Karl Nerenberg is en enthusiastic amateur player, who has played keyboard with the Ottawa bands "Verona Katz", "Peter Liu and the Jazz Mutants", and "Stay Tuned/Restez-à-l'écoute".
He enjoys playing blues, standards, Latin tunes and jazz treatments of folk and country tunes. Currently he plays with singers Michèle Castonguay and Ferline Regis, trumpeter Ron Ferguson, bassist Neil Sealy and drummer Dan Quinlan. The players bring a variety of cultural backgrounds to the group, which all add to the musical mix. Their aim is bring the fun back into jazz. They play accessible and spirited music, that includes some soul and gospel, as well as lots of well-known and lesser-known standards, and material in French and Spanish.
Professionally, Karl is a journalist and documentary film director/producer. During a successful 23 year career in Canadian public broadcasting (from 1977 to 2000, at the French and English services of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation) he received a number of national and international awards, including a Gemini (Canadian television award) and an award for best international documentary series from the international association of French language television services ("la Communauté des télévisions francophones"). More recently he co-directed, wrote and produced the film "Never Come Back" about the Roma (Gypsy) people in Canada and Europe. Earlier, he wrote and directed the documentary "And Who Are You?" which explores the feelings of four well-known Canadians vis-à-vis their Polish roots and will be broadcast on the Canadian Omni-TV network.
He is currently a senior political writer for the online Canadian newsmagazine rabble.ca
Links:
Awards
Gemini, Golden Sheaf, CEMA best documentary (all film/television awards)
Gear
Kawai 88 key keyboard, with weighted keys
From a review on December 6, 2018 on OttawaJazzScene, about a gig at Lebanese Palace in Ottawa,
Canada: The jazz ensemble "Stay Tuned/Restez-à-l'écoute" attracted an almost-full house, as it played an
upbeat mix of standards and a few originals. The group has been often heard hosting JazzWorks jam
sessions and performing at benefits for causes like equitable land development in Africa or support for
Eritrean and Syrian refugee families, but its dedication and skill was completely professional. Their
spokesperson, pianist Karl Nerenberg, has frequently said that the group's mission is to bring the love of
jazz to everyone – and you could see that in how their music connected with the audience, who regularly
applauded and even occasionally got up to dance
Read more
From a review on December 6, 2018 on OttawaJazzScene, about a gig at Lebanese Palace in Ottawa,
Canada: The jazz ensemble "Stay Tuned/Restez-à-l'écoute" attracted an almost-full house, as it played an
upbeat mix of standards and a few originals. The group has been often heard hosting JazzWorks jam
sessions and performing at benefits for causes like equitable land development in Africa or support for
Eritrean and Syrian refugee families, but its dedication and skill was completely professional. Their
spokesperson, pianist Karl Nerenberg, has frequently said that the group's mission is to bring the love of
jazz to everyone – and you could see that in how their music connected with the audience, who regularly
applauded and even occasionally got up to dance. Nerenberg added to the outreach through his friendly
introductions, comfortably talking about the composers and telling anecdotes about the songs and their
historical background – and perhaps reflecting his own background as a journalist and documentary
filmmaker.
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