Toronto Jazz Orchestra
Formed in 1998, the Toronto Jazz Orchestra is an 18-piece big band made up of recent graduates from Toronto’s top university and college jazz programs - some of Toronto’s best young jazz musicians. Performing exciting and interesting big band music - from the leading edge of contemporary composition to the classic tunes of the past - the Toronto Jazz Orchestra seeks to educate, entertain, and increase the public’s understanding and appreciation of jazz.
Over the past nine years the Toronto Jazz Orchestra has performed regularly at Toronto’s Rex Hotel and, prior to its closing, The Montreal Bistro. Since winning the top prize at the Markham Jazz Festival’s Jazz Stars of the Future competition in 2000, the ensemble has appeared in the JVC, Beaches, Lakefield, and Markham Jazz Festivals.
As part of their regular performance schedule, the Toronto Jazz Orchestra has undertaken several major projects. In 2001 they released their self-titled inaugural compact disc to strong reviews and were awarded a Toronto Arts Council Project Grant for their performance of the Cuban Fire Suite, as recorded by the Stan Kenton Orchestra; in 2002 they presented an evening with Phil Nimmons, featuring a performance of The Atlantic Suite. In 2003 they were awarded a Canada Council Commissioning of Canadian Compositions grant, which helped in their commissioning of a new piece by Hugh Fraser, and released their second compact disc, Under A Tree, which exclusively features original Canadian compositions. In 2004 they presented their first annual Young Composer’s Competition, designed to encourage the creation of new works for big band by young Canadian composers, and presented the music of Stan Kenton.
In 2005 the Toronto Jazz Orchestra performed in Collingwood and Sarnia and presented a sold-out performance with Grammy-nominated vocalist Kurt Elling; the fall of 2005 featured a visit from Jim McNeely and a tribute to the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra. In 2006 the Toronto Jazz Orchestra performed with New York saxophonist Seamus Blake and was nominated for a 2006 National Jazz Award in the Best Big Band category. In 2007, the Toronto Jazz Orchestra presented the Music of Duke Ellington, including a full performance of the Such Sweet Thunder suite, and a special performance of music from West Side Story, supported by a Toronto Arts Council grant, featuring 12 new arrangements by 5 local composers.
Founder, Artistic Director and Conductor Josh Grossman is a graduate of the University of Toronto’s Jazz Performance Program where he studied trumpet with Chase Sanborn and Kevin Turcotte. He has performed in big bands under the direction of Phil Nimmons, Paul Read, Ron Collier and Paul Ashwell, and has played with The Whitney Smith Big Steam Band, Freeflight, the Array Jazz Orchestra, and in 2000 performed with the Hamilton All-Star Jazz Band at the Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland. For four years Josh conducted the Hart House Jazz Ensemble, an extra-curricular big band at the University of Toronto, and for eight years has been on faculty at the Toronto District School Board’s annual music camp. When not conducting the Toronto Jazz Orchestra, Josh works as Manager for the High Park Choirs and Festival Coordinator for Continuum Contemporary Music; he has also been the Artistic Director for the Markham Jazz Festival since 2006.
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For more information on the Toronto Jazz Orchestra please visit www.thetjo.com, email thetjomnsi.net, or call (416) 899-5299.
News
The Toronto Jazz Orchestra celebrates its tenth season!
It’s been ten years since our first rehearsal and we’ll be celebrating all season long -starting with a new CD and ending with our most exciting collaboration yet!
The Rex Hotel - Toronto’s best jazz club - will be our main host this year, and we kick off the season at The Rex on Wednesday, October 1st at 9:30 pm. Admission is $10, with proceeds going towards our new CD.
New CD, you ask? What new CD? We spent three days this past June in Humber College’s new, state-of-the-art recording studio and recorded our first full-length CD in five years. Called The Path, it features a variety of Canadian compositions, some created specifically for the recording. For complete details - and to order your copy(ies) of The Path - please visit www.thetjo.com/recordings. We plan to release The Path in December at The Rex - stay tuned!
In the new year, we’ll once again team up with Swing Toronto (formerly Odd Socks) to present our annual fundraising Swing Thing. Always a great night, the Swing Thing starts with a swing dance lesson and continues with great swing music into the wee small hours of the morning.
In April, we’ll present our tenth anniversary concert. We will feature some of the 50 or so musicians that have played with the band over the past 10 years and some of the 150 pieces of music we’ve performed. Once again The Rex will be the host - it is sure to be a party!
I invite you to join the celebration! Come hear us live on October 1st and throughout the year. Order a CD. And, if you like what you hear and want to make sure we’re around for another ten years, please consider making a donation. You can order CDs, make donations and get complete concert details at our website, www.thetjo.com.
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SmashedPianoEvents
Sat Apr 18 2009 3:30-6:30 pm
The Rex Hotel - No cover; donations appreciated
The Toronto Jazz Orchestra's 10th Anniversary Celebration
Big band jazz
After a decade of performing, three CDs and a National Jazz Award nomination, the Toronto Jazz Orchestra (TJO) is celebrating its tenth anniversary at The Rex Hotel on Saturday, April 18 from 3:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. The afternoon will feature musical highlights from the past ten years, including selections from the big band’s three recordings, along with alumni appearances and more.
Box Office:
The Rex Hotel
194 Queen Street West
Toronto Ontario
(416) 899-5299
Sun Jul 04 2010 10 pm
The Rex Hotel - $15
The Toronto Jazz Orchestra with Geoffrey Keezer
Jazz
The Toronto Jazz Orchestra is pleased to announce a special performance with acclaimed jazz pianist Geoffrey Keezer on Sunday, July 4, 10 pm at the Rex Hotel, as part of the TD Toronto Jazz Festival. The concert will feature the 18-piece ensemble performing seven of Keezer’s compositions or arrangements, with special guest vocalist Sophia Perlman, and is a collaboration between the Toronto Jazz Orchestra and The Rex Hotel.
Since joining Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers at age 18 – after completing only his first year at the Berklee College of Music – Grammy-nominated pianist and composer Geoffrey Keezer has worked with virtually all of the living legends of jazz. He has recorded 11 albums as a leader, including the 2003 release Sublime, an ambitious set of piano duets with Kenny Barron, Chick Corea, Benny Green and Mulgrew Miller. He has had compositions commissioned by the Carnegie Hall Jazz Band, Saint Joseph Ballet, Mainly Mozart Festival in San Diego, Scottish National Jazz Orchestra, the Zeltsman Marimba Festival, and was a recipient of Chamber Music America’s 2007 New Works grant.
The Toronto Jazz Orchestra (TJO), formed in 1998 by current Artistic Director and Conductor Josh Grossman, works with one or two guest artists each year. Past collaborations have included concerts with Phil Nimmons, Kurt Elling, Seamus Blake and Ingrid Jensen. Over the past 11 seasons, the TJO has performed regularly at The Rex Hotel and at jazz festivals throughout Ontario; 2008 released its third CD, The Path, to critical acclaim. Originally made up of students at the University of Toronto, Humber College and York University, the TJO now features some of the top young jazz talent in the city.
Admission is $15. For more information please call (416) 899-5299, email thetjo@mnsi.net or visit www.thetjo.com.
Box Office:
The Rex Hotel
194 Queen Street West
Toronto ON
(416) 899-5299