Sunday Oct. 16, 2022
Lance Anderson presentsTake Five: Dave Brubeck (Words and Music)
Piano…………………………Lance Anderson
Sax………………………....……Vern Dorge
Drums………...……………Terry Clarke
Bass………………….………..Neil Swainson
Biographies
Saxophone, flute, and woodwind specialist Vern Dorge has long held an integral place on the Canadian and international music scenes, featured in live concert, on television, and multiple recordings in a variety of music genres. Arriving in Toronto from Alberta in 1974, he became known as a featured soloist with ‘Blood, Sweat & Tears’, Gordon Lightfoot, and Anne Murray, and performed with a long list of other acclaimed artists including Tony Bennett, Aretha Franklin, Ella Fitzgerald, Roberta Flack, Aaron Neville, Gino Vannelli, Diana Krall, and Herbie Hancock.
Since joining the fertile music culture of Toronto in the ’70s, Dorge has spent time playing with music icons including Guido Basso, Doug Riley, Howard Cable, Domenic Troiano, and Moe Koffman. As a performer, composer/arranger, and teacher, he is involved in many settings including Jazz, Rhythm and Blues, Orchestral, Musical Theatre, and as a busy studio musician.
He is a graduate of the Humber College Music Diploma program. He currently leads a sextet laying down Jazz, Blues, Soul, Latin, and Groove oriented music, and has released a well-received solo recording entitled Soul Searchin’.
Lance Anderson is a Juno award winning producer (Leahy) and was nominated for the 2022 ‘Keyboard player of the Year’ at the National Maple Blues awards an honour he had previously won in 2014. He was trained as a classical composer with an honours degree in music from Western Univ. and has both film and TV credits as a writer.
Respected as one of Canada’s finest record producers, Lance has his own label Make It Real Records. Lance is currently the co-executive producer of the Boquete Panama Jazz & Blues Festival.
As musical director and session pianist Lance has worked with Roger Whittaker, Shakura S’Aida, Danny Brooks, Jackie Richardson, John Finley, amongst many others. Lance has had an eclectic career, from writing songs with Gordon Pinsent to touring with Mr. Dress-up! From rockin’ boogie piano to Hammond organ jazz and orchestral music and filmscores.
In 2017 Anderson was commissioned by the Okanagan Symphony to arrange Oscar Peterson’s ‘Canadiana Suite’ for Ballet Kelowna and the orchestra. It will be performed again Feb. 11, 12, 2023 by the Windsor Symphony Orchestra with Thompson Egbo-Egbo as pianist.
Anderson performed his Live theatre two-man show, ‘Oscar Peterson - The Jazz Legend and the Man I Knew’ at the Orillia Jazz festival last year. Take Five is the sixth in a series of words and music concerts that Lance has done for the Jazz Festival.
In 2015, Lance was music co-producer and performer on ‘Oscar With Love’ a critically acclaimed 3CD package that commemorated Oscar Peterson’s 90th birthday, that included some of the world’s top jazz pianists including Chick Corea, Ramsey Lewis, Michel Legrand, and Oliver Jones, playing Peterson compositions. The recording included Lance’s performance of ‘Sir Lancewell,’ a Peterson composition written for Lance, who had previously worked with Peterson as co-producer of The Oscar Peterson Multimedia CD ROM – now considered one of the world’s best jazz piano resources.
Anderson has his own 12 piece band that plays original roots music called ‘The Matchedash Parish’. They released their 1st CD Saturday Night in 2019, and it has received national airplay and they have performed at many festivals including, the Mariposa Folk Festival, the Montreal Jazz Fest, Mont Tremblant Blues Fest, and more.
On July 23rd of this year at the TD Niagara Jazz Festival, Lance premiered his new ensemble playing his original Jazz compositions. A CD will be out in the new year.
Terry Clarke is an original member of the “Rob McConnell and the Boss Brass” jazz big band, recording and touring with the world-acclaimed ensemble for 25 years. In 1985, seeking greater musical challenges, Clarke moved to New York City to pursue an exclusively jazz-oriented career. During his tenure there, he worked and recorded with The Toshiko Akiyoshi Jazz Orchestra, Helen Merrill, Toots Theilemans, Ann Hampton Callaway, Red Mitchell, Marvin Stamm, Jim Hall, Bill Mays, Roger Kellaway, and Joe Roccisano, to list just a few.
In 2009, Terry released his first album as a leader, “It’s About Time.” The record featured Jim Hall, Greg Osby, Joe Lovano, Phil Dwyer, and Don Thompson and won the JUNO Award for Traditional Jazz Album of the Year in 2010. The following summer, Terry toured Canada extensively with a trio that featured multi-instrumentalists Phil Dwyer and Don Thompson.
Awards:
2002 – Named a Member of the Order of Canada, the highest civilian honour given in this country. 2004 – National Jazz Awards winner as ‘Drummer of the Year’
2005 – National Jazz Awards winner as ‘Drummer of the Year’
2006 – National Jazz Awards winner as ‘Drummer of the Year’
2007 – National Jazz Awards winner as ‘Drummer of the Year’
2008 – National Jazz Awards winner as ‘Drummer of the Year’
2010 – JUNO Award for ‘Traditional Jazz Album’ for the album “It’s About Time”
Four-time Juno award winner and recipient of the 2017 Lifetime Achievement Award from the Toronto Musician’s Association, Neil Swainson is among the most respected and accomplished bassists on the jazz scene today.
Born in Victoria, British Columbia in 1955, Neil discovered the acoustic bass in high school and primarily taught himself how to play. From 1975 to 1977, he toured Canada with one of the early pioneers of new age music, the flutist Paul Horn. Soon after, Neil relocated east to Toronto where for the next decade, he worked with such Canadian jazz masters as Rob McConnell, Ed Bickert, Moe Koffman and Peter Appleyard. During this time he was also the bassist of choice for many visiting American musicians including saxophonists James Moody, George Coleman, Lee Konitz, Sonny Stitt and Joe Farrell, pianists Jay McShan, Tommy Flanagan, Joanne Bracken, and guitarists Barney Kessel and Herb Ellis.
Internationally, Neil frequently shared the stage with the innovative and dynamic trumpeter Woody Shaw, touring Europe with him in 1985 and again 1987. He recorded two albums with him: In My Own Sweet Way (In’n Out), and Solid (Muse). Both Shaw and tenor sax legend Joe Henderson were featured on Neil’s 1989 debut album, 49th Parallel (Concord Records), and showcased five Swainson compositions.
Valued for his intuitive accompanying skills, harmonic depth, technical prowess and stylistic versatility, Neil also caught the ear of the great, British pianist George Shearing, who invited him to join his band. Neil appeared on over a dozen recordings with the pianist, and together they worked with Canadian composer and arranger Robert Farnon, singers Mel Tormé, Nancy Wilson, Joe Williams and Diana Krall.
Friday Oct. 14, 2022
Trinity - Music, Dance, & You
Piano………………………............…Thomson Egbo Egbo
Drums………………………............Jeff Halischuk
Bass…………………………................Randall Hall
Choreography…………Vicki St. Denys
(In collaboration with the dancers)
Dance Assistant.........Fanny Ghorayeb
Dancer……………………………. Miyeko Ferguson
Dancer……………………….....… Rosie Harbans
Dancer……………………….……. Vania DoDoo Beals
Dancer………………………..…… Monique Pascall
Dancer……………………..……… Maria Riano
Video Design………….…. Gram Schmalz
Biographies
Hailing from Toronto, Ontario, Thompson Egbo-Egbo is a pianist with a gift for memorable but harmonically complex compositions that have at their core a deep, abiding groove. A rambunctious and free spirit was channeled in a creative direction with piano lessons an inner-city music school. After graduating from high school, Egbo-Egbo earned a degree in Music from Humber College and studied electronic production and design at the Berklee College of Music in Boston. After college, Egbo-Egbo found performance work in the clubs and lounges of Toronto. An ever popular performer, many solo engagements turned in to long-term residencies at venues like The Shangri-La Hotel & Jacob’s Steakhouse. In 2014, Egbo-Egbo released ‘Short Stories’, a collection of original solo piano compositions inspired by his residency performances. Four years later, Egbo-Egbo issued ‘A New Standard’ for eOne, which sought to redefine the concept of the jazz standard, and included original takes on Radiohead, Bob Dylan and Laura Mvula tunes. The album was recorded in a trio format, with Randall Hall on bass, and Jeff Halischuk on drums, marking a departure from the solo playing for which Egbo-Egbo had become known. ‘A New Standard’ was well received by critics and audiences alike, with Canadian Beats magazine calling it ‘a brilliant display of creativity, keen diversity and expert arranging.’ The album’s release was the beginning of a busy year of touring, including sold out appearances at The Rex Hotel, the Poetry Jazz Cafe in Toronto and Artword Artbar in Hamilton. The end of the year saw the inclusion of the album on JazzFM’s Music Director’s Top 20 of 2018, landing at #6, among records by Kamasi Washington and John Scofield. For ‘The Offering’, Egbo-Egbo has returned to the trio format. If ‘A New Standard’ sought to change the conversation, ‘The Offering’ seeks to create a new dialogue about what we expect from a ‘jazz’ trio. Whereas ‘A New Standard’ was recorded and then performed, many of the tracks on ‘The Offering’ were written on stage, and put to tape after they’d been fleshed out live. This adds a presence and muscular tone to the album. The recording process itself was an attempt to capture the essence of the trio live – the element that has been attracting an ever growing audience to the trio’s concerts. With the exception of the Pat Metheny penned ‘Question and Answer’ and the traditional standard ‘Beautiful Love’, the rest of the tunes are written by Egbo-Egbo or co-written with the trio.
Jeff Halischuk is a Humber College graduate based out of Toronto. He can be seen performing throughout the GTA, and has toured throughout Canada, the United States, Asia and Europe. Performance credits include Johnny Reid, Gord Sinclair, Sean Jones, Lily Frost, and many others. He is a member of the Egbo Trio and JVs Boogaloo squad.
Randall Hall has been playing bass for over 30 years and with Thompson Egbo-Egbo for the last 15. He has been mentored by Bobby Edwards (Ella Fitzgerald, Chuck Berry) and Alex Lifeson (Rush). Randall has performed and shared the stage with a bunch of spectacular international artists in a variety of genres. Examples include Ace of Base, Arrested Development, Judy Mowatt (Bob Marley), Maceo Parker (James Brown), Kelly Rowland (Destiny's Child), and Junior Tucker. Randall is a graduate of the esteemed Humber College music program.
Vicki St. Denys, MA has served as the Director of the Dance Program since 2014. She joined TMU (formerly Ryerson) in 1991 and was the resident choreographer for well over a decade. A leader in the field of jazz dance, Vicki’s research, choreography and teaching are grounded in its roots and relationship to jazz music. Vicki has toured nationally and internationally as a performer, teacher and choreographer for numerous companies and with a broad array of productions. Her choreography has been featured on television, film, theatre, opera and motion capture projects. From 2000-2007, Vicki was a member of the dance faculty at the prestigious The Banff Centre for the Arts, she was subsequently the choreographer for the Opera as Theatre Program and for the Citadel Theatre program. She has served as an assessor for the Canada Council for the Arts/Dance Division, Fall for Dance North’s (FFDN), International Presenters Program Artistic Advisory Committee, and the World Dance Alliance. Since her appointment as Director of the Dance Program, Vicki has dedicated herself to increasing the profile of the program by expanding the curriculum and training, including more Canadian and international guest artists and by partnering with major arts organizations such as FFDN. Through her efforts, Ryerson dancers have shared the stage with world renowned dance companies at the FFDN Festival at Meridian Hall and taken part in the worldwide Cunningham centennial celebrations - demonstrating that Ryerson is home to Canada’s leading BFA dance program. Vicki is a recipient of the Dean’s Teaching Award for 2020.
Vania DoDoo Beals is a Toronto Based artist and a student of many genres. She received a BFA in dance with an accompanying minor in marketing from Toronto Metropolitan University in Spring 2020. Vania has had the privilege of working with Siphe November and the National Ballet of Canada as a choreographer and Anne Plamondon, Peggy Baker, Louis Laberge-Cote, and Vicki St Denys as a dancer and collaborator. In this medium Vania strives to explore her own narrative and expression as it relates to shared social and human experiences.
Monique Pascall is a Toronto born dancer, choreographer and educator currently based in Ajax, Ontario. Monique is a graduate of Wexford Collegiate school of the arts and is currently in her final year at Ryerson/X university in the Performance Dance program. Monique has performed in various productions around Canada and internationally for events such as ManifesTO, Dance Ontario DanceWeekend, AfroFest and was an invited guest performer at the Prime Minister’s Best Village Trophy Competition in Trinidad & Tobago. She has collaborated and performed with many choreographers for original works such as Andrea Nann, Emilio Colalillo, Percy Anane-Dwumfour, and Patrick Parsons. Monique has had the opportunity to perform in many music videos and backup dance for Canadian Artists such as Akil Elijah, Charmaine, Shopé and Shad.K. Recently, Monique was selected to work with Artistic Director Natasha Powel of Holla Jazz for her residency with Fall For Dance North partnered with the Orillia Centre of the Arts and Culture titled “Together Again”. Monique has been teaching Hip-Hop, Jazz and Afro-Caribbean dance for 5 years and continues to focus her teaching on African influence styles and cultures. Monique’s passion is to educate black youth within their roots, culture and expression, she continues to aim for authenticity and acceptance of artistic expressions. Monique is part of X University’s 2022 graduating class, graduating with a BFA in Performance Dance.
Miyeko Ferguson is a Tkaronto (Toronto) based dance artist. In 2016, she received her BFA degree in Performance Dance from Toronto Metropolitan University. Since graduation, Miyeko has had the pleasure of working with choreographers such as Naishi Wang, Jera Wolfe, Kate Hilliard, Jennifer Nichols, and Allen Kaeja. She participated in Adelheid’s re:research in 2019 and Peggy Baker Dance Projects’ RBC’s Emerging Artists Program in 2021 where she worked closely with Heidi Strauss, Jessie Garon and Peggy Baker. Miyeko has performed in works presented at Jacob’s Pillow, Fall for Dance North, Festival des Arts de Saint-Sauveur, Canadian Stage, DanceHouse and the National Arts Centre. She has toured across Canada and the United States with Red Sky Performance and in 2020, she was nominated for a Dora Mavor Moore Award for her performance in their production, AF. More recently, Miyeko was an artist in residence at the Del E. Web Centre for the Performing Arts (Wickenburg, AZ) and Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity.
Maria Riano is an emerging dancer, choreographer and instructor in Toronto. She began her training in Bogota, Colombia where she was born. She is a 2021 graduate of the Toronto Metropolitan University Creative School for the Arts in performance Dance. Maria has had the chance to work in projects/ companies such as Citadel Compagnie for Nightshift ,Nostos Collective,Foolish Operations, The Bentway, Frog in Hand and Angela Blumberg.
Rose-Mary “Rosie” Harbans (she/her) is a multifaceted performer from Toronto, Ontario. Rosie’s compelling stage presence and natural ability to capture an audience has propelled her into a dynamic career in the arts. Her Caribbean heritage has infused her with a passion for rhythm and storytelling and remains a central point of inspiration for her artistry. Rosie earned her BFA at Toronto Metropolitan University, where she currently teaches jazz. Rosie has worked as an assistant choreographer to Dora Award nominated musical, Dixon Road (Musical Stage Co./Ray Hogg), A Seat At The Table (Esie Mensah) and Red, Hot & Cool (Vicki St. Denys/ Peggy Shannon). Some of her performance credits including the Tony Award Winning show, After Midnight (Norwegian Cruise Line/ Warren Carlyle), New Monuments (CBC/ Director X), A Revolution of Love (Soulpepper/ Esie Mensah), Kira, The Path | La Voie (Lua Shayenne Dance Company), Lickety Split (Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, and Soulful Messiah (Ballet Creole).
Gram Schmaltz is an Artist / Designer who works in Southern Ontario. Their installation and performance works turn on a passion for social elaboration, kinetic sculpture, and interactive / collaborative experiences. They have a rich relationship with technology; using this toolkit to create deep experiences that evoke a greater understanding of human creativity.
First Act Projection Design: Conversations with Ones and Zeros:
This digital dreamscape was created as a collaborative conversation between, the artist, and a fascinating new piece of technology in the form of deep learning text to image artificial intelligence. The artist created a series of textual prompts loosely based on an abstract narrative of human evolution, and let the Artificial Intelligence interpret those instructions to create a slowly evolving landscape of change. Both the software and the artist worked with this inspiration of American Abstract Expressionist Adolph Gottleib. This piece is a visual riff on the concept of improvisation through jazz standards, both the software and the Artist worked together, adding to each others progression to create a cacophony of visual interest.
Second Act Projection Design: Bodies, Light, and Motion:
A visual conversation between a performance, a space, time, and the artists eye. This projection work contains no content: only a simple set of parameters. The visual expression comes from a relationship between performing bodies, the context of the space, and the available light. It is an exclusively generative piece outside of the artists control. In Bodies Light and Motion; relationship means everything.
Saturday Oct. 15, 2022
Copacabana
Birdland …………………………..........…. Zawinul
James ………………………....................... Metheny arr. Curnow | Alex Dean, soprano saxophone
Georgia On My Mind ..... Carmichael arr. Tomaro
Girl From Ipanema …...…. Jobim | Christina Bosco, vocal soloist
Why Not! …………………………............ Camilo
Paper Moon ……………….......…… Arlen arr. Nowak
St. Louis Blues ……………...……... Handy | Christina Bosco, vocal soloist
Truth ………………………………...............…. Mintzer arr. Metcalf | Alex Dean, tenor saxophone
St. Thomas ……………....………..….. Rollins arr. Sweeney
INTERMISSION
Easy Street ………………......…….…. Mintzer
City Lights ……………............……...… Jarvis | Orillia All-Star Jazz Band under the direction of Alex Dean
Time Warp ………................……..…. O’Brien/Hartley
Hot Patootie …………..........…..…. O’Brien/Hartley | The Rocky Horror Show cast members
Sway ……………………....................……..... Ruiz arr. Shaw | Orillia All-Star Vocal Ensemble
Copacabana ………………..….. Manilow arr. Metcalf
Biographies
Brassworks brings a talented group of Orillia’s finest music experts together. The band is passionate about collaborating to perform jazz repertoire and brass ensemble music. Brassworks has performed at various venues in Orillia, Toronto, and New Jersey, and often features special guest soloists. The band places importance on providing opportunities for Orillia’s youth musicians.
Trumpet - Kevin Metcalf, Robin Watson, Curtis R. Metcalf
Trombone - Curtis Metcalf, Laura Christie, Jason Volgmann
Piano - Danny McErlain
Bass - Jamie Hutchings
Drums - Darrin Cranney
Christina Bosco - featured vocal soloist - is well-known classical and contemporary vocal soloist specializing in wedding and special occasion performances in the Orillia and surrounding area. She is the Arts Curriculum lead and Music director at Twin Lakes Secondary School in Orillia. Christina was the Music Director for the Mariposa Arts Theatre’s production of the musical CHICAGO in November 2017 and is once again wearing the music director’s hat for their upcoming production of THE ROCKY HORROR SHOW next month. Graduating with Honours from the highly acclaimed Vocal and Music Education program at the University of Western Ontario, Christina actively involves herself with the performing arts. Along with her teaching and solo performing career, Christina has been a member of the Shawn Mei band since 2001, performing at Casino Rama, Bigwin golf and country club, and various other corporate functions. She is very happy to be here this evening and she dedicates her performance to her husband, Colin, and two children, Anna & Joseph.
Alex Dean - featured saxophone soloist - is one of Canada’s foremost jazz saxophonists, has been a mainstay of the Canadian music scene for many years. He has played and recorded with Gil Evans, Kenny Wheeler, Aretha Franklin, Natalie Cole, Harry Connick Jr., Phil Nimmons, the Dave McMurdo Jazz Orchestra, the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, and the Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra. Alex held the tenor saxophone chair with Rob McConnell’s Grammy award winning Boss Brass and the Juno award winning Rob McConnell Tentet. He has collaborated extensively on CDs as a side man with Canadian and American Jazz Artists. The Alex Dean Quartet/Quintet recordings include At this Point, Dreamsville, Both Feet, and Kaitlyn’s Waltz. Kaitlyn’s Waltz was voted Best Jazz CD of 1994 by The Jazz Report and one of the Top Ten Jazz CD releases by New York’s Village Voice. He was also voted Jazz Musician of the Year by the Toronto Star.
Orillia All-Star Jazz Band
This group is comprised of the most talented young musicians from Orillia’s three high schools, Orillia Secondary School, Patrick Fogarty Catholic Secondary School, and Twin Lakes Secondary School. They met for three special rehearsals and participated in a workshop with Mr. Alex Dean. This collaboration has been an exciting and positive experience for all.
Alto Saxophone – Gaby Snache (PF), Sophia Sharon (TL)
Tenor Saxophone – Paige Baron (OSS)
Baritone Saxophone – Gabriella Baker (PF)
Trumpet – Grace Locker (OSS alumni), Abigail Howard (OSS), Joseph Lasci (TL)
Trombone – Ashley Greenwood (OSS), Patrick Piao (TL)
Piano – Buzz March (PF)
Guitar – Alex Black (TL)
Bass – Joshua Young (OSS)
Drums – Liam Charles (PF)
Orillia All-Star Vocal Ensemble
The first of its kind, this group brings together singers from Orillia Secondary School and Twin Lakes Secondary School. These students have been rehearsing at their respective schools and are excited to be coming together today.
Tristan Adam, Carmen Beck, Katie Black, Matteo Degagner, Sophie Dewolfsmith, Charlotte Dionne, Madison Emons, Ashley Greenwood, Jasmine Henson, Abigail Howard, Thomas Launchbury
Ryan LePage, Julia Litvinenko, Hailey Mawbey, Shylah Meawassige, Rachel Newbery, Emily Scharf, Chada Wichayasunan, Brianna Wilson, Brike Wolfe, Void Wright, Delaney Zimmerman