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Kevin Turcotte
Kevin Turcotte has been regarded as one of Canada’s most proficient performers for nearly two decades. He studied music at the prestigious Banff School of Fine Arts and later, at the University of Toronto, where he joined the faculty in the 1990’s. He is first call favorite among many leaders, and has performed on over 75 recordings and in countless club and concert appearances. He has toured extensively throughout North America as well as with the Dave McMurdo Jazz Orchestra on the band’s 1991 Russian tour, in south America with Time Warp, with Don Byron in Italy. In addition to the extensive list of bands in which he is a principal player, Turcotte has worked with hundreds of international luminaries, among them Tito Puente, Dave Holland, Kenny Kirkwood, Pat LaBarbera, Bill Grove, and Kenny Wheeleer.
Kevin Turcotte is also a dedicated jazz educator, with lengthy teaching tenure at the University of Toronto and as a lon- time adjudicator for MusicFest Canada. Since 1993, he has been named Jazz Trumpeter of the Year by Jazz Report Magazine and the National Jazz Awards multiple times, and was nominated again in the same category at the 2009 National Jazz Awards.
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Steve Holt: Impact

by Jack Kenny
To create a new album after a twenty-year gap is intriguing. In his long career Steve Holt has worked with Archie Shepp, Larry Coryell Eddie Henderson, Pat LaBarbera, James Moody and Michel Urbaniak. He studied with Kenny Barron, an experience that affected his keyboard style. Surrounding himself with some major Canadian musicians, he has produced some new vital work: a library of new themes for the group to work on. The main task of a composer is to ...
Continue ReadingCarn Davidson 9: Reverence

by Jack Bowers
The Carn Davidson 9 is a Toronto, Canada-based nonet co-led by trombonist William Carn and saxophonist Tara Davidson whose fourth studio album, Reverence, encompasses a pair of four-part suites, one written by Carn, the other by Davidson. What is most interesting --over and above the depth and quality of the music--is that the suites are not performed sequentially but interspersed, with the first two of Davidson's themes followed by a pair of Carn originals before alternating on the remaining four ...
Continue ReadingLaila Biali: Wintersongs

by Pierre Giroux
Laila Biali is an award-winning Canadian singer-songwriter and pianist whose recording Wintersongs offers an immersive journey into the delicate beauty and serene power of winter all through the lens of her jazz and classical roots. With two exceptions, all tracks were composed by Biali in a cabin surrounded by snow-capped mountains in the heart of Canada's Rocky Mountains. Many of Biali's usual collaborators participated in this production, including drummer Ben Wittman, renowned flutist and soprano saxophonist Jane Bunnett, accomplished trumpeter ...
Continue ReadingThe Nimmons Tribute: Volume 2--Generational

by Jack Bowers
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 ...
Continue ReadingThe Nimmons Tribute: Volume 2 - Generational

by John Chacona
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 ...
Continue ReadingNoam Lemish: Twelve

by Jack Bowers
The number Twelve has several explicit meanings on Israeli-born composer/pianist Noam Lemish's eighth album as leader of his own ensemble, which is twelve members strong (well, thirteen on the first two numbers, on which Laura Swankey adds wordless vocals, and twenty-five if one counts the thirteen-member chorus on Track 3). Returning to the basic premise, Lemish composed his first piece of music at age twelve, and it has been twelve years since he relocated from San Francisco to Toronto, Canada. ...
Continue ReadingCarn Davidson 9: The History of Us

by Jack Bowers
From north of the U.S. border comes The History of Us, a warm-hearted album by the Carn Davidson 9, a Toronto-based nonet co-led by trombonist William Carn and saxophonist Tara Davidson. The album consists of a pair of three-part suites, one by Carn, the other by Davidson, separated by Carn's amiable composition, Goodbye Old Friend," a fond salute to his late and dearly loved cat, Murphy. Carn's Finding Home" suite, which leads things off, was inspired by ...
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Impact
From: ImpactBy Kevin Turcotte
Ladyfinger
From: Breath of Fresh AirBy Kevin Turcotte
Ladyfinger
From: Breath of Fresh AirBy Kevin Turcotte
Fire (For Oatts)
From: ReverenceBy Kevin Turcotte
Part 1: The Road
From: MagpieBy Kevin Turcotte
Arf
From: Volume 2 - GenerationalBy Kevin Turcotte
Steals on Steeles
From: TwelveBy Kevin Turcotte
Stars
From: Old Flames Never DieBy Kevin Turcotte
Suspend Yourself
From: Life ForceBy Kevin Turcotte