The Most Legendary Concerts at Massey Hall

Our Massey Hall guide covers the venue's general history. This page is about three specific nights that became legendary recordings.

"The Greatest Jazz Concert Ever" (1953)

On May 15, 1953, five of bebop's defining figures — Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Bud Powell, Charles Mingus and Max Roach — shared a Massey Hall stage as "The Quintet," in what remains the only recording of all five playing together. The hall was half-empty that night because a heavyweight title fight was airing on television simultaneously. Parker, contractually barred from using his own name on record, was billed as "Charlie Chan." Because the house mics barely picked up the double bass, Mingus later re-recorded his own bass parts before releasing the concert as Jazz at Massey Hall that December.

Neil Young and Rush

On January 19, 1971, Neil Young played a solo acoustic set at Massey Hall. The recording sat unreleased for 36 years until it emerged in 2007 as Live at Massey Hall 1971, hitting #1 in Canada. Five years later, Rush recorded their breakthrough live double album All the World's a Stage over three nights in June 1976, which became the band's first US Top 40 album.

Gordon Lightfoot's home stage

No performer's relationship with the venue rivals Gordon Lightfoot's. He first sang there in 1952 at age 13, began an annual concert tradition in 1967, and sold out seven consecutive nights in 1977 — reportedly forcing the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, then resident at Massey Hall, to schedule its own vacation around his run. He made well over 150 appearances on that stage across his career, more than any other artist in the hall's history.

Sources

• Craft Recordings — Celebrating the 70th Anniversary of "The Greatest Jazz Concert Ever"
• Nicholas Jennings — Gordon Lightfoot and Massey Hall