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www.insideHALTON.com · OAKVILLE BEAVER Wednesday, January 16, 2013 · 24 Terry Clarke jazzing it up at Merriam Artscene a bit of fame: Oakville resident Jack Smye, and member of the local men's chorus group The Entertainers is one of 11 men who captured Canadian hearts by storm by singing inside an Oakville Tim Hortons restaurant. A fellow patron shot a video of the men and uploaded it to www. youtube.com. The video has received more than 800,000 views as of Tuesday. In the span of days, the men have appeared in newspapers and television. Oakville jazz fans will have the chance to see five-time Canadian Jazz Award drummer-of-the-year Terry Clarke this Friday night (Jan. 18) without having to travel to Toronto to get their jazz fix. Clarke, a titan on the Canadian jazz scene for many years, is leading a trio that also includes Mississauga bassist Pat Collins. It's part of the Merriam School of Music's Drumfest celebration this weekend. The event also includes a concert by the classical percussion group TORQ on Saturday afternoon. Clarke has played on innumerable records over the years and won the 2010 Juno for Jazz Recording of the Year for his aptly-tiled It's About Time, which was his first effort as a leader. The record featured saxophonists Joe Lovano, Greg Osby and Phil Dwyer, guitarist Jim Hall and bassist/pianist Don Thompson. The Toronto drummer has played with innumerable jazz legends over the years including Mississauga's own Oscar Peterson and sax giant John Coltrane. Clarke will be joined by guitarist David Occhipinti and Collins on double bass at the 6:30 p.m. concert at Merriam, 2359 Bristol Circle in Oakville, on the west side of Winston Churchill Boulevard just south of Dundas Street. In a press release, Merriam says, "This promises to be a sublime musical experience as three of Canada's greatest musicians play jazz in an interactive and swinging context. Terry's nimble and adept drumming is rooted in the bebop tradition, and forward-thinking and explorative." On Saturday at 1 p.m., the classical percussion chamber music quartet TORQ will take the stage. They are known for test-driving innovative compositions by modern composers, as well as material by members of the group. "They make percussion music accessible to everyone and are dynamic performers," says Merriam. "From groove music to experimenting with sounds, this concert is bound to have music that you had never considered before." Tickets for both events are $10 each for anyone registered at Merriam or their family members and $15 for the public. Tickets are available at the door or at the Merriam reception desk the week. david cooper / toronto star Men who love to sing get 15 minutes of fame By Dominik Kurek OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF The men at the Oakville barbershop chorus called The Entertainers know that the fame associated with getting 830,000 hits on YouTube is fleeting, but they're enjoying their time in the spotlight nonetheless. A group of 11 older gentlemen from the male a cappella chorus has captured the hearts of Canadians by storm after a video of them singing Elton John's Can You Feel the Love Tonight? at a Tim Hortons restaurant was uploaded onto the video sharing website. The moment was captured Monday, Jan. 7. The video has already received more than 830,000 views. Since then, the men have appeared in the newspapers and televised news broadcasts. "All of this is very fleeting. It's obviously a gift to us so we want to milk it for all it's worth, but two weeks from now, we'll be back to our group singing in there and maybe a half a dozen people inside. 10 o'clock at night, typically for Tims, that's a pretty quiet time," said Jack Smye, one of the crooners in the video and member of The Entertainers. "All this stuff has transpired in the last four days." There was nothing new to last Monday's visit to the Tim Hortons restaurant at Iroquois Shore and Trafalgar Roads in Oakville. The guys have been doing it for the past five or six years. The Entertainers rehearse at neighbouring Syl Apps Youth Centre every Monday evening and when practice ends at 9:30 p.m., a few of the men drive down to the nearest coffee shop. "We always buy some coffee, buy some Tim Bits, share them around and about halfway through guys will say, `what do you want to sing?' And then, we'll sing," Smye said. "Most people will whip out a cell phone and record a video just for their own personal use. This time, the young man that was in there, he's put it on YouTube and the thing's gone viral." The video was uploaded by Danfi Parker. secondly, we don't deserve it. There are a lot of choruses and groups and so on that sing far better than us and could use that kind of publicity too. But hey, it's a gift so we want to flaunt it for all it's worth," Smye said with a laugh. One of the reasons why the video is such a big hit is because of the performers' ages, Smye suggested. "People say, `oh look, old guys can still sing.' If it had been one of our young choruses sitting in there, the thing would probably have died," he said. This past Friday, the guys went back to the Tim Hortons with news cameras to make a recording, when the restaurant manager informed them he's been getting calls from patrons hoping to make reservations for this Monday evening. On Monday, the restaurant had an increase in late evening patrons, who came out to see what the fuss was all about. Though they happen weekly, the Tim Hortons performances are impromptu on a usual day. "Nothing is scripted. The first thing we have to make sure is if we have all four parts for the harmony. If we don't have all four parts, typically we won't sing, but usually that's not a problem," Smye said. The men in the video are Smye, Marv Hatelt, Larry Rootes, Ian McGregor, Gordon Stewart and Jerry Goodwin facing the camera, and with their backs to the camera are Norm Riddle, Rod Latner, Collin Sealy, John Hart and Walter Luxon. "All of this is very fleeting. It's obviously a gift to us so we want to milk it for all it's worth, but two weeks from now, we'll be back to our group singing in there and maybe a half dozen people inside." Jack Smye, director - chapter growth The Entertainers On that particular evening, the gang had already gone through several songs before they performed Can You Feel the Love Tonight? After the video's gone viral, the group was contacted by The Huffington Post, The Toronto Star, The Hamilton Spectator and a number of television news teams for interviews. Many more news agencies have featured the video as well. "We're astounded this is happening. But