Collecting tales of the impact and influence Jamaican musicians have had on the Toronto music scene like Thanos collects Infinity Stones, filmmaker Graeme Mathieson returns by delving into the city's untold music history. Four months after the release of his five-part documentary series Sounds & Pressure: Reggae in a Foreign Land, which he co-directed with Chris Flanagan, the Toronto-based director and producer provides another engaging work that reminds audiences that we have barely cracked the surface when it comes to documenting Black music in Canada.
Digging his shovel into the rich cultural soil of reggae and soul music, Mathieson's latest film, Play It Loud: How Toronto Got Soul, shines a spotlight on the life of singing legend Jay Douglas. Considered by many to be the heart and soul of Black music in Canada, Douglas was one of the most influential artists who helped shaped the Caribbean-infused music known as the "Toronto sound" that's celebrated today.
Allowing Douglas (born Clive Pinnock) to be the tour guide through his own life, the film takes audiences back to rural Jamaica in the late 1940s and early 1950s to lay down the foundations that his storied career was built upon. While church lit a musical candle within him that refused to burn out, it was a common sentiment at the time that music offered one of the few pathways out of a life of poverty. Taking this to heart, Douglas began participating in local singing competitions to hone his skills. His foray into Jamaica's thriving music scene also provided him with the opportunity to interact with artists such as the Blues Busters, Bob Marley, the Wailers and more.
His musical journey took an unexpected turn at age 15 when his mother summoned him to join her in Canada in 1962. Having immigrated in 1954 as the first wave of Jamaican women who gained employment as live-in nannies for white families, Douglas's mother wanted her son to have the best possible chance at receiving an education. While often celebrated as the land of diversity and opportunity, Canada can also be very isolating for newcomers. Many in the Caribbean immigrants at the time had to rely on house parties and the W.I.F. Club, run by the West Indian Federation, to build a sense of community.
Spaces like the W.I.F. Club would help launch Douglas's musical career by the time he turned 17 when, then a student at Central Tech High School, word of his performances at school talent shows spread like wildfire. Asked to audition for the band the Cougars, who were looking for a lead singer, Douglas's voice and showmanship fit the group's style perfectly.
Quickly gaining a following for their lively shows, Mathieson's film captures how the mountain of success became a step for the Cougars to climb. As Douglas and the band learned firsthand, the Canadian music industry, including record stores and radio stations, placed little value on reggae music. They only liked Black music when it was performed by white musicians.
While Mathieson touches on the racial hardships that Douglas and others endured in Canada, especially in small towns in Ontario, Play It Loud doesn't wallow in the adversity. He presents Douglas a consummate professional who can take listeners on a musical history tour, whether as patrons at a club on Yonge Street or on a cruise ship. Viewers see the genuine love and respect his former bandmates — including legendary singer-actress Jackie Richardson and drummer Everton "Pablo" Paul — have when singing his praises.
Although the film celebrates Douglas's contribution to Canadian music and culture, Mathieson also makes it clear how severely undervalued Black artists are in this country. For all of Douglas's accomplishments and significance to the music industry, it took recognition from a Seattle-based record label — Light in the Attic, run by Matt Sullivan — before mainstream media took notice. I can't help but wonder what would have happened had Sullivan and fellow music lover and historian Kevin "Sipreano" Howes not released the beloved Jamaica to Toronto: Soul Funk & Reggae 1967-1974 compilation album, 46 years into the singer's career, which brought Douglas and others newfound fans globally.
Featuring interviews with Douglas, his the Cougars bandmates, Sly Dunbar, former Much Music VJ Michael Williams, rapper and poet Rollie Pemberton (a.k.a. Cadence Weapon), and more, the film offers a well-rounded look at a musician whose work still reverberates today.
Highlighting yet another prominent artist immortalized on the mural of influential Jamaican Canadians in Toronto's Little Jamaica, Mathieson continues to build a roster of films that remind audiences why these talented individuals should never be forgotten. An entertaining celebration of one of the key architects of the Toronto sound, Play It Loud delivers a fitting tribute to a man who brought joy and a sense of community one song at a time.