Roberta Gambarini, New York based, Italian born and raised, has firmly established herself as one of the best jazz vocalists of our time. Just my opinion, no, this is the voice of many, including jazz legend, renowned drummer Jake Hanna. When I asked Mr. Hanna his feelings on playing with Roberta Gambarini, he replied without hesitation, "She is one of the best, and I have played with all the greats." This is no understatement, having played with vocalists from Billy Holiday to Tony Bennett, and

The Original Superstars of Jazz - The Phoenix Concert Theatre Toronto, Nov. 16, 2006 The Original Superstars of Jazz Fusion concert with Roy Ayers, Lonnie Liston Smith, Jean Carne, Wayne Henderson, Bobbi Humphrey, Ronnie Laws & Jon Lucien was a tremendous success. The fusion occurred between the promoters, a co-production of Toronto Downtown Jazz and REMG Productions and the audience, a diverse mix of young and old. The young people were singing along to songs that were wri

Charlie Haden Quartet West Live at the River Run Centre, Guelph, On. Aug. 31, 2006 Defying time or labels with a compassionate and sensitive ear on this world while visiting a world that should be, Haden and friends guided the audience at the River Run Centre on a cosmic journey of peace and harmony. Quartet West, comprised of Allan Broadbent (piano), Ernie Watts (tenor saxophone), Rodney Green (drums) and of course Charlie Haden on acoustic bass. Had

The David Virelles Quintet Live at The Beaches International Jazz Festival Fresh off a very successful Canadian tour the band performed an early morning show, 11:30 A.M thus kicking off the 18th annual Beaches International Jazz Festival. I was invited to see the band, report on the show and follow up with a post show interview. Classically trained Virelles studied piano in his native Cuba at the age of seven. Through his families collection of jazz albums he was exposed

"At Last" Etta James The Hummingbird Centre June 27 - Toronto Jazz Festival - Day 5 The show was sold out, The Hummingbird Centre seats 3200 people, as Ross Porter (Jazz.Fm Radio CEO) mentioned at the start of the show, "At last the Toronto Jazz Festival has arrived; they’re scalping tickets in front of the theatre." The Roots Band took to the stage, Donto James, drums; Sametto, bass; David Mathews, keyboards; organ; Bobby Murray, guitar; Josh Sklar,