Jay Douglas Documentary:  Play It Loud! — How Toronto Got Soul is set for Official Premiere on Dec. 4 and 7 at Hot Docs Cinema: Jay Douglas has been a popular figure on the blues scene but he came up in Toronto’s vibrant reggae and Caribbean music scene alongside Jamaica-born artists such as Jackie Mittoo, Leroy Sibbles and Wayne McGhie. He was the lead singer of The Cougars, a fabulous group who performed a collage of genres (reggae/Caribbean/soul/ska/funk) on the Yonge Street strip and throughout Ontario. This documentary takes the journey with Douglas through the highs and lows, in a way akin to the 2012 critically acclaimed documentary Searching For Sugar Man about the rather obscure musician Rodriguez and one man’s search for the artist. The Wednesday, December 4 screening will be followed by a Q&A with director Graeme Mathieson, musician Jay Douglas and producer Andrew Munger. The Saturday, December 7 screening will be followed by a Q&A with director Graeme Mathieson. It will also have a Toronto screening Feb. 6 at the Nia Centre for The Arts (524 Oakwood) and makes its broadcast premiere later that month on TVO and BC’s Knowledge Network.

Canadian Bluesicians at the Grammys: Sue Foley’s One Guitar Woman received a Grammy Nomination for Best Traditional Blues Album, Colin Linden is nominated for Best Americana album for co-writing, co-producing and playing on T-Bone Burnett’s album,The Other Side and Hamilton’s Steve Strongman has two nominations for the Fabulous Thunderbirds album that he co-wrote and co-produced with Kim Wilson.

Linus Entertainment winding down: Linus’ main man Geoff Kulawick has announced that it is closing shop in Waterdown (his art gallery will be closed as well), and most of the catalogue has been sold to Round Hill Music in Nashville. Ironic that three of the Grammy nominations mentioned above are for records he just put out.  The good news is that Kulawick and his wife will continue to run True North Records and Stony Plain Records by themselves (but it will be from some villa in Italy). “The labels are going to continue. I won’t be managing them at a certain point,” he said. Linus was the prime destination for Canadian roots & blues artists ever since they absorbed Borealis,True North and Stony Plain and will be sorely missed.