Site: The Rex Hotel, Jazz & Blues Bar

Location: 194 Queen Street West. Toronto, Ont. M5V 1Z1. Closest subway station: Osgoode station.

Description

Part hotel, part restaurant, and part Jazz & Blues bar, the Rex has become one of Toronto’s many beloved musical institutions. With its motto being: “More Great Jazz than anywhere else, all the time!” The Rex is wholly dedicated to all things jazz and blues. Its live calendar consists of a large lineup of almost twenty shows a week, including two nightly sets and two afternoon performances on weekends. Most of the talent is local Torontonians, but acts from all over across the country have also graced the Rex stage. For jazz lovers and newcomers alike, there is no better spot in town to just walk in off the streets. Since time, the Rex has been at the forefront of Toronto’s thriving local jazz scene, and is still going strong.

The History

Located in one of Toronto’s oldest streets, The Rex has been featuring great jazz and blues performances for over 30 years. But before it became a successful entertainment spot, the Rex had originally opened as hotel before transitioning over to a live entertainment venue in the late 1980s. And since then, the Rex has become a place where people (who may or may not share a love for jazz music) to come and enjoy live music with amazing company.

However, as I began my research on this local establishment, I found myself struggling to find any concrete historical information about the Rex; therefore I decided to broaden my search to a section of Queen St. West starting from where the Rex is located and ending around Bay St. During my research, I came across a blog titled, “Lost Toronto” which features posts about historical Toronto and what has been lost as the city continued to develop throughout the years. Although it is not a scholarly source, it was interesting to find out that after the construction of New City Hall in 1966, a large portion of the south side of Queen Street West (Between Bay St. and University St.) was demolished except for the Rex Hotel. Also, it was noted in the blog post that the Rex Hotel had survived the demolishment because it was located on the north side of Queen Street West. As a result, the Rex was given the opportunity to make a name for itself and that is exactly what the owners did when they decided to expand their business to include live musical performances. Among the many musical establishments along the strip of Queen Street West, The Rex stands out because of its owner’s decision to feature live jazz music performed by Toronto locals. Similarly, below is a picture of a map that I came across while researching about the different music venues located in Toronto. This map was taken from an online article found in the Torontoist, a website with a “goal of capturing the tenor and texture of life in Toronto”.

This map shows the many music venues around Toronto.
#13 marks the Rex Hotel, Jazz & Blues Bar.
Source: http://torontoist.com/2012/09/mapping-our-music-the-1990s/

As shown in the map above, multiple areas of Toronto had their own local music venues during the 1990s and most of them still exist today. For instance, venues such as #2 Lee’s Palace and  #17 the Molson Canadian Amphitheatre are two establishments that are still popular today. Each area of Toronto is represented by its own music scene and caters to all types of music lovers. From dance music to alternative rock to live jazz performances, one can see how diverse the music scene is in Toronto. In a sense, “music is used to represent the neighbourhood, whether through well-known local musicians who came to symbolize it and acted as its ambassadors; or through the use of particular music genres and styles that evoked a collective past and tradition; or through the musical stereotypes in the local press that used music to present alternative images of the neighbourhood” (Cohen, 276).

Personal Experiences (Site Analysis)

With further reference to Sara Cohen, author of Sounding out the City: Music and the Sensuous Production of Place, “the consumption and production of music draws people together and symbolizes their sense of collectivity and place” (273) and that is exactly what the Rex does. It is a place where everyone is treated like a family the moment they walk through the doors – even if it is your first time visiting. I know this because I was one of them. Having never been to the Rex before (much less a jazz and blues bar) I was a little nervous because I didn’t know what to expect from such a place. However, I should point out that it wasn’t like I never heard of the Rex before. In fact, it is kind of hard to ignore its presence as one walks through Queen Street West. I say this because as one walks by the Rex, he or she can hear the loud music emanating from it. One doesn’t even have to step foot inside to know what type of music is being played there.

With its casual atmosphere, eclectic mix of retro-chic décor, and a large variety of draught beer, it is no wonder the Rex Hotel, Jazz & Blues Bar is often referred to as “a second home” to majority of its regulars, Informant B, who came to Toronto from Montreal in 1999, has been coming to the Rex every Saturday night (or once every 2 weeks) since 2009. She fondly refers to the Rex as her “home away from home” and tells me that the Rex is the place to be if you are looking to enjoy some good live music with amazing people. She then ends our interview with this notable quote: “Great place, great music, great people”. And I must say that I agree with her on that.

Table decor at the Rex.
Source: Linh Vuong

Upon stepping through the doors of the Rex, you are immediately greeted by the loud, but not overwhelming, music of the band playing on the stage located by the entrance (during my visit I got to see a performance by Danny Marks, a regular artist of the Rex). As mentioned previously, looking around you will notice the eclectic décor that the Rex has. The walls are completely covered with old photos of the Rex’s performers – old and new, as well as several paintings. With its dim lighting and mismatched tables and chairs, the Rex kind of gives off an old nostalgic feeling that is familiar to all of its customers – both young and old. Similarly, although the Rex usually attracted an older crowd, a mixture of the younger generation can now be found amongst the regulars.

Nevertheless this wasn’t always the case when it came to what type of people visited the Rex. With reference to an article in the National Post titled, “A Cozy Den Free of Pretension and Full of Colorful Regulars” (1999) by Rebecca Eckler, “Toronto is a haven for down-and-dirty drinking dens, more commonly referred to as dives” and the Rex was once apart of this category. However this all changed when the Rex underwent some slight renovations, “we got rid of the scruffles,” says Bob Ross, owner of the Rex since 1965. “It was an excruciatingly slow change. Before, women wouldn’t come in, but now they do.” Since then, the Rex had transformed and became one of the best jazz venues around Toronto. In the words of Informant A the Rex has now become a place with an “up-lifting, comfortable, and friendly atmosphere – a number one go-to spot for all jazz lovers”. 

Final Thoughts

As mentioned previously, prior to this assignment, I have never personally been to the Rex. I pass by it countless of times whenever I am in the area but have never been interested in seeing what it was all about. Therefore when it came to picking a locale for this assignment, I thought why not give the Rex a chance since it is something I haven’t tried before. As I continued to research more about the longtime establishment, I was surprise to learn that very little information is actually given about the history of the Rex. Perhaps I wasn’t looking hard enough or looking in the right places, I’m not so sure. Nevertheless, I do encourage anyone who reads this post to give the Rex Hotel, Jazz & Blues Bar a try if they are ever in the Queen Street West area. With a performance happening any time and seven days a week, there is no excuse to not give the Rex a try!

The November 2013 Event Calendar.

*Music calendars can be found outside the doors of the Rex.

Bibliography

Bradburn, Jamie. “Mapping Our Music: The 1990s”. Torontoist. 19 Sep. 2012. Web.

Cohen, Sara. “Sounding Out the City: Music and the Sensuous Production of Place. The Place of Music. New York: The Guilford Press, 1998.

Eckler, Rebecca. “A Cozy Den Free of Pretension and Full of Colourful Regulars.” National Post: 0. Mar 16 1999. ProQuest. Web. 29 Nov. 2013.

Junek, Thomas. “The Rex Jazz and Blues Bar – ‘Where Jazz Lives'”. Spotted by Locals: Experience Toronto like a Local. 11 Nov 2013. Web.

“About The Rex”. The Rex Hotel, Jazz & Blues Bar. The Rex Website. 2013. Web. http://www.therex.ca/about.html