Jazz Articles about Jon Maharaj

About Jon Maharaj

Album Review

Canadian saxophonist Allison Au says she was drawn to the simplicity of a jazz quartet “as a vehicle for realizing the visions of my original compositions." Charlie Parker must have felt the same way; Art Pepper, too. And John Coltrane. Au stuck to this format for her Wander Wonder (Self Produced, 2018) and 2017's self-produced Forest Grove (review here). Both were terrific outings that spoke to the young artist's potential. But as with the noted giants mentioned above, Au must ...

Album Review

The Nimmons Tribute: Volume 2--Generational

Read "Volume 2--Generational" reviewed by Jack Bowers

by Jack Bowers
July 29, 2023

If you live in Canada and are not familiar with the name Phil Nimmons, you probably have not been paying close enough attention. Nimmons, who surpassed the century mark in June 2023, is often referred to as the “Dean of Canadian Jazz," and listing his many accomplishments and awards would require far more space than is ordinarily set aside for a complete review. Suffice to say that Nimmons has been active as a composer, arranger, performer and educator longer than ...

Album Review

The Nimmons Tribute: Volume 2 - Generational

Read "Volume 2 - Generational" reviewed by John Chacona

by John Chacona
June 30, 2023

Anyone who listened to Canadian radio after the adoption of the so-called Canadian Content requirement in the '70s probably heard a lot of Phil Nimmons' music. To be sure, the clarinetist, composer and arranger had achieved some recognition south of the 49th parallel through his RCA recordings of the '50s but, by choosing to base his career in Toronto, he became a living symbol of Canadian jazz. When the nation celebrated the 100th anniversary of Confederation in 1967, Nimmons was ...

Album Review

Amanda Tosoff: Earth Voices

Read "Earth Voices" reviewed by Dan Bilawsky

by Dan Bilawsky
February 10, 2021

Building off the lure of language planted in Amanda Tosoff's Juno-nominated Words (Empress Music Group, 2016), this sixth album from the Toronto-based composer and pianist waves poetic in wondrous fashion. Pairing different guest vocalists and collections of musicians with personalized takes on Parnassian beauty of varied sorts, Tosoff cements the bonds between earthly voices and heavenly sounds with a questioning spirit. The list of subjects and styles, both in words and music, varies widely on this playlist. ...

Album Review

The Nimmons Tribute: Volume 1 - To The Nth

Read "Volume 1 - To The Nth" reviewed by Edward Blanco

by Edward Blanco
January 10, 2021

The Nimmons Tribute is a small Canadian ensemble dedicated to honoring the living legacy of Phil Nimmons a clarinetist, composer and band leader who, in 2020, was 97-years-old and acknowledged as having done more than anyone else in bringing jazz to the mainstream of Canadian culture. A living legend, active for more than six decades, this “Dean of Canadian jazz" is a multiple JUNO Award-winning artist and recipient of the Order of Canada (O.C.) and Order of Ontario (O. Ont.), ...

Album Review

The Nimmons Tribute: Volume 1 - To The Nth

Read "Volume 1 - To The Nth" reviewed by Jack Bowers

by Jack Bowers
January 1, 2021

The big news in Canadian jazz circles in 2019 was that musician and educator Phil Nimmons had retired—at age ninety-six. His decision marked the end of several eras that began more than seventy years ago and included forty-six years as a music teacher at the University of Toronto, ten acclaimed recordings as leader of his own groups, numerous honors as an educator and musician, a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2005 from the Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of ...