2008 Season

Jazz Around Town

A listing of additional live music at restaurants, pubs and cafes during the Jazz Festival. (Jazz around Town artists are selected by the participating restaurants, not the Jazz Festival, although some artists may play in both settings.) For restaurant locations, go here. (Photos above: Kate Schutt and Tony Quarrington)

Rob Cutting + Gosh Damn DJs!

Albion: Thursday, September 4, 9 pm, no cover

Downstairs: Rob Cutting
Upstairs: Gosh Damn DJs!

DJ Wolk

Atmosphere Café: Thursday, September 4, 9:30 pm, no cover

This past spring, Karl Skene reintroduced himself to the Guelph community as DJ Wolk. While taking breaks from producing his own music, he discovered the joys of mixing and manipulating other people's music, and energizing dance floors at house parties. as a music graduate of the university of Guelph, a member of the local post-rock band Tin, and a solo electronic artist (formerly as Ess Kalien, now as Karl Skene), Wolk's DJ sets are shaped by his interest in balancing musical complexity with restraint, and experimentation with focus. using ableton Live software for its creative potential, he attempts to find these balances mixing minimal techno, micro-house, glitch, IDM, dubstep, krautrock, synth-pop, and hip-hop. Catch DJ Wolk at atmosphere on the first Friday of every month.

D Eve Archer

NV lounge: Thursday, September 4 & Sunday, September 7, 8:30 pm

Born into a musical family, D Eve archer began to discover the joys of playing the piano at an early age and trained through the Royal Conservatory of Music. although trained classically, she was drawn to the sounds of Jazz, Rhythm and Blues, and Hip Hop. By age 13, she wrote her first song and, today, her library of fully composed songs numbers over 70. In 2004, archer participated in Canadian Idol and finished in the Top 32 heat. after Canadian Idol, she has dedicated herself to writing and singing. She performs all over Guelph and shows no signs of slowing down. Enjoy the sounds of D Eve Archer's classic, jazzy neo-soul influenced music.

Tony Quarrington, solo jazz guitar

The Red Brick Café: Friday, September 5, 7:30 - 9:00 pm, no cover

Veteran guitarist/composer Tony Quarrington recently played Mardi Gras in New Orleans with trumpeter Kevin Clark, and completed a two-week tour of Japan with jazz violinist San Murata. Newer releases include a solo guitar album, String Theory, and recordings with San Murata, Kevin Breit and Jeff Bird, the Yiddish Swingtet, the Jazzophones, Jaymz Bee's Royal Jelly Orchestra, and a duo recording with legendary bassist/pianist Don Thompson (coming soon). One of his more interesting past projects is 2002's Group of Seven Suite [CBC Records] featuring Jane Bunnett and Jane Siberry, among others. This eight-part work attempts to respond to Group of Seven canvases with ‘simple themes for complex improvisations.' Tony cites as his main influences ‘the Canadian guitarists I got to hear a lot of ... Lenny Breau, Ed Bickert, and Sonny Greenwich'.

Juan Carlos Pizarro

Latino's: Friday, September 5 and Saturday, September 6, 6:30 - 9:30 pm, no cover

Juan Carlos Pizarro was exposed to music at a very young age. as a child in Chile, he sang, played guitar and piano in his cousin's folk/andina band. as a member of a politically-inspired Latin rock group in the early 1980s, he also faced persecution and arrest by the Chilean secret police, sometimes even in the middle of performances, while singing lyrics asking for freedom and democracy from Pinochet's military government. In 2002, Juan Carlos moved to Canada with his family and continues to sing and perform today.

Monsoon

Diana Downtown: Friday, September 5, 7 pm

A New Progressive Indian Jazz Fusion Band situated in Toronto, Monsoon was founded by brothers Jonathan and andrew Kay, and Justin Gray in May 2006. The three travelled to Calcutta, India to study the ancient Indian Raga Music with Vocal Guru Shantanu Bhattacharyya. While travelling around India the three housemates had a vision of a fusion ensemble incorporating their traditional jazz knowledge and their newly found interest and love of indian music. The music is a mixture of arrangements of tunes by the band's mentors, The Beatles and John Coltrane, and original compositions. Their music moves from soundscapes and percussive interaction to beautiful memorable melodies to intense passionate collective improvisations.

Mike Todd Trio

Albion: Friday, September 5 and Sat. September 6, 9:30 pm, no cover

Kate Schutt

Wally's Tavern: Friday, September 5 and Saturday, September 6, 9:30 pm, no cover

Raised in Chadds Ford, PA, Kate Schutt was schooled in Boston, both at Harvard's English department, where she studied the influence of jazz on modern poetry, and at Berklee College of Music, where she studied jazz guitar. Now living in Guelph, she is carving out a niche as a writer, arranger and performer of new standards. Her persuasive arrangements and melodies show a deep involvement with the history of jazz and a willingness to flirt with pop gestures and attitudes. In March 2008, Kate was the Grand Prize Winner in the 2007 John Lennon Songwriting Competition Round II for her song "How Much in Love" in the jazz category. For this set of performances, Kate and her trio will feature music from her new artistShare release the Telephone Game.

Cuba Son

Diana Downtown: Saturday, September 6, 7 pm

Alex Borges (trumpet), Ernesto Bizcayno (congas), and Juan Carlos Suarez (singer) created "Cuba Son" in the summer of 2007 to promote traditional Cuban music in Canada. The group has featured musicians abelardo Lopez and Juan Pablo from Havana city and Venezuelan singer Ricardo Barbosa. Cuba Son has toured Ontario since the summer of 2007 promoted by Yoruba Factor Productions, an institution orientated to promote the influence of the Yoruba culture from Nigeria in Cuban Music. On September 6th, Cuba Son will bring the traditional rhythms of Cuba and Latin america to Guelph for the Jazz Festival. The band will also present Master drummer, Bamidele Bajowa, from the Yoruba land of Ondo state in Nigeria.

DJ charless

Albion: Saturday, September 6, 9pm, no cover

Hack disc spinner charless has been spinning the best of jazz, funk, soul and disco on record, CD and anything else he can get his hands on since he can remember. He has held renowned funk night residencies at The albion in Guelph and The Starlight in Waterloo for over five years apiece. Charless, part owner of the Orange Monkey in Waterloo, an eclectic music store atop of the Jane Bond, spins a goldmine of rarities for your past and present. It is said that perusing the Monkey on a rainy afternoon can get you so lost in a sea of memories you will never want to see the shoreline again. Whilst the same could be said for the albion on a Saturday night.

Valerey Lavergne Trio

Woolwich Arms: Saturday, September 6, 9:30pm, no cover

Light the torch and turn down the lights, Valerey Lavergne and the boys have been invited back to play for their fourth year at the "Woolie". This soulful singer is no stranger to the stage. at the age of six, she filled her uncle's dance hall with the sounds of Patsy Cline and Patti Page. From blues to opera and then on to jazz, Valerey's vocal journey has taken her far. She graduated with distinction in 1997 with a BFA in Jazz Vocal Studies from Concordia university in Montréal. Her voice has been described as sultry, versatile and clear, but its innocence gets shed when she belts out the blues. Valerey is accompanied by her partner, guitarist/composer alex Barham, and Bob McGray on bass.