The Don Wright Faculty of Music’s regular Friday concert series continues Feb. 27 with a bit of a departure – chamber jazz.
The free concert, which begins at 12:30 p.m. in von Kuster Hall, will be a mix of Toronto and London musicians of the highest caliber.
The concert features:
Andrew Downing – a double bass player, composer and bandleader living in Toronto, Downing plays primarily in the creative jazz scene in Canada, but also performs classical chamber music, improvised music, folk and roots music, and world music.
He has won a Juno Award, a West Coast Music Award and The Grand Prix de Jazz for work with The Great Uncles, as well as another Juno Award, a SOCAN award and a West Coast Music Award with Vancouver collaborators Zubot and Dawson.
Patricia O’Callaghan – dividing her time between recording CDs, touring her own shows, and collaborating on other interesting projects, O’Callaghan’s collaborations include singing with Bryn Terfel at Roy Thompson Hall, touring the multi media opera Constantinople by Christos Hatzis to London’s Royal Opera House, among other places, and recording and touring with jazz clarinetist Don Byron.
She also has the good fortune to appear in television shows, such as her own Bravo! Special Live at the Rehearsal Hall, the Rhombus/CBC special Youkali Hotel, and the acclaimed Ken Finkleman Drama, Foolish Heart.
Kevin Turcotte – the Toronto-based trumpeter has played on more than 100 recordings over the last 20 years with musicians from across the country. Of these recordings, 18 have garnered Juno nominations while four were Juno winners. Whether it is recent outings by the Barenaked Ladies and Bruce Cockburn, the funky sounds of Mr. Something Something and Planet Earth, the eclectic nature of The Great Uncles of the Revolution and Jayme Stone or modern collaborations such as the Sicilian Jazz Project and Ricochet, Turcotte brings a passion and creativity to each session.
Joseph Phillips – originally hailing from Toronto, this talented musician is equally accomplished on guitar and double bass, and has performed with various songwriters and musicians including Kevin Quain, Max Metrault, Ian Tamblyn, Kim Erickson, Patricia O’Callaghan, Evelyn Parry, Claire Jenkins and many others.
He toured Canada and Europe as a bassist with swing-punk-cabaret singer Big Rude Jake. As a classical musician, Joseph toured with the National Youth Orchestra of Canada, Les Jeunes Virtuoses de Montréal and Via Salzburg Chamber Orchestra.
Kim Ratcliffe – this Toronto guitarist has more than 30 years experience covering a wide variety of creative endeavors and musical worlds. He can be heard in drummer Paul Delong’s fusion group, Bruce Cassidy’s Hotfoot Orchestra, the Frank Lovano Quintet, and other jazz ensembles. He has toured, performed or recorded with singers Holly Cole, Colm Wilkinson and David Clayton Thomas, blues harmonica virtuoso Carlos Del Junco, singer-songwriter Ron Sexmith and many others.