Jazz

Led by pianist/artistic director Catherine Wilson, Toronto’s Ensemble Vivant continues to receive international accolades and is a favorite wherever the group performs. Since its inception over thirty years ago, "Canada's Chamber Music Treasure" (Toronto Star) has been a pioneer, championing exciting, innovative programming that ranges from classical to Latin jazz and tango.  EV is known for its depth of artistry, passionate performances and engaging stage presence.  Canadian music icon Rick Wilkins raves: “This is the highest-level chamber music-making.  No matter the genre, there is magic in Ensemble Vivant’s music-making.”

For Ensemble Vivant’s latest TD Sunfest date, the group will be augmented by jazz greats Mike Murley (tenor & soprano sax), Kevin Turcotte (flugel horn/trumpet) and Barry Elmes (percussion) in an eclectic program that features selections by Astor Piazzolla, Leroy Anderson, Charlie Chaplin and more.  The concert celebrates the release of a brand new CD-DVD (EV’s 13th recording) of the Tribute to Rick Wilkins performance captured last spring at Grace Church on the Hill in Toronto.  Special guests for that occasion included Guido Basso (flugelhorn, trumpet), Mike Murley (sax) and Brian Barlow (drums & percussion).  The DVD portion of this new release was directed and edited by London, Ontario-based Darryl Lahteenmaa.

Ensemble Vivant is dedicated to fostering a love of great music among our youth. Through the not-for-profit charity EUTERPE (named after the Greek Muse of Music), the musicians enrich the lives of children and others on multiple levels.  Catherine Wilson’s research on “Music and Healing,” for which she received her Ph.D., supports Euterpe’s initiatives, which have also been endorsed by the scientific community.  Thanks to EUTERPE’s support, EV + guests will be performing a special children’s concert on March 23rd at 1:00 PM at Woodland Heights Public School.

RICK WILKINS, C.M.

Hamilton-born Rick Wilkins, C.M. is one of Canada’s most accomplished saxophonists and a world-renowned arranger, composer, conductor and performer.  Throughout his career, Rick has worked with a variety of music legends, including Oscar Peterson, Anne Murray, The Boss Brass, Burton Cummings, Wayne and Schuster, Peggy Lee, Celine Dion, Oliver Jones, Guido Basso, Julie Amato and Tommy Ambrose.

Rick enjoyed major success in the world of radio and television, creating music for programs on CBC TV and Radio, as well as on CTV.  He was music director for a CBS television series and several specials starring The Jackson Five.  Also, he conducted a portion of the opening ceremonies of the Calgary Olympics and served as music director for the gala opening of Toronto’s SkyDome (now Rogers Centre).  In addition, Rick rescored the ‘Hockey Night in Canada’ theme and wrote the theme for CBC’s ‘The National’.

Less well known is that, for close to three decades, Rick Wilkins and Ensemble Vivant have enjoyed a rich musical collaboration and friendship.  From the outset, Rick championed the group’s artistry, sensitive musicality and diverse range of styles & genres. Ensemble Vivant’s Tribute to Rick Wilkins gives a glimpse into the wealth of inspired repertoire that he’s written and, in earlier days, produced for them.  Rick is an honorary board member of Euterpe: his advocacy for the charity has deep roots as he recalls how music inspired him in his youth and how it became his life.

Since first arriving on the music scene at the turn of the last millennium, Ottawa’s The Souljazz Orchestra has never stopped pushing the limits of its signature sound: an explosive clash of soul, jazz and tropical styles, unleashed by blaring majestic horns, dusty vintage keyboards, and an arsenal of earthquaking percussion.

A Sunfest audience favourite for more than a decade, the multicultural collective returns to London on the heels of releasing one of its finest albums to date: the scorching “Under Burning Skies” (on the UK-based Strut Records label). Turbulent times call for strong voices and The Souljazz Orchestra’s new set packs a heavy lyrical punch, with wry observations and an urge for progressive change. Musically, the band continues to take it higher, dusting off ‘80s vintage synthesizers and early drum machines for the first time, bringing lo-fi disco, boogie and electro touches to its trademark horn arrangements and earthy analogue sound. The result is nothing short of fascinating and the group sounds at its confident and versatile best from start to finish.

The Soul Jazz Orchestra continues to be an unstoppable force. Nominated for its third JUNO award in 2016, and now enjoying airplay on influential stations like BBC Radio 6 Music, the band tears up venues worldwide through its punishing schedule. In fact, years of relentless touring have turned The Souljazz Orchestra’s live concerts into the stuff of legends – often culminating in ecstatic, sweat-soaked, cathartic affairs, mixing pulsating arrangements with eruptive improvisations.  In conquering global stages, the sextet has had the honor of sharing bills with heavyweight hipsters like Bob Dylan and Femi Kuti.  As saxophonist Ray Murray puts it, "Souljazz is more than just a band for us, it's a way of life."

Toronto-based pop and jazz vocalist Lori Cullen has a beautiful, pristine voice that recalls the likes of Joni Mitchell and Jane Siberry.  Lori has been acclaimed by jazz great Kurt Elling as one of his favourite new singers.  It’s her singing that always draws attention, and partly for the things that it doesn’t have. No vibrato, no trendy affectations, no unnecessary melodic ornamentation.

Fittingly, Lori’s latest album, titled “Sexsmith Swinghammer Songs” (2016, True North), is a collaboration with Ron Sexsmith, who penned the lyrics, and Lori's husband, singer-songwriter Kurt Swinghammer, who wrote the music and handled the arrangements. "To have two of my favourite people who also happen to be two of my favourite songwriters write an album of material for ME to sing is beyond exciting," beamed Cullen.

The 12-song recording has been described as a "fresh expression of jazz-infused chamber-pop," though it draws inspiration from Burt Bacharach, Antonio Carlos Jobim and others. The critics have been unanimous in their praise, California’s Rawcus Magazine calling it “an audiophile’s dream” and one of the best albums of 2017, and The WholeNote (Toronto) singling it out as “a stunning example of creative, musical symbiosis”.

Lori achieved lasting artistic identity with her 2006 disc, “Calling for Rain”: a hybrid of carefully curated jazz and pop covers, which was nominated for a Best Vocal Jazz JUNO.  Lori’s six-album discography also includes 2011’s “That Certain Chartreuse,” which presented an eclectic selection of covers by artists as diverse as Gordon Lightfoot and King Crimson, all creatively arranged by herself and a band of stellar Toronto musicians.

Lori Cullen made her TD Sunfest debut just last season (as the opening act for Ron Sexsmith), and she is not to be missed as she returns to London – this time as the headliner – with her “sensual, swinging and sashaying songs” (Uncut Magazine, UK).

Denise Pelley’s A Jazzy Christmas features “London’s First Lady of Jazz” and her top-notch ensemble:  Stephen Holowitz • piano & musical director; Mitch Tyler • bass; Greg Mainprize • drums; and Paul Stevenson • trumpet.  TD Sunfest audiences will be treated to a stocking full of Christmas favourites like Winter Wonderland, Driving Home For Christmas, Carol of the Bells/My Favourite Things, 2000 Miles, Jingle Bells, and Please Come Home For Christmas.

A portion of the proceeds from this concert will support Canadian Aid for Southern Sudan.  It’s a charity near and dear to Denise Pelley’s heart.  Over the years, CASS has raised money to free slaves, build schools, send children to school, provide medical supplies, support women's groups, buy goats for families, and introduce a clean water project.  In January 2018, Denise will make her eleventh trip to South Sudan with ten other team members.  Her main role as a CASS volunteer is to help run a music & art camp for over 400 children.

Denise says, “These trips leave me with mixed emotions: love because I love the South Sudanese people and their strength; sadness as I see how they live with very little; happiness for they show their happiness with what little they have; hope that their lives will improve, that they stay strong and keep believing in themselves and a better future.”

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Denise Pelley arrived in the Forest City from Nova Scotia as an infant.  She became a professional singer after high school, when she joined a Michigan show band.

“We rehearsed and played almost every day,” she told The London Free Press. “We did everything from pop hits to R&B classics, Motown and funk.  It was a great experience that turned me into a professional. I learned how to pace myself.”

But two years on the road was enough.  Denise returned to London and gravitated toward jazz.  She performed for 2 ½ years in a legendary nine-piece house band at the old Bumpers club and later had a steady gig with pianist John Noubarian and bassist Darryl Stacey at the old 99 King St. venue.

As a blues, gospel and jazz singer, Denise has garnered numerous awards and performed with orchestras as far afield as Portugal and Germany.  But it was the 1998 jazz CD Trust The Moment that first won her national acclaim.  Among Denise’s later albums are Christmas from the Heart (2007), the gospel-flavoured I’m Home (2001), and Live At The Grand (2003), which was recorded at the iconic London theatre with a 12-piece band.  Denise has shared the stage with many great artists, including jazz trombonist Ray Anderson, gospel/blues vocalist Jackie Richardson, and world beat guitarist Jesse Cook.  Locally, she opened for Aretha Franklin at Budweiser Gardens, and has headlined for such diverse groups as Sunfest and the Karen Schuessler Singers.

This Renaissance woman also enjoys acting and has appeared at The Grand Theatre in the Fats Waller musical Ain’t Misbehavin’, Wang Dang Doodle (with the late Denis Simpson), and A Streetcar Named Desire.  In September 2004, Denise’s one-woman show, Jazzabel, premiered to sold-out audiences at The Grand’s McManus Theatre.  In October 2005, she took this hit musical to Washington, DC (the National Museum of Women in the Arts) and, in February 2006, to New York City (Urban Stages Theatre).

In 2008 & 2014, Denise was honored as Jazz Artist of the Year at the Jack Richardson London Music Awards and, in 2015, inducted into the London Music Hall of Fame.  In February 2009, the London Black History Committee presented her with the Black Community Achievement Award.

London Concert Band, Conductor Robert Kennedy, Associate Conductor Eric Heidenheim and Guest Conductor Donald Clark invite you to “Starburst 8: Spotlight on Youth” on Sunday, March 1 at 2 pm at Aeolian Hall.

Guest trumpeter is 11-year-old Rey Tao, featured in Big Easy Blues and Trumpets Wild.  We lift off with Fanfare for the Third Planet.  A Northern Legend describes for us Chippewa tales of the North Star.  We fly with The Circus Bee and Planes, march with The Vanished Army, are pushed in Scramble and teased with The Comic.

Tickets are $10, $5 for students and under age 10 free, available online, at Long & McQuade, Music Aid and 519-433-3385.

Join us for our 2020 vision Starburst concert!

London Concert Band, Conductor Robert Kennedy, Associate Conductor Eric Heidenheim, and Guest Conductor Donald Clark welcome you to A Musical Solstice on Sunday, May 26 at 2 pm at Aeolian Hall.

This will be our hottest concert of the season, as we experience streaks of light in Sunburst; Aurora Borealis displays in Dance of the Spirits; and the play of light in Sunrise, Sunset.  Enjoy the colours of jazz and circus atmosphere in Chroma, and swing with Jitterbug.  Finally, cool down with Cool from West Side Story.

Tickets are $10, $5 for students, under age 10 free, available from Long & McQuade, Music Aid, 519-433-3385 and at the door.  Come join us as we fly close to the sun!

London Concert Band, Conductor Robert Kennedy and Associate Conductor Don Clark invite you to join the chase in Starburst 7:  Spotlight on Youth on Sunday, February 17 at 2 pm at Aeolian Hall.

In Light Cavalry, a troupe tries to unite a young couple;  Rhythm Dance relentlessly unwinds;  in As Tears Fall on Dawn’s New Light, a community rebuilds after a tornado;  March of the Trolls;  a hunt for elegance in Leroy Anderson’s Belle of the Ball;  and finally the ultimate chase in Catch Me if You Can, featuring guest saxophonist Adam Lamoureux.

Tickets $10, $5 for students, under 10 free, available from Long & McQuade, Music Aid, 519.433.3385 and at the door. Come join us for an afternoon of exciting musical pursuit.

London Concert Band and Conductor Robert Kennedy are delighted to welcome you to Spring Has Sprung on Sunday, May 27 at 2 pm at the Aeolian Hall.

Special guests are well-known clarinetists Mark Enns, George Laidlaw and Gary McCumber.  Welcome spring with pieces featuring the clarinet, flute and trombone sections.  Enjoy nature with Loch Lomond and the Elements of earth, air, fire and water.  Jig around to Ants In My Pants, and Pie In The Face Polka, and finish with a medley from La La Land.

Tickets are $10, $5 for students, under age 10 free, available at Long & McQuade, Music Aid, 433-3385 and at the door.  Please join us as we celebrate.

LONDON CONCERT BAND BEGINS NEW SEASON WITH EXOTIC SUGAR AND SPICE!

After a triumphant Canada 150 concert in June which celebrated all Canadians, both old and new, London Concert Band is embracing the world in our first performance of the 2017-2018 season, entitled “Sugar and Spice” and featuring guest bass baritone Chad Louwerse.

Rhythms and lush melodies from countries as diverse as The Netherlands, Iran and Japan will season the program along with more familiar kinds of music from closer to home. “New York 1927” and “Jumpin at the Swing Train” will sweeten your nostalgic streak, while composers such as Molookpour (Iran), Yagisawa (Japan), Padilla (Spain) and Piazzola (Argentina) will definitely provide all the spicy rhythms anyone’s heart could desire.

London Concert Band and conductor Robert Kennedy love bringing such a variety of musical styles to our audience. We guarantee toe-tapping beats and lots of wonderful tunes, both familiar and new – lots of sweetness and spice.

Please join us on Sunday, October 29 at 2 pm at Aeolian Hall, 795 Dundas St. Tickets are $10, $5 for students, under age 10 free, and are available from Long & McQuade, Music Aid, 519-433-3385 and at the door. Please join us for an afternoon of tasty delights.

Tickets on sale SOON!

Fifty-five years after he moved to the United States from Kingston, Jamaica, his home town, pianist Monty Alexander is an American classic, touring the world relentlessly with various projects, delighting a global audience drawn to his vibrant personality and soulful message. His spirited conception is one informed by the timeless verities: endless melody-making, effervescent grooves, sophisticated voicings, a romantic spirit, and a consistent predisposition, as Alexander accurately states, “to build up the heat and kick up a storm.” In the course of any given performance, Alexander applies those aesthetics to repertoire spanning a broad range of jazz and Jamaican musical expression—the American songbook and the blues, gospel and bebop, calypso and reggae. Like his “eternal inspiration,” Erroll Garner, Alexander—cited as the fifth greatest jazz pianist ever in The Fifty Greatest Jazz Piano Players of All Time (Hal Leonard Publishing) and mentioned in Robert Doerschuk’s 88: The Giants of Jazz Piano—gives the hardcore-jazz-obsessed much to dig into while also communicating the message to the squarest “civilian.”

Born on D-Day, June 6, 1944, Alexander was playing Christmas carols by ear at 4, entertaining neighbors and relatives by 5, taking his first piano lessons at 6. He resisted formal instruction, but still, growing up in Kingston, absorbed all the musical flavors that comprise his mature sonic palette. “I soaked up everything—the calypso band playing at the swimming pool in the country, local guys at jam sessions who wished they were Dizzy Gillespie and Miles Davis, a dance band playing Jamaican melodies, songs that Belafonte would have sung,” he recalls. When Alexander was 9, his father, a Kingston merchant, brought him to hear and play for the legendary pianist Eddie Heywood. At 10, he saw Nat “King” Cole play at Kingston’s Carib Theater, the same venue where, at 13, he heard a concert featuring Louis Armstrong.

“I had one foot in the jazz camp and the other in the old-time folk music,” Alexander says. “One was not more valuable than the other. Boogie-woogie was important to me, too. I’d sit at the piano and think I was the Count Basie Orchestra or a rhythm-and-blues band. I automatically reached for anything I wanted to play on the piano, and just played it. It didn’t come with practicing. It came with playing, playing, playing all the time.”

By 14, Alexander began to display his skills in local clubs. Soon thereafter, he made his first recordings, both as leader of a group called Monty and the Cyclones, and as a sideman for such legendary producers as Ken Khouri (Federal Records), Duke Reade (Treasure Isle), and Clement Coxsone Dodd at Studio One. These early sessions for Federal, which Alexander describes as “not calypso music, but the beginning of Ska,” included such subsequently famous aspirants of the day as trombonist Don Drummond, tenor saxophonist Roland Alphonso and guitarist Ernest Ranglin.

But after moving to Miami with his mother in 1961, Alexander would sublimate Jamaican roots towards establishing a jazz identity. By 1963, he was ensconced in New York City, with a steady gig at Jilly’s, the eponymous West 52nd Street piano bar owned by Frank Sinatra’s close friend Jilly Rizzo. There, for the next four years, Alexander’s trio swung until the wee hours of the morning for Sinatra, a mix of celebrity entertainers, tough guys, thrill seekers, and such iconic jazzfolk as Miles Davis, Count Basie, Milt Jackson, and Roy Haynes. As the 1960s progressed, he also held regular gigs at Minton’s (the iconic Harlem lounge where bebop gestated) and at the Playboy Club, where he met and became friends with Quincy Jones. During these years, he also met Ray Brown and piano giant Oscar Peterson, who recommended Alexander to Hans Georg Brunner-Schwer, the proprietor of Germany’s MPS label, for which he made a dozen records between 1971 and 1985.

Meanwhile, Alexander continues to apply his creative, charismatic sensibility to the trio context, as demonstrated on Uplift and Uplift 2 (JLP), a pair of deep-swinging navigations of the American Songbook with Shakur on bass and Riley on drums on the former and either Clayton or Shakur on bass and either Hamilton or Frits Landesbergen on drums on the latter. It follows Alexander’s 2008 trio dates, Calypso Blues: The Music of Nat King Cole and The Good Life: Monty Alexander Plays the Songs of Tony Bennett both on Chesky. Also in 2008, Bennett tapped Alexander as the featured pianist on A Swinging Christmas, with the Count Basie Orchestra.

In August 2000, the Jamaican government designated Alexander Commander in the Order of Distinction for outstanding services to Jamaica as a worldwide music ambassador. In 2015, the great modern pianist Donald Vega released With Respect To Monty, which included his interpretations of seven Alexander compositions. Furthermore, 2016 will mark the seventh edition of the namesake Monty Alexander Jazz Festival in Easton, Maryland, for which he has served as Artistic Director and perennial performer every Labor Day weekend since 2010.