" It's clear how much influence Dako still exerts as a Canadian jazz icon'"

Andrea Astor, Old Times

Paul Kennedy host of CBC’s IDEAS says, "Jazz Alchemist Del Dako has managed to forge a new alloy: a jazz version of Beethoven's Seventh Symphony....pure gold."

"Perhaps it's best just to say this is a fascinating jazz with a vibes sheen that underlines the uniqueness of it all." Geoff Chapman, Wholenote

"I never appreciated Del’s playing so much as when I listened to those rough mixes. His lightning-fast yet liquid alto, as lyrical as Johnny Hodges and as wild as Charlie Parker, is the sound of a great tradition played from the very heart of its imagination.” John Barber, The Globe and Mail
"He went into the woodshed, in reality, a basement in Scarborough, with Peter Appleyard’s castoff vibraphone. Many months later, he was leading a fiery attack from the front of his own quintet at the Pilot Tavern downtown, with another unfading veteran, Bernie Senensky, pushing hard from behind, as if none had ever known a setback.” John Barber, The Globe & Mail

Jack Chambers author of Milestones:

The Music and Times of Miles Davis (1998)

“Del Dako is a new friend.

At this place in my life I don’t make many of them anymore. It is not that I don’t care; it is just a matter of time. However, there is something about Del Dako that made me open my heart and spend hours chatting with him. Why? It is a combination of several qualities that help to define him. It is Del’s ability to create a deep level of intimacy by making you feel that you are the only one he has ever confided in or shared a particular story with. It is his comedic flair (seasoned to perfection by his ability to go blue at just the right moment) that disarms you. There’s his commitment to teaching the young music fans and players of the future that is admirable. Lastly and perhaps most important, it's because I respect his outlook on life. It is a perspective that comes only when you have knocked on heaven’s door. To have your world completely taken apart and then to rebuild it piece by piece builds character very few of us can imagine. Here’s to many more years of long chats with my new friend,    Del Dako”….

Ross Porter, CEO, JAZZ.FM91,Toronto

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