Jocelyn Gould is a jazz guitarist based in New York City and Toronto. She cites Grant Green, Kenny Burrell, Wes Montgomery and Joe Pass as primary influences of the instrument.

Jocelyn maintains an active performance career in the U.S. and Canada. She has performed at the St. Lucia Jazz Festival, the Detroit Jazz Festival and the TD Toronto Jazz Festival. She has performed internationally with Grammy nominated vocalist Freddy Cole, Trumpeter Etienne Charles and DownBeat Rising Star trombonist Michael Dease. She currently holds the guitar chair of The Gathering Orchestra, a big band based in Detroit under the directorship of bassist Rodney Whitaker. She is featured on saxophonist Diego Rivera’s album “Connections”, and recently recorded with Michael Dease and acclaimed guitarist Randy Napoleon for their upcoming albums.

Jocelyn is passionate as an educator and in August 2019 began a professorship at Humber College in Toronto as Professor of Guitar. She is recording her debut album as a leader in September 2019 on Positone Records. In August, 2018, Jocelyn won 1st place in the Wilson International Jazz Guitar Competition.

• Jocelyn Gould, Guitar and Vocals
• Mike Downs, Bass
• Mark Kelso, Drums
• Will Bonness, Piano

Here is Jocelyn with “You’ve Changed” and “It’s All Right With Me | Live at Stereobus”

This performance is part of the WOMEN IN JAZZ series, sponsored by DIVA INTERNATIONAL, makers of the Diva Cup

Andy Klaehn is a dynamic, multi-talented, professional musician, bandleader, and master teacher. He is a highly sought after alto, soprano, and tenor sax player, as well as a flute and clarinet player performing with various artists in a wide array of collaborations from duos to sextets. Andy is also a founding member of the renowned Top Pocket Jazz Quartet.

Andy was born in Kitchener, Ontario where he studied classical clarinet under K-W Symphony clarinetist, Victor Sawa, a renowned world class performer. Andy’s interest in jazz and contemporary music led him to enroll at Humber College in Toronto where he studied under Eddie Sossin and Pat Labarbera. Andy has played with many jazz legends, including Woody Herman and Buddy Rich. Andy has played at the Uptown Waterloo Jazz Festival, the Hillside Festival, the Guelph Jazz Festival, as well at the legendary Rex Jazz and Blues Bar in Toronto.

Andy has shared the stage with many musical giants, such as Maynard Ferguson, Moe Koffman, Kenny Barron, Carol Welsman, Barry Elmes, and Peter Appleyard. He has also played with the Stratford Festival Orchestra, the K- W Symphony, and as a sideman for Bo Diddley.

Andy plays “The Look of Love” with Kevin Murch on guitar

Please join Steve Montgomery and Lukas Bouda as they host and coordinate the jam session at the Jazz Room on Saturday from 3 – 5 PM.Now in Season 9 of the Jazz Room, the Jazz Jams are still free to attend and/or to play on stage. It is still open to all age groups. Both listeners and performers are welcome.

When you arrive, please sign in even if you are just listening. The Jazz Room is sponsoring the Jazz Jams to help involve the community more in jazz.

We have a drum set and grand piano for use by all during the jam session. Steve will bring cymbals for the drum set. If you plan to perform on stage with any other instrument, please bring your own instrument – do not ask to use another person’s instrument. Drummers bring your own sticks.

We supply original Real Books for charts on stage: three copies of concert C, two copies of Bb and one copy of Eb. For playing in the jam, we will perform  any songs from the Real Book, Volume 1. Songs played at each jam session change.

So that you can plan ahead, here are the dates for the Jazz Jams which  will always be the second Saturday of the month, as follows

1. May 9, 2020
2. June 13, 2020

TuneTown is an exciting new collective featuring creative Toronto mainstays, Kelly Jefferson on Tenor Saxophone, Artie Roth on Bass and Ernesto Cervini on Drums. All three members are highly-respected Juno-nominated musicians with serious band leading chops, and the combination of the three leads to some breathtaking and powerful musical moments.   The band plays imaginative re-arrangements of standards, and originals from all three members.

Kelly Jefferson, Tenor and Soprano Saxophones

Artie Roth, Bass

Ernesto Cervini, Drums

Check out:         “There from Here”       “The Monks of Oka”

Although his international reputation is that of a bassist having appeared on some landmark recordings including “John Handy Live at The Monterey Jazz Festival” (1965) and “Jim Hall Live” (1975) Don Thompson is also an accomplished pianist, vibraphonist, composer and arranger. He spent many years with George Shearing with whom he appeared playing bass and piano (in a duo setting) and vibraphone in the quintet.

Through the years he has worked and recorded with many of the greatest jazz musicians in the world such as Jim Hall, Paul Desmond, Frank Rosolino, Kenny Wheeler and John Abercrombie.

Don has won three Juno awards, The Oscar Peterson Award (Montreal Jazz Festival) and the Hagood Hardy Award for Composition (Socan) as well as thirteen National Jazz Awards. In 2009 he was made an Officer of the Order Of Canada. Don now resides in Toronto where he enjoys playing, writing and teaching.

Formed in Poland in 1986, the Penderecki String Quartet has been based in Waterloo, Ontario since 1991. Recent appearances include New York (Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall), Amsterdam (Concertgebouw), Hong Kong (Academy for the Arts), Los Angeles (REDCAT Hall at Disney Center), St. Petersburg (Sheremetev Palace) and the Adams Festival in New Zealand. The PSQ has also toured from coast to coast in Canada, participating in concert series such as the Ottawa Chamber Music Festival, Festival of the Sound, the Banff Centre, and Music Toronto. The Quartet is a devoted champion of the music of our time, having premiered over 100 new works from composers in Canada and abroad. The Penderecki String Quartet members are on the Faculty of Music at Wilfrid Laurier University where they have built the string program to be one of the best in Canada, attracting an international body of students.

• Don Thompson, Piano
• Jeremy Bell, Violin
• Jerzy Kaplanek, Violin
• Christine Vlajk, Viola
• Katie Schlaikjer, Cello

This performance is part of the WOMEN IN JAZZ series, sponsored by DIVA INTERNATIONAL, makers of the Diva Cup

JUNO Award Nominated jazz vocalist, Yvette Tollar, sings vibrant new material worthy of becoming future Canadian standards. Her elegant and highly expressive vocals soar alongside long time collaborator, Dave Restivo (3x winner of The National Jazz Awards). Yvette and Dave are joined by Mike Downes, who Jazz Report Magazine called, “one of Canada’s immensely talented young giants”.

Joining Yvette Tollar is Mark Kelso and Mike Downes.

This performance is part of the WOMEN IN JAZZ series, sponsored by DIVA INTERNATIONAL, makers of the Diva Cup

Robert C. Fekete is a Canadian Jazz pianist and composer who shares his musical philosophy with others through performance and audio recording. His roots are planted firmly in classical and jazz traditions; however he aspires to build a bridge between modern popular music and older musical art forms without losing his focus on the relevance and necessity of art in the world. Robert recognizes the importance of recruiting young people to the jazz art form. He conveys this message through his musical compositions and when he performs live. Currently he is  teaching jazz piano and ensembles at Mohawk College and teaching Jazz improvisation, Jazz piano, and Jazz vocal at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.

Laura McNabb is a graduate of McMaster’s Music Cognition program, during which time she had the opportunity to study jazz voice with Rob Fekete. A performer at heart, she has helped to establish an a cappella community at McMaster, starting 3 performance groups with singers from various academic and professional backgrounds. She co-chaired  the second annual Canadian A Cappella Conference (CanACC) and led Macappella to the quarter finals of the International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella (ICCAs) in both 2017 and 2018.

Check out:    “I Should Care”     “I Could Write a Book”

This performance is part of the WOMEN IN JAZZ series, sponsored by DIVA INTERNATIONAL, makers of the Diva Cup.

Rich Brown & The Abeng is the latest project from Canadian bassist and composer Rich Brown.

The band takes its name from an African instrument made from a hollowed out cow horn and used by the Maroons of Jamaica to call the community together for all social gatherings.

The music of The Abeng has been described as highly charged, richly imaginative, and at times poignant, and will showcase some of the finest musicians on the Canadian jazz scene.

The Band plays a form of groove oriented jazz that explores modern concepts in rhythm, harmony, melody, and improvisation. The music is progressive, and challenging, yet still dedicated to the deepest groove.