Following up on last year’s inaugural weekend festival, JazzInToronto is excited to bring back its Community Celebration, May 29-30-31 at venues across the downtown core. The weekend will bring swing, soul and musical tributes to life across downtown, exposing the depth and diversity of Toronto’s talent pool.

Produced by musicians Lina Welch and Ori Dagan, the festival is a grassroots initiative of JazzInToronto, a not-for-profit dedicated to promoting local artists. Supported in part by a grant from Toronto Arts Council, the event is inspired by the city’s eclectic music scene and fuelled by a passion for community building.

“We are really thrilled with the lineup this year,” says JazzInToronto’s artistic director Ori Dagan. “Besides booking exciting talent from rising stars to Grammy winners, we strive to be as diverse as possible, because that’s what makes Toronto unique. And of course, our hope is to connect audiences to their new favourite artists who just happen to live in their own backyard.”

This year the festival will focus on three neighbourhoods: St. Lawrence Market, where the festival kicks off on Market Street; Yorkville featuring intimate performances at Liss Gallery and The Pilot, and Yonge & Dundas with concerts presented at TD Music Hall and The Allied Music Centre, both new spaces at the renovated Massey Hall. Events will also take place at three of the city’s most prominent jazz venues: The Rex Hotel Jazz & Blues Bar, Jazz Bistro and The Emmet Ray.

From swing and bebop to funk and soul, rising stars to virtuosic veterans, the weekend will feature something for every music lover.

On Friday, May 29, the festival kicks off with FREE concerts presented by St Lawrence Market District on Market Street. At 12pm, rising star trumpeter Atcheleh Aryee will lead her sextet through a mix of spirited originals and well-loved standards. At 5pm, “Canada’s Sweetheart of Swing” Alex Pangman will be joined by her Sweet Hots, Grammy-winning multi-instrumentalist Drew Jurecka and guitar virtuoso Nathan Hiltz. As always at Pangman’s performances, the swing dancing community is expected to make an appearance. Then at 8pm, all-female party band GRACE will debut at TD Music Hall with their joyous mix of disco, R&B, funk and pop classics; soulful indie powerhouse Jennarie will open the show with a stripped-down set with guitarist Nick Tateishi. At 11:30pm, Indigenous (Nehiyaw) tap dancer Johnathan Morin will lead a jam session at Jazz Bistro for tap dancers, jazz musicians and listeners alike.

One of the hottest tickets will no doubt be Michael Shand’s tribute to D’Angelo, Saturday May 30, 8pm at TD Music Hall. Featuring an all-star 7-piece band and 4 vocalists, the concert will offer an opportunity to honour and celebrate the recently departed neo-soul pioneer.

Piano lovers will relish the intimate series at Yorkville’s Liss Gallery (112 Cumberland Street) featuring four intimate performances with award-winning artists Adrean Farrugia (May 30, 12pm), Danae Olano (May 30, 4pm), Hilario Duran (May 31, 12pm) and Thompson Egbo-Egbo (May 31, 4pm). There will only be 25 tickets available for each performance, with an acoustic piano provided especially for the Community Celebration by Yamaha Canada.

Home to live jazz performances for decades, The Pilot (22 Cumberland) will host Grammy winner Kae Murphy’s tribute to legendary bebop, hard bop and post-bop trumpet icon, Freddie Hubbard on Saturday May 30 at 2pm. In the same space, JUNO-nominated rising star Ale Nunez will honour torch singer Julie London on Sunday May 31^st at 2pm.

On Sunday May 31 at 11:30am, musician, composer and educator Nathan Hiltz will lead a masterclass at The Rex Hotel on the topic of solo guitar performance. Drawing from his vast experience on solo guitar gigs as well as an in-demand accompanist and rhythm section player, Hiltz will provide suggested listening, practice tips and useful feedback to several participants. The masterclass will be sponsored by On the Off Beat Music School, with free admission for students.

The closing concert of the festival will feature three Toronto jazz masters in a one-night-only performance at the intimate Allied Music Centre Theatre: 5-time JUNO winner Jane Bunnett with Order of Canada member Reg Schwager on guitar and living legend Neil Swainson on bass. Having represented Canada countless times on international tours, Bunnett, Schwager and Swainson look forward to reuniting on a Toronto stage, together for the first time in decades.

Tickets for the festival can be purchased at www.jazzintoronto.ca

For more information, please contact:

Eric Alper

Publicist  |  Music Commentator  |  Shameless Idealist

647-971-3742

www.ThatEricAlper.com

Eric@ThatEricAlper.com

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