Who says jazz isn’t cool?! Sure, Kenny G’s pretty cheesy, and we’re regrettably guilty of making endless empty promises to check out The Rex one of these days, but there’s a jazz event happening this weekend that we can totally get behind. Probably because it involves some guys from Humber College, one of our favourite bars in Toronto, and hip-hop.  

This Saturday, BADBADNOTGOOD will be giving their first-ever live performance at The Red Light (1185 Dundas St. W.) and judging by the hype they’ve been receiving, this is the start of much bigger things to come. The trio of musicians (pianist Matt Tavares, bassist Chester Stone Hansen and drummer Alex Sowinski) have received hundreds of thousands of views on YouTube and nods from the likes of L.A. Weekly and The Washington Post thanks to their unique jazz-influenced interpretations of Odd Future, J Dilla, Flying Lotus, Waka Flocka Flame, A Tribe Called Quest and more. Having picked out each song by ear, there’s no questioning the group’s talent. We’ve pretty much been using their covers as our own personal soundtrack for the past few days – cooking to Gucci Mane’s “Lemonade”, cleaning to Waka Flocka Flame’s “Hard In The Paint”, and relaxin’ to A Tribe Called Quest’s “Electric Relaxation”. 

First session will start at 8 pm (arrive early to avoid missing out – space is limited) and their live performance will be followed by a night of DJing by the boys and Ghetto Gold Matt.  

Check out BADBADNOTGOOD’s musical stylings here and here. 

~ Caitlyn Holroyd