Toronto Star
The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part of Torstar's Daily News Brands (Torstar), Daily News Brands division.
...
'' Cy McLean obituary, November 1, 1986, A10: "Jazz pianist Cy McLean, 70, led Toronto's first Black band". Retrieved 2011-04-24. was a Canadian pianist and band leader, whose career spanned the 1940s to the 1970s. He is particularly notable as having led Canada's only full-scale black orchestra in the 1940s.Mark Miller "The sound of a truly different drummer" . ''
The Globe and Mail
''The Globe and Mail'' is a Newspapers in Canada, Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in Western Canada, western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of more than 6 million in 2024, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on week ...
'', January 6, 2005, as reprinted i Mark McLean . Retrieved 2011-04-25. His success as a Canadian black musician is considered to have influenced the success of later Canadian black musicians.
History
Cy McLean was born in
Sydney, Nova Scotia
Sydney is a former city and urban community on the east coast of Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia, Canada within the Cape Breton Regional Municipality. Sydney was founded in 1785 by the British, was incorporated as a city in 1904, and dissolv ...
, and relocated to
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 ...
,
Ontario
Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...
. He formed his first band as of 1937. He was a pianist, who supported himself as a musician through working as a messenger at the Toronto head office of
Bell Canada
Bell Canada (commonly referred to as Bell) is a Canadian telecommunications company headquartered at 1 Carrefour Alexander-Graham-Bell in the borough of Verdun, Quebec, in Canada. It is an ILEC (incumbent local exchange carrier) in the province ...
. He became known as the leader of Toronto's first black dance band and, as of the 1940s, led Canada's only full-scale black orchestra. McLean is credited with training many Canadian jazz musicians of his time. He and his band developed their music career through playing at non-union establishments, due to being unable to join the local musicians union. The band became quite popular, and during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
was sponsored by Lifebouy Soap to tour southwestern Ontario. McLean and his band played in areas of Ontario where a black person had not been seen before. He and his band were sometimes barred from restaurants, in addition to being initially denied union membership. Despite these events, McLean chose to perform exclusively in Canada, stating that "people (in Canada) aren't like they are in the United States. I've never wanted to go down there, for that reason."
Jet Magazine
''Jet'' is an American weekly digital magazine focusing on news, culture, and entertainment related to the African-American community. Founded in print by John H. Johnson in November 1951 in Chicago, Illinois, the magazine was billed as "The We ...
Colonial Tavern
The Colonial Tavern was one of the most famous jazz venues in Canada from the 1950s till its closure in the late 1970s. It was located at 201–203 Yonge Street in Toronto, Ontario (now an open lot between 197 Yonge Street and 205 Yonge Street) w ...
.Ontario Black History Society Profile of Cy McLean ; "Notes From Black History". Retrieved 2011-04-25. This was considered to be a groundbreaking engagement, since black musicians had heretofore not been allowed to perform at any of the clubs on Toronto's
Yonge Street
Yonge Street ( ') is a major arterial route in the Canadian province of Ontario connecting the shores of Lake Ontario in Toronto to Lake Simcoe, a gateway to the Great Lakes#Geography, Upper Great Lakes. Ontario's first colonial administrator, ...
, which was at the time the central focus of live music in Toronto.
McLean was a significant influence on other musicians, both generally and among black musicians facing colour barriers, such as drummer
Archie Alleyne
Archibald Alexander "Archie" Alleyne (January 7, 1933 – June 8, 2015) was a Canadian jazz drummer, and advocate for Black musicians and Black rights.Warwick Hotel, prior to dance bands being replaced by other entertainment.
McLean was the great-uncle of Canadian drummer Mark McLean.