Yamaha Piano Series

SERVING CENTRAL ONTARIO

ALLISTON - BRADFORD WEST GWILLIMBURY
COLDWATER - TOWN OF GEORGINA
TOWN OF INNISFIL - MIDLAND - ORILLIA

Pickering - Toronto - Mississauga

A Yamaha Concert Grand Piano
will be the premier instrument for a
cavalcade of Jazz, Rag-time, Classical
and Blues performers throughout the
twelve days of the Festival.
Performances on this exquisite
marvel of Yamaha craftsmanship and
grand piano evolution will range
from solo recitals to jazz and blues
ensembles in shows and concerts.

In recognition of the dedication to the
arts of the many fine instrumentalists
and vocalists in our region performing
in other musical idioms, the Festival
will be presenting a series of recitals
and showcases featuring a selection
of excellent teachers and students
from throughout Simcoe County.

Printer Ready Programme

GO TO PIANO CONCERTS

GO TO "OUT TO LUNCH" CONCERTS & RECITALS SERIES

"This venue has one of the best pianos I've ever played in the Toronto area. So if you want to hear some great music in a totally acoustic (un-amplified) environment with a great piano and great musicians, this is a rare opportunity, and one that should be taken advantage of."
Mark Eisenman - Canadian Jazz Pianist
LISTEN
to what Mark Eisenman has to say about the Yamaha CFX piano.

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"Thank you again for the opportunity to have my piano recital at this incredible venue. I hope this environment inspires my students to continue music for a lifetime."
Sarah Lawton - Music Teacher, Barrie, Ontario.

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"another fabulous FREE Barrie Jazz & Blues festival at the Rotunda. Matt Herskowitz from Mtl (sic - Montréal) playing Gerschwin. Brilliant!"
Jennifer Sibley, Barrie

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LISTEN
to what Matt Herskowitz has to say about the Yamaha CFX piano.

LISTEN
to what Fern Lindzon has to say about the Yamaha CFX piano.

LISTEN
to what D. D. Jackson has to say about the Yamaha CFX piano.

LISTEN
to what Attila Fias has to say about the Yamaha CFX piano.

LISTEN
to what Nancy Houle has to say about the Yamaha CFX piano.

"THE GIANTS OF JAZZ" ARTICLE

CONCERTS & RECITALS HOSTS

JOE FINLEY - BOB GARRETT
BRAD & SUE LUMBERS - RON KIRBY
RAY MARTINELLI - RUSS STRATHDEE

FRIDAY, JUNE 7

8:00 P.M.

A "GIANTS OF JAZZ" CONCERT

Featuring

MORGAN CHILDS - GEORGE KOLLER

PRESENTS

"WILD WOMAN"

A retrospective on a classically-trained American jazz pianist
whose forté was performing stride piano, boogie-woogie, be-bop, swing and classical music. In concert or club-dates, she moved effortlessly between the various music styles, at which she was so completely masterful.

"THIS WOMAN IS A WHOLE SYMPHONY .....
AND SHE MAKES LOVE TO THE PIANO"

DOROTHY DONEGAN
April 6, 1922 – May 19, 1998

Dorothy Donegan was born and raised in Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A. and began studying piano in 1928, at which time she was considered a prodigy. She later studied music at the Chicago Conservatory, Chicago Music College, the University of Southern California and the University of Maryland, where she used to enroll for two weeks of classical instruction. She was known for her work in Chicago nightclubs, and Donegan made her debut in New York in the early 1940s. She soon became a fixture on the cocktail piano circuit, and in 1942 she made her recording debut. She appeared in the movie "Sensations of 1945" with Cab Calloway, Gene Rodgers, Woody Herman and W. C. Fields.

She was a protegé of Art Tatum, who called her
"the only woman pianist who makes me want to practice".
(She said that Tatum "was supposed to be blind...I know he could see women.") In 1943, Donegan became the first African-American to perform at Chicago's Orchestra Hall. She later said of this path-breaking performance,
"In the first half I played Rachmaninoff and Grieg and in the second I drug it through the swamp – played jazz."

It was not until the 1980s that her work gained notice in the jazz world. In particular, a recorded appearance at the 1987 Montreux Jazz Festival and her live albums from 1991 were met with acclaim. Even so, she remained best known for her live performances. She drew crowds with her eclectic mixture of styles and her flamboyant personality. Donegan was outspoken about her view that sexism, along with her insistence on being paid the same rates as male musicians, had limited her career.

Among her more than 20 record albums were "I Just Want to Sing," "Dorothy Romps -- A Piano Retrospective" and "Live at the 1990 Floating Jazz Festival." She received an "American Jazz Masters" fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts in 1992, and in 1994, an honorary doctorate from Roosevelt University.a

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FERN LINDZON

"An excellent singer and pianist based in Toronto ...."
The Jazz Singers: the Ultimate Guide - Scott Yanow

"Fern Lindzon is an engaging pianist and singer who brings an unassuming authority, an inquiring spirit and a natural grace to contemporary jazz."
Mark Miller - Jazz Writer and Critic

Fern Lindzon studied music history at the University of Toronto where she received a Bachelor of Music degree. She pursued her studies in jazz with such notable educators as Frank Falco, Elaine Overholt, Don Thomson, Fred Hersch and the legendary Barry Harris. A regular performer in the music scene in Southern Ontario, Lindzon also has three critically acclaimed recordings to her credit.

"Moments Like These" received major radio airplay and
was in the Top 10 of HMV's Jazz chart for several months.
Her JUNO-nominated recording, "Two Kites", has received
high praise and was supported in its debut by the
TD Downtown Toronto Jazz Festival.

Lindzon's most recent opus, "Like a Circle in a Spiral", has
been praised by Shelley Gummeson in !earshot, where she suggested that Fern “personifies a woman who lives confidently with her own instincts and artistry”, and lauded her interpretations as “smart and smouldering” and “sublimely elegant.”

Musical collaborator and brilliant bassist, George Koller, in commenting on working and performing with Lindzon, has said, "Fern is gifted with a delightful, inquisitive and persistent imagination, the fruits of which manifest as highly original impressionistic arrangements and compositions."

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SATURDAY, JUNE 8

9:15 A.M. - 11:30 A.M.

THE SKYLINERS BIG BAND
RON ROBBINS - Music Director
SCOTT BOYER - Pianist / Vocalist
JESS OWEN - Vocalist

"BIG BAND REHEARSAL"

Drop in to a fun-filled big band rehearsal session at the Barrie City Hall Rotunda. Pull up a chair and relax while the band goes to work on the fabulous songs, arrangements and swing rhythms of their up-coming concert-dance to be held during the Festival on Thursday, June 13, 2024.

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8:00 P.M.

A "GREAT MOMENTS IN JAZZ" CONCERT

PRESENTS

"GREAT IMPRESSIONS"

DARIUS MILHAUD

GEORGE GERSHWIN

French impressionist composers were enamoured with the excitement and musical explorations of the early jazz musicians in the United States, and adopted the rhythms and sonorities inherent in this novel music art-form for their own works. Darius Milhaud was just such a composer, and "La Création du Monde", his ballet for small orchestra with alto saxophone, pre-dates George Gershwin's "Rhapsody In Blue" by a good two years. There is an obvious foreshadowing of the "Rhapsody" to come, and much of Gershwin's later works harken back to Milhaud's "Création".

Matt Herskowitz uses Gershwin's "An American In Paris", Ravel's piano concerto in G, pieces from Gershwin's "Porgy And Bess", pieces by Dave Brubeck, and more, to affirm that modest artists borrow, while great artists steal!

MORE ......

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MATT HERSKOWITZ

Uniquely combining the superlative technique of a classical virtuoso with his prowess in jazz, world music and free improvisation, pianist, composer and arranger Matt Herskowitz has carved out a unique and personal voice in music. Over the course of the last decade, Matt has produced a series of critically-acclaimed recordings, premiered his works in settings from New York’s Central Park to Germany’s Ko¨ln Philharmonie, collaborated with top classical, jazz and pop artists, and has performed at music festivals across the globe.As a pianist, composer, songwriter and arranger, Herskowitz has
distinguished himself in several musical genres.

His 2007 solo piano release, Matt Herskowitz Plays Gershwin (Disques Tout Crin), featuring Gershwin's great solo arrangement of Rhapsody in Blue and Matt's own original solo arrangements of the Concerto in F and Cuban Overture, was nominated in 2007 for Quebec's prestigious Prix Opus. It also made Montreal's prominent quotidian La Presse's list of top 10 jazz albums of the year. His 2006 solo release, Gabriel's Message, which features his original arrangements and compositions based on popular Christmas themes, was nominated for Québec's prestigious Félix award in 2007.

A graduate of the Juilliard School in New York and the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, Herskowitz is originally from Albany, New York, and has made Montreal his adopted home for more than 20 years. Among Matt's most recent recordings is "Piano Cameleons", a collaboration with pianist, John Roney, in which they explore the jazz possibilites inherent in popular classical music compositions.hi

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THURSDAY, JUNE 13

8:00 P.M.

A "GIANTS OF JAZZ" CONCERT
RON ROBBINS - Music Director
SCOTT BOYER - Pianist / Vocalist
JESS OWEN - Vocalist
PRESENTS
"SPRING SWING"
A big band Thursday night dance party as only The Skyliners Big Band
know how to do it! Bring your dancing shoes and enjoy the exciting music of jazz legends Louis Prima, Woody Herman, Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Glenn Miller, Frank Sinatra, Bobby Darin, George Gershwin and so many more. A wonderful evening of memorable music by Huronia's esteemed merchants of musical merriment is guaranteed.
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FRIDAY, JUNE 14

8:00 P.M.

A "GIANTS OF JAZZ" CONCERT

Featuring

TYLER EMOND
MARC GANETAKOS - JIM GELCER

PRESENTS

LIONEL HAMPTON

GARY BURTON

"GOOD VIBE-RATIONS"

Paul Hoffert shares his musical hat between the Yamaha concert grand piano and his vibraphone for this foray into the world of mallett-percussion and jazz.

From Red Norvo - through Lionel Hampton - to Gary Burton, the mallett tuned-percussion instruments - marimba, xylophone, vibraphone - have captivated the imagination of jazz enthusiasts for nearly a century. And Canada is not without its own vibraphone practitioners, too, as evidenced by such artists as Don Thompson, Paul Hoffert, Peter Appleyard and the late Del Dako.

Using the hit songs made famous by Norvo, Milt Jackson, Burton, Hampton, Cal Tjader,
Joe Locke and more, plus anecdotes and reminiscences, Paul Hoffert and his quartet reveal a world of technical marvels and music brilliance .... and Good Vibe-rations!

As an added feature, "Poli" will "jazzify" some of the hit songs he performs on the vibraphone with the band he co-founded, LIGHTHOUSE!

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MULTI-AWARD RECIPIENT

MEMBER OF THE ORDER OF CANADA

Brooklyn, New York, U.S.A.-born, Paul "Poli" Hoffert, is best known for his work with the rock band "Lighthouse", which he co-founded with Canadian drummer, Skip Prokop. His musical origins, however, were rooted in classical music and subsequently jazz, and he released his first recording - "The Jazz Routes of Paul Hoffert" - with The Paul Hoffert Quartet when he was only 16 years old. He went on to perform with jazz greats such as Moe Koffman, Freddie Hubbard, Guido Basso, Rob McConnell and Ed Bickert, at venues such as the Newport, Monterey, and Boston Globe jazz festivals, as well as Carnegie Hall.

One of Hoffert's recent jazz recording, "How High The Bird", is an iconclastic shuffling of the "standards" and "be-bop" deck with music partner-drummer, Jim Gelcer.
"Congrats on a great record!" - Jaymz B, Jazz FM 91.1

In keeping with Hoffert's eclectic musical pursuits is his latest recording project with drummer Jim Gelcer, "Jim And Paul Play Glenn And Ludwig" (2018), a jazzy twist on some Beethoven themes favoured by Glenn Gould..

A mulit-instrumentalist who, as a child, was recognized for being a prodigy, "Poli" counts as his major influences in jazz piano, Thelonious Monk and Bud Powell.

An intellectual and creative peripatetic, Hoffert's vast and heralded contributions to the Arts and Technology are best
summed up by the media and his contemporaries ......

"Paul Hoffert defies neat definitions. The founder and keyboard player for the 1970s rock band Lighthouse is now the architect of Canada’s most innovative information highway experiments. A university professor, businessman, composer and conductor, Hoffert is, in the words of some, the quintessential 'renaissance man'. He is also, possibly, the ideal visionary for the electronic age."
- Toronto Star

"Mr. Hoffert is one of the New Mandarins - along with Microsoft’s Bill Gates … His music wakes up Canadians every morning, but this member of the Canadian Rock & Roll Hall of Fame has been waking up the technology sector as well ... " - Financial Post

"Musician, scientist, engineer, arts maven, and entrepreneur Paul Hoffert takes us on an accessible, lively, wide-ranging, thought-provoking tour of the frontiers of technology and culture (in his book, The Bagel Effect) ... an optimistic and deeply humanistic view of the world and of modern technology's role in it... Required reading for an introduction to the profound changes being enabled by modern media."
- Dr. Ronald Baecker, Director, Knowledge Media Design Institute, University of Toronto

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SATURDAY, JUNE 15
10:30 A.M.
DARYL YAEGER - Music Director
COME ON OUT TO THE HEART OF THE CITY AND
ENJOY THE TALENTS OF THE NEXT GENERATION
OF JAZZ MUSICIANS AS THEY EXPLORE
THE BIG BAND COMPOSITIONS MADE
FAMOUS IN THE TWENTIETH CENTURY.
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8:00 P.M.

A "GREAT MOMENTS IN JAZZ" CONCERT

GREATER LOVE AND RESPECT HATH NO MAN THAN TO
ENSURE THE LEGACY OF HIS MOST TREASURED
AND PROLIFIC COLLABORATOR.
PRESENTED BY
Featuring

MORGAN CHILDS - ALEX DEAN
NEIL SWAINSON

In 1967, Duke Ellington and his orchestra recorded the album
" ... and his mother called him Bill" as a tribute to Billy Strayhorn, who had passed away in May 1967. Strayhorn was a composer, arranger, and one of Ellington's closest friends.
The songs are all Strayhorn's compositions, including some that had not previously been recorded. Ellington chose the material to demonstrate Strayhorn's versatility and range, as well as to pay homage to the qualities that he most admired in his late writing partner.
... And His Mother Called Him Bill won the Grammy Award for "Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album" in 1968.
The AllMusic reviewer wrote that, "For a man who issued well over 300 albums, this set is among his most profoundly felt and very finest recorded moments."

As the band was packing up to leave the recording session, Duke Ellington remained at the piano, pouring his heart out on Strayhorn's composition, "Lotus Blossom." Fortunately, the mic was open and the tape deck still running, thus capturing his musical expression of grief.
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MARK EISENMAN
The Jazz Report's 1999
Acoustic Pianist of the Year
Mark Eisenman is one among a handful of the top 'in-demand' jazz pianists in Toronto. Born in New York City but based in Toronto since 1972, Mark started studying the piano with his father. By the age of eighteen he had resolved that he would be pursuing the piano as a career interest. He entered into the music program
at York University and after a short time discovered jazz music.
With his introduction to this idiom his musical interest peaked.

Under the tutelage of John Gittins and others, Mark ultimately took a degree in Fine Arts, and as testimony to his continuing dedication to the learning process, and until recently conducted jazz workshops at York as a part-time faculty member. His teaching has expanded to include "The Jazz Camp" and classes at Mohawk College in Hamilton in addition to a lot of private teaching in his home studio.

Mark has performed in many different venues with numerous eminent Canadian and U.S. jazz artists including the following: Blue Mitchell, Woody Shaw, Nat Adderley, Ed Bickert, Rob McConnell, Sam Noto and Pat LaBarbera. He has also had numerous radio appearances and is well represented on recordings,
the latest of which is Mark's debut recording as a leader, "The Chant". He has toured Canada extensively with various groups.

"His professional status is based largely on his skill and versatility as an ensemble player, but what marks him most is an ability to produce, no matter what the musical company, distinctive well-structured solos".
- Toronto Star
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THE
"OUT TO LUNCH"
CONCERT SERIES

JUNE 7
12:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m.

A "JAZZICAL" CONCERT

THE MUCH-IN-DEMAND ACCOMPANIST, CHORAL
LEADER, BAND LEADER AND SOLOIST, DANNY McERLAIN PRESENTS A CONCERT OF FAMILIAR JAZZ STANDARDS INTER-MIXED WITH SOLO PIANO PIECES FROM THE CLASSICAL MUSIC REPERTOIRE.

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JUNE 10
12:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m.

"A YOUNG LION PIANO MAN YOU CAN'T ARGUE WITH, IT DOESN'T TAKE ANY THOUGHT TO DO A TRIBUTE TO HERBIE HANCOCK SET, BUT IT DOES TAKE BEING AN OLD SOUL TO IT LIKE HE WAS THERE WHEN THINGS OLDER THAN HIM WERE CREATED. A WELL DESERVED AWARD WINNER IN MANY JAZZ AND MUSIC CIRCLES."
- Chris Spector, The Midwest Record (Illinois, USA)

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JUNE 11
12:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m.

"WHAT AN ABSOLUTE PLEASURE TO DISCOVER AN ALBUM LIKE THIS. CANADIAN PIANIST AND COMPOSER STACIE McGREGOR HAS WRITTEN AN ABSOLUTELY PERFECT SET OF HARD BOP ORIGINALS, NEW AND YET SOMEHOW FAMILIAR, AND PLAYED WITH A CONFIDENCE AND EBULLIENCE THAT IS INCREDIBLY REFRESHING THESE DAYS." - RAY NESLOVE

AWARD RECIPIENT

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JUNE 12
12:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m.

AWARD-WINNING PIANIST AND COMPOSER, ADREAN FARRUGIA, IS ONE OF CANADA'S MOST SOUGHT AFTER VOICES ON THE PIANO. HE HAS PERFORMED THROUGHOUT CANADA, AND EXTENSIVELY IN MAJOR CITIES AROUND THE WORLD WITH A VIRTUAL CAVALCADE OF CANADIAN AND INTERNATIONAL RECORDING STARS. HE HAS PLAYED ON OVER 40 RECORDINGE - SOME OF WHICH WERE JUNO NOMINEES - AND WAS THE RECIPIENT OF THE "PIANIST OF THE YEAR" AWARD AT THE HAMILTON ARTS AWARDS.

HE IS ASSISTANT PROFESSOR IN THE MUSIC DEPARTMENT OF ST. FRANCIS XAVIER UNIVERSITY IN NOVA SCOTIA. ..... MORE

MULTI-AWARD RECIPIENT

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JUNE 13
12:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m.

TANIA HAS A MASTER OF MUSIC IN JAZZ PERFORMANCE FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO, A BACHELOR OF MUSIC IN JAZZ PERFORMANCE FROM McGILL UNIVERSITY, AND STUDIED CLASSICAL PIANO AT THE UNIVERSITY OF VICTORIA. SHE HAS TAUGHT MUSIC PRIVATELY FOR OVER TWENTY YEARS, AND FORMERLY TAUGHT PIANO AND ENSEMBLES IN THE HUMBER COMMUNITY MUSIC SCHOOL. TANIA HAS BEEN A CLINICIAN/ADJUDICATOR AT FESTIVALS IN ONTARIO AND MANITOBA.

"Her finely textured improvisations are always intent but casual as if she were merely picking out notes and phrases that have always been there, waiting to be made audible. Her complexities feel natural and almost self-evident."
- Robert Everett-Green - The Globe and Mail

.... "pianist Tania Gill's sparkling, very free solo impresses," - The Wire

.... her "spiky, sparse piano" is "most successful in channelling the eccentric spirit of the masterful [Thelonious] Monk." - Toronto Star

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JUNE 14
12:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m.

GRAMMY
MULTI-AWARD NOMINEE

MULTI-AWARD
RECIPIENT

Featuring

MARK KELSO - ROBERTO OCCHIPINTI

THE CELEBRATED CUBAN-CANADIAN PIANO MASTER, HILARIO DURAN, IN A TRIO FORMATION, WILL HONOUR THE MUSIC OF OSCAR PETERSON, ONE OF THE GREATEST JAZZ PIANISTS OF ALL TIME AND ONE OF CANADA'S MOST HONOURED AND REVERED MUSICIANS. ..... MORE

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JUNE 17
CANCELED

A "JAZZICAL" CONCERT

DOUG BALFOUR IS A VERSATILE MUSICIAN WHO HAS PERFORMED ACROSS THE COUNTRY FOR MORE THAN FORTY YEARS. HE IS SKILLED IN MANY STYLES OF MUSIC, FROM HARD STOMPING BOOGIE WOOGIE, TO SWINGING VELVET JAZZ STANDARDS TO CHOPINESQUE CLASSICAL INTERLUDES. DOUG HAS WORKED EXTENSIVELY AS A MUSIC DIRECTOR AND ARRANGER FOR SUCH SHOWS AS "FOREVER PLAID", "FOREVER SWING", "PUMP BOYS AND DINETTES", AND "AIN'T MISBEHAVING". DOUG IS STILL A MEMBER OF TORONTO'S LEGENDARY R & B BAND,
ROBBIE LANE AND THE DISCIPLES.

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Current to MAY 19, 2024

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CONCERTS & RECITALS SERIES - 2023

CONCERTS & RECITALS SERIES - 2019

CONCERTS & RECITALS SERIES - 2018

CONCERTS & RECITALS SERIES - 2017

CONCERTS & RECITALS SERIES - 2016