Part of the residency The Ryan Driver Sextet
Southern Cross
The Ryan Driver Sextet specializes in the psychedelification of popular American songs from the 1920's through 1960's. They have been engaging in this task monthly since 1999, when they started playing as a quartet at Graffiti's in Kensington Market. The sextet plays only ballads, and almost always very slowly. That said, the interpretations are wildly adventurous, brimming with wonkiness, tangents, sweetness, heartbreak, ecstacy, and a kind of interplay that could only arise in the company of several odd / brilliant musicians with a long history of developing a unique sound together.
The Ryan Driver Sextet provides a "lounge" ambiance unlike anything else you can find anywhere, and an oasis of relaxedness, weirdness, and beauty that seems almost unimaginable, especially on a Friday night in Toronto.