CD Release

A holiday show for the “mishpocha” (and everyone else)
Featuring bassist Jordan O’Connor, pianist Peter Hill, special guest Whitney Ross-Barris plus members of the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir

White Christmas. Let it Snow. Baby It’s Cold Outside. Rudolf the Red-nosed Reindeer. What do these popular Christmas songs have in common (aside from driving you crazy while you do your Christmas shopping)? Some of the most popular Christmas songs of all time (5 of the top 10, according to ASCAP) were written by Jewish songwriters like Irving Berlin, Sammy Cahn, Jule Styne, Frank Loesser, and Johnny Marks.

This holiday season, Toronto jazz singer Sam Broverman will again explore and celebrate what it means to be a “Jewish boy” at Christmas time (last year’s show was sold out). In A Jewish Boy’s Christmas, Sam recalls his own experiences as a Jewish boy in the very ethnically mixed north end of Winnipeg, and ties them to the Jewish influence on the Great American Christmas songbook in stories and songs, with a few surprises.

With Jordan O’Connor on bass, Peter Hill on piano, and guest singer Whitney Ross-Barris (of whom Sam will ask the musical question Can I Interest You In Hannukah?; be there to hear her answer), plus a special appearance by members of the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir. A Jewish Boy’s Christmas promises to be a hilarious and touching holiday night out whether you celebrate Christmas or Hannukah…or none of the above! Here is a clip from last year’s show in which Sam explains, in song, how to speak Yiddish: You’re Speaking Yiddish.

More about Sam: Sam Broverman is a Toronto based jazz singer and songwriter, as well as a professor of Actuarial Mathematics at the University of Toronto. He has performed in Winnipeg, Vancouver, New York and Hong Kong, and he regularly performs in jazz venues around Toronto. He began his professional singing career in Winnipeg at the age of 19, appearing in theatre and cabaret productions as well as on nationally televised music and variety shows, including Hymn Sing and The Doug Crosley Show. Sam has sung with the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir since moving to Toronto.

NYC pianist Ray Gallon joins a top Vancouver area rhythm section to help Angela Verbrugge celebrate her debut album release.

Michael Davidson: vibraphone
Dan Fortin: bass
Opening: Chris Pruden

Vibraphonist Michael Davidson (Hobson’s Choice, Otterville) and double bassist Dan Fortin (Myriad3, Bernice) are two of Toronto’s most in demand musicians. They have been playing together for over a decade: in the experimental jazz-rock band Stop Time; on Fortin's 2015 album Brinks; and in groups lead by the likes of Tara Davidson and Allison Au. Having been hired so often as a team, it made perfect sense for the two to focus on the unique musical aesthetic they’ve cultivated over the years. Hence, the birth of a new duo and a new album: Clock Radio.

There is no musical setting more intimate than the duo. Each musical gesture is exposed, and without empathic listening on the part of both musicians, it cannot succeed. In the summer of 2017, Davidson traveled to Berlin to study with renowned mallet percussionist David Friedman. In the course of his two month trip, Davidson experimented with a variety of new compositional techniques, and returned to Canada with a new book of songs that he felt best suited the flexibility of the duo setting. These pieces blur the line between composition and improvisation, and draw equally from jazz, free music, and classical composition.

Clock Radio will be released on Elastic Recordings on Friday, March 22nd, 2019.

Friendly Rich is launching a new studio recording at The Burdock on the night of April 27th. It's a complete re-imagining of Sinatra's classic 1958 recording, Only the Lonely.

Friendly Rich Sings for Only the Lonely features: Dave Clark, drums; Julia Hambleton, clarinet; David French, sax; Nichol Robertson, electric guitar; Jon Meyer, double bass; Tania Gill, piano; Rich Marsella, voice.

Don't miss this rare opportunity to hear this incredible band bring these thoughtful David French arrangements to life, for one night only!

The philosopher Joseph Campbell wrote extensively about “following one’s bliss.” These influential writings form the conceptual basis for Bliss Station, the 13th album of original music by Toronto-based guitarist and composer Eric St-Laurent. With plenty of time set aside to write, undisturbed by the fast pace of our ever-changing world, the creation, editing, and mixing of this album took place over several months in Berlin and Toronto. Every step of the production was slow, relaxed, and deliberate.

St-Laurent conceived this set of music with his 
long-time friend Sebastian Studnitzky in mind. The Berlin-based trumpeter’s soft, reflective tone lends an introspective quality to the recording. The fiery rhythm section of Michel DeQuevedo (percussion) and Jordan O’Connor (bass) provides a muscular counterpoint, while St-Laurent’s post-Benson approach to the guitar supplies the blues.

Born and raised in Montreal, St-Laurent studied improvisation in New York before moving to Berlin, where he toured with both big and small names in the German and Scandinavian music scenes. Since returning to Canada, he has been leading his own band, recording and touring extensively throughout Europe and Canada.

The weightless feeling of release when an airplane’s wheels leave the pavement; the moment in a concert when time suddenly slows to a halt, transporting the listener to another dimension; an out of body experience that leaves a performer feeling as though they’re in the audience, watching themselves improvise on stage. These experiences – simultaneously otherworldly and familiar – helped inspire Lift Off, the second recording by the Mark Segger Sextet.

Founded in 2008, Segger’s group features a top shelf selection of Toronto’s most accomplished improvisors. The project has been a common thread in the output of bandleader Mark Segger, who is currently based out of Edmonton where he is a doctoral Killam Scholar in composition at the University of Alberta. Segger has performed in jazz rooted scenarios with the likes of Allison Au, Lina Allemano, Jane Bunnett, Dave Burrell, Steve Swell, and Nate Wooley, among many others.

Much of this music was written in the two weeks leading up to the recording session, after a tour playing improvised music in Europe. Segger’s music reflects a wide range of creative interests, from the swing of Mel Lewis and his jazz orchestra to the revolutionary string quartet writing of the composers Bartok and Ligeti (heard clearly on For the Bees.) Bees also nods to the “insect music” of the 1960’s British Free Improvisation scene. An affinity for Berlin’s Echtzeitmusik tradition is apparent on the piece One Note.

Lift Off is a giant leap forward for Segger’s group, and is sure to become a touchstone recording in Canada’s jazz and creative music history.

www.marksegger.com