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Michael Danso

About Me

MICHAEL DANSO ( BIOGRAPHY )

Scottish-born and Toronto-based, I come from a Show Business family. My mother, PINKIE MACKENZIE, sang with all the top Big Bands when they toured Great Britain, and I first sang onstage with her at the age of 5, with The BERTIE KING BAND. By age 9, I was touring with my own group of girls, under the name WEE MAXIE AND HIS LASSIES. At 10, I was spotted by ELLA FITZGERALD, who was performing across the street and wanted to know which local group was drawing large line-ups. Fitzgerald was impressed and offered to take me to the U.S. his grandmother vetoed the idea.

I finally reached North America. I was 19 and performing in the Venus Company production of HAIR. I became a Broadway Gypsy and appeared in “PIPPIN” (MAGICIAN/MAGIC-MAN) and JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR (JUDAS) ,and ANNA LUCASTA (RUDOLPH) in Los Angeles, California. I fell in love with Los Angeles spending 3 years making a living singing jingles with my own highly successful company, “LIPS”. Then I spent 3 years touring the Far East and set up an Agency booking U.S artists into Japan, Korea, Thailand & Guam.

Upon settling in Canada, I immediately became a favorite of audiences and media alike, a status I continue to enjoy. I have performed regularly in all the top Festivals and Nightclubs, acted and performed in such musicals as THE THREEPENNY OPERA (MACHEATH),THE BOYFRIEND (BOBBY VAN HEUSEN), and made my Dramatic debut starring in THE AFRICAN ROSCIUS,(ALDREDGE) a Play based on the life of 19th Century Black Shakespearean actor IRA ALDREDGE to Critical acclaim. I hosted my own Television Show (JUST JAZZ-CHCH T.V.) My most recent incarnation on the Broadway and World Stage has been with RIVERDANCE- THE MUSICAL ( FREEDOM SINGER AND TRADING TAPS SOLOIST )

I always have time for Charitable work, particularly VARIETY CLUB INTERNATIONAL... I have hosted Telethons in Toronto, Buffalo, Winnipeg St. Louis, Chicago, Des Moines, Los Angeles and Kansas City. I have appeared and performed with an innumerable number of celebrated personalities during my career.

A random listing includes: Marty Allen, Denice Williams, Diahnne Caroll, Jack Jones, Maureen Forrester, Martin Short, Anne Murray,Rich Little,Al Waxman, Meatloaf, Lola Falana, Emma Samms, Sammy Davis, Maureen Arthur, Carmen MacRae,Mark Murphy,Eartha Kitt,Don Harren, Don Shirley, Nick Nolte,Wayne Fleming,Blake Emmons,June Lockhart, Dan Blocker, Leonard Nimoy, Allan Thicke,Nichelle Nichols( Lt.Uhura-”Star Trek” ),Mesach Taylor, Goldie Hawn, Soupy Sales,Amada Ambrose,Jackie Vernon, Cynthia Dale, Mimi Kuzyk, Ben Vereen, Marilyn May, LesterWilliams and some of the best Jazz musicians in the world, including, at random, Joe Sealey, Don Shirley, Bernie Piltch, Russ Little, Peter Appleyard,Norman Amadio, Mo Koffman, Reggie Moore, Harold Ousley, Phil Dwyer, Don Abney, Charles Cozens, Carol Britto, Archie Alleyne, Daniel Barnes Dave Young, 2. Guido Basso, Hank Haney, Ed Bickert,David Pomeranz Don Shirley and many others.

My Symphonic Jazz Concerts have been presented in top Concert Halls across Canada and The United States of America, and Conducted by some of the world's finest: John Barnum, Dwight Bennett, Boris Brott, Howard Cable, Charles Cozens, Robert Hansen, Brian Jackson, Norman Leyden, Peter McCoppin, and Walter Noona, to name a few. They ( Gritics ) say:A MICHAEL DANSO concert is a fast-paced evening of music featuring lithe, smooth-moving footwork and a voice that is highly dynamic and fully - controlled over an astonishing 4