Art of Jazz celebration presents an ode to Italian & Cuban jazz and culture. Read Press Release

Mark Kneeshaw learned to play the blues on the final day of the third annual Art of Jazz Celebration. The 40-year-old Toronto photographer was one of several adults who got an accelerated harmonica lesson at the Jazz For Juniors Clinic yesterday afternoon. Instructor Mike Stevens had promised that participants would learn to play four songs in an hour. Read Article

Before he even sits down to play, Randy Weston fills a room... a venue if he has to. Then he pulls back the piano stool, stretches out his arms and the sounds of an Ancient Future fill every available space, push out the wall, climb embankments, rattle open windows, knock on every door in every available city to herald the music of the wisdom of the spirits! Read Article

ART OF JAZZ TRIBUTE TO JOHN NORRIS In the Distillery District in Toronto on Thursday. When the Toronto-based advocacy group the Art of Jazz pays tribute to a Canadian jazz great, it's by letting them do what they do best. For multi-instrumentalist Don Thompson, two years ago, that meant assembling several all-star groups in which he could demonstrate his absolute command of bass, vibraphone and piano; for trumpeter Kenny Wheeler, last year, that meant gathering some of his closest musical collaborators so that might express his distinctive improvisational vision clearly and memorably. Read Article

He has been called "the poet laureate of jazz" and he's worked with legends like Count Basie, Dizzy Gillespie and Miles Davis. A special group will join that elite list when Jon Hendricks performs at Roy Thomson Hall Thursday night. Read Article

"Frozen audience members trickled into the Church of the Holy Trinity in layers of winter fuzz, to sit hushed in the vaulted church while the green room filled with sound and heat, as the lightly and colourfully clad choristers warmed up their tropical pipes. The division didn’t last, of course. By the end of the first number, the audience was as warmed up as the performers were, and every subsequent number garnered whistles and stamps." Read Article

"…The “Celebration,” as it is called, represents a focal point of activity in the spring. Without trying to compete head to head with a large festival concept, organizers have benefited from using a smaller scale environment while not sacrificing talent and community involvement." Read Article

“The fifty diverse and dynamic headliners were selected by its joint founders—Lenny Binder, Bonnie Lester, Howard Rees, and the award winning duo of trumpeter Larry Cramer and soprano saxophonist/flutist Jane Bunnett—for their creativity, not commerce; their artistry, instead of ad space; and their sincerity rather than sex appeal. The Festival committee's choices were enthusiastically received, as evidenced by the mostly standing-room-only audiences that attended the fest in Toronto’s thirteen-acre, 175-year-old, SoHo-like Distillery Historic District.” Read Article

The composition of the Art of Jazz Orchestra fluctuates but has many consistencies. It is always directed by a great orchestra leader, last year it was John McLeod, this time out the wonderful Carla Bley did a superb job. Terry Clarke, Jane Bunnett and Don Thompson usually play in the orchestra with an 'A-list' of local Canadian performers. The orchestra consistently has great guest artists, this year’s Art of Jazz Orchestra guests included Steve Swallow on electric bass, Howard Johnson on baritone saxophone and George Garzone on tenor saxophone. There was also a tremendous lead trombone player, Gary Valente, from Carla Bley’s big band who took many exciting breaks. The orchestra always has a big grand sound and they always have great arrangements. They always feature excellent soloists and high energy playing by the orchestra as a collective. This performance was no exception. Read Article

A killer version of “Yardbird Suite” played and scatted at breakneck speed with Kevin Mahogany signaling for extra punch and the band delivering right on time. That “something made famous by Frank Sinatra”, “One for my Baby” came next and “Secret Love”. Read Article

Internationally renowned jazz pianist Barry Harris brings his music to an unlikely group of Toronto kids. Read Article

The creative arts scene of Toronto just added a new color to its vibrant pallet with the May inauguration of the Art of Jazz Celebration. Solidly based in jazz education, Art of Jazz was founded by Toronto’s jazz emissaries, saxophonist Jane Bunnett and trumpeter Larry Cramer, along with Bonnie Lester and Howard Rees. Read Article

A Tribute to Barry Harris
At the Young Centre for the Performing Arts in Toronto on Thursday

It was set up to look like a simple duet, but in truth it was more like a jazz piano summit, a duel between geniuses.

Behind the Steinway on the left sat Barry Harris, bebop legend, master educator and honoree of the Toronto tribute concert that opened the five-day inaugural Art of Jazz Celebration. Behind the Steinway on the right sat Hank Jones, also a bebop legend; the older brother of drummer Elvin Jones and trumpeter Thad Jones, he's considered one of the most accomplished and technically gifted pianists in jazz. Along with Oscar Peterson, Harris and Jones are considered the elder statesmen of jazz piano. Read Article