Results for "Canada"

Trumpeter Lina Allemano branches out

by John Eyles
March 8, 2020

Nowadays, Canadian-born-and-educated trumpeter, composer and bandleader Lina Allemano commutes between Toronto and Berlin, as she has flourishing bands in each location. In Toronto, her acoustic Lina Allemano Four released its first album in 2003, on her own Lumo records, and has had a stable line-up of trumpet, alto sax, bass and drums since 2005, which has ...

Tom Foster

Born: March 6, 1956

Tom Foster attended North Texas State University majoring in percussion and Jazz Education. He has appeared in many television, radio, and theater performances and has performed on a variety of recordings including film scores (Bye Bye Blues), albums, and jingles.

Tom toured Canada and Europe with the Edmonton Jazz Ensemble (EdJE), winners of the 1988 Alcan Jazz Competition, and toured Japan and mainland China in 1983 with the Tommy Banks Quintet.

He has performed with a host of notable international musicians including:

Pepper Adams, Sonny Stitt, Mose Allison, Art Farmer, Nat Adderley, Kenny Wheeler, Red Holloway, Frank Foster, Gene Bertoncini, Mark Murphy, Herb Ellis

Florian Hoefner

Born: August 29, 1982

Born and raised in Germany, trained in New York City and now based in Canada, Juno Award-winning jazz pianist and composer, Florian Hoefner, draws from a myriad of influences that culminate in his unique brand of modern jazz. Praised as a “composer-bandleader of insightful resolve” by the New York Times and a “harmonically daring pianist … reaching toward new sonic territory” by Downbeat, Florian Hoefner continues to make waves as an inventive creator and performer of exciting contemporary jazz. 

He has released 6 albums under his own name and many more as a sideman. “First Spring,” the debut album with his Canadian trio with Andrew Downing on bass and Nick Fraser on drums has received 2 East Coast Music Awards in 2020 and was nominated for a 2021 JUNO in the category “Jazz Album of the Year: Group.” The trio released its sophomore album, “Desert Bloom” on June 3rd 2022 on Alma Records. It was nominated for 2 East Coast Music Awards and won a Juno Award in 2023. As a touring artist he has played at venues and festivals on 5 different continents and has worked with artists including Kurt Rosenwinkel, Jerry Bergonzi, Norma Winstone, Joe LaBarbera and Seamus Blake. He is the winner of 2 ASCAP Young Jazz Composer Awards and the Stingray Rising Star Award at the Montreal Jazz Festival.

Suresh Singaratnam

Suresh Singaratnam is a trumpeter of uncommon breadth - unique not only for the small crowd he inhabits as a virtuoso of both classical and jazz styles but also for the continuity and clarity of his voice across both idioms. When he began to study the trumpet at age nine, it never occurred to him that he might have to choose between the two. Torontonian by way of Zambia (where he was born) and the U.K., Singaratnam boasts a background that defies classification as nimbly as his artistic taste. In eighth grade he asked a music teacher if she knew of anyone who played both jazz and classical trumpet at a high level and she steered him to Wynton Marsalis, two of whose records he promptly went out and bought

New Orleans’ Next Great Big Thing! Quiana Lynell To Play Toronto's George Weston Recital Hall

December 14, 2019

TO Live presents “New Orleans’ next big thing”—Quiana Lynell—at the George Weston Recital Hall on February 15, 2020. Part of TO Live’s “Jazz at the George” series, all tickets are $35 and are available online at meridianartscentre.com, by calling 416-366-7723 or 1-800-708-6754, or in person at select TO Live box offices. Winner of the prestigious Sarah ...

Alex Bird

Born: September 18, 1990

Over the last few years, ALEX BIRD has become one of the most exciting names on the Canadian Jazz scene. With praise from around the globe, and alongside songwriting & piano partner EWEN FARNCOMBE, Bird has created timeless and heartfelt originals for a modern audience. Over the last few years, this talented team has produced something that is completely unique; three original & independent albums in three years. Their sophomore album You Are the Light and the Way, backed by their Jazz Mavericks, was nominated for “Best Vocal Jazz” at the 2022 JUNO Awards.

Bird and Farncombe’s latest album, a duo record, dropped as a surprise of 11 originals entitled, Songwriter. Kira Grunenberg at DOWNBEAT MAGAZINE wrote, “Impassioned messages sung and played from one’s heart but worn on a well-dressed sleeve. Songwriter is an elegant, romantic, and well-executed gem of a record.”

Songs of Nick Drake

by Dave Kaufman
November 13, 2019

Nick Drake recorded three of the most sublime albums in the history of folk-rock (or any other genre) in his brief lifetime. He died in relative obscurity at the age of 26 in 1974. A devoted cult following has emerged, and his stature has grown immeasurably in the decades since his passing. Drake's work has been ...

Northern Voices: Heather Bambrick and Brenda Earle Stokes

by Dan Bilawsky
October 26, 2019

There's a vast array of notable singers that have been given unto us from the Great White North. In terms of star power you have Joni Mitchell, k.d. Lang, Sarah McLachlan, Shania Twain, Bruce Cockburn, the lovably twangy Neil Young and a croaky Leonard Cohen. And, of course, we have genre-straddling, jazz-breathing mega-names like Michael Bublé ...

Rodrigo Simoes

Born: January 5, 1979

Rodrigo Simões is a Brazilian composer with a distinctive style that oscillates between Brazilian music and jazz improvisation. His international career has taken him through China, South Korea, Australia, Paraguay and the United States, in addition to his native country – Brazil – and his adopted country – Canada. The guitarist has already collaborated with great artists in Brazil (Elza Soares, Carlos Malta, Paulinho da Viola, Dominguinhos, Zeca Baleiro and Paulo Moska) and in Canada (Bill McBirnie, Joel Miller, Flavia Nascimento, Sienna Dahlen, Alex Lefaivre, Sonia Jonhson, Carl Mayotte, Mark Nelson and Jean-Pierre Zanella)

Sonic Explorations and Creative Improvisations at The Guelph Jazz Festival

by Dave Kaufman
October 5, 2019

In North America, there are over 100 annual jazz festivals. Only a small number of these festivals are devoted to the avant-garde, adventurous, and freely improvised music. The Vision Festival in New York City is perhaps the best known festival with its celebration of improvised music, dance, and poetry. There are a few others that are ...