All-Canadian Jazz Festival

All-Canadian Jazz Festival
from our archives

Press releases from previous years' Festivals

September 8, 2010

Laila Biali returns to Port Hope as headliner at Jazz Festival

Since earning a standing ovation at the All-Canadian Jazz Festival in 2008, Laila Biali has toured with Sting, taken a study break in New York City, recorded a soon-to-be-released CD with her Trio plus Rob Piltch, Kelly Jefferson and Guido Basso – and she also became a mother when baby Joshua was born this past June.

Laila Biali’s style has always defied easy categorization. Her vocals and her piano technique combine to produce beautiful renderings of jazz standards, but she also loves to give a new spin to pop tunes by artists such as Jane Siberry, Ron Sexsmith and Bruce Cockburn. In the past three years she toured with Paula Cole and Suzanne Vega, before getting a surprise phone call from Sting’s office.

“With a day’s notice, I was asked to show up at the famous midtown Clinton Studios, (where Ol’ Blue Eyes (Sinatra) once recorded many moons ago), to audition for a spot on Sting’s next DVD release, “A Winter’s Night: Live from Durham Cathedral.”

“The following months were a whirlwind,” Laila wrote recently, “consisting of rehearsals in New York and Il Palagio (Sting’s Italian estate), a private jet ride to Newcastle, more rehearsals at the Durham Cathedral, the DVD taping itself, a NYC promotional tour with stops at Letterman, The View, The Today Show and Live with Regis & Kelly, and finally a swing of concerts in New York City, Paris and Baden-Baden. It was the experience of a lifetime.”

As exciting as it has been to work with so many great artists, Laila Biali has always been driven to create her own music as well. (She has been honoured by SOCAN as both Composer of the Year and Keyboardist of the Year.) In January, 2010, she finally found enough free time to get into the studio and record a full-length CD. The new disc, scheduled for release this fall, contains a couple of her own compositions along with her arrangements of a few jazz standards and a few pop songs translated into a jazz idiom.

Her performance at the All-Canadian Jazz Festival follows a very short maternity leave. Touring along with Laila and baby Joshua will be long-time members of her Trio, bassist George Koller and drummer Larnell Lewis, plus saxophonist Phil Dwyer and flugelhorn legend Guido Basso.

Tickets for the concert (Saturday Sept 25, 7:30 pm) are $40, available at 905-885-1938 and online at allcanadianjazz.ca.

September 10, 2010

New Officer of the Order of Canada among Jazz Festival lineup

One of the newest Officers of the Order of Canada will join three Members of the Order at the All-Canadian Jazz Festival Port Hope, Sept 24 - 26.

Don Thompson was invested as an Officer of the Order by Governor General Michaëlle Jean on Friday Sept 3. He will join celebrated music veterans and Order of Canada members Terry Clarke, Guido Basso and Dave Young for the annual celebration of Canadian jazz in Port Hope.

The Order of Canada is the nation’s highest civilian honour, recognizing a lifetime of outstanding achievement and dedication to the community. The statement for this year’s investiture ceremony says,

“Don Thompson possesses a facility as a musician that is virtually unprecedented in jazz. A collaborator of choice, this accomplished pianist, bassist, and vibraphonist has played in ensembles founded by some of the biggest names in jazz in Canada and on the international scene. A man of diverse talents, he has also worked with luminaries as an arranger and producer, and many of his highly regarded compositions have been recorded by others. He has been recognized with over a dozen awards and has won three JUNOs for his recordings, which are known for their range, from mainstream to avant-garde. As well, he is an influential teacher and mentor.”

Don Thompson has shown this versatility many times at the All-Canadian Jazz Festival, playing with up-and-coming new acts as well as with industry veterans. This year he performs on Saturday afternoon, Sept 25, along with saxophonist Phil Dwyer and trio leader Terry Clarke. Clarke was named to the Order of Canada in 2002, and has been named National Jazz Awards’ Drummer of the Year six times.

Clarke returns to the stage on Sunday afternoon as part of Dave Young’s Quartet. Bassist Young was named to the Order of Canada in 2007, after work with Lenny Breau and Oscar Peterson, among countless other musicians. Also in the quartet for this gig are pianist Robi Botos and trumpet player Kevin Turcotte.

Flugelhorn legend Guido Basso joins singer/pianist/composer Laila Biali and her Trio for the Saturday night headline concert. Basso was invested in the Order in 1994. With a career dating back to work in the 1950’s with Vic Damone and Pearl Bailey, Basso also played extensively with Rob McConnell and Phil Nimmons. Today he is equally popular accompanying musicians young enough to be his grandchildren.

The All-Canadian Jazz Festival is held in Port Hope’s Memorial Park Sept 24 - 26. Tickets and info are available at allcanadianjazz.ca and at 905-885-1938.

September 15, 2010

Celebrating the Age of Swing

Fans of classic jazz tunes from the 1920s, ’30s & ’40s have a lot to celebrate at the ninth annual All-Canadian Jazz Festival Port Hope, Sept 24 – 26.

Alex Pangman, “Canada’s Sweetheart of Swing”, takes the stage on Saturday afternoon. As the Toronto Star says, “It’s time-travel magic whenever Alex Pangman breathes into a microphone.” After coming to fame with two CDs produced by the late Jeff Healey, Alex faced tremendous health hurdles herself, eventually undergoing a double lung transplant before returning to her singing career.

Clarinet maestro Ross Wooldridge has been a key member of Alex’s combo’s for years. This year he also brings his own band to the Festival for a Satuday afternoon “Tribute to the Benny Goodman Sextet.” With his mastery of the clarinet, assured leadership, and deep knowledge of the music, Ross Wooldridge makes the Goodman era come to life.

Heather Bambrick keeps busy teaching voice at University of Toronto and Humber College, singing in live shows as well as TV and movie soundtracks, and hosting a popular show on Jazz FM 91.1. (She has twice won the Broadcaster of the Year nod at the National Jazz Awards.) After emceeing the Festival on Saturday and Sunday, she will hang on to the microphone for Sunday afternoon’s finale with the Brian Barlow Big Band.

Brian Barlow is one of Canada’s most recorded musicians, having played with musicians as varied as KD Lang, Ringo Starr and Ella Fitzgerald. A gifted arranger as well as drummer, he will lead his big band through an exciting performance of swing standards, with spirited vocals by Heather Bambrick.

Day passes for Saturday or Sunday afternoons are only $20, available at 905-885-1938 and online at allcanadianjazz.ca.

September 18, 2009

Oliver Jones, Musician of the Year, returns to All-Canadian Jazz Festival Port Hope

When pianist Oliver Jones was named "Musician of the Year" at the 2009 National Jazz Awards, jazz fans across the country and around the world nodded in agreement.

On September 26, Jones comes to Port Hope for a repeat engagement at the All-Canadian Jazz Festival, where he played a sold-out concert in 2006.

Growing up in Montréal in the '30s and '40s, Jones had an early role model. Not only did he take lessons from Oscar Peterson's sister Daisy, but spent many hours sitting on the steps of the Peterson house listening to Oscar practice. "Peterson has been my greatest source of inspiration, without question," he says.

Jones also trained extensively in classical piano, and worked for 16 years as music director of a calypso band in Jamaica. As a result he can play an astonishing range of styles, while never losing sight of his primary goal – to connect with his audience in shared enjoyment of beautiful music.

When Jones returned home in 1980, he quickly became a fixture on the Canadian music scene. He opened and closed the Festival International de Jazz de Montréal 17 times between 1981 and 1999, and performed a memorable duet there with Oscar Peterson in 2004.

"Though he can let loose flurries of complex pianistic gestures, he also knows restraint, and how to highlight a song's expressive nature rather than burying it in virtuosity," writes Evan Wale in the Encyclopedia of Music in Canada. "Not surprisingly for someone whose influences are Bach and Chopin, he has a marked preference for ballads."

His many original compositions include "Big Pete" (dedicated to Oscar Peterson), "Blues for Hélène", "Bossa for CC", "The Sweetness of You", and "Fulford Street Stomp".

For his All-Canadian Jazz Festival date he is joined by an equally stellar rhythm section: Eric Lagace on bass and Norman Marshall Villeneuve on drums.

A teacher at Concordia University, Lagace has played bass with the Ottawa National Arts Centre Orchestra and Montréal Symphony Orchestra, and has accompanied Oscar Peterson, Slide Hampton, and Winton Marsalis.

Villeneuve first started to work with Jones, who happens to be his cousin, in 1964. After settling in Toronto he became a regular at clubs including George's Spaghetti House and Bourbon Street. In 1996 he and Oliver Jones were invited to perform for Prime MInister Jean Chrétien and President Bill Clinton.

The Oliver Jones Trio takes the stage in Port Hope's Memorial Park at 8 pm, Saturday September 26. Tickets are $40, available at www.allcanadianjazz.ca and 905-885-1938.

September 11, 2009

Three great vocalists, coming to the All-Canadian Jazz Festival this month

Three great voices. Three distinctive styles. Three sets of music that you don't want to miss.

June Garber, Diana Panton and Carol McCartney perform at the eighth annual All-Canadian Jazz Festival Port Hope, sharing the stage with Canada's best jazz players.

June Garber steps up to the mic on Saturday afternoon, September 26. A veteran of stage and concert halls, she does justice to the songs of Gershwin, Rogers & Hart, Kurt Weill, as well as to classic blues and romantic ballads. Her debút album "Smile" was produced by Bill King and released in 2006.

In the last year her performances in tribute to Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong were recorded and broadcast by Jazz FM 91.1. She has also performed at the Toronto Downtown Jazz Festival and the Toronto Beaches Jazz Festival.

Geoff Chapman of the Toronto Star wrote, "June has a potent voice brimming with character and readily adaptable to any material. She's clearly able to tackle tunes of infinite variety." In the words of Barbara Cook of the National Arts Centre Theatre, "June sets the stage on fire."

For this appearance she will be accompanied by Kelly Jefferson (sax), Mark Kieswetter (piano), Ross MacIntyre (bass) & Davide Direnzo (drums).

Hamilton native Diana Panton takes the stage on Sunday afternoon, September 27. For her debut CD "Yesterday Perhaps" in 2005, she had the all-star backing of Don Thompson on bass and piano, and Reg Schwager on guitar.

Thompson and Schwager are still performing with Panton, and for this gig veteran flugelhorn player Guido Basso, a member of the Order of Canada, also joins the group.

In 2009, Panton earned nominations for vocalist and album of the year at the National Jazz Awards, Basso was recognized with a Lifetime Achievement Award, Thompson was nominated in seven categories and won three Awards, and Schwager was nominated for guitarist of the year.

Reviewing Panton's second CD "If the moon turns green", Ric Taylor writes: "With a subtle, understated vocal style and a minimal yet intriguing musical backdrop … Panton breathes new life into these songs embracing the elegance of melody and still lifting some songs to a new level. Jazz fans should be delighted but music fans as a whole should take note of this up and coming singer."

Carol McCartney performs in the Festival's finale on Sunday afternoon, September 27, as special guest of The Ambassadors Big Band. This 17-piece combo, led by Bobby Herriot, covers big band classics from the Swing Era through contemporary compositions, with a special place for the contributions of Canadian composers and lyricists.

The band's membership includes alumni from The Boss Brass and The Phil Nimmons Jazz Orchestra, and members have played with Maynard Ferguson, Woody Herman, Buddy Rich and Stan Kenton.

McCartney's impassioned and impeccable vocal style has made her a favorite among audiences and players alike. Her 2007 CD "A Night in Tunisia" features many of Canada's most well-known players. Carol first met many of these jazz greats through Peter Appleyard, whom she has worked with since the early eighties.

Reviewing "A Night in Tunisia", Ted O'Reilly says "Carol is sweet and swinging, warm, dramatic and rhythmically assured at all tempos. The last word Carol sings is 'Goodbye', but I hope she soon says 'Hello' again."

Day passes to the All-Canadian Jazz Festival are just $20. Advance tickets are available online at www.allcanadianjazz.ca, and by phone at 905-885-1938.

September 8, 2009

Robi Botos brings "Tribute to Oscar Peterson" to All-Canadian Jazz Festival Port Hope

What does a young man from a Romani family in Hungary have in common with a Canadian legend who dazzled jazz fans for more than 60 years?

Robi Botos and Oscar Peterson both started playing piano as young children, both put in countless hours to master the instrument, and both were winning accolades on the international stage when they were still teenagers.

When Robi Botos immigrated to Canada at the age of 16, he had already won numerous awards. He quickly made a name for himself in the Toronto jazz scene, and it wasn't long before his fluid virtuosity was earning him comparisons with Oscar Peterson.

So it was fitting that Robi opened for Oscar Peterson at the Stravinsky Theatre in Montreaux, Switzerland, in 2005. Botos, of course, had long been an admirer of Peterson, and after the Montreaux concert, the feeling was mutual.

In recent years Botos has been in demand as a sideman with groups such as Archie Alleyne's Kollage, while also creating many original compositions, recording his own CDs, and winning numerous Juno and National Jazz Award nominations.

Since Peterson's death in 2007, Botos has frequently included tributes to Oscar Peterson in his concerts. At the All-Canadian Jazz Festival, his trio will perform Peterson compositions including Requiem, When Summer Comes, and Kelly's Blues, as well as the Botos' original Emannuel, dedicated to Peterson.

Reviewing a performance this summer, the Ottawa Citizen said "When Botos gets going, he can recall locomotive-like pianists such as McCoy Tyner, Kenny Kirkland and Joey Calderazzo. That said, he showed his tender side on My One and Only Love, which featured delicate, precise chords and lyrical single-note lines."

Robi Botos performs in Port Hope on Sunday, September 27, at 1 pm. Sunday's program also includes sets by TD Canada Trust Young Jazz Showcase, Diana Panton with Guido Basso, Don Thompson and Reg Schwager, the Carlos del Junco Quartet, and The Ambassadors Big Band With Carol McCartney. A day pass to the All-Canadian Jazz Festival is just $20.

Advance tickets are available online at allcanadianjazz.ca, and by phone at 905-885-1938.

September 02, 2009

Port Hope Jazz Fest hits a high note with $25,000 grant
Federal government supports local arts and culture

BY JENNIFER O'MEARA
Northumberland News

PORT HOPE -- The Port Hope All-Canadian Jazz Festival hit a high note with a $25,000 grant from the federal government, presented by Northumberland-Quinte West Member of Parliament Rick Norlock on Aug. 28.

"It is the only jazz festival that features exclusively Canadian artists," said Doug Burke, chairman of the jazz festival. "It's an event that attracts many people from all over Ontario. The funding provided to us though this grant will allow us to continue to support this major jazz festival."

Mr. Norlock said the government is pleased to be part of the local celebration of arts and culture with funding from the Arts Presentation Canada program through Heritage Canada. Even in a tough economy this year, Mr. Norlock said supporting the jazz festival is important.

"These types of events are designed to increase tourism as an economic driver," said Mr. Norlock, describing the way visitors bring business to local restaurants and shops. "It's actually an economic generator, rather than a cost. It's an investment."

In its eighth year, the festival has attracted visitors from as far away as Hawaii and even introduced a few out-of-towners to the municipality where they would eventually live.

From Sept. 25 to 27, tourists attending the jazz festival will fill local accommodations, restaurants and shops. Many festival-goers come back to Port Hope throughout the year, long after the tents are packed up.

"It has economic spin-offs, it's just hard to measure," said John McGuirk, the festival's music director.

The three day festival kicks off with a free concert, the Danny Marks All-Star Blues Revue, in Memorial Park on Friday night. The weekend also includes a parade and mentoring program for young musicians.

It's this diversity that has won almost the maximum amount in federal grants for the second time, said Mr. Norlock.

"They're doing a whole lot of things right and bringing people into the community," the MP said.

For more information on the eighth annual Port Hope All-Canadian Jazz Festival, visit www.allcanadianjazz.ca.

July 15, 2009

Jazz festival honours 'distinguished patrons'

By JOYCE CASSIN for NORTHUMBERLANDTODAY.COM

The Port Hope All-Canadian Jazz Festival has inducted its first two "distinguished patrons".

"Because the festival is recognized as a national event, the list (to be compiled) will include musicians, industry and business people and educators from every province who support the Port Hope All-Canadian Jazz Festival, and who have made an important contributions to jazz across the country," said Jazz Festival board member John McGuirk.

He said they are in their eighth year and they intend to have every geographical region in Canada represented by the 10th anniversary.

Inducted this year was Michelle Gregoire of Manitoba. She was a star performer at a previous Port Hope jazz festival and has been involved as a side person and bandleader with the Winnipeg Jazz Orchestra.

Her latest album, entitled Reaching, was produced after she won a Project COOL 2004 jazz competition that awarded her a $15,000 recording grant.

Her Big Band compositions have been aired on CBC's Silence on Jazz, Afterhours, Arts Encounters, Atlantic Airwaves, Jazz Beat and more, says McGuirk.

The second inductee is Larry Paikin of Ontario, who has been a staunch supporter of, and advocate for, the Port Hope All-Canadian Jazz Festival for many years, McGuirk says.

"He has been an active volunteer in support of educational opportunities for young people, particularly in the field of music," said McGuirk.

This year's jazz festival takes place Sept. 25 to 27 in Port Hope. For a full line-up of events visit www.allcanadianjazz.ca or call 905-885-1938.

Press Release
May 19, 2008

Danny Marks and All-Star Blues Revue open 2008 Festival with free concert

Blues veteran Danny Marks has signed on to open this year’s All-Canadian Jazz Festival Port Hope, playing a free admission concert on Friday September 19.

Danny Marks’ career stretches back to the late 60s, when he was hired as guitarist for the chart-topping band Edward Bear. Over the past 40 years he has toured and recorded with Stephen Stills, Ronnie Hawkins, Rita Coolidge, Bo Diddley, and many other artists.

For the last 20 years Marks has been equally well known for his radio work, on CBC’s Basic Black and as host of the TV show Stormy Monday and radio show Bluz.FM.

His wide-ranging talent, and his many connections in the Canadian music industry, contribute to the success of the Danny Marks All-Star Blues Revue, which will bring a who’s who of Canadian blues talent to Port Hope’s Memorial Park.
The Friday night party will begin at 6:30 with the first of three sets by Marks’ crew, but the park will open at 5 pm with lots of food and drink available before the music starts.

Festival music director John McGuirk says the show “will cover the whole range of blues – traditional blues, country blues, western blues, rhythm & blues – from the beginning right up to rock ‘n roll.”

The Festival is now in its seventh year, and details of the weekend programme are being finalized. As in past years, the Festival will showcase a wide range of Canadian jazz talent, presenting more than a dozen of the country’s finest ensembles.

McGuirk says the selection process was especially difficult this year, because more than 150 groups sent in submissions. “There were people I’ve idolized for years, who I’ve had to turn down, because we’ve had so many great musicians eager to play here,” he says.

The free opening concert on Friday night is one way of saying thanks for the home-town support of a musical showcase. “We’re looking forward to seeing lots of our neighbours come out to the Park for a crowd-pleasing show,” says McGuirk.

Press Release
September 10, 2007

A Musical Celebration in Memory of Doug Riley
Saturday, September 22, 8 pm; $40

It was to be an intimate trio performance, with matchless keyboard artist Doug Riley sharing the stage with vocalist Dione Taylor and saxophonist Mike Murley. But within days of Riley's untimely death on August 27, an all-star cast of Riley's friends and admirers had signed on for what promises to be a rousing, worthy celebration of Doug’s myriad contributions to Canadian music.

The stellar line-up includes members of Taylor’s band - David Restivo on piano and Hammond B-3 Organ, Ted Quinlan on guitar, Joel Haynes on drums, and Jim Vivian on bass. They will be joined by Kevin Turcotte on trumpet, Perry White on alto sax, and Gord Myers on trombone. The group was brought together through the intensive work of Dione Taylor’s manager Sandy Mamane.

Riley’s talents led him beyond jazz into blues, R&B and classical music, and beyond performance into composing, arranging and producing. Our concert will reflect this awesome versatility, featuring some of Riley’s own contributions and some of the many genres he had mastered.

The concert will highlight Riley’s contributions to Jazz, R&B, Soul and Blues. This will be a musical celebration of the man known simply as Dr. Music.

Tickets for this unique event, which are expected to sell out before the Festival weekend, are available online at www.allcanadianjazz.ca, and by phone at 905-885-1938.

Press Release
August 29, 2006

Music students will play with Canada’s finest jazz veterans at All-Canadian Jazz Festival Port Hope

Several dozen talented musicians from local schools will have the opportunity to play with the country’s finest musicians, during the fifth annual All-Canadian Jazz Festival Port Hope.

The Festival activities begin with a whole afternoon of student workshops on Friday, September 22. On Friday evening, Trinity College School Jazz Ensemble plays an opening set for the “Two New Voices” concert. Saturday afternoon’s schedule includes a set by the award-winning Colborne Public School band.

Students from other provinces will also take the stage on Saturday. The TD Canada Trust Young Jazz Showcase, made up this year of musicians from Manitoba and BC, will play two sets. These five musicians were chosen through audition tapes sent in by students from across Canada. Also on the bill is the Christopher Willes Quintet, led by a University of Toronto student who credits his past participation in the Young Jazz Showcase with kicking off his jazz career.

The Friday afternoon workshops this year expand the educational component of the Festival. Festival programmer John McGuirk says the workshops took shape after discussions with Dan Walker, music teacher at East Northumberland Secondary School in Brighton. Walker met with other music teachers in the Kawartha Pine Ridge District, and came back with a “wish list” for the workshops.

The workshops will be led by Calgary musician Arnold Faber, whose band Vibré plays a concert on Sunday. Vibraphonist Faber is a twenty-five year veteran of the Canadian jazz scene. In addition to composing and band-leading, he regularly conducts music clinics for Yamaha Canada.

Two members of the Paul Read Orchestra, which closes out the Festival on Sunday evening, are also participating in the workshops. Sax player Quinsin Nachoff, who currently teaches at the University of Toronto, has been nominated for three National Jazz Awards. Trumpet/flugelhorn player Jim Lewis has led several jazz big bands.

While these workshops go on in Port Hope’s Memorial Park, Humber College music teacher Mark Promane will be leading the Young Jazz Showcase members in their rehearsals, and the Trinity College School musicians will be polishing their Friday night set.

The Festival’s youngest official participants will have their time in the limelight on Saturday afternoon. The Colborne Public School Band, currently led by teacher Chad Morford, was only started three years ago, but the students’ dedication paid off rapidly. In 2005, the group of fifth- to eight-graders took a silver medal at MusicFest Canada, and in May 2006, the school took home a gold medal from the nationwide competition in Ottawa.

Students of all ages have their opportunity on Saturday morning with the “Blow Your Own Horn” parade. In advance of the parade, trumpeter Kevin Clark, originally from New Orleans but now living in Toronto, will lead a workshop on this year’s official parade tune, “Just a Little While to Stay Here.” (The music is downloadable from the Festival website.) The workshop begins at 10:30, in St. John’s Church on Pine Street, and the parade begins at 11:30 a.m at the corner of Pine Street and Walton Street.

Press Release
July 15, 2006

All-Canadian Jazz Festival Port Hope opens with 'Two New Voices'

The All-Canadian Jazz Festival Port Hope has a track record of signing rising stars just as they burst into international prominence, and this year’s festival-opening “Two New Voices” concert carries on that tradition.

Kellylee Evans and DK Ibomeka both released new CDs this spring, and the rave reviews for the CDs have been followed by enthusiastic cheers at major summer jazz festivals.

Kellylee Evans currently hails from Ottawa, and she made a big splash last month at the Ottawa Jazz Festival. CBC’s Ontario Morning cited her performance as one of the “Five Must See Concerts” for the summer. She appears on CTV’s national program Good Morning Canada on July 29 and 30, and only a month after her Port Hope concert, she is booked for the Kennedy Centre in Washington, DC.

That’s a heady schedule for someone who just “got serious” about jazz in 2002. She says a near-death experience from an allergic reaction spurred her to focus on what was truly important in her life – music. In addition to singing, she read widely on creativity and songwriting, work that paid off with her current album, which features 11 of her own songs.

As Joyce Corbett wrote in The Live Music Report review of the CD’s launch party, “what is so remarkable about Kellylee’s songs is their beautifully-written, intelligent lyrics.” Corbett also praised “the smooth, strong voice of which she seems to have complete control. Kellylee Evans moves effortlessly from note to note, savouring the vibrations of those she chooses to hold onto.”

Clearly, the judges at the Thelonius Monk International Jazz Vocals Competition in New York agreed – they awarded Evans second place after listening to 160 talented competitors.

The second of the Two New Voices, DK Ibomeka, has had an equally meteoric rise. The son of Nigerian immigrants to Canada, at six foot seven Ibomeka is a towering figure with enormous stage presence.

While studying chemistry and psychology at McMaster University a few years ago, he discovered Ella Fitzgerald, whose voice, he says, “called to me in a way that no other voice has.”

He soon signed up for the vocal studies program at Humber College, and took advantage of as many open mike stages as he could find. It didn’t take long for his natural talent to be noticed.
Geoff Chapman of the Toronto Star wrote: “I first heard him on a typically storm-battered night at [Toronto’s] Distillery Jazz Festival, but he was more than equal to the challenge, swinging and scatting hard – and caressing ballads. It’s no wonder he’s been compared to Joe Williams of Count Basie band fame.”

“His voice is big, his range is big, and he is big ... but it’s not his stature that you’ll remember after a performance, but the way he can project a song,” Chapman says.

DK Ibomeka is featured in the Summer Serenades series at Dundas Square in Toronto this month, as well as in a Nathan Phillips Square concert in August. He also performed at Trafalgar Square in London with Peter Appleyard on Canada Day.

The Two New Voices concert in Port Hope will be opened by the Trinity College School Jazz Ensemble.

Tickets for the concert, on Friday September 22 at 7:30 pm, are $30.

Press Release
May 1, 2006

Montreal piano legend Oliver Jones headlines Port Hope jazz festival

Montreal-based pianist Oliver Jones will bring his trio to the Saturday night concert tent at this year’s All-Canadian Jazz Festival Port Hope in September.

This year’s festival will also feature increased involvement by youth, from Northumberland County and from across Canada, festival programmer John McGuirk says.

Now in its fifth season, the All-Canadian Jazz Festival has earned a solid reputation among fans and musicians alike, McGuirk says. After he took over as programmer this spring, he was pleased to hear from many veteran musicans who were eager to perform in the friendly, small-town setting of Port Hope’s Memorial Park.

Oliver Jones is the first musician to be slotted into a weekend schedule that is rapidly filling out, McGuirk says. The concert is scheduled for Saturday evening, September 23.

Jones’ musical career now spans six decades. He grew up just a few blocks from Oscar Peterson’s home, and he often sat on the porch of the Peterson home listening to Oscar practise. Oscar Peterson’s sister, Daisy Peterson Sweeney, was his first teacher, and his first night-club appearance happened when he was just nine years old.

In 1964 Jones and his wife moved to Puerto Rico, where he worked as musical director for popular Jamaican singer Kenny Hamilton for 16 years. In 1980, he returned to Montreal to pursue jazz full time.
Jones has frequently been asked to open the Festival International de Jazz de Montreal. In his most recent appearance there, he played his first public duet with Oscar Peterson.

In 2006, Jones was voted Keyboardist of the Year in the National Jazz Awards, and his album with Ranee Lee was voted Jazz Album of the Year.

Jones is known for his lightning-fast technique, solid articulation, powerful lyricism and rollicking rhythms. For the All-Canadian Jazz Festival show, he will be accompanied by bassist David Young (Bassist of the Year, 2006 National Jazz Awards), and drummer Normand Villeneuve.

In his first season as programmer for the Festival, Wesleyville resident John McGuirk is drawing on decades of involvement with Canada’s musical communities. After attending Bowmanville HIgh School, McGuirk completed a Master of Music degree at University of Toronto. For the next 31 years, he taught music in the public and independent schools at all grade levels.

McGuirk is married to Joan Nichols. They recently returned to live in Wesleyville, where Joan’s family has roots which stretch back over several generations.

Working for the All-Canadian Jazz Festival is a wonderful way to contribute to the local cultural scene while drawing on his lifelong love of music, McGuirk says. He promises more programming announcements as soon as additional bookings are finalized.

Press Release
March 7, 2006

The annual All-Canadian Jazz Festival Port Hope is in launch mode for its fifth season, states Board Chair, Lou Pamenter.

Programming and promotion have already started for the September 22-24, 2006 weekend. The "blues" will be more integrated into the program this year with some outstanding Canadian performers. The weekend will continue to have all concerts and events in Memorial Park as the park site proved so successful last year.

Under the management of an active Board of Directors and Festival General Manager, Christa Bisanz, various committees have had planning meetings for the 2006 Festival.

David Acomba, founder of the Festival, says "I feel the Festival format and organization are firmly established and it's time for me to pull back and return fulltime to my profession as a producer/director in television and film. There are now about 200 volunteers who have the necessary skills, experience and enthusiasm to put on the event. I'm looking forward to continuing on as an unpaid advisor to the organization."

Everyone involved with the Festival acknowledges the generous support of community donors (individuals and businesses) and of government agencies that has helped forward another important cultural event in Northumberland County.

"We're very excited about this, our fifth Festival - watch for program notes in the next few weeks" says Lou Pamenter.