Jazz On The Mountain 2011

Pianist Oliver Jones is one of Canada’s finest musicians. His career also intertwines with the proud history of jazz in his native Montreal, the thriving city that in its heyday also produced the late Oscar Peterson, Oliver’s lifelong friend and one of his influences.

Oscar’s sister, Daisy Peterson Sweeney, became Jones’ first piano teacher, with lessons continuing for the next twelve years. These lessons solidified young Jones’ skills, which were already considerable; Oliver was performing publicly at age five, and by the time he had his first nightclub appearance, he was nine.

Oliver Jones’ six-decade musical career has been rich and varied. His classical music education was followed by stints at Montreal’s Café St-Michel, enthralling patrons with his acrobatic piano stunts. A regular performer at the Festival International de Jazz de Montréal, Oliver made his most recent appearance at the Festival together with Oscar Peterson, the two duetting publicly for the first time, in front of a sold-our audience at Montreal’s Place Des Arts. 

In 1994, he was awarded the Order of Canada, for “outstanding achievement in the arts.”

“Life is being on the wire, everything else is just waiting.”
– Karl Wallenda

The patriarch of the famous aerialist family certainly knew what he was talking about after a lifetime of thrilling, edge-of-the-seat performances for his audiences. While the stakes might not be as high for a jazz band improvising in a recording studio or in front of a live audience, Spyro Gyra’s Jay Beckenstein understands the passion that drives a person and makes “life on the wire” so appealing.

For more than three decades, the band has maintained a position at the forefront of modern jazz by successfully managing not just one, but several feats of creative dexterity. “That’s what has kept this band going,” says Beckenstein. “There are always balances to be found – between the individual player and the group, between the songwriter and the player. It’s about both satisfying yourself and satisfying your audience. And when you’re improvising in front of a crowd, you’re really walking down that wire. There are always surprises that way, but our openness to those surprises is what makes this band what it is. We just happen to be walking on a slightly more forgiving tightrope.”

Visit Spyro Gyra website for more details.

Over the past two and a half decades, Russ Freeman & The Rippingtons have taken the stage thousands of times throughout the world with just one goal in mind: celebrating the joy of life and music with their ever adoring fans. Marking an incredible milestone in the history of smooth jazz, the band turns 25 years old this year, and invites fans all around the world to celebrate.

Bandleader Russ Freeman describes his trademark mix of fiery electric and romantic classical guitars, “Trends may come and go in smooth jazz, but our music is about transcending what’s hot now for music that will endure. If you put it out straight from the heart and keep taking chances, it will stand the test of time.”

Visit the Rippingtons website for more details.

From the moment he made his debut in 1985 with the gold-selling Grammy® nominated album Magic Touch, guitar virtuoso Stanley Jordan has proven himself as a forward thinking innovator. With his nimbly executed “touch” or “tap” technique, he ushered a dazzling and spellbinding new sound into the world of progressive instrumental music.

Over the course of five major recordings and several smaller independent releases, Stanley has explored earthly and astral musical trailways. Because of the extraordinary originality of his approach to guitar, Stanley has been looked upon first and foremost as a musical original, orbiting in an artistic universe without predecessor or immediate successor.

With his groundbreaking album, State Of Nature (his first mainstream release in over a decade, and his debut for the Mack Avenue label), Stanley Jordan makes another bold step by using his music to aurally illustrate profoundly unifying truths about man’s relationship to nature and humankind.

Visit the Stanley Jordan website for more details.

Kevin Eubanks is a gifted musician and prolific composer whose own band, the Kevin Eubanks Quartet, has been evolving for close to twenty years. Kevin is also well known as the Music Director of The Tonight Show Band, appearing on the show 18 years (1992 – 2010). In both situations, Kevin has won over audiences with a laid back style and an affability that seems to belie the concentration and focus that have made him both a household word for TV viewers and a consummate guitarist.

Kevin studied the trumpet before making his commitment to the guitar, which was solidified with his entrance to the renowned Berklee College of Music in Boston. There he met many of the finest jazz musicians of his generation.

When Kevin moved to New York after attending Berklee College of Music, his career kicked off in earnest. He played with some of the stalwarts of jazz, like Ron Carter, Slide Hampton, Art Blakey, McCoy Tyner, Sam Rivers, and Roy Haynes. Kevin taught at the Banff School of Fine Arts, at Rutgers University, and at the Charlie Parker School in Perugia, Italy.

Kevin and his touring band, which features Marvin “Smitty” Smith and Bill Pierce, who holds the Woodwind chair at Berklee College of Music, continue to travel the country on tour. “It’s wonderful to feel the music surging through you and touching people from the inside out. That’s what happens when everyone is open and the music takes hold. What an honor it is to be invited into so many peoples lives, if only for a brief melodious moment.”

Visit the Kevin Eubanks website for more details.

Ali Milner, a 19-year-old from Whistler native, is making her mark on the indie/jazz charts delivering pure sound and amazing vocal depth, with a modern edge that has been described as shades of Sam Cooke and Norah Jones rolled into one. Despite her young age, she is an experienced artist who has been recording and performing live since the age of 14. For her latest album, “I Dare You”, Milner collaborated with some of Canada’s best, including Sherry St. Germain, Davor Vulama, Aileen De La Cruz, Shaun Verreault (lead singer, Wide Mouth Mason) and Jim Vallance (Bryan Adams’ writing partner).

Milner recently performed during the Vancouver/Whistler 2010 Olympic Games, at the Westjet Street Party during the 2009 Junos in Vancouver, and in Sarah McLachlan’s Lilith Fair, at the invitation of McLachlan’s manager Terry McBride, of Nettwerk.

According to Bob Segarini of FYI Music  “. . . she was completely focused, hitting every nuance, note, and emotional brush stroke of the music and lyric. She didn’t need an audience, she was there for the music. This young woman means every note she plays, every word she sings. This young woman is real. This young woman is special.”

Her album, I Dare You, was launched with a live performance that was recorded for a national broadcast on CBC Radio 2’s “Canada Live” which aired in February 2010. As one reviewer notes of this performance, “Milner takes the audience on an impressive journey through boogie-woogie, soulful ballads, . . . rock ‘n’ roll, R&B, show tunes, old school – she does it all.”

Visit the Ali Milner website for more details.

Greg Lowe was born in Winnipeg Canada on June 30th 1957. He picked up his brother’s guitar at age 10 and immediately began composing his own music. Initially inspired by blues and rock musicians, Lowe eventually found jazz, and proceeded to Grant MacEwan College in Edmonton to learn the basics of jazz harmony. In 1985 on return from a two-week stint studying in New York with guitarists John Scofield, John Abercrombie and Steve Kahn, Lowe put a call into Prakash John, leader of Toronto’s premier R&B band The Lincolns, and shortly after began four years of touring coast to coast with many of Toronto’s finest players.

Upon returning to Winnipeg in 1990, he began recording his first CD The Art Of Bending, which lead to the international release of Greg Lowe by Jazz Inspiration Records in 1993 and its follow up 1996 Jazz Inspiration release Thrilled Against My Will. Jazz Times reviewer Hillarie Grey wrote “making unexpected orchestration seem perfectly natural… Lowe’s work is deliberate and clever.”

Focusing on composition as much as guitar performance, Lowe’s body of work has grown to include large orchestra, chamber ensembles, theatre, television, dance, radio musicals and dramas. He has released seven CDs featuring original music in both electric and acoustic formats.

Visit the Greg Lowe website for more details.

Lorne Lofsky is an internationally known guitarist living in the Toronto area. Some of the artists he has played/toured/ and/or recorded with include Oscar Peterson, Neils-Henning Orsted Pederson, Ray Brown, Clark Terry, Ed Bickert, Rob McConnell’s Boss Brass, Chet Baker, Pepper Adams, Bob Brookmeyer, Larry Coryell, Joey DeFrancesco, Johnny Hartman, Rosemary Clooney, Jimmy Mcgriff, and Groove Holmes.

Lorne has been playing professionally since 1977 and is an in demand player/teacher/clinician. He has travelled extensively throughout Canada and Europe.

Many of the recordings Lorne has been featured on have received critical acclaim, including multiple nominations for the prestigious Juno award.

Visit the Lorne Lofsky website for more details.

Reg Schwager was born in the Netherlands in 1962. When he was three his family moved to New Zealand where he studied Suzuki violin. When he was six his family moved again, this time to Sudbury, Ontario, Canada. There he took music lessons in recorder, flute and piano before settling on the guitar as his main instrument. By age fifteen he was playing jazz gigs in big band and small group settings and in duet with his sister Jeannette.

It was at two jazz workshops conducted by Phil Nimmons – at the University of Toronto (1978) and the Banff Centre (1979) that Reg met some of the musicians he would begin working soon after he moved to Toronto in 1979. These included fellow students Renee Rosnes and Ralph Bowen and faculty members including Nimmons, Dave McMurdo, Herbie Spanier and Pat Labarbera. Since then he has been working steadily on the Toronto jazz scene and in other musical areas including new music (New Music Concerts, Hemispheres and Sound Pressure, among others) and improvised music (with musicians such as Misha Mengelberg and Han Bennink).

Reg has toured extensively across Canada and worldwide with George Shearing, Diana Krall, Peter Appleyard, Rob McConnell and many others. He appears on over 80 commercially released recordings with such artists as Junior Mance, Gary Burton, George Shearing and Mel Tormé. CDs released under his own name include “Resonance”, “Border Town” and “Live at Mezzetta”.

Reg has written written hundreds of jazz compositions, some with lyrics by Jeannette Lambert. His arrangements for big band have been recorded by the Dave McMurdo Jazz Orchestra. His arrangements for string orchestra and jazz ensemble appear on Mike Murley’s CD “The Melody Lingers On” (CBC Records).

Reg has been the recipient of the Guitarist of the Year award from Canada’s National Jazz Awards for four consecutive years (2005-2008) .

For seven years Reg maintained a popular weblog devoted to news about Brazilian music at bmth.blogspot.com. He has attended workshops and classes with such Brazilian masters as Guinga, Dori Caymmi, Marcos Silva, Jovino Santos Neto, Paulo Sergio Santos and Hamilton de Holanda – mainly at the California-Brazil Camp.

Visit the Reg Schwager website for more details.

Chris Smith is a singer/songwriter inspired by his family’s extensive travels around the world and intoxicated by the wonderful music he was exposed to as he grew up. Chris’s music is a blend of various influences including pop, jazz, soul and world rhythms.

To date, Chris has released four albums. His most recent, Let The Ball Roll, was released on June 30, 2009. Back To You was released in 2006, Real Thing was released in 2004 and his debut Room Inside My Heart was released in 1995.

In the company of such successful artists as Michael Bublé and Diana Krall, Chris has been nominated for nine Canadian Smooth Jazz Awards including Best Album, Best Song and Best Male Vocalist.
Early Years

Born in England, Chris Smith was the second son to a Swedish mother and English father. The family travelled extensively throughout Southeast Asia, the Far East and Europe.

Growing up listening to jazz, blues and anything by The Beatles, Chris cites myriad influences, including his older brother, Peter, who became a successful musician in his own right.

He discovered his songwriting talent at a young age and recorded a demo before enrolling in the Jazz programme at Humber College in Toronto. Upon graduating, Chris formed The Graduates with three fellow Humber students performing Chris-Smith originals.

Chris’s next project, Regatta, won the nationally recognized Q107 Homegrown contest and caught the ear of BMG Records who signed the band to an international record deal.

Despite Regatta’s success, Chris knew his future lay in jazz and pop. He leapt into a solo career in 1995 with the release of his debut, Room Inside My Heart and, following that, began an enduring creative association with Greg Kavanagh. Subsequent albums, Real Thing, Back To You and Let The Ball Roll have increased his fan base, achieved critical acclaim and gained industry recognition.

Visit the Reg Schwager website for more details.

Montreal born artist Julie Crochetière has given herself the creative freedom to trust her instincts and have fun on her new album Steady Ground. The singer-songwriter, who has explored the world of pop in Sugar Jones and soul-jazz on her solo debut A Better Place, is now creating a contemporary soul sound with a hint of cool, club and sex appeal.

Produced by Ron Lopata (Tommy Swick, Lindi Ortega), who played for years with the late Haydain Neale (Jacksoul), the album ranges from the first single Tomorrow, a crafted verse-chorus song inspired by her first trip to Jamaica, combined with the culture of slowing down to Ooh La La, an energetic fun and funky song about owning your femininity. Steady Ground, a soulful clap-along, originally recorded on her iPhone, while Apple Tree was written within 20 minutes of watching the love story Benjamin Button.
“Previously I’ve stayed in very comfortable waters and this record is me pushing my boundaries,” Julie says. “I’m tackling my fears on this album, singing high and bringing out the powerful woman in me. It feels fun and more youthful. I tend to think myself into a frenzy, but I’m not such a heavy person. I like to laugh and have fun and I don’t think that’s been represented as much in my previous work.”
The tall, slender French-Canadian with fiery red hair grew up in Montreal, the younger of two girls, her parents made them pick one sport and one instrument. Following her older sister, Julie chose piano and dance. For eight years, Julie studied classical piano, although she really wanted to learn the pop music she heard on the radio. By 13, she had already composed her first love song.
Her family loved music. Their basement was filled with vinyl records and Julie would sit herself down in her beanbag chair and listen to them all. This was her first introduction to soul music, which led to a further discovery of music, such as Jill Scott, Erykah Badu, Aretha Franklin and Carole King.
”I want to write a song that becomes a classic. A timeless song that continues to touch people througout the years and I know I have that ability.”
At 19, Julie got an opportunity that is so commonplace now — on a reality television talent search called Popstars, which sought a girl pop group. In 2000 self-titled album went platinum and spawned top 10 singles How Much Longer and Days Like That. The five-piece disbanded in 2002. “It was an education in the music industry,” she reflects. “I liked the ride and I liked that it was going fast.”

In 2003, Julie released her solo debut, an EP called Café, produced by Haig V. (Bran Van 3000). She took a leap of faith and, for the first time, stepped out on her own and started to build a career that represented herself. She performed at jazz festivals, showcasing her piano playing, songwriting skills, and ability to make classics her own. Interacting with musicians onstage was important to her. Since her Sugar Jones days she had only performed to tracks. “I was starving for that,” she says.
One of the musicians in her band and on that EP was drummer Tony Albino, with whom she ended up producing 2007’s full-length, A Better Place. “Everything was recorded live off the floor,” says Julie.
The first single from A Better Place, which sold over 30,000 copies independently through North America and Europe, Precious Love, peaked at #18 on the Canadian AC charts and stayed in the top 20 for 20 weeks. Precious Love was also nominated for “Best Song” at the 2009 Canadian Radio Music Awards and was the top downloaded album on iTunes Canada’s Soul/R&B charts in April 2008.
“I have my roots in ‘60s and ‘70s music and I tend to be adamant about that, but at one point it comes to a place where you ask yourself the question, ‘What’s best for this song and how can I make it special and unique? What makes you remember it?’
“My motivation is to better myself,” says Julie. “I feel like I can better myself with music. I think it forces me and challenges me to think differently. It forces me to step outside my comfort zone and my comfort zone only gets bigger when I do step outside of it. It makes me a better musician.”
Julie is also using her music skills to better the lives of young people, as the creator of Play It Forward, an ongoing series of concerts that raise funds for kids’ music programs.

Visit the Julie C website for more details.

Kevin Eubanks is a gifted musician and prolific composer whose own band, the Kevin Eubanks Quartet, has been evolving for close to twenty years. Kevin is also well known as the Music Director of The Tonight Show Band, appearing on the show 18 years (1992 – 2010). In both situations, Kevin has won over audiences with a laid back style and an affability that seems to belie the concentration and focus that have made him both a household word for TV viewers and a consummate guitarist.

Kevin studied the trumpet before making his commitment to the guitar, which was solidified with his entrance to the renowned Berklee College of Music in Boston. There he met many of the finest jazz musicians of his generation.

When Kevin moved to New York after attending Berklee College of Music, his career kicked off in earnest. He played with some of the stalwarts of jazz, like Ron Carter, Slide Hampton, Art Blakey, McCoy Tyner, Sam Rivers, and Roy Haynes. Kevin taught at the Banff School of Fine Arts, at Rutgers University, and at the Charlie Parker School in Perugia, Italy.

Kevin and his touring band, which features Marvin “Smitty” Smith and Bill Pierce, who holds the Woodwind chair at Berklee College of Music, continue to travel the country on tour. “It’s wonderful to feel the music surging through you and touching people from the inside out. That’s what happens when everyone is open and the music takes hold. What an honor it is to be invited into so many peoples lives, if only for a brief melodious moment.”

Visit the Kevin Eubanks website for more details.

Russ Freeman is the founder and leader of the popular contemporary jazz group, The Rippingtons.

Raised in Nashville, Freeman began playing guitar at age 10, and was lured into the world of studio sessions via a friend of his father’s, studio guitarist John Pell.

By the time he was 16, Russ was playing on record dates regularly. After moving to L.A. in 1978, Russ studied at Cal Arts and U.C.L.A. In 1985 he combined his abilities with guitar, studiocraft and songwriting on his debut album “Nocturnal Playground”. The next year he founded the Rippingtons, and produced the much-acclaimed “Moonlighting” CD.

Since then Russ has maintained a busy schedule of writing, touring, and producing. In 1996 Russ started Peak Records with partner Andi Howard. The label has grown to include such artists as Lee Ritenour, Paul Taylor, Eric Marienthal, Gerald Albright, Latoya London, David Benoit, and Regina Belle.

The Oasis Smooth Jazz Awards have honored Russ with a Lifetime Achievement Award, as well as Producer Of the Year 2001. The Rippingtons were chosen Best Group 2000 by Billboard BET, and Best Group 2 years in a row, 2001 and 2002 by the Oasis Awards, in addition to Achievement in Video 2001.

Russ was also the recipient of a Most Distinguished Alumnus Award in 1996 from the University School of Nashville, Tennessee.

Visit the Russ Freeman website for more details.

Lorne Lofsky is an internationally known guitarist living in the Toronto area. Some of the artists he has played/toured/ and/or recorded with include Oscar Peterson, Neils-Henning Orsted Pederson, Ray Brown, Clark Terry, Ed Bickert, Rob McConnell’s Boss Brass, Chet Baker, Pepper Adams, Bob Brookmeyer, Larry Coryell, Joey DeFrancesco, Johnny Hartman, Rosemary Clooney, Jimmy Mcgriff, and Groove Holmes.

Lorne has been playing professionally since 1977 and is an in demand player/teacher/clinician. He has travelled extensively throughout Canada and Europe.

Many of the recordings Lorne has been featured on have received critical acclaim, including multiple nominations for the prestigious Juno award.

Visit the Lorne Lofsky website for more details.

For Stan Samole, the word accessibility is a key part of his composition and his playing. Although definitely jazz in intention and thrust, Samole’s music draws upon the “university” of sounds – modern jazz, swing, folk, pop, ethnic, reggae and blues.

Born in Chicago in 1950, Samole began playing the guitar at the age of twelve. His strong mathematical background gave him an advantage in learning and developing musical theory. Stan became a professional by the age of thirteen and was recording jingles and playing in local groups by the age of fourteen.

Growing up with such influences as the Beatles, John Coltrane, Miles Davis and Joni Mitchell, Stan developed an ease of styles that would result in future recordings and performances with artists as diverse as Jaco Pastorious, John McLaughlin, Carlos Santana, Stan Getz, Nancy Wilson and Mel Torme.  A respected educator, he was Director of Jazz Studies at the University of Miami and his students included Pat Metheny and Hiram Bullock.

Stan is also known for his work with the group Elements and for his CDs ‘Gliding’, ‘Stan Samole’ and ‘Childish Dreams: Contemporary Interpretations of Children’s Favorites’.

His compositions have been featured in concerts, on radio and on television.

Visit Stan Samole website for more details.

From the moment he made his debut in 1985 with the gold-selling Grammy® nominated album Magic Touch, guitar virtuoso Stanley Jordan has proven himself as a forward thinking innovator. With his nimbly executed “touch” or “tap” technique, he ushered a dazzling and spellbinding new sound into the world of progressive instrumental music.

Over the course of five major recordings and several smaller independent releases, Stanley has explored earthly and astral musical trailways. Because of the extraordinary originality of his approach to guitar, Stanley has been looked upon first and foremost as a musical original, orbiting in an artistic universe without predecessor or immediate successor.

With his groundbreaking album, State Of Nature (his first mainstream release in over a decade, and his debut for the Mack Avenue label), Stanley Jordan makes another bold step by using his music to aurally illustrate profoundly unifying truths about man’s relationship to nature and humankind.

Visit the Stanley Jordan website for more details.

Kevin Eubanks is a gifted musician and prolific composer whose own band, the Kevin Eubanks Quartet, has been evolving for close to twenty years. Kevin is also well known as the Music Director of The Tonight Show Band, appearing on the show 18 years (1992 – 2010). In both situations, Kevin has won over audiences with a laid back style and an affability that seems to belie the concentration and focus that have made him both a household word for TV viewers and a consummate guitarist.

Kevin studied the trumpet before making his commitment to the guitar, which was solidified with his entrance to the renowned Berklee College of Music in Boston. There he met many of the finest jazz musicians of his generation.

When Kevin moved to New York after attending Berklee College of Music, his career kicked off in earnest. He played with some of the stalwarts of jazz, like Ron Carter, Slide Hampton, Art Blakey, McCoy Tyner, Sam Rivers, and Roy Haynes. Kevin taught at the Banff School of Fine Arts, at Rutgers University, and at the Charlie Parker School in Perugia, Italy.

Kevin and his touring band, which features Marvin “Smitty” Smith and Bill Pierce, who holds the Woodwind chair at Berklee College of Music, continue to travel the country on tour. “It’s wonderful to feel the music surging through you and touching people from the inside out. That’s what happens when everyone is open and the music takes hold. What an honor it is to be invited into so many peoples lives, if only for a brief melodious moment.”

Visit the Kevin Eubanks website for more details.

Russ Freeman is the founder and leader of the popular contemporary jazz group, The Rippingtons.

Raised in Nashville, Freeman began playing guitar at age 10, and was lured into the world of studio sessions via a friend of his father’s, studio guitarist John Pell.

By the time he was 16, Russ was playing on record dates regularly. After moving to L.A. in 1978, Russ studied at Cal Arts and U.C.L.A. In 1985 he combined his abilities with guitar, studiocraft and songwriting on his debut album “Nocturnal Playground”. The next year he founded the Rippingtons, and produced the much-acclaimed “Moonlighting” CD.

Since then Russ has maintained a busy schedule of writing, touring, and producing. In 1996 Russ started Peak Records with partner Andi Howard. The label has grown to include such artists as Lee Ritenour, Paul Taylor, Eric Marienthal, Gerald Albright, Latoya London, David Benoit, and Regina Belle.

The Oasis Smooth Jazz Awards have honored Russ with a Lifetime Achievement Award, as well as Producer Of the Year 2001. The Rippingtons were chosen Best Group 2000 by Billboard BET, and Best Group 2 years in a row, 2001 and 2002 by the Oasis Awards, in addition to Achievement in Video 2001.

Russ was also the recipient of a Most Distinguished Alumnus Award in 1996 from the University School of Nashville, Tennessee.

Visit the Russ Freeman website for more details.

The Night Crawlers are a quintet of Vancouver musicians dedicated to preserving the sound and vibe of the great 1960’s Hammond B3 organ bands. Led by drummer Jesse Cahill and inspired by the music of Brother Jack McDuff, The Mighty Burner, Big John Patton, and Booker T and the MG’s, the Night Crawlers play gritty, soulful, downhome music that’s all about having a good time. Their first CD “Presenting” was nominated for “Album of the Year” at the National Jazz Awards and received 3.5 stars in Downbeat Magazine. Their latest recording “Night Crawlers With Big Band Sound” was released on CD and LP in January 2011 on Cellar Live.

Here’s what Ken Micallef of Down Beat Magazine had to say about “Presenting”:

“It s hard to make a bad organ trio record, give the associations a whirring Leslie can conjure in our collective jazz perception. But when organ grinder Chris Gestrin mans the Hammond, a great record emerges. Gestrin plays with Vancouver, B.C. s Night Crawlers, exponents of the holy grail of 1960 s organ swing. Recorded live at Vancouver s Cellar Nighclub, the operative word on Presenting is authenticity, from mixing the recorded digital files on 2 – inch tape to sweltering performances of material by Big John Patton, Jack McDuff and Horace Silver. The Night Crawlers play like a decades-old organization, possessing the swagger, muscle and greasy swing feel of yesteryear s great. This live record is practically a time machine.”

Brad Turner’s phenomenal talents as a trumpeter, pianist, drummer and composer make him one of Canadas most in demand musicians. Brad has performed and/or recorded with such artists as Joe Lovano, Kenny Wheeler, Michael Moore, Reneé Rosnes, Achim Kaufmann, John Schofield, Ingrid Jensen, Dylan van der Schyff, Mike Murley, Mark Helias, Charles McPherson and Gary Bartz. Brad’s groups have opened for McCoy Tyner, Roy Haynes, Wayne Shorter, Clarke Terry and Diana Krall.

As a Leader or through his work with Canadian jazz super-group Metalwood, Brad’s impressive list of creative and artistic awards include: Three Juno Awards, Downbeat Electric Group of the Year Award, Winner of Jazz Report Magazine’s Trumpeter of the Year. Two time winner of Jazz Reports Composer of the Year, Multiple Western Canadian Music Award Winner, CMW Indie Award Winner, Two time Composer of the Year Award winner at the National Jazz Awards. In addition to being named Musician of The Year, Brad received an unprecedented 6 nominations at the 2005 National Jazz Awards including: Acoustic Group of the Year, Album of the Year: Question The Answer, Instrumentalist of the Year, Keyboardist of the Year and  Trumpeter of the Year.

Visit Brad Turner website for more details.

Vito Rezza is one of the finest and most creative drummers in the world, who demonstrates fearsome talent. He composes, plays, sings, and stuns his audience. 

New Release:  ROME IN A DAY

From 5 After 4 comes six. This highly-acclaimed veteran Toronto contemporary jazz combo makes a welcome return to recording with a sixth album that showcases the sound of four guys playing at the top of their game. The happy outcome is Rome In A Day, scheduled for release on prestigious independent label ALMA Records on June 28 in Canada and August in the US and worldwide.

The album is a masterful and delightfully diverse collection of all-original new 5 After 4 material. The group’s founder and driving force, drummer/composer Vito Rezza, contributes six compositions, long-time keyboardist Matt Horner chimes in with four numbers, and the freewheeling “Animal Crackers” is credited to all four members.

Joining Rezza and Horner in 5 After 4 are saxophonist John Johnson and bassist/producer Peter Cardinali. All four players have performed and recorded with each other in different musical configurations and settings for several decades now, with a clearly audible empathy resulting. Matt has played on four earlier 5 After 4 albums, and Peter and John two apiece. Johnson points out that “I’ve played with Vito for over 30 years now, and this musical intuition just happens. People often comment on just how tightly we listen to each other, but we’re not even trying to do it.” To Cardinali, “When we play, it can get quite euphoric. It becomes a conversation between players.” Vito agrees, noting “we never tussle in our playing. We discuss, and nobody misses anything the other guy does.”

The close personal and professional rapport of the members of 5 After 4 shines through on Rome In A Day (the album is named after an action-packed day last year when Peter showed Vito the city for the first time). This Rome wasn’t built in a day, but was primarily constructed over groups of sessions this past year. Four of those sessions took place in the rustic setting of The Bathouse, situated near Kingston. Owned by The Tragically Hip, the studio has long been a popular destination for leading Canadian rock and roots artists. This may well be the first jazz album ever recorded there, and it was a personal invitation from Johnny Fay, The Hip’s drummer, that brought the group there. Vito picks up that story: “Johnny is one of my long-time students and a good friend. I played him some new music and he went ‘that’s beautiful. You’ve got to do another record. We own a studio and you should go there.’ Next thing I know I get e-mails from their in-house engineer, Aaron Holmberg, asking when we were coming!”

Such an offer was too good to refuse, and the studio proved perfect for capturing the warm ambience of Rome In A Day. “You’re not really in a studio there, you’re in a house,” explains Vito. “We hung out together, cooked great breakfasts and pasta, and played. We did 12 tracks in four days and enjoyed every minute of it.” Peter Cardinali adds “whenever you get away from your own city and surroundings, it becomes like a little commune. You hang out together, you eat together, you sleep under the same roof, and that creates a much different atmosphere.”

The album was essentially recorded live off the floor, with some minimal overdubbing later being done in Toronto studio The Drive Shed. Further freshness was guaranteed by the fact that 5 After 4 didn’t even rehearse the material prior to entering The Bathouse. “You have to live in the moment and just catch the vibe,” explains Matt Horner. “Some of us had never heard the songs,” says Cardinali. “We just hit record and played them. I love doing that. For me, there’s nothing like the raw energy and excitement of a first take. My ideas are freshest then and I’m able to convey them right away.” Such an adventurous approach is a signature of Cardinali’s production work, as exemplified by his internationally-praised One Take series. Its four albums to date have featured such jazz greats as Joey DeFrancesco, Terri Lynne Carrington, Guido Basso, Phil Dwyer, and Vito Rezza (on Volumes One and Four) recorded in just one take, with no rehearsals, overdubs or edits.

Each member of 5 After 4 had plenty of creative input on the compositions Vito and Matt introduced. Horner cites his stirring “Top Hat” as an example. “I wrote 12 notes (twelve tone row) and it’s a blues. Peter did the horn arrangements, Johnny came up with some other things, and they just took the ball and ran with it.”

Having talented composers within the group helps account for the refreshing range of material on Rome In A Day. Vito describes Matt as “a minimalist. He writes minimal melodies with beautiful harmonies all the time.” A perfect example of this on the new album is the gently lyrical “Changing of Seasons.” Vito recalls telling Matt “‘I can’t get that damn song out of my head. Matt said ‘good. That’s where it’s supposed to live!’”

Cardinali has watched the development of Rezza as a writer with real enthusiasm. “He just keeps getting better. Vito has an unbelievable sense of harmony and he writes beautiful melodies. He is a very romantic writer, and not many drummers can write that kind of in-depth material.” For a man who first made a mark as a truly explosive and volcanic virtuoso on the drums, Vito has matured into a writer with the soul of a poet and the heart of a lion.

Rezza is a genuine renaissance man, an accomplished poet, film and television actor (he has just shot a new Stone series movie with Tom Selleck), and martial arts expert. A deeply thoughtful and spiritual individual, he takes inspiration at home and abroad. The sweetly contemplative “Lee’s Mystery” is dedicated to his daughter, while “Mr. Govindas” came from reading a true story by Deepak Chopra about a destitute alcoholic outside a Mumbai hospital. It is a haunting ballad punctuated by, in Vito’s words ” Zappaesque rhythmic figures that create a staggering and dysfunctional feeling to represent the sick man.” When that sort of imagination is matched by the stellar musicianship of the four comrades, magic happens. 

Visit the Vito Rezza website for more details.

Extraordinary bassist Michael Farquharson is Canada’s answer to the late great Jaco Pastorius. A former student of Jaco’s and an alumnus of the New England Conservatory of Music, he is an acclaimed performer in the studio, on the stage, and in the pit of popular ensembles such as the orchestras for the Canadian production of Les Miserables. An accomplished academician, Farquharson is a faculty member at the Berklee College of Music teaching Contemporary Writing and Production, and has released two CDs called Michael Farquharson and The Arrival.

Visit the Michael Farquharson website for more details.

Mat Marucci is an active performer, teacher, and clinician on an international level and is listed in Who’s Who in America and International Who’s Who In Music. His performing credits include jazz greats Jimmy Smith, Kenny Burrell, James Moody, Eddie Harris, Buddy DeFranco, Les McCann, Bobby Shew, Don Menza, Frank Strazzeri, John Tchicai, and Joey Calderazzo, to name just a few.

Marucci is the author of Progressive Studies For Drums and Progressive Studies In Jazz Drumming and is an Applied Music Instructor for American River College (Sacramento, CA). He has written numerous articles on drumming for Modern Drummer magazine,  the Percussive Arts Society’s Percussive Notes and Percussion News, Pro-Mark’s Upstrokes, Sticks & Mallets magazine [including a Masterclass CD] and the online drum magazine, Cyber-Drum [www.cyberdrum.com].

He has also been an adjunct faculty member for both American River College (Sacramento, CA) and The Jazzschool (Berkeley, CA) and is an endorser for Zildjian cymbals, Vic Firth drumsticks, Remo drumheads, and Puresound/HQ percussion.

Visit the Mat Marucci website for more details.

Kevin Eubanks is a gifted musician and prolific composer whose own band, the Kevin Eubanks Quartet, has been evolving for close to twenty years. Kevin is also well known as the Music Director of The Tonight Show Band, appearing on the show 18 years (1992 – 2010). In both situations, Kevin has won over audiences with a laid back style and an affability that seems to belie the concentration and focus that have made him both a household word for TV viewers and a consummate guitarist.

Kevin studied the trumpet before making his commitment to the guitar, which was solidified with his entrance to the renowned Berklee College of Music in Boston. There he met many of the finest jazz musicians of his generation.

When Kevin moved to New York after attending Berklee College of Music, his career kicked off in earnest. He played with some of the stalwarts of jazz, like Ron Carter, Slide Hampton, Art Blakey, McCoy Tyner, Sam Rivers, and Roy Haynes. Kevin taught at the Banff School of Fine Arts, at Rutgers University, and at the Charlie Parker School in Perugia, Italy.

Kevin and his touring band, which features Marvin “Smitty” Smith and Bill Pierce, who holds the Woodwind chair at Berklee College of Music, continue to travel the country on tour. “It’s wonderful to feel the music surging through you and touching people from the inside out. That’s what happens when everyone is open and the music takes hold. What an honor it is to be invited into so many peoples lives, if only for a brief melodious moment.”

Visit the Kevin Eubanks website for more details.