Directories

Jane Bunnett plays soprano saxophone, flute, piccolo and piano, and is one of Canada’s foremost jazz musicians. Known for her improvising talents, technical alacrity, versatile writing, band leading abilities and also for her collaborative work celebrating the music of Cuba, Bunnett is a multiple JUNO Award winner, Grammy nominee and a recipient of the Order of Canada. Driven by a deep appreciation for the universality of music, she continues to tour internationally, forge new collaborations and record.

1. What are we interrupting (i.e. what music-related activity are we taking you away from to write this)?

Learning the music of guitarist Jorge Miguel for an upcoming show...should be a blast!!! (Tuesday, June 18)

2. What, if anything, are you most looking forward to as an audience member (not work-related) between now and September 7?

Pharoah Sanders, who will be performing at the Guelph Jazz Festival.

3. How about work-related events/activities?

Playing in Chicago at the festival, with Hilario Duran and the great 93-year-old Candido Camero on congas.

4. What are you already preparing for musically beyond the summer? And (how) do your summer plans tie in with these longer term plans? 

Working on my new material for a recording that will feature young female musicians from Cuba and Canada.

Luisa Trisi founded Big Picture Communications in 1999 to provide clients with a wide range of strategic communications services. Recent clients include Artscape, ATMA Classique, Tafelmusik and the Toronto Consort.

1. What are we interrupting (i.e. what music-related activity are we taking you away from to write this)?

I’m listening to a preview recording of Handel’s opera Orlando, which will be released on the ATMA Classique label this fall. It features a dream cast, including Karina Gauvin, Allyson McHardy and Nathan Berg, with the Pacific Baroque Orchestra directed by Alexander Weimann.

2. What, if anything, are you most looking forward to as an audience member (not work-related) between now and September 7?

A live performance of “Dowland in Dublin,” the gorgeous and utterly addictive program by tenor Michael Slattery and La Nef (also available as an ATMA recording). I haven’t yet decided whether we’re going to make the trek to Domaine Forget in Quebec on July 4, or see them at Ottawa Chamberfest on July 28.

www.atmaclassique.com/En/Albums/AlbumInfo.aspx?AlbumID=1440

3. How about work-related events/activities?

I’m really looking forward to L’Allegro Movement Project, a free event on June 19 at Daniels Spectrum. It’s an amazing collaboration between Dancing With Parkinson’s, school children from the Regent Park and Cabbagetown communities, the Mark Morris Dance Group, and the Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra and Chamber Choir performing music by Handel – all under the Luminato Festival umbrella. I’m also thrilled to return to work with the team at Artscape on their newest project, Artscape Youngplace near Queen and Shaw, set to open in November.

http://www.torontoartscape.org/artscape-youngplace

 4. What are you already preparing for musically beyond the summer? And (how) do your summer plans tie in with these longer term plans? 

A lot of planning around Tafelmusik’s inaugural concerts in their newly-revitalized home at Trinity-St. Paul’s, which happen October 3 to 6 – looking forward to the revamped acoustics there.

I’m also reaching out to contacts in the Jewish and Italian communities to help spread the word about performances of “La Istoria de Purim” by an Italian group called Ensemble Lucidarium. They’ve performed at the Ashkenaz Festival and will be returning on November 22 and 23 on the Toronto Consort’s series. Lucidarium’s program is devoted to Renaissance songs and poetry of the Italian Jews, and includes pieces sung in Italian, Yiddish and Hebrew.

Jane Harbury is a publicist running a small, and thankfully, exceedingly busy business. Her clientele includes jazz, classical, folk and world music artists. She counts as ongoing clients ALMA Records, Justin Time Records and Hugh's Room in addition to independent artists. 

1. What are we interrupting (i.e. what music-related activity are we taking you away from to write this)?

I am currently setting up interviews for some of the artists appearing at the inaugural Jazz on the Mountain at Blue, and also writing media releases for Hugh's Room (for whom I do publicity).

2. What, if anything, are you most looking forward to as an audience member (not work-related) between now and September 7?

I am really looking forward to taking in some of the free concerts during this year's Luminato, particularly the Symphonic Birthday Party with the Toronto Symphony.

3. How about work-related events/activities?

I am truly looking forward to spending three days up at Blue Mountain Village as a team member of Jazz on the Mountain at Blue. The other work-related event I am pleased to be a part of is the one and only Willie Nelson concert when my uber-talented client Alex Pangman and her Alleycats open – at Massey Hall.

4. What are you already preparing for musically beyond the summer? And (how) do your summer plans tie in with these longer term plans?

We have a very busy fall coming up at Hugh's Room – requiring a great many media releases and subsequent interview requests for the artists. I am also looking forward to the October Folk Music Ontario (formerly Ontario Council of Folk Festivals) – I am on the board of this organization and we're currently going through meetings with various arms of this well-established conference which is to be held in Mississauga for a second year.

Drummer Ernesto Cervini is making a name for himself as a consummate bandleader and in-demand sideman. Born in Toronto in 1982, Cervini graduated from the Royal Conservatory with a degree in classical piano and clarinet before focusing his energies behind the drum kit. After graduating with a bachelor’s degree from the University of Toronto and a master’s degree from the Manhattan School of Music, Cervini laid claim to a diverse musicianship, one that has taken him to some of the hippest, most prestigious stages in North America.

1. What are we interrupting (i.e. what music-related activity are we taking you away from to write this)?  

I've just finished a rehearsal with Myriad3, a Toronto-based jazz trio collective featuring Chris Donnelly on piano and Dan Fortin on bass. We strive to rehearse on a weekly basis (when gigs, other rehearsals and, for me, fatherhood allow). We just finished performing two nights at the Rex and we are now preparing for our European tour in September.

2. What, if anything, are you most looking forward to as an audience member (not work-related) between now and September 7?  

I'm looking forward to seeing as many shows as I can at the Toronto Jazz Festival this year. The Rex is calling their jazz fest lineup “Drumsplosion” and I'm planning on checking out many of the stellar drummers that will be coming to the city.  

3. How about work-related events/activities? 

There are a couple of upcoming performances that I am especially excited about.  

1. June 30 I will be taking part in an exciting double-bill at the Rex to close the Jazz Festival. The Toronto Jazz Orchestra will be performing two sets of Radiohead music for big band and then I will be performing with Idioteque, Canada's Finest Radiohead Tribute Band.

(Founded in 2010, Toronto’s best and busiest musicians dare to take on Radiohead’s most challenging material and all the classic hits, accurately recreating true-to-recorded versions, spanning all of Radiohead’s studio albums, plus some B-sides and rarities.)

1. August 22 to 24, I will be bringing my quartet to Toronto's newest jazz venue, the Jazz Bistro. (The Ernesto Cervini Quartet has earned a reputation as one of North America’s most exciting modern jazz groups. Featuring drummer-leader Ernesto Cervini, saxophonist Joel Frahm, pianist Adrean Farrugia and bassist Dan Loomis, the Quartet released the live album There in fall 2011. Of the recording, the Ottawa Citizen said: “On There, you can practically hear the musicians smiling and reveling in their creativity and musical repartee. Superb, high-energy, spur-of-the-moment music.”) I am very excited to be bringing my band to this wonderful new venue!

4. What are you already preparing for musically beyond the summer? And (how) do your summer plans tie in with these longer term plans?

I have two exciting tours that will be happening in the fall.  In early September, Myriad3 will be heading over to Europe for our first European tour! We will be performing in Spain, Germany and France, and we are very much looking forward to it! We are planning to continue working on our rep all through the summer in preparation for this tour.

At the end of October, I'll be taking my brand new sextet Turboprop across Canada. The band features my regular quartet members (Joel Frahm, Adrean Farrugia, Dan Loomis and myself) plus stellar Toronto talents Tara Davidson on alto saxophone and William Carn on trombone. The tour will be followed immediately by a couple of days in the studio to capture the music (fresh off the road). During the summer I will be busy finishing all the writing for this new group and we will be performing every Monday at the Rex in August. In addition, I'm hoping to have a little Turboprop preview at the Jazz Bistro.

Links:

WEBSITES

www.ernestocervini.com

www.myriad3.com

www.idioteque.ca

FACEBOOK

www.facebook.com/ernestocerviniquartet

www.facebook.com/myriad3

www.facebook.com/idiotequeradiohead

TWITTER

www.twitter.com/ernestocervini

www.twitter.com/myriadthree

www.twitter.com/radioheadioteq

VIDEO

www.youtube.com/ernestocervini

www.youtube.com/myriadthree

www.youtube.com/feastyourears

Christopher Lee is an Altus flute artist, laureate of the AGIMUS International Competition in Italy, principal flute of the Toronto Philharmonia and newly appointed flutist with Euphonia. 

1. What are we interrupting (i.e. what music-related activity are we taking you away from to write this)?

At the moment I got this email (Monday, June 10), I was getting ready to go perform a concerto with the newly formed orchestra, Euphonia, at the Lula Lounge.

2. What, if anything, are you most looking forward to as an audience member between now and September 7?

The Canadian Flute Association is having its first convention at the end of June in Oakville and there will be so many performers from around the world to listen to!

3. How about as a music maker/player?

Well, the above convention also includes myself playing a recital with pianist Richard Shaw from England. 

4. What are you already preparing for musically beyond the summer? And (how) do your summer plans tie in with these longer term plans?

Beyond the summer I have a few projects that are still in the working out stages. Mainly to do with recording and perhaps video as well. So, the repertoire for that is what I'll be concentrating on preparing this summer. 

VIDEO