Paul Tobey to entertain at Spirit in Niagara Distillery this Thursday

It was a perfect confluence of events that led to Paul Tobey’s upcoming jazz trio concert at Spirit in Niagara Distillery on Lakeshore Road in Niagara-on-the-Lake. 

First, the accomplished jazz pianist and his wife, Nancy Houle, bought a house just outside of the Old Town not long after the COVID-19 pandemic started. It was a bit of a semi-retirement move, as the couple were winding down their Toronto consulting business and looking for a new, slower-paced location to set up Paul’s piano and recording studio. 

NOTL was the perfect choice as the couple’s son Adrian and his fiancee had bought a house in nearby Niagara Falls. 

Shortly after Tobey and Houle made the switch, Arnie Lepp opened his Spirit in Niagara Distillery. On the urging of a friend in town, Paul and Nancy decided to check it out. They immediately fell in love with the atmosphere, and especially the food.

“We come here all the time,” Tobey tells The Local. “At least two or three times a week.” 

A big factor in the atmosphere at Spirit in Niagara is based on the nostalgia of the roaring 1920s and the rum-running bootleggers who followed during the Great Depression of the following decade. 

That era also marked the beginning of the jazz age. So it made sense in December 2021, when the distillery became the home of the TD Niagara Jazz Festival’s “Jazz and Blooz” series. To accommodate the series, Jazz Festival co-creators Juliet Dunn and the late Peter Shea moved a grand piano into the space at Spirit in Niagara. 

Fast forward to January 2023. That very same Juliet Dunn booked Tobey for a “comeback” Jazz Festival concert at The Hare Wine Co. Tobey, whose profile in the jazz world was rising with his Juno-nominated album Street Culture more than 20 years ago, had suffered a career-ending injury to his forearms, along with tinnitus. He didn’t play the piano at all for many years before the NOTL move.

Part of the reason for the move to the area was to slowly ease his way back to the piano bench. He set up his studio and from his new home dug in to host his regular YouTube series called “Jazzmentl”, during which he conducts jazz piano master classes. The show at The Hare was the next step in his jazz piano comeback. 

The sold-out show was a triumphant return for Tobey. 

In the meantime, the piano that had been moved into Spirit in Niagara had been returned to its owner. Lepp had heard about Tobey’s performance at the Niagara Stone Road winery, and the next time he saw him at the distillery with Nancy, he asked Tobey when he was going to perform there. 

“I was flattered,” Tobey says, “but I told him that I play piano. I don’t play keyboard. There is a big difference between playing a piano, especially a concert piano, and playing an electronic keyboard. I told him I couldn’t play there because he didn’t have a piano there anymore.”

It should be fairly obvious what Lepp did next. Yup, he bought himself a piano.

It’s a shiny, beautiful Samick baby grand piano, acquired by Lepp with the help of a local piano tuner and consultant. As he opens the lid to show it off to the The Local it is clear that Lepp is happy with his purchase.

“I was shocked when he told me he bought it,” Tobey laughs. “It’s a really, really good piano. It’s perfect for the space here.”

“We were so lucky to find this beautiful piano,” Lepp says. “I believe it was owned by someone in the Fort Erie area. Since we got it, we’ve had Eddie Pizzo, the piano player from the (St. Catharines restaurant) Blue Mermaid on Thursday nights. I’ve heard Paul play it a few times, too, and it sounds amazing.”

Tobey has assembled a great trio for the July 29 concert, including Shaw Festival bassist Ross McIntyre, who has shared the stage with the likes of Matt Dusk, Emilie-Claire Barlow, Guido Basso and Laila Biali, among many others. Joining in on drums will be Joel Haynes. The Burlington, Ontario resident has appeared on over 30 recordings as a side man with artists such as Seamus Blake, Russell Malone, David Braid and Denzal Sinclaire. He also has two albums under his own name to his credit.

Tobey promises a set packed with standards, including well-known jazz numbers “The In Crowd” (Ramsey Lewis), “My Funny Valentine” (Chet Baker) and “My Favorite Things” (John Coltrane). 

“They’re all going to be on an album I’m hoping to release later this year,” says Tobey, looking forward to potentially the third step in his “comeback” process. 

He’ll also throw in “A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes”, the tender theme song from the classic Disney version of Cinderella, and a jazzed up version of an original classical piece he wrote to commemorate his walk of the Camino in Spain. The trio will also perform the Oscar Peterson ballad “You Look Good to Me”, among other numbers. 

“It’s a journey through the Great American Songbook,” Tobey adds. “Songs you know and love. It will remind us how lucky we are to have an evening filled with good friends, good food and great music.” 

And his good friend, Arnie Lepp, is over the moon with excitement to host Tobey for the second step in his comeback. 

The Thursday, June 29, show begins at 7 p.m., with the audience welcome to gather for dinner at 6 p.m. Tickets for the concert only are $45, while dinner is a la carte.