Jazz On The Mountain 2013

Lorber’s music reaches a new level by crystallizing jazz, funk, and Latin rhythms with some killer melodies that will certainly translate to live performance. Obviously, time spent touring together has made Lorber, Haslip and Marienthal into a tight unit, which is evident from this latest recording. 

Lorber has been just as prolific and innovative in the new century as he was in the last, with recordings on Narada (Philly Style, Flip Side), Blue Note (He Had a Hat) and Peak (Heard That).

Visit Jeff Lorber website for more details.

Although Swing Out Sister’s music is unashamedly commercial pop, their impeccable indie credentials (keyboardist Andy Connell and drummer Martin Jackson were formerly of A Certain Ratio and Magazine, and singer Corrine Drewery had no professional experience at all before joining), jazz-tinged arrangements, and knack for clever hooks move them closer to the indie dance territory of St. Etienne or late period Everything but the Girl than to the cookie-cutter dance-pop of Kylie Minogue or Paula Abdul.

Connell and Jackson formed Swing Out Sister in their hometown of Manchester, England, in 1985 as a studio-based partnership set to refine the jazzy funk of A Certain Ratio and Magazine’s quirky reimaginings of old-fashioned middle-of-the-road pop. Nottingham-born singer Drewery joined the duo just in time for their first single, “Blue Mood,” in late 1985. That single didn’t do much, but the follow-up, “Breakout,” was a Top Ten hit in Great Britain and Japan in the fall of 1986. The trio belatedly completed debut album It’s Better to Travel in 1987; its U.S. release scored a pair of hits with “Breakout” and “Twilight World.” Jackson demoted himself to partial contributor on 1989’s Kaleidoscope World, which emphasized the remaining duo’s debt to lush ’60s pop by hiring the legendary Jim Webb to arrange and conduct the orchestra. Though the singles “You on My Mind” and “Waiting Game” were U.K. hits, the album didn’t attract much attention in the U.S. In Japan, however, both albums were big enough hits that a special Japan-only collection of remixes, Another Non-Stop Sister, was released in late 1989, followed by the similar Swing 3 in 1990, which also collected early B-sides and other rare tracks.

Visit Swing Out Sister website for more details.

Over the course of a stellar career that has spanned more than 30 years, saxophonist Kenny Garrett has become the preeminent alto saxophonist of his generation. From his first gig with the Duke Ellington Orchestra (led by Mercer Ellington) through his time spent with musicians such as Freddie Hubbard, Woody Shaw, Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers and Miles Davis, Garrett has always brought a vigorous yet melodic, and truly distinctive, alto saxophone sound to each musical situation. As a bandleader for the last two decades, he has also continually grown as a composer. With his latest recording (and second for Mack Avenue Records), Seeds From The Underground, Garrett has given notice that these qualities have not only become more impressive, but have provided him with the platform to expand his horizons and communicate his musical vision clearly. Seeds From The Underground is a powerful return to the straight-ahead, acoustic and propulsive quartet format that showcases Garrett’s extraordinary abilities.

Visit Kenny Garrett website for more details.

Holly Cole is lauded in many different places, receiving praise as a pre-eminent interpretive singer working between the poles of jazz and pop. Her unique interpretations are applauded as being hightly musical, intensely original, sophisticated, witty and sexy.  In her hands, even familiar repertoire – from Hank Williams to Cole Porter – enjoys the potential to shine like never before.

Holly never fails to present her music with style, humor and grace, sending it out on journeys straight to the listener’s heart.  Her approach is sensual and intense, non-calculating and without any retro pretensions.  All of this has been a continuous virtue in the singer’s illustrious career, a career that started some twenty years ago with her debut album, ‘Girl Talk.’  Many distinctive albums have followed since, accompanied by passionate live appearances internationally that have cemented her reputation as a major Contemporary song stylist and hightly compelling and acclained performer. 

Visit Holly Cole website for more details.

Jimmy Haslip (born 31 December 1951 in Bronx/New York City) is an American electric bass player and record producer best known as a founding and current member of the pioneering fusion group Yellowjackets.[1] He was also an early user of the 5-string electric bass.

Haslip is notable for his versatility of tone, including being able to very closely achieve the tone of an upright acoustic bass on an electric bass, his melodic bass lines, and his expressive solos. Haslip is a left-handed player.

In addition to the Yellowjackets, he has worked with, and is working with, many notable artists, including Bruce Hornsby, Rita Coolidge, Gino Vannelli, Kiss, Tommy Bolin, Allan Holdsworth, Marilyn Scott, Chaka Khan, Al Jarreau, Donald Fagen and Anita Baker.

Visit Jimmy Haslip website for more details.

Born and raised in Nova Scotia, Pat has been playing professionally for over 30 years, touring extensively in Canada, the U.S., and Europe. Now living in Toronto, he has played on countless sessions in a variety of styles, including jingles, t.v. and soundtrack work and over 200 albums, several of which have received Juno nominations.

Some highlights of his performing and recording career include work with: Michael Brecker, Ian Hunter, Mick Ronson, David Foster, Josh Groban, Sarah Mclachlan, Rodger Hodgson of “Supertramp”, The Canadian Tenors, Rufus Wainwright, David Byrne, Boy George, Dan Hill, Shirley Jones, Holly Cole, Sandi Patty, Chantal Kreviazuk, Jim Brickman, Dutch Mason, Brigham Phillips Big Band, Glenn Lewis, Guido Basso, Phil Dwyer, Bruce Cassidy, Terry Clarke, Rik Emmett, Sass Jordan, Melissa Manchester, American Idol Taylor Hicks, Ron Sexsmith, John Mcdermott, Colm Wilkinson, Zappacosta, Guthrie Govan, Brent Mason, Melanie Doane, Five after Four, The Code, Hockey Night In Canada.

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 Professor at the Berklee College of Music in Boston teaching Contemporary Writing and Production, and has released two CDs called Michael Farquharson and The Arrival.

Visit Michael Farquharson website for more details.

Toronto-born bassist Kieran Overs has been active on the Canadian music scene since 1970, first on guitar and electric bass, and for the past 34 years on acoustic bass.

Overs holds an Honours Diploma from Humber College, a B. Mus. from Humber/BCOU and an M. Mus. from McGill University (Montreal). He has also studied privately with renowned Danish bassist Neils-Henning Orsted-Petersen and arranger Rick Wilkins. He has toured internationally with Moe Koffman, Jane Bunnett, Sophie Milman, Carol Welsman and Emilie-Claire Barlow, among others. Having worked in Toronto as a sideman with such artists as Zoot Sims, Chet Baker, Bill Charlap, Harold Mabern Jr., Carol Sloane/ Bill Mays, Brian Dickinson, Pat Labarbera, Alex Dean and Kirk MacDonald, Overs has established a solid reputation in Canadian jazz. Overs is currently a member of The Nancy Walker Quartet, Ted Quinlan Trio and Inside Out (with Lorne Lofsky and Barry Romberg). To his credit Overs has 4CDs as leader/producer and more than 80 as a sideman. He was one of only 8 jazz artists selected to represent Canada on the 4CD/50-artist box set “Here and Now – A Celebration of Canadian Music “, produced by the Canada Council to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of the United Nations (released world-wide in October 1995). A profile of Overs’ career can be found in Mark Miller’s book “The Miller Companion to Jazz in Canada”.

Visit Kieran Overs website for more details.

GEORGE KOLLER (bassist, cellist, sitar player, pianist, guitarist, sarode player, mandolin player, diruba player, vocalist) was born December 9, 1958 in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. He has accumulated hundreds of widely diverse performing and recording credits in his expansive musical career working with The Shuffle Demons, Phil Woods, Peter Gabriel, Loreena McKennitt, Bruce Cockburn, Holly Cole, Ian Tyson, and many, many others. Recognized primarily as a bass player, George plays a variety of instruments; many featured on his award-winning solo CD, Music for Plants, Animals, and Humans. He has performance and/or producer credits on over 500 CDs.

Koller has toured for 12 years with Holly Cole. He has also toured and recorded with Sharlene Wallace, Julie Michels, Joe Sealy, Carol Welsman, Valdy, and many others. He has produced for artists including Amanda Martinez, Deanna Knight, Andree Bernard, Julie Michels, Patricia O’Callaghan and The Toronto Tabla Ensemble, while continuing to compose new music for guitar and voice.

Most recently, he has produced music for Yoga and Indian Classical music artists. His playing of Indian stringed instruments — Sitar, Sarode, Tanpura, and the violin-like Esraj and Dilbruba — are featured in the motion pictures Such a Long Journey and Possible Worlds, as well as on recordings by Loreena McKennitt, Jane Siberry, and Bruce Cockburn. He has toured Canada with Joe Sealy and Cindy Church in support of their release of their recording, The Nearness of You: the Songs of Hoagy Carmichael. George Koller continues to perform and produce concerts and recordings in the jazz, world and Indian Classical music styles.

Visit George Koller website for more details.

KC Roberts & the Live revolution is a 7-piece original funk band from Toronto. Their live performances feature sharp technical skills and a unique blend of hip hop, electronic, pop and funk created infectious dance tunes that instantly turn concertgoers into diehard fans.

Their dynamic live show produces an all-encompassing energy that washes over the crowd as soon as the first horn is played. KCLR play as a tight unit who occasionally give into mouth-watering solos and unexpected instrumental mashups. Crowds are drawn in by their skill, yet the band keeps them moving with their electrifying dance beats.

KCLR have proven to be the ultimate wizards of funk. Collaborating with fellow Toronto musicians like D-Sisive and The Airplane Boys, the band has garnered immense respect in the Toronto music community having been described by D-Sisive as the “sickest f***ing band in Canada”.

Visit KC Roberts & The Live Revolution 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.

Visit Stan Samole website for more details.

Ever noticed how many of the great female R&B and soul singers of the past three decades have first names beginning with A? There’s Aretha Franklin, Annie Lennox, Amy Winehouse, and Adele, not to mention Aaliyah and Alicia Keys. Don’t be surprised if the name Andria Simone joins this illustrious A team in the near future.

This young singer-songwriter was born and raised in Toronto, but a colorfully adventurous life to date has helped her develop both as an artist and a self-confident young woman ready to take on the world. After all, how many aspiring soul singers have studying poker in the Ukraine on their resume?

More conventionally, Andria has also studied flute, piano and voice, and her love of writing was established at an early age. “I’ve always enjoyed writing and poetry and getting my feelings out on paper,” she explains. Simone has long had a love for a wide range of musical genres, from heavy metal to dubstep, but has recently found herself a happy creative home in the world of soul and R&B. “I’d love to go back in a time machine to the ’50s and ’60s and dance to that live music,” she declares. “I prefer the real raw sound of the voice, not the AutoTune sounds of today.”

Visit Andria Simone website for more details.

Irene Torres musical diversity, talent and raw energy, makes them truly unique. Drawing from all genres, they mesh the past & present to create a new generation of deep rooted music with a New Orleans flavor.

Award winning group Irene Torres & The Sugar Devils exploded onto the scene in 2011. Shortly after winning the 2012 TBS award, they were nominated for a Sigy Born award, were selected for a Toronto Independent Music Award and won the “road to memphis” challenge to compete at the International Blues Competition. They have received rave reviews as well as critics picks for their self titled album which has ranked #1 on some college radio stations and Reverbnation. The band has backed, toured, and recorded with award winning artists such as: Chuck Jackson, Gary Kendal & Donnie Walsh (Downchild Blues Band), The Absolute Monster Gentlemen, Layla Zoe, David Rotundo, Johnny Sansone, Joe Murphy, Brownman, Julian Fauth, Jacelyn Holmes, Kevin Clark (Duxes of Dixieland), Pat Rush, Chris Plock & Drew Yureka from Jeff Healey’s Jazz Wizards.

Visit Irene Torres & The Sugar Devils website for more details.

Over the last 30 years, George St. Kitts dazzled audiences in Canada and around the world with his versatile mix of talents as an entertainer, singer, songwriter, actor, musical show producer and choreographer. Originally from the South American country of Guyana, St Kitts began singing and performing professionally soon after immigrating to Canada at age 15.

His love of “the music he grew up with”, Jazz Standards, Rhythm and Blues, Motown, Reggae, Calypso, Tower of Power and The Top 40 has led to an impressive background performing with the likes of GUIDO BASSO, RENA GAYLE and with a wide variety of bands such as ODYSSEY, The PROOF, REFLECTIONS, and NEW RHYTHM.

Visit The George St.Kitts Orchestra website for more details.

What do you get when you cross 3 amazing saxophonists dressed in wacky clothes, a crazy dancing drummer and a killer upright bass player and have them sing songs about Buses, Roaches and Hockey and spend 1/2 their time playing in the audience? The Shuffle Demons, that’s what!!! They were a band that captured the imagination of a generation with their antics and amazing no holds barred playing and stopped traffic on a regular basis. And now they’re back!!

The Shuffle Demons are a high-energy Canadian band that blends virtuosic jazz and funk playing with eye-catching costumes and over the top stage antics to produce an incredible show. A hit at festivals all over the world, the Shuffle Demons are a crowd pleasing, full-on musical group that backs up wild stage antics with phenomenal playing by some of Canada’s most talented musicians.

The Shuffle Demons first broke onto the Canadian music scene in 1984 with an electrifying musical fusion that drew in equal measure from Sun Ra, Charles Mingus, Run DMC and the Beastie Boys. This band is genre bending, highly visually entertaining, funny, and best of all, can really PLAY. All their eye catching, crowd-pleasing stunts are backed up by incredibly solid musicianship and real groundbreaking playing.

Visit Shuffle Demons website for more details.

Lorne Lofsky started off playing rock music but took an interest in jazz upon hearing the Miles Davis album “Kind of Blue”. Hearing this record was, for Lofsky, a musical revelation that led to a dramatic change is his approach to playing music. Lofsky began a more formal study of music while attending York University, in the mid 70’s, focusing on jazz theory and performance. He spent two years under the guidance of John Gittins and Bob Witmer.

At a gig in Toronto Lofsky met jazz pianist Oscar Peterson. A few weeks later he received a phone call from Peterson who offered to produce a record for him on the prestigious Pablo record label. The result was Lofsky’s debut album entitled “It Could Happen To You”. Lofsky worked extensively with Oscar Peterson, and from ’94-’96, Lofsky was a member of the Oscar Peterson Quartet. The group performed at Carnegie Hall in N.Y.C., the Montreal Jazz Festival, Sao Paolo, Brazil and played numerous concerts throughout Europe. In addition, Lorne was featured on 3 CDs with Peterson.

Visit Lorne Lofsky website for more details.

The path has certainly not been straightforward, but Luke McMaster wouldn’t want it any other way. His debut solo album “All Roads” couldn’t have been written and recorded without the twists and turns that his life as a musician has taken him on. The lyrics in the title track say it all; “Even when I find myself a million miles away, don’t you know all roads lead me back to you”

Luke has definitely come full circle in the crazy world of the music business. starting out as one half of the acclaimed duo McMaster & James, Luke experienced the rock star life of studio’s, videos and touring from a young age. From Chantelle Kreviazuk to Justin Timberlake and Christina Aguilera, Luke cut his teeth with some of the biggest acts of the day.

Visit Luke McMaster website for more details.

Vibrosis is a popfunk band from Toronto that brings a high-energy sound to every performance they play. With six members in the band, the sound is big. Playing sets that consist mostly of originals, written by the band’s leader/singer/keyboardist Sam Pomanti, the band has one purpose: to make people dance. Vibrosis just finished recording with the legendary, 15-time Grammy Award winning record producer/engineer Al Schmitt (Frank Sinatra, Steely Dan, Paul McCartney, Ray Charles, Diana Krall, etc…etc..) in March at the Humber College Studio. Vibrosis plays regularly around Toronto at clubs like The Orbit Room, The Rivoli, The Drake Underground, The El Mocambo, and more. No strangers to Jazz on the Mountain at Blue, Vibrosis is excited to bring their music to the Events Plaza stage this year, and to get everyone in earshot bouncing.

Visit Vibrosis website for more details.

Mary McKay is now rapidly emerging as a bright new star on the Canadian scene. The complete package, she is a vocal powerhouse equally at home singing jazz or r ‘n b, a charismatic performer and an accomplished songwriter.

Always obviously having a great time on stage, she quickly establishes a comfortable rapport with her audience, regardless of the setting. She has shone in performance at such festivals as the Brantford Jazz Festival, Toronto TD Jazz Festival, Port Credit’s famed Southside Shuffle, Jazz on the Mountain at Blue Festival in Collingwood opening the mainstage show for Holly Cole.

McKay is now a popular regular on the Toronto club circuit, frequently performing at such venues as The Reservoir Lounge, Shangri-La and The Rex.

Visit Mary McKay website for more details.

Dog Velocity is a dance band from Toronto Ontario. Starting as a free jazz group, they realized that they shared a love for dance music and the music quickly shifted from long improvisations to extremely structured, short dance songs with a focus on the live energy of the band. The band consists of Alex Ernewein on the vocals, keybaords & synthesizers, Holt Stuart-Hitchcox on the bass, and Matthew Chalmers on the drums.