George's Spaghetti House was a jazz club located at 290 Dundas Street East,

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

History

In 1956 entrepreneur Doug Cole (1925–2012) bought the restaurant, keeping the existing name. Cole began to feature jazz at the restaurant on weekend evenings, and starting on 5 September 1960 booked music six nights per week. Saxophonist Moe Koffman served as the booking agent for the club. As a result, Koffman frequently booked himself into the club, giving rise to a running joke amongst Toronto's jazz fans and musicians, who would phone the club and say, "I'd like to know who is playing tonight, and I won't take Moe for an answer." Nevertheless, many of Canada's most famous jazz musicians played at the club, including Don Thompson,

Ed Bickert Edward Isaac Bickert, (November 29, 1932 – February 28, 2019) was a Canadian guitarist who played mainstream jazz and swing music. Bickert worked professionally from the mid-1950s to 2000, mainly in the Toronto area. His international reputati ...

, Guido Basso,

Doug Riley Douglas Brian Riley, CM (April 12, 1945 – August 27, 2007) was a Canadian musician, also known as Dr. Music. He spent two decades with the Famous People Players as its musical director, besides his participation on over 300 album projec ...

, Terry Clarke, and

Rob McConnell Robert Murray Gordon McConnell (14 February 1935 – 1 May 2010) was a Canadian jazz trombonist, composer, and arranger.Jeff Sultanof. Experiencing Big Band Jazz: A Listener's Companion'. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers; 8 November 2017. . p ...

. Cole later opened a restaurant called Castle George on the second floor of the building. He also operated two other clubs in Toronto:

Bourbon Street Bourbon Street (, ) is a historic street in the heart of the French Quarter of New Orleans. Extending twelve blocks from Canal Street to Esplanade Avenue, Bourbon Street is famous for its many bars and strip clubs. Tourist numbers have b ...

and Basin Street, which occupied the upstairs and downstairs portions of 180 Queen Street West. Cole sold George's in 1983. For his role in the development of jazz in Canada, Cole was appointed a Member of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada () is a Canadian state order, national order and the second-highest Award, honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the Canadian Centennial, ce ...

in 2008. He died June 14, 2012.

Live albums

*Moe Koffman - ‘’Live at George’s’’ (1975) *Ed Bickert - ''Ed Bickert'' (1975)

References

*"George's Jazz Room." In ''The Canadian Encyclopedia Online.'' http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/georges-jazz-room-emc/ *Winsa, Patty. "Doug Cole, founder of Toronto’s first jazz club, has died." Toronto Star, 17 June 2012. {{Authority control Defunct jazz clubs Nightclubs in Toronto Former music venues in Canada Music venues completed in 1956 Jazz clubs in Toronto