Jazz

Towards the end of his career, David Bowie had his sights on an often unexplored style with his last album: Jazz. The Peter Karle Combo is proud to reimagine a selection of Bowie’s classics and deep cuts at The Aeolian in a unique Jazz combo setting. “The Stars Look Very Different Today”, a look into Bowie’s music as a jazz artist.

The Peter Karle Combo is no stranger to The Aeolian. They are proud to have covered all of Miles Davis’ “Kind of Blue” and their recent jazz tributes to Radiohead, The Police/Sting at the hall. The Combo invites you hear the Ch-ch-changes they will be arranging with David Bowie’s music.

Jazz can challenge listeners with its lush harmonies and complex melodies. Jazz can also allow you to let loose and enjoy the rhythms and conversations within the music.

With “Bring On The Night”: A Jazz Tribute to The Police & Sting, The Peter Karle Combo invites you to sit back this summer and groove. Rather than the album style presentations of their recent Radiohead Jazz Tribute and Miles Davis’ “Kind Of Blue”, “Bring On The Night” aims to be pure raw live jazz energy.

Peter Karle: Guitar
Mark Swan: Drums
Anthony Borek: Bass
Adam Lamoureux: Saxes
Tony DeLuca: Saxes
Marsh Bindseil: Trumpet
Eric McMillan: Trombone
with special guest vocalist: Gina Farrugia

The 1960/1970s saw the greatest Jazz artists of that time taking classic Beatles tunes and reimagining them as Jazz standards. Moving forward into the 21st century with fresh ears, Jazz musicians are turning their focus now to English greats “Radiohead”. The Peter Karle Combo brings a selection of Radiohead’s classics to The Aeolian in a unique Jazz combo setting. With this great setup, Radiohead gone Jazz is “Everything In It’s Right Place”.

The Peter Karle combo is a powerhouse of young, London Jazz musicians consisting of: Peter Karle (Guitar), Marsh Bindseil (Trumpet), Adam Lamoureux (Tenor Saxophone), Tony DeLuca (Alto/Baritone Saxophone), Luke Roussy (Trombone), Andrew Kosty (Upright/Electric Bass) and Mark Swan (Drums/Percussion). Arrangements will shift between some of Jazz’s current leaders such as Brad Mehldau, Amnesiac Quartet, Max Haymer and arrangements by Peter Karle and Mark Swan.

Fresh off of covering all of Miles Davis’ “Kind of Blue” at The Aeolian in February 2018, the connection between this young London combo keeps growing stronger. Shifting gears from the raw intensity of Radiohead’s early sounds to their later, lush studio subtleties, the combo is excited to share this adventure with The Aeolian.

Known as one of Canada’s greatest voices, award-winning jazz vocalist Molly Johnson is a mother, singer-songwriter, artist and philanthropist, who has just released her highly anticipated new album, “Meaning To Tell Ya”. Produced by multiple GRAMMY Award winning Producer, Larry Klein (Joni Mitchell, Tracy Chapman, Madeleine Peyroux, Melody Gardot, Norah Jones); it is more than a jazz record. It’s funk, it’s soul, it’s groove played by some of Canada’s best musicians. Says Molly: “Working with Larry was magic. When it was finally my turn, I jumped at the opportunity. This is a record I have been wanting to make for years. I can’t wait to share it with everyone!” Says Larry: “Molly has the kind of musical gift that cannot be cultivated by musical education or assiduous practice. She has great natural musical instincts, and an irresistible signature to her voice. She is a rare and wonderful talent.”

Molly’s story starts in the mid-sixties when as a young grade schooler, she and her brother, Clark Johnson, were tapped by legendary Toronto icon and producer Ed Mirvish to appear in Porgy and Bess at the Royal Alexander Theatre. In time, Porgy and Bess was followed by South Pacific, Finian’s Rainbow and other classic musicals. With the desire to become a choreographer, the budding child star was soon enrolled in the National Ballet School. Eventually Molly was taken with the idea of writing songs and the future chanteuse began to see herself as a potential songwriter.

At 15 years old, Molly fronted a disco band, A Chocolate Affair, lasting just over a year. In 1979, she formed a funky art rock group, Alta Moda (Italian for “High Style”), which later morphed into the harder rocking Infidels. While Molly was trying to make headway in the world of rock and roll with both Alta Moda and Infidels, she began a parallel career as a jazz singer.

By the late 1990s, Molly had started her family and, being burned twice by record companies, was contemplating giving up on the music business – until Toronto songwriter and producer Steven Mackinnon suggested she should write some songs with him. The partnership proved successful after a dozen or so songs when MacKinnon declared, “I think we have a record.” The debut jazz album Molly Johnson (2000) was issued to critical acclaim but unfortunately, Molly’s record company, Sony Corp., went bankrupt shortly after the CD’s release. Three years later, she recorded her second jazz-pop release, Another Day (2003), which led her to become a bonafide star in France.

Molly’s next album, Messin’ Around (2006), was her first album recorded with Universal Music Canada. Recorded “live” off the floor alongside her band mates in 14 days, the result was an extraordinary and sophisticated pop record that infused Molly’s well-honed melodic skills, artful Tin Pan Alley style lyrics, jazz phrasing and overall pop sensibility.

Since then, Molly has released two more albums, which includes Lucky (2008) and The Molly Johnson Songbook (2011). In 2009, Molly won a Juno Award for Best Vocal Jazz Album for her fourth full-length, career milestone album Lucky and also received the 2009 National Jazz Award for Best Female Vocalist.

Molly has performed throughout Canada, the United States, and France and alongside renowned artists including Tom Cochrane, Blue Rodeo, Tom Jones, Jackie Richardson, Anne Murray, Stéphane Grappelli, Peter Appleyard and more. Molly has also graced the stage performing for some of the world’s most prominent icons including the Prince and late Princess of Wales on the Royal Yacht Britannia, as well as Nelson Mandela and legendary producer and trumpeter Quincy Jones. Molly is also the sister of Clark Johnson (actor/director), Ron Johnson (social worker) and Tabby Johnson (actress/singer).

Dedicated to supporting communities in need, Molly established the Kumbaya Foundation and Festival in 1992, raising awareness and funds for people living with HIV/AIDS, and continues to work with several other charitable organizations each year. Molly has been awarded the Queen’s Jubilee medal, and in 2008, was honoured with becoming an Officer of The Order Of Canada (O.C.). This rare distinction was given to Molly to recognize her philanthropic work for a variety of causes and for her international contributions to the arts. In 2016, Molly launched the Kensington Market Jazz Festival, which fills this colourful and vibrant area of Toronto with over 400 local Canadian musicians, performing 150+ shows over one weekend in September to more than 5000 enthusiastic music fans. www.kensingtonjazz.com

Molly was the voice of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) Radio 2 Weekend Morning program where she eased listeners into their weekend with great Canadian songs, and stories about musicians and the people of Canada, from coast to coast. The Canadian music icon’s latest release, the Juno nominated, Because of Billie (2014) is a celebration of the music of Billie Holiday. Billie Holiday’s journey inspires Johnson not only as an artist, but as a model citizen. Paying homage to Holiday’s childhood struggles, Johnson donated a portion of album sales to the Boys & Girls Clubs.

Stay tuned for more news from Molly coming soon!

Broadsway … the brilliant combination of fabulous voices, clever arrangements, excellent music, and side-splitting humour!

Heather Bambrick (JUNO-nominee;  National Jazz Award Vocalist of the Year), Diane Leah (Dora Mavor Moore Award nominee), and Julie Michels (international artist) combine their respective musical experience and influences in a show that is eclectic, funny, and verymusical!

From the moment they first hit the stage together, Broadsway has been creating quite a buzz – as well as a steadily growing fan base – in every venue they’ve played, from Roy Thomson Hall and the Jazz Bistro in Toronto, to Birdland and the Metropolitan Room in New York. They’ve been featured in some of Canada’s top Jazz and Cabaret festivals, as well as various concert series and feature presentations. Their music brings together a repertoire that ranges from Jazz and Theatre, to Pop and even Classical … all delivered with passion, power, poignance, and plenty of humour!

Broadsway released their debut CD Old Friends to rave reviews, and followed that up with seasonal release The Most Wonderful Time … Maybe, hailed by CBC Radio (Canada’s national broadcaster) as “a musical version of the best office Christmas party ever!” Their show has since expanded to include Broadsway with Symphony, featuring gorgeous orchestrations of some of the Broads (and their fans’) favourite arrangements. Broadsway’s symphony show debuted in 2016, with additional shows planned for 2017 and 2018.

Audiences, fans, and critics agree: Broadsway should never be missed!

“Broadsway:  from Gershwin to Gaga … the only thing they take seriously is the music!”

More about the “Broads” (Bios): Heather Bambrick, Diane Leah, and Julie Michels

Innovative and electrifying, Toronto jazz drummer Ernesto Cervini has energy to burn, whether radiating it from behind his kit or working on any number of musical and educational projects.  With his sextet Turboprop Cervini flexes his arranging muscles, creating a vast landscape of musical textures, and moods on which these monster musicians can play. The band features his regular quartet of Joel Frahm on Tenor Saxophone, Adrean Farrugia on Piano, Dan Loomis on Bass and Cervini on Drums, plus Tara Davidson on Alto Saxophone and William Carn on Trombone. The band's sound is reminiscent to the hard swinging Jazz Messenger bands of Art Blakey, although they tackle a wide range of music; from Charlie Parker to Claude Debussy to Radiohead, plus originals from all the band members.   They have already toured across Canada multiple times to rave reviews, and released their sophomore album, Rev, on ANZIC Records (NYC) in the fall of 2017.  Rev was nominated for a 2018 JUNO award for Jazz Album of the Year (Group). Guided by Cervini’s driving, effervescent rhythms, the group’s eponymous debut album jaunts into the realms of chamber jazz, balladry, hard bop and free jazz.  Regardless of the stylistic focus, the results are always alluring and rendered alternately with polish and precision or daring excitement. Mark Holston – Jazziz Rev is the second album from Ernesto Cervini’s Turboprop, and it’s a shoot-the-lights-out blast of a listen... The group has an infectious, propulsive energy that delivers a powerpunch without forsaking nuance and melody... Here and throughout the entire program there’s a sense of closeness and shared spotlight, playing with, around and through, but never over, each other... Overall, Rev is a bright wave of an album and Turboprop is the real deal. Turboprop will be on the road in 2018 and I, for one, would love to see this band live. Frank Alkyer – Editor of Downbeat Magazine The band features his regular quartet of Joel Frahm on Tenor Saxophone, Adrean Farrugia on Piano, Dan Loomis on Bass and Cervini on Drums, plus Tara Davidson on Alto Saxophone and William Carn on Trombone. The band's sound is reminiscent to the hard swinging Jazz Messenger bands of Art Blakey, although they tackle a wide range of music; from Charlie Parker to Claude Debussy to Radiohead, plus originals from all the band members.   They have already toured across Canada multiple times to rave reviews, and released their sophomore album, Rev, on ANZIC Records (NYC) in the fall of 2017.  Rev was nominated for a 2018 JUNO award for Jazz Album of the Year (Group).

Diesen Auftritt (von Adi Braun) sollten Sie nicht verpassen!

Critically-acclaimed singer/songwriter Adi Braun launches her latest recording, Moderne Frau, which pays tribute to the women of Weimar Berlin and the music of the 1920s. Stirred by her lifelong passion for German cabaret, Braun’s 5th recording features music by leading composers of that era and includes three of her own original songs.

Moderne Frau follows Adi’s previous celebrated recordings: Canadian Scenes I (2010), which marked her singer/songwriter debut; Live at the Metropolitan Room (2007), recorded off-the-floor at New York’s renowned jazz/cabaret venue; The Rules of the Game (2006), from which the song Show Me Yours was featured on the hit U.S. TV series The “L” Word and Delishious (2003), short-listed for a 2004 Juno Award nomination.

Her sophisticated style and subtle delivery evokes such vocal greats as Sarah Vaughan, Lotte Lenya, Judy Garland and Rosemary Clooney. Elizabeth Ahlfors of New York’s Cabaret Scenes describes Adi as, "A tad Dinah Washington, a hint of Lena Horne, the enveloping warmth of Doris Day, all gift-wrapped up in a unique sound that is singular Adi Braun!" Adi’s repertoire ranges from the Great American Songbook, to European cabaret, to contemporary songs by Canada legend’s Shirley Eikhard and Gordon Lightfoot as well as her own originals. Whether she is singing in English, French, Spanish or German, Adi Braun is “a power-frau who gives jazz standards a unique touch, telling stories that are miniature life moments” (Rheinische Post, Düsseldorf, Germany).

 

Born in Toronto, Adi Braun grew up in Europe surrounded by music and musicians. Her parents were opera singers, and her father, Victor Braun, was one of Canada’s leading baritones.  Her first instrument was piano, which she began studying at the age of six.  With no formal voice lessons, she made her first pop/jazz recording at age 19.  Following family tradition, Adi trained classically at the Royal Conservatory of Music and the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Music. She began her singing career as a classical recitalist, a soloist with orchestra and on-stage in operas and operettas alongside her brother, baritone Russell Braun. In addition to her many musical roles, Adi teaches German art song at the Royal Conservatory of Music and is a German diction coach for the Canadian Opera Company.

Adi started “singing sideways” in the late ‘90s and returned to the music she loves – which she calls “cabarazz” – drawing on aspects from both cabaret and jazz. After winning a local competition in 2001, she was catapulted to centre-stage as one of Canada’s leading jazz vocalists. In 2007, Adi was nominated as Best Major Jazz Vocalist of the Year by the Manhattan Association of Cabarets and Clubs (MAC).

Diesen Auftritt (von Adi Braun) sollten Sie nicht verpassen!

www.adibraun.com

 

 

Join us for A Taste of Sinatra “My Funny Valentine” a look at the great songbook of the legendary, Frank Sinatra!

The Jazzman Band 7 piece orchestra is lead by award winning frontman, Scott Bollert and features music conductor/keyboardist John Brocksom.  The group celebrates the unique styling’s of the iconic crooner with many of the recognizable hit after hits such as New York, New York, That’s Life and My Way!

A must see show that is great for all the ages with timeless music don’t miss out, get your tickets today!

JRLMA presents A Taste of Sinatra at The Aeolian!

A look into the songbook of Ol' Blue Eyes performed by Scott Bollert & The Jazzman Orchestra with Conductor John Brocksom.

After The Lounge's lead vocalist Scott Bollert delivers a powerhouse performance, with familiar London bandmates, in a genre that is perfect for his strong, confident voice - Jazz!  Scott's infectious personality and professionalism are the keys to the entire production, so make sure you catch this fun-paced, cooler-than-cool show when he and his band are playing in your area.

 

“Sophisti-pop”… Exuberant, foot-stompin’ music that combines swing with pop-singer/songwriter sensibilities”. (WPIX11 News)

Svetlana is a critically acclaimed "outstanding" (Wall Street Journal) vocalist from New York and a leader of the New York based swing band, The Delancey Five ("NYC Darlings" Time Out).  Svetlana's shows transport the audiences to the carnival of sound, seamlessly moving from sophisticated and sultry retrospection to a rowdy joyous dance party.

"Breakfast at Tiffany's meets Some Like it Hot" (Lucid Culture)

Svetlana and her band have headlined sold out shows in the premier venues and festivals across the US and internationally (Tel Aviv Blues Festival, Italian Villas and Jazz Festival,  Blue Note Jazz Festival - as well as the Blue Note,  BBKings Blues Club, Iridium Jazz Club, Joe's Pub, Boston's Regatta Bar, many Performance Arts Theaters and Festivals around the US) - gaining critical acclaim from audiences and press alike by presenting exhilarating shows that combine the charm of Svetlana's sultry swinging vocals, with the the excitement, power, and unpredictable improvisational aspects of her "little big band", the Delancey Five.

"Outstanding band.... Exceptional vocalist and songwriter" (Will Friedwald, Wall Street Journal)

Svetlana's album Night at the Speakeasy (produced by Grammy Award winning Guy Eckstine) has been released to critical acclaim on Origin Records, charted on Jazz Radio charts (was among "most added" in Jan 2016) and was critic's choice for Top 10 2016 albums (Classicalite, Vents Magaizne).

"New York City's darling" (Time Out NY)