane, Patricia and Cathy Miller from Miyazawa all went to a nearby English pub called the Spotted Dick. In this shot you can see Ian and I caught in the act of air fluting while discussing the differences and similarities between the French flute and various World flutes.

Final Bows at Hugh's Room




(L to R) John Hawken, RK, Larry Crowe, Jim McCarty,
Jann Close,  Jean-Michel Kajdan, George Koller   

 Final bows of the night wrapping up an intense few days. It was a nice way to complete the European touring earlier in the year by playing a few show in Ontario. It was also nice to revist Hugh's Room with this band. Last March we played there with a different line up.

Shapes Of Things

For the last songs of the night Jim played drums and had the yougsters out front. Here Ron and Jann Close rock out to Shapes Of Things. Jann is a musician who is originally from Germany but now lives in the Bronx where he is carving out a living as a solo singer songwriter. Jann joined Jim's tour in Canada as an opening act.

Isadora - British Prog

In this show we played some classic Renaissance material like Madonna Blue and Isadora. It was a great chance for to play authentic progressive rock with two master musicians.

Beyond The Day

Here Jim and Ron are performing a song from the Renaissance Illusion album which was released in 2001. On the CD Ron recorded his flute part at Chiswick Reach Studios. Like many top facilities Chiswick closed many years ago. Beyond the Day has always been a favorite. RK likes the challenge of singing backing vocals and switching to whistle. 

Having a deep conversation with a drummer

On Wednesday we played in Toronto with the Jim McCarty Band. Here Larry and I spend a quiet moment before soundcheck discussing the finer points of rock music.

John Hawken

(LtoR) John Hawken, RK, Larry Crowe, Jim McCarty, Goerge Koller, Jean-Michel Kajdan

As always on Jim's tours with the Yardbirds he likes to spend some down time in his favorite North American city.
Jim recorded his album Sitting On The Top Of Time in Toronto and this past trip it was a chance to play some of the material with a full band as well as invite his friend pianist John Hawken. John played in the Nashville Teens, Renaissance (with Jim) and The Strawbs in the early days of the rock and roll scene in London. It was the first time in 30 odd years Jim and John had played together. In this shot the band is playing at This Ain't Hollywood in Hamilton. Jean -Michel came from Paris to participate in the gigs.