Toronto Mike'd: The Official Toronto Mike Podcast - Ralph Benmergui Says You Don't Hate Jazz: Toronto Mike'd Podcast Episode 1968

Episode Date: September 9, 2026

In this 1968th episode of Toronto Mike'd, Mike chats with Ralph Benmergui about people who think they hate jazz but don't realize they actually love it.A version of this podcast without programmatic ads is available to all Toronto Mike'd Patrons at patreon.com/torontomike.Toronto Mike'd, an award-winning podcast, is proudly brought to you by Great Lakes Brewery, Palma Pasta, Ridley Funeral Home, Nick Ainis, and RecycleMyElectronics.ca.If you would like to support the show, we do have partner opportunities available. Please email Toronto Mike at [e-mail]. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

So I got myself some flunkin, and I ate in the cougal, and I said to myself, Oi, my hip. And hello? And then the phone, she goes like that. And I wonder, who? Who could it be? And then I forget what to say, and I say, it's time for Toronto Mike. Didn't know you were doing impressions today.

Is that an impression? That's you? It's genuinely It's been a while Oh, the Deaf Leopard intro was in German, not Spanish. Yeah, really? I've been corrected.

Hardly in a shame. Welcome to episode 1,968, 1968 of Toronto Mike. An award-winning podcast. I got to lean in on that. Proudly brought to you by Great Lakes Brewery. Order online at Great LakesBeer.com for free local home delivery in the GTA.

Forma pasta. Enjoy the taste of fresh. Get off my lawn. Italian pasta and entrees from Palma Pasta in Mississauga and Oakville. That's a Palma Pasta. Missed Palma Pasta.com for more. Fusion Corps own Nikaiinis. He's the host of Building Toronto Skyline

And Mike and Nick Two podcasts that you ought to listen to. Pink, tink, pink, think, Recycle My Electronics.C.A. Committing to our planet's future Means properly recycling our electronics of the past. And Ridley Funeral Home. Pillars of the community since 1921.

My hip. joining us. Returning to Toronto, Mike, it is indeed my rabbi, but not that kind of rabbi. Ralph, Ben Murgie, how are you, Ralph? I'm fine. I wanted you to wait 32 more episodes because then that would have been your 2000s. I haven't booked my 2000s. That opportunity is still available.

We should do something like that. Well, we should do it live somewhere. Yeah. Well, you know what? Now you got me interested, Mr. Benmergy. like we could do a live recording of 2000, and we can invite everybody to come out and join us. And we could play some of the soundtrack of 2001, a Space Odyssey.

Well, that'll be for episode 2001. No, that'll be the next step. That's at the end of the 2000 episode. All right, I love it. You're always a very creative man. First, I need to check in on you. It's been a bit, but how are you doing Ralph Benmergy? Well, I'm busy, very busy.

And I'm, I like being busy. But I realize I now like to have, like today, for instance, I made sure that except for going to see some guy about orthotics, that I would just do this. Oh. Because some days are getting too full. Because once you're in front of the screen, I don't know about you, but I could be there for six, seven hours and just click.

You're my third recording. So I know what you mean. Yeah. Now, you have a couple of years on me, but a couple. I did a 10 o'clock of Joel Greenberg. I did an 1115 of Joel Greenberg. We're going to chat now. Then I have a chat with Lee Steinberg, who's the guy Jerry McGuire was based on.

We're going to talk about the Kauai, Leonard's situation. And then Brad Jones from Ridley Funeral Home is going to waltz over, and we're going to record a new episode of Life's Undertaking. Right. So you know what I mean. Yeah, it's like stacks, right? Like, it's like you just build your calendar and it's a blur. Yeah.

Yeah. So I do spiritual counseling. So I have that. And some days I have like three or four people. Some days I don't have anyone. But I also have a gig as the head of spiritual direction for a seminary. Aleph. Ollif.

Ollif. That's all right. I only read it, right? Like I read it a lot, but I don't hear it. I'll go and rub some ham on my forehead and we'll be on the same plane. Aleph. Ollif. I did it wrong twice.

A-L-E-P-H. It's the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet. Olive, Bait, Kimmel-Dull-D-L-L-A-L-A-L-A-L-A-L-A-L-L-A-L-L-F-A-L-E-L-A-L-F. I think there's a deaf Leopard song that starts that way. Why does DeFleopard always have to come into this? Oh, they have undem-in-globbing globin or whatever. Gets me nervous. I know, you're right.

I should... Seriously gets me nervous. I am not of German descent. Well, good, I guess. I mean, God loves them, but, you know, two times in one century. It's more than enough. Oh, boy. God it thanks.

And they almost won power in one of the German states in an election last week. A far-right, extreme-right German party. Just as close to gaining power. Is that the one Elon Musk is a big fan of? Oh, I wouldn't doubt it. You know what kills me? What is that car that fascist mobile? Cyber truck.

Yeah, it's a fascist mobile. My kids call it the dumpster. Well, I think there should be like, you know, a battery of guns in the back to just shoot at people. What are your thoughts when you see one? Because, you know, I bike a lot and I'll be biking and then a cyber truck will go by. And I get this like, I just think, like, who are you that you bought that? What does that say about you? It's the hummer.

It's the hummer of this time. Even worse, maybe. Well, it's a paramilitary vehicle is what it looks like. It's a tank. Yeah, and exactly. It looks like it's bulletproof because I guess it's supposed to look that way. Although it's like plastic, like paste glued on or whatever. Like, yeah, yeah.

So it should be mad at a Lego. Well, the one thing, though, I'm interested because I know you're, sorry for the interrupting you, but your work of the Green Party, et cetera, like, at least it's an electric vehicle. At least. Like, it's not, the Hummer was a gas guzzler. Yeah, no, but it says something about us that we have these cars floating around now. And the most, the richest man in the world, and this is what he does. Oh, yeah.

Like, hey, I've got a car that looks like it's going to kill someone at any moment, and the person inside it is crazy. Yeah, no, I don't dig it. Yeah, it's like, it's for many very small penises. You know, on the other hand, get somebody in here to talk about why they bought it. I mean, who knows? Oh, you know what? Yeah, good point.

If anyone listening bought a cyber truck, reach out Mike at TorontoMike.com, because I don't actually know anyone in my circle of friends and acquaintances. I don't know anyone driving a cyber truck. I know, it might not be a small penis issue. Right? They might just think... When they get here, I'll get the Ridley Funeral Home measuring tape. Well, that's up to you, but that's a whole new line of work for you, I think.

You know, you get bored at some point. You can give them a massage at the same time. I don't know. Wait, so just let me revisit your... Oh, me. Yeah, like... Enough about me. What do you think of me?

Yeah. You don't have to tell me, but how old are you know? 70. Well, when did you? Okay, this one, okay. Okay. So I'm listening to the radio. Yeah.

And I'm listening to somebody who sounds very smart and reading understands aging. Okay. And then I realized it's Ian Brown, who's a columnist for the global male. Of course. Author, used to know him years ago at CBC. Great guy. And so I was intent on writing a book with the title, 70. I've started to collect essays that I'm writing.

And I was going to put them into a collection called 70. Well, guess what Ian Brown calls his book now? 70. 70. What an asshole. No. Did you disclose to him your idea? No.

This is like a curbiour enthusiasm plot line or something. I used to live across from Trinity Bellwoods Park, and Ian lived on the other side of the park, so we'd see each other there walking dogs and walking kids and things like that. But no, no, he just beat me to the punch. You know, he's got Schlapp. He got there first. Wow. You can do it as well.

You just do it better. But okay, so you're 70 years old now. Yes, don't say young. I know, I was going to say young. How did you know I was going to say young? Because you're... I thought. I know.

And then I'm real time. I edited myself and say, that's stupid. Just say years old. Okay. And I could hear that. I could hear the metal on metal. Well, you and I are so, like, in simpatico, I feel like we finish each other's sandwiches. Tis.

Right. So, I like a nice corned beef sandwich with mustard. That's what I love. Well, I'm a vegetarian most of the time. None for you. You know what? In Montreal, whenever I'm in Montreal, I'll go to Schwartz's and have a smoked meat. I went to Schwartz's with my daughter when I was with her when she graduated from McGill this summer.

She graduated. Mazel to the Seaman. Great ceremony at McGill. What's your degree? Business, something business-y? I know I should get the property. That's touching. It's something businessy.

Honey, what did you do with some businessy something? Well, you know, that's all I needed to know. Like, it's business. something with business. And that means, oh, you might get a... There's a lot of different ways of doing business at McGill. You can do it with AI. You can do it with...

I don't think AI. Biology. I mean, there's lots of difference. Maybe it was, I will ask. You know what? I'll get it a... Yeah, I need to know. I'll make a note of what the hell my daughter got to be able to.

Give her a little bit of palma pasta and a beer and she'll tell you. She does love. I will tell you when she drops by, when she visits, because her boyfriend lives in Toronto. My boyfriend's back in Toronto. Toronto more than her parents being here. But like when she's here, absolutely, she says I love, she tells me the Great Lakes beers that she loves.

And she asks me for a hookup because she does love to bring back her fresh craft beer from Great Lakes. Wow. Yeah, we just embedded an ad there. You got a plug there. That's fantastic. On your daughter's back. That's all true.

It's all true. It's all true. You sure you don't drive one of those must cars? What? I can't afford one. Ralph. What does it cost? I'm going to guess, off the top, I'm going to guess 75, it starts at 75 maybe.

That's a guess. I got to go Google this. But again, if I know anyone who owns a cyber truck, reach out. We need to talk. I just need to understand the psychology of buying. Because to me, it's impractical as a truck. Like, let's forget the whole musk baggage, okay? How do you park that?

It's impractical as a truck. What are you doing with that thing? Like you said, in the city, like, what are you doing with that thing? and you know it makes you look like an asshole. Like, why do you want people to look at you and think you're an asshole? Well, maybe they think they're ahead of the curve. Maybe they think they're like future ready. Well, they're ready for something.

World War III is what they're looking at they're ready for. I don't think it would hold up. I don't even know if it could survive Toronto winter. What if they have really large penises? Maybe that's why they buy them. To carry it gets heavy. So they need a truck. That's right.

That's right. it's too heavy. I need a truck. This is killing me. My pelvis is getting pulled out and my lower back is killing me. I need reduction surgery. Yeah. I had that problem.

I fixed that problem. Okay. So what are you doing right now? I know about the podcast, not that kind of rabbi. Yes. Because we're going to get to jazz in a minute here, but I know about that podcast. Yes. I love that podcast.

That continues. But are you doing something with Jazz FM? I certainly am. What are you doing for Jazz? I'm doing a podcast, finally enough. I pitched this like a year and a half ago when they said, does anything you'd like to do besides fill in once in a while? And I said, well, I'd like to do a podcast.

And I said, well, what do you want to do? So I thought about it for a little while. And they came back and said, I want to do a podcast called I hate jazz. I hate jazz. And they were like, what? No, we're a jazz station. I said, no, no, half the people I know. I tell them I love jazz.

And they just say, oh, I hate jazz. Now, I looked up how many sub-genres of jazz there are. 52. 52 different kinds of jazz in the world. Smooth jazz. Don't start with that. Ethiopian jazz.

Oh. Well, you can do one for every country, maybe. Egyptian jazz. No, there's everything. There's swing. There's big band. There's bebop. There's post-bop.

There's fusion. There's free jazz. Like the intro to the show itself, we have somebody listing off all the different subgenres of jazz. And what I do is I'll bring somebody on who's sort of a proponent of a certain kind of jazz. So even if it's an instrument, so Russ Little, I had him on to do the trombone,

the much maligned trombone. And we had a great time. He played some great trombone music for me. We had... Who was the one just before him? I'm not fixing this in close. Oh, yeah, the one with crooners. We did crooners.

And that was a wonderful show, because you listen to the different kinds of people who sing ballad kind of tunes. And, you know, just tip of the icebergs stuff. There's a crooner in, not far from here, in Atobaco named Matt Dusk. Sure. Matt's, you know, Matt's kind of fusiony

because he's a crooner, but he also fronts a big band. Okay. And I had Jim, John, from the Swing Shift Big Band on just recently, and he played me all kinds of big band music from like the 20s, all the way to today.

So, you know, people think of jazz. They usually think of, I had Nick Fraser on and he did free jazz. That's what people think of when they think of jazz. Crazy stuff, right? Right. So people right now, they could literally pause us episode 1968 of Toronto Mike,

and they could subscribe to I hate jazz. Exactly. Do they air it on the actual? Well, it's on streaming. You go to the website for Jazz FM, 91, and then you'll see podcasts. Go to the podcast and you'll see I Hate Jazz or do you. We have a little subtitled.

Why don't they also, like, why don't they also air it as an actual show? Perrestrial Radio program. We're just starting it. And then, you know, we were going to start with once every two weeks and then maybe go to every week and see how it goes. Okay, so I love it. And then I kind of, that title, I hate jazz. So I was thinking about the fact that I don't think I like jazz, but I feel like somebody like you would play music and explain to me that I don't realize how much I like jazz.

Does that make sense? Could be, or you could think, oh, that jazz. So, oh, that's jazz. Maybe jazz, I struggle to like understand what is, but I also have struggled to understand what is Prague rock. I just did a whole episode about this. But what is jazz? And how much of the music I do enjoy has jazz elements in it,

and I don't realize I'm loving jazz. So jazz is first and foremost an improvisational. form of music. Think of rock and pop as vertical music. Straight ahead, A, A, B, A, B, A, just do the tune, right? You got like sheet music and you... Well, but no, but it's just, it's got a formula that doesn't mean you go crazy in the middle and come back. Okay. You just do it. But with jazz, it's more horizontal. It's kind of, you have to think sideways, not right ahead. So, because there's always, there's always a chance for soloists all through a song to play in and out. Uh, so that's one thing. Uh, so that's one thing. about jazz.

And may I interject, Mr. Ben-Rourg. Like, what about jam bands? Okay, like, for example, when I go see Pearl Jam in concert, they'll be in the middle of one of their songs you've heard on the radio 100 times, like Even Flow or something.

And in the middle of the song, yeah, they'll go off for like 10, 12 minutes, and it feels very, it's very jammy, right? It's very... Blue Rodeo even does that. Diamond Mine, they do that. I love shines. Like a diamond mind

Change the key Great Keeler I don't have many keys I got a brand new pair of roller skates You got a brand new key See I tried to match her She passed away you know Melanie Yes she did

Lay down Lay it all down And look what they've done To my song maw Yeah None of that is jazz I just want you to know. So that's one of the pieces of jazz that is unlike other things.

It usually has instrumentation that is recognizable to everybody. But you can have horn sections. You can have triple acoustic guitar. Like you can have anything. And you know what? Why don't we play a tune? Yeah, let's play a tune. But I'll read.

So we're live at live. Toronto Mike.com. And a wonderful musician by the name of Jim Moore. He was in Rusty, everybody. Jim Moore says jazz. The only people in the room having fun are playing it. So that's the kind of attitude that we're going to deal with. Thank you, Jim.

So Jim, get up. Get ready to move. And we'll play you a little bit of weather report. And Teen Town on Toronto Mike. That part sounds like Isaac Hayes that whole night Single I hat right

This is Giaco Pastorius on the face She mini Joseph Zawinor on the keyboard leader of the band So Ralph when you're listening to this I'll just bring it down a bit here But tell me what you're feeling.

What are you feeling when you're here in town? I'm feeling Jacob Pastorius. Chocopestorius is considered one of the greatest bass players of all time. He played a fretless five-string bass, and he could do anything. He came up to Joseph Zalunal. Didn't know him. Zalynal didn't know him. Weather report was already a going thing.

And he introduced himself and he said, I'd like to give you my cassette tape and maybe you could have a listen. And Zalanao's thinking, okay, whatever, thanks, kid. So he takes the cassette, he goes back to his hotel when he puts it in his tape recorder and he listens to it. He calls him up and goes, So I think we should probably talk.

And Zalernal, when he gave him the tape, he said, Mr. Zalunal, I just want you to know, I'm the greatest bass player alive today. And in the end, there's the Jacob Astorius Big Band. There's an influence that he's had on all kinds of bass players. Rich Brown here in Canada, he's got an album of just bass, which is fantastic. I think the thing with jazz is you've got to open yourself up. It's not one thing,

but it's certainly a thing, because there's something about it that you don't find in other genres. And another thing I love about jazz, because I don't hate jazz, one of the things I love about jazz is a musicianship. They are on par with classical musicians. You can't wing it. You can't go on those records You've got to master your craft and then Go crazy Do whatever you want Right and soloing

Is a Spiritual experience if the person gets it right I interviewed Sunny Rollins ones with one of the greatest sax players of all time And I said how do you know when you've had a great set And he said I know I've had a great set If somebody walks out to me and says Oh that was horrible and I go oh really sorry And the next person walks out to

me and says, that was fantastic. And I'm like, oh, really? Oh, great. Because I don't know what I did. I was so present during my solos that I was just there. I wasn't watching myself do a solo. It's like watching yourself dance or dancing. Well, this begs the question.

So we just heard Teen Town by the Weather Report, which is I guessing it was recorded in a studio and I'm guessing it appeared on an album. So every time, heavy weather, heavy weather. So every time that song's played, it sounds like we just heard it, okay? because it's been preserved in that particular recording. But I'm guessing that live, it was different every time. Yes, yes, because everybody takes their break. So Zawainal would take a keyboard break,

and then Jocco Pistorius would take a break. And Pistorius was one of the people who brought the bass player from back in the rhythm section to a lead instrument. So it was also a really powerful crossover album, heavy weather. A lot of people who were into Prague Rock and all, kinds of other things, really dig the album heavy weather. It's a beautiful, a beautiful album. So when I heard that high hat there, that symbol there,

and I said, oh, it sounds like Isaac Hayes there, would Isaac Hayes fall into some jazz subcategory? No, no. No. He'd still be doing, well, what would you call Hayes? Soul. Definitely soulful. Like, is it funky soul?

I don't know what the subgenres sound like. But okay, because there's... Challenge. Right. Shut. your mouth. Yeah, but... Just talk about shaft.

Bam, bum, bum, bum, bum, bum. Yeah. But, okay, so... All right, so that's one kind of jazz. And I would call that almost fusion. Okay, that's like fusion jazz. Okay, good, I see what we're doing now, because I have. I'll just let the listenership know.

I got seven songs loaded up. That's the first one. So I love you talking over and it's dumbing it down for me, man. I'm learning, I've always learned a lot from you, Ralph. You're one of my favorite guests. Thank you. I love our... chat. So I'm learning today that maybe I don't hate jazz.

Maybe. And I am going to subscribe to your podcast. All right. So listen to this one. This one is I think my favorite female jazz vocalist, and that's saying a hell of a lot because there's a lot of great ones. But this is Nina Simone. Nina. I put a spell on you. Because you're mine. You know, I can't stand it. I can't stand it because you put me down Yeah The spell on you

Oh, come on I like this realm One of the most powerful voices From America She stood for the black movement She was persecuted She had some mental illness That she had to work through

And she is a gift That song is come on Shivers Absolutely stellar loved every note. And I will tell you, so we've now heard two songs, the Teentown Weather Report

and the Nina Simone, I put a spell on you. For my tastes, hook that Nina Simone to my vein. Yeah. Like, I saw the documentary whatever happened to Nina Simone.

Yeah. Her in Paris. And, of course, she's also the singer behind Strange Fruit, right? She sang, but Billy Holiday wrote Strange Fruit.

Billy Holiday. She co-wrote. Another great. Okay. Oh, yeah. But that, that's, Just a sensational piece of music, and I could listen to it over and over again.

Oh, yeah. No, she's like, between her and Billy Holiday, you just could just give up. But we have great singers here. Lila Biali, who's a great pianist as well. She's got a great voice. Elizabeth Shepard out of Montreal does really interesting and beautiful stuff. We've got Barba Lika in Toronto. We've got all kinds of female singers.

but when I we did a workshop once at Jazz FM about for singers because there's too many so how do you find a way through the thicket of vocalists cut through the noise right and I said I'd like you all to go home and listen to Nina Simone and think do I really want to do this because if you can't think I can do this after Nina Simone don't do something else that's beautiful and wonderful then everybody would quit like like like like like Like, this is a top shelf. They'd quit or they'd pick up their game. Right.

Right. I need to know these names. I'm glad you dropped some names of Canadian jazz singers, female jazz singers, because I need to note these names. They'll be new to me. But at some point, should they be willing, I would get them on the program to explore. Also, I'll tell you, the best way to find out about Canadian jazz, and there's tons of great, I'm not just saying this, great Canadian jazz musicians.

It's just listen to Jazz FM, and you'll hear Canadian jazz all the way through. It's one of the reasons the station exists. I want to play you something that's going to challenge everybody. Oh. Okay, so I actually just picked up at Sonic Boom on the weekend, a double album remastered mix of this particular band on vinyl. This is Snarky Puppy. So this is really 21st century.

century jazz. Listen to the drum. The drummer alone will give you a heart attack. Just go for it. It's called What About Me? This could be your theme song. Listen to that bass underneath. That drummer's hitting those drums like it owes and money. Do you know who that drummer is? I don't.

I might have to look it up here. Oh, he's incredible. So here's a lead break. So you can catch your breath. Hear that bass? That's Jacob Astoria's Influenced. Oh, there's a lot of people in this band. Oh, this guitar break is crazy.

Okay, let's listen. But it's a question of, this is not letting you sit back in the chair. Right. These guys are touring Poland right now. Oh, they're big. Snarky puppy is big. Bad, bad, good. There's a whole genre of jazz that comes in.

So this guy's playing this sports in a time. So if you love heavy metal, you'll love this guy. This name is Michael League. He started this band. Yeah. And it's kind of a collective. They come in and out, the players.

It's like broken social scene over here. Holy smokes. I got to say they call it Jazz Fusion on Wikipedia. Would you concur? No, I call it postmodern jazz. Okay. Okay, wow.

Yeah, they are big. They've won Grammy Awards and everything. Do you think they name, and I don't know if you'll have an answer. I got to look it up, but Snurkey Puppy Puppy. To me, that's a spin on the West Coast Canadian industrial band, Skinny Puppy. Maybe it's coincidence. Skinny Puppy, not.

These guys are Americans. They don't know skinny puppy. They don't know from the skinny puppy. They don't know from it. All right, so that's some snarky puppy for you. And, you know, when I hear it at the beginning, it was like, I felt like I needed to do a talkover, like, here's the host of this show, Ralph, Ben Mergie. Like, it's got a bit of that. The opening 32 bars, yeah.

Yeah. It's got like, it's like late night with David. Letterman or whatever. Well, it's kind of a mix of big band. Like Paul Schaefer's going to be playing it. We've got a horn section. That drummer's insane. It's a seven-minute song.

That drummer's insane. Here the drummer get wicked. Okay, snarky puppy. Right. It's a pop band that improvises a lot without vocals, is how the founder describes snarky puppy. And a Canadian version of this kind of stuff is Jeremy Ledbetter's trio. So it's wonderful stuff.

I'm taking notes over here, Ralph. All right. Love it here. And before, hey, before we move on, since I just mentioned Letterman, quick non-jazz question for a moment. But I read the news today, oh boy. Jimmy Kim Alive is going to be done in 2027. They're going to end the show after 24 years.

Stephen Colbert's show's already gone, as you know, all that mess at CBS. You are a former late-night talk show host. Did you know that wrong? I heard. It's going to be the second sentence in my obit. What's the first sentence? Guy who loved his family? Oh, you wish.

Who's writing this obit? Do you get to write your own bit? Wait a minute. I actually think my family does love it. Your family loves you, but that won't be the first line. The first line will be, I think the first line will be a host of Friday night. Friday night, yeah. Oh, bummer.

But people... One show that didn't work. I did 12 shows. Did I get that one? Well, you did your best? You did provide, I will say this. I just had Don Cherry's, not the musician, okay, the hockey guy. I just had Don Cherry's son on the show, Tim Cherry, to talk about his father, Warts and all, as we say on the program.

And the maker of Rock and Sockham videos. 100%. And he also worked on grapevine. There's a grape line. There's a great vine. There was a lot of grape stuff. Which I also thought was a great harm to hockey. Why?

Because it was really all about violence. And I stopped watching hockey when I realized that a strategy is to punch someone repeatedly in the face to change the momentum of a game. So imagine that in baseball. You get to first base, your team's losing six nothing, Vladdy says high, and you start punching them in the face 15 times. That wouldn't happen in baseball, but what would happen... They hug each other. But sometimes the pitcher will send a message by throwing a heater, like chin music, we'd call it. Yeah, but that's not the same thing.

And it's not the same as, you know, let's take the fourth line out there and really start throwing ourselves around. Colton Orr is only there for one reason. Yeah, and guess what? Most of those guys end up alcoholics and end up with real mental issues. Yeah. Yeah, because every night they had to think, I got to go out there and punch somebody's head in or else I'm going to lose my job. We've learned so much about CTE in the past 20 years. Football I give up on, too.

I'm with you. I'm with you. But where was it going? Oh, yeah, Tim Cherry. Real quick here. Tim Cherry. Is that one of my favorite Don Cherry moments is Scott Thompson and Don Cherry on that first episode of Friday night.

Agreed. Yeah, like it is to me. And I played it for Scott. Now I played it for, not for Don, but for Tim Cherry. I can't, I just think that was the exact. That's what the show. Should have been. Yeah.

Was you don't know what's going to happen, different mixtures of Canadian celebs kind of popping in and that flow. Everybody wanted to know what the show was. We didn't get a chance to just figure it out. It's a shame. It's a shame. You know what? There were other shows that followed and had better success.

Well, not that many. Who were you talking about? Bullard? Bullard did five years, man. Bullard's the only example of, I think. No. The sock? No, CBC.

Oh my God, I'm getting old. That's okay. I'm going to help you out here. But there was a late night talk show host on CBC that after yours? Yes, yes. He's got his own podcast. He does a, he's serious. Brent Bambury.

No, serious music guy. Oh, Q? No, that's Tom Powell. I'm trying to help you out, but you got to help me. What here are we talking about? If this is live, somebody help me for the love of God. Okay, Jim Moore, since you're in England watching live at live. about traumatic to come. Find out what talk show

Ralph's referring to because I am misremembering. Jennifer Detman produced it. I can't remember. He's going to hate me for not remember. When did it air? He couldn't have been a nicer guy. Was it once a week or was it weeknight? I think it was once a week. Maybe it was every night.

I can't remember. We'll get that answer. Oh, George Strombo. Oh, Strombo. A little, yes. He had a good run. He had his red chairs. Yeah, he's always been a good conversationalist. So, you know, it's there. Okay, George Dronbolopoulos, of course. All right, let's get back to the music, shall we?

He also ended up on hockey night in Canada. Yes, for a minute. You realize, you ain't one of ours. You're two Queen Street, he told me. Yeah, you're two Queen Street. You got an ear. You know, that's code, right? Yes, I know what it is.

And Stromba's a straight guy, but that's code for homophobia. What you were saying is, you're not one of us. You're not hypermasculine. You haven't been out in the ice in game six, you know. So you know, it doesn't matter. Friedman, just pointing that out. That's true. They just announced today that because BXA, who was there, he did play,

but he just got his deal as if it was ever in doubt, but Freeman never played the game. They all have nicknames, like they're 12. Oh, the freed. Fridge. So Fridge, what are you doing? Well, Osley, whatever the hell you want to say. Shout out to the 1985 Chicago Bears.

Schneider has a nickname for every guy on the team, even if he's only been there for five minutes. You know, well, Smithy's doing really well. His name is Josh Smith. What would be your nickname? Heinleck. Just spit it out. You can talk this up.

This is beautiful, though. Yes. It's Midnight in Beirut. So this is jazz for Lebanon. And you'll hear an oud, string instrument called the Ood. Listen this. Now, they called Beirut to Paris of the Middle East,

because it was the most European influence of the cities, colonized by the French. But if you're walking down the street in Beirut, stopping for a non-drink, unless you're in the Christian sector, become flowing out of a cafe. What kind of jazz is this, realm? I would say this is lounge

lounge jazz Now you can't consume alcohol Unless you're in the Christian Area In the Muslim area You're supposed to have alcohol No alcohol So we were in Morocco last year

And you can't go for a drink Except there were two hotels in Marrakesh That if you went to the back end of the bar And said I'm a foreigner I ask for cold tea I think that's code Yeah I like a bottle of

vodka or something. Wink wine. And they'd sell it to you. And then the other tourists, if they saw you drinking it, at your Riyadh, they'd go, oh my God, you have liquor. And you realize how we're built in the West. Right. Everything is like, you want to go for a drink?

There, it's like, do you want to go for some tea? Right. And then when I get home, I'll get my stash out and have a drink. But what do they think about, like, for example, is cannabis? Verbot? Verbalim, what's what I'm looking for? They don't do pot. They do hashish.

Okay, but that's still from the cannabis plant, right? Yeah, but it's a different thing. So Lebanese hash, Nepalese hash, those were all things. Right. Right? Lebanese hash was green. I don't know how I know these things, but... Listen, you can own it.

Oh, yeah, no, I've always owned it. Yeah, you have always owned it. I was amazed that cannabis was considered an illegal substance. And liquor, a dear friend of mine who passed away, a wonderful comic. And I asked his mother's permission about talking about his addictions when we did a special with him, Steve Schuster. So Shoe says to me one day, you know, don't feel bad for me. I'm addicted to crack. Feel bad for the alcoholic.

And I said, why? He said, an alcoholic can get alcohol. anywhere, anytime. They can go into a bar and drink 14 scotches and crawl out the back alley. If you do crack, you got to know a guy, you got to phone them, you got to meet him somewhere, you got to have cash,

you got to make sure you don't get arrested. It's crazy, but if I drink, I can drink myself silly. You really have to want that crack to score it. Right, right. So he said, feel bad for them because they have way too much access. Right. Well, even in the height of the pandemic,

what is the one thing that stayed open, right? because people need their alcohol. People drank more during the pandemic. Well, that's a, they're medicating loneliness, I would imagine. Aren't we all? I never finished my thought. So Jimmy Kimmel, you know,

eventually I do come back to these things. But you were a former, I know, we get excited, right, Ralph, when we get together. But you're a former talk show host. Oh, yeah, we got into your obituary. Shout out to Ridley Funeral Home. But Ralph, you're not allowed to be buried. You're not allowed to be buried

at Ridley Funeral Home, right? Like, you need to be buried at like Benjamin's, No, well, there are different Jewish cemeteries around the world. Well, one of them, only one of them has Howard Berger working. Benjamin's is a funeral service, but it's not a cemetery. Right. You have to go to a cemetery, usually attached to a synagogue membership. But do you need a service at a Jewish place like Benjamin's?

Well, you don't need, but if you want to. But you want. Steele's Memorial. And Benjamin. This is in Toronto. Right. Right. Well, this is Toronto might.

Right. So Pardace is a cemetery that's Jewish. that's way up Dufferin, right? Then there's one at Bathurst and Wilson, more like Keel and Wilson. Okay. There's just different ones. There's one, an old one,

a chaplain crescent, behind North Preparatory Public School, North Prep. I need to know these things, you know, because I am recording with Brad Jones. And you can't cremate. And here's in a question. I heard this from Curb Your Enthusiasm. You can confirm this right now.

If you were to get a tattoo, would you be allowed to be buried at these? Well, at a reform one, or what I do, renewal, yes. And a conservative one, probably, and an orthodox one, no. But, you know, that's an, that orthodoxy is orthodoxy. It's, I think of orthodoxy as having answers more than you have questions. You can have lots of questions, but you have to have answers at the end of it. There's a lot of rules with the Orthodox.

Well, there's a lot of rules with everything. I mean, do I drive through a four-way stop? No. So everything has its infrastructure that makes it work and sustains them. So we're so individualistic that the idea that any rules apply, not me. I drive one of those, what are they called? A cyber truck. A cyber truck. Screw you, man. I've got gullcles in the back.

I'm still, I can't wait to get that email from the listener who owns a cyber truck. Yeah, we're going to have a good chat. We will absolutely do that. I was wondering, Ralph Benmergy. Enormous penis. It's too heavy. It's too heavy. I can't carry this everywhere.

Put this in the trunk. I need a truck to carry this massive wang. That's why the back is so big. I have to throw it over my shoulder and put it in the trunk. You can just tie it in a bow. It explains everything, Ralph. Do you think this is, because Colbert's gone, Campbell's about to go.

Is this the end of late night? Well, financially, it's not what it was, right? Look, any appointment television. No TV is, right? Yeah, any appointment television on cable TV is, is due. Except for live sports. I feel the NFL's not on... Well, I'm thinking of straight cable, not streaming.

Right? So if you want SportsNet or TSN, you buy them individually. But on Fox TV, which is regular Fox, like the one over the air. That's on cable, regular cable. And if you're into it, you have to, great, buy the package, but you could also buy NFL football as a streaming service and watch whatever game you want. That's true.

So it's on its way out the door. Right. You know? It's like conventional TV died. I mean, who watches, God love all the people I know who are still in the business. But to people wait until 10 o'clock at night to watch the national or CTV news? No. You get it whenever they want it.

So, yeah. Jimmy Kimmel has wanted to retire for quite a while. But that's why he spent the last two and three years just relentlessly attacking Donald Trump because he could care less. Right. And Colbert, that's CBS. They got a whole separate set of issues. Well, there's a whole fascist. I truly believe a fascist infrastructure is being put in place in America.

The destruction of institutional consistency, the Department of Justice is a joke. The Supreme Court, a joke. I mean, Clarence Thomas is sitting on billionaire's yachts. He's a Supreme Court justice. and he's sitting on billionaires. He's got that job for life. Yes.

So, but before there were still checks and balances, when you have a maniac running a country and you have no way to stop him with executive orders left and right and a Republican Party terrified of their leader, terrified of him, you step in front of him, you lose your job. Period. Congressman, senators, anybody, they'll just get out-primaried. And that ridiculous Citizens United piece of legislation

it was past years ago, allows any amount of money, a billion dollars to run for president. Where do you think you get that? Who do you think you owe? Here, we have six weeks, and in writings, you have $120,000 is the maximum you can spend. That's actual democracy. Down there, it's a joke.

$40 million to become a senator, $70 million to become, in a primary race, $40 million, not even in the actual race. That guy who runs the company that released the cyber truck, the amount of money he spends to help Republicans in the midterm is... And he spent backing Donald Trump? No, no, it's a disaster. This is not democracy.

It hasn't been for a long time what they do in America. It isn't. It's a lot of noise in a very narrow channel. That's what they're doing. It makes it look like it's got a real spectrum to it, but it doesn't. There are always currents that will come up and down. So right now, the Democratic Party has a whole different momentum going for them, and it's anti-establishment, right?

So Madmani, Syed, these kinds of people are really interesting. Madmani is fascinating to me because we have an NDP that should be telling everybody that are socialists. And down there you got like Bernie, you got Madmane going, Yeah, no, I'm a socialist. And it's like, not a socialist. Yeah, socialist.

I actually believe in social good and democracy. Right. But that's New York City. Like, I just wondered how that would play. Well, New York City was also Michael Bloomberg as a mayor. No, you're right. But fascinating to see what Mom Dhani's doing in New York City. Yeah.

Yeah. I mean, I was going to ask you what your crystal ball says about, before I play this next jam, what does your crystal ball say about the midterms? I think the Democrats are, going to win the House for sure. And I think... We will have election.

We. It's not we, everybody. I'm proud Canadian here. I think they, even Kavanaugh today went against the gerrymandering, gerrymandering going on. And Kavanaugh is a Trump toad. So even he, what happens to some of these Supreme Court justices is once they're in the actual institution itself and the regard that is given to the law, they start to change. change some of them guys like alito you're never going to change him uh clarence thomas you're never going to change him but some of them have gone oh my god like i know i probably don't deserve this but

i better live up to something here and you're there for life yeah which is ridiculous by the way you know 100% all right here's something they might win the senate okay the democrats and if they do then it's two years of torture for trump because it'll be impeachments hook that to my veins yeah And, you know, Toad's like Mike Johnson, who's the... What do you play it? I'm playing a man named Gregory Porter. Gregorie. Jazz vocalist, amazing.

Just listen to this song. Horns, classic jazz, horns. And listen to the drums. This is not rock drums. 1960 who? Ninetextive what? 1960 who? 19.

Hey! City is burning 1960 what 1960 who 1960 who 1960 what 1960 who 19th

hey the motor city is burning y'all ain't right there was a man of people of the Lorraine

Motel yes it was a gun he was the only one to fall down y'all ain't right then his people scream

meet for sunlight For moonlight. Call in response. There's no need for street life. Because it's burning real bright. Folks say we're going to fight. Because this here thing just ain't. 1960 what?

1960 who? 1960 what? 1960 who? 19. Hey! Running y'all. Thought he was the one. Shot him down, y'all.

Need for sunlight. Moonlight. For street light. Just burning real pride Folks say we're going Because this hip bang just ain't 1960 what 1960 who

1960 who 1960 who Hey The motor city's Gregory Porter So that's the kind of stuff I play on I hate jazz So somebody will say I hate jazz And then you'll play this

And then that person like me Would say that's outstanding And you'd be like Oh I thought you hated jazz Exactly Catch it on. That's why we do the podcast. I will make an observation now that we're five songs deep.

Two more to go. My two favorite in that I loved both immensely were the two of lyrics. Do you think maybe when you hear actual lyrics and somebody singing, your brain thinks, oh, this is a song? Yes. I think that we have storytelling. Yeah, there's a story in that one. Right.

So Nina Simone's song. Right. I put a spell on you. And I would say that the jazz lyrics of the 50s and 60s and 40s, real beautiful storytelling. Some of the best lyricists of all time were in the jazz genre. And there was one song I was looking for, and I'm killing myself because I'd forgotten what the title was when I was looking

and I'd run out of time to do it. And it's about a woman who's there and her husband comes home, and I saw you out I saw you on the street today but what it is is she'd gone into a restaurant where she was out for the day and she was sitting in the back in the dark and she looked and she saw her husband

and another woman at a table and she first of all says would you like a drink when her husband comes home and I'll make one for me too and they have the drinks and she tells him I saw you I walked right by you and it breaks your heart because you realize this happens to people. So that's a beautiful story, right?

So, yeah, sometimes lyrics help. Look, everybody's got things they can hang their head. What I would say for people listening to instrumental music, especially if it's outside stuff, is to find one instrument and listen to it through the song. Right, follow it. So in that version of 1960 what by Gregory Porter, I was just following the drums.

Okay. Because those drums are not our embassified. B drums, they're not funk, they're not soul, they're jazz drumming. And jazz drumming, I play hand drums. Jazz drums are so beyond my comprehension. I'd have to spend five years learning how to play them. Well, there's still time, Ralph. There is, but I like my hand drums.

You're a busy guy. So, okay, we kind of cover this off the top, but of course, this jazz FM work, did you finally meet Sharon Taylor? I did. Well, online. Oh, online. Okay, I wondered if you had a coffee with her. whatever.

No, no, we had a strategy session yesterday with a bunch of people. She's a dear friend of the program. Excellent. We'll say hello. Always. All right, I've got one here. I've got one here. Now, this one is way out there, only because it's not in English.

There's a song in the Jewish High Holidays called Avinoomalcanu. This is the Kabbala Dream Orchestra. And this is not my mother's avinu Malcani. Daniel. Right? Right. Jewish scat. It's called the Nighgun if you don't have words.

Okay, well soon. Here it comes. A hip-hop beat there. And I was a teenager before I had status and before I had a pager. You could find that man listening to hip-hop. My pop used to say it reminded him a beep-bop. Where did you, where do you find this? How do you discover this?

Well, Kabbalah is Jewish mysticism, so I study it. And I was looking for Kabbalistic music years ago. And I found a Kabbalah orchestra. So it's kind of like acid jazz. That's reggae. Oh, he's got everything. Flamenco. The other thing about jazz is referencing.

You can use a line from a famous song and just play it few times in the middle of your solo. So that's what they do with that. So acid jazz. Yeah. Cool. Right. You know what?

This is cool. Yeah. So you can see that what combines them all is a musician'ship and the ability to, like, you don't hear this stuff in popular music. Hip hop has some elements. Particularly like a tribe called Quest. Well, well. For example.

Right. So I got one more for you. Okay. Well, let me fade out of this. Or actually, let me just tell the listenership while it's in the background about Recycle MyElectronics. Dot,ca. Because if you have old electronics, old devices, old cables, do not put those in your garbage. And then, of course, those chemicals end up in our landfill.

Go to Recyclemyelectronics.ca. put in your postal code and find out where to drop that off. And of course, Nick Aini's has a great podcast called Building Toronto Skyline. And my guest yesterday, Gilberto Fernandez, is going to come on that show and talk about building Toronto and on the back of the laborers. Many of Portuguese descent, but also Italians, big time, and Irish. So those are the big three, I suppose, but also polls and people from other parts. Anybody who came here from someplace else, you could start off as a common. laborer. Right.

Right, which was a grueling job. You didn't want to do it for the rest of your life, but you didn't have credentials for a Canadian job that you were actually here for. It's like when you'd be in a cab with somebody, and they had a PhD in engineering, but they didn't have a Canadian

PhD in engineering, so they built a city. We built this city. As you know, we have something special down here in Thailand this evening. You starting it? Yeah, you want me to Yeah, yeah.

Let's reboot it, my friend. Okay, okay. Because this is the last one. You want to say some things? Yeah. Sure. So I hope people are getting a good taste of jazz ziz as opposed to jazz. And I hope it in some ways makes you interested in finding out more.

Because jazz for me is one of the truly creative art forms. It's not formulaic. It requires courage. People don't play jazz to get rich or famous. They play it because they have to play it. Right. And it's in them. And there are really great jazz schools around the country.

In the Toronto area, U of T has a great jazz program. York has a jazz program. Unfortunately, Mohawk has now wound down their jazz program because there's no government funding. Government funds post-secondary to the tune of 30% of their budget and starves them. And now with no international students

and tuition that they pay, which are three times what you pay, they're going broke. And, you know, Doug doesn't care. Doug wants you to have a job. You'll build a tunnel. We'll all have jobs. But Doug's not AI-friendly.

He's not going to get it. That the future doesn't hold much for that. So jazz players, well, I think you'll always need them. So, and by the way, go to the Rex down on Queen Street. Any day, there's got four shows of different trios, combos, bands, soloists, all kinds of people show up. Just look for jazz venues in Toronto. There's Harute on the Danforth. There's the, well, used to be the senator.

I can't remember what it's called now. Oh, the bistro, the jazz bistro. just look for some jazz and jazz festivals that happen all summer long so do it I hate jazz is what I do on jazz FM 91 as a podcast and every week we just play more different kinds of jazz to see you know are you digging it and maybe you'll give more of it a listen I wanted to play one last one and this one was one of the first this is a classic called Cantaloupe Island originally and it's

Kirby Hancock's tune, and it's a classic. But what's happened here is it got really mixed in beautifully with Us Three, the band Us Three. And at the very beginning of it, you'll think this is a woman introducing this song. It's actually a man. And it's at the Blue Note Club in New York. They use that intro, that classic intro of the song. And then they play this wonderful mismanash.

of, I guess, 1990s, the beginning of hip-hop as being an acceptable genre. Us three in Cantaloupe. Ladies and gentlemen, as you know, we have something special down here at Birdland this evening. Well, Birdland. A recording for Blue Note Records. This bounce, dance as we dip in the melodic seat. Rhythm keeps flowing and drips to emcee. Sweet sugar, pop, sugar.

Now, pop, rocks and pop, you don't stop till the sweet beat drops. I show him prove as I stick and move. Vivid poems reciting on top of the brew, smooth, mind, floating, floating like a butterfly, no instead of floating, sung like a lullaby, brace yourself as the beat hits you. Dip trip, Antasia. Jazz and hip-hop, dripping in your dome, it's his own and bop. Funk infusion. I fly the sweat from the heat.

Dip-chip. Now, I didn't play any John Coltrane. I didn't play any Pat Messini. I didn't play any Italian jazz, which is a thing. And I didn't play ECM, which is from the Nordic countries. It has an absolute specific sound, ECM records, Muthini's on ECM. Mike Stern, I could have played if only. Sounds magical.

But there's so many different kinds of jazz. There's the Jaco Pistorius Big Band, the Mincero Big Band, I'm. of LA. All the great session musicians get together and just blow. Right. So you can challenge yourself with stuff that's a little like giant steps. Or you can listen to Johnny Hartman singing beautiful, beautiful stuff. There's so much good jazz.

And there's so many good players here in Canada. So that's why I love doing I hate jazz. I hate jazz available wherever you get your podcasts. You can pause this right now. Go subscribe. hear more Ralph. I feel like the more Ralph in your diet, the healthier you'll be.

And you'll have a big large penis you have to put in the back of the truck. If you have an enormous penis and you can't carry that weight, a cyber truck. I know at the Sherway Gardens there is a Tesla dealer and they will sell you a cyber truck. For $75,000?

I made that number up, but I feel like it's got to be at least $75K. And that's a standard one. Yeah, that one probably... I pop the clock. I popped the clutch. Battery not included. Yeah, that's a whole other thing. You know, Ralph, this is the perfect song to end on

because if somebody says that they hate jazz, just play them cantaloupe. Listen to the trumpet solo. That's jazz. That's jazz, everybody. Ralph, you hit it out of the park again, man. I just got to come up with new excuses to get you into the South Atobical basement.

I love these chats. Thank you, so do I. Give me a kiss, big guy. Not mercy by the monster car. And I'll know you're rich beyond my wildest dreams. And that brings us to the end of our 1,968th show. Go to TorontoMike.com for all your Toronto Mike needs. And listen to Ralph, both on the Jazz FM podcast, which is called I Hate Jazz.

You know who else hates jazz? Johnny hates jazz. Do you remember those guys? Johnny hates jazz. No. This was like an 80s group. They had a big hit. Anyway.

Screw him. Also, not that kind of rabbi. And if you're looking for spiritual counseling, is it Ralphbenmergey.ca? It is. And don't tell me. Olive. Ah, very nice.

Third times a charm. You are the like spiritual director for Olive Canada. I just coordinate people and put ideas in once in a while. It's actually not for Canada. It's everywhere. It's out of the States. You're busy, though. I'm very busy. Today's my day off. I'm enjoying it.

Well, I'm honored that you're here. It's a pleasure, always. We'll take our photo by Toronto Tree. Even if it's storming outside, because for the second Wednesday in a row, I feel bad for my youngest, too. She plays soccer. And there's only a few more weeks left,

but she plays House League soccer every Wednesday night, and we got rained out last Wednesday, and I'll bet you we get rained out again today. They don't like to tear up the side. And if there's lightning, it's not worth the risk. A couple of kids dead, what are we going to do here? Okay. Yeah, no, God forbid.

Oh, and by the way, for your Jewish listeners, Happy High Holidays, Shanatova, have a good sweet New Year and a good Yom Kippur. Ignorance, please forgive me. When does this wonderful high holiday begin? Well, I'll have to look up the exact days. It's September 9. I don't want to miss these things.

You know, I intentionally schedule the year. TMLX event we have every year at this time. I intentionally make sure it does not conflict with the high holidays. The 11th and 12th, Friday and Saturday, the first day nights of the new year. And then Yom Kippur is on 20th at night and 21st during the day. It's early this year. Much love to all who made this possible.

Great Lakes Brewery. Ralph has his fresh craft beer. Palma Pasta. Nikainis. Recycle My Electronics.C.A. And of course, Ridley Funeral Home, I'm literally recording a new episode of Life's Undertaking in two hours.

So subscribe to Life's Undertaking with Brad Jones. Here's a new line I now say in the extra. You ready, Ralph? Yes, I am. No generative AI has been used in the recording of this podcast. You see it like it's a good thing. See you all. Ralph and I will debate that on the next episode.

See you all. tomorrow when I talked to Lee Steinberg, Super Agent, about this Kauai Leonard debacle. DeBackel. Yeah, we're going to find out what's going on. That trade hasn't been approved yet, or hasn't gone through yet. We have lost to discuss with Lee. See you all. Then.