Amanda Tosoff is a B.C-raised, Toronto-based pianist, composer, and educator with 7 albums to her credit. As a bandleader and side-musician, she has performed across the globe, and has been the recipient of such honours as the Montréal Jazz Festival Grand Prix de Jazz, the Toronto Arts Foundation Jazz Artist Award, and three JUNO nominations – most recently for the Ostara Project, a group she co-leads with bassist Jodi Proznick that features a rotating cast of all-star musicians such as Laila Biali, Shruti Ramani, Rachel Therrien, Allison Au and many more. In addition to a busy performing career, Amanda is also a passionate educator. She is currently full-time faculty and piano lead at the prestigious Humber College music program.

Award winning trumpeter and graduate of The Berklee Global Jazz Institute, Andrew McAnsh leads his own ground-breaking project as well as being a top call sideman and educator. Known recently as the trumpeter for Larnell Lewis band, Andrew's original music explores his Sicilian and Meis roots in a contemporary jazz context. Andrew is currently embarking on his 3rd full length release. Music of The Great Lakes: A Songbook for The Canadian Indigenous is a 5-part suite supported and inspired by Canadian Indigenous history. Andrew has worked with with notable artists including Esperanza Spalding, Billy Cobham, Danilo Perez, John Patitucci, Brian Blade, Bill Dobbins, Terri-Lyne Carrington, George Garzone, Pat Labarbera, Hilario Duran, and Bobby Shew at international festivals Newport Jazz Festival, Panama Jazz Festival, Kobe Jazz Walk, Toronto Jazz Festival, Montreal Jazz and others.

Caity Gyorgy (pronounced George) is a 2 time JUNO award winning Canadian vocalist known for singing bebop and swing music. She has performed at jazz clubs and festivals across Canada, Mexico, Japan and the USA and has worked and recorded with incredible musicians including Christine Jensen, Pat LaBarbera, Jocelyn Gould, Ira Coleman, Bryn Roberts and Joe LaBarbera, to name a few. In addition to being a performer, Caity is an avid writer and composes songs in the style of the Great American Songbook. Her compositions have been sung by other vocalists around the world, and have won multiple awards including the Grand Prize in the jazz category of the 2021 John Lennon Songwriting Contest. She is also a sought after clinician and is currently on faculty as a vocal jazz instructor at the Yukon Summer Music Camp in Whitehorse, Yukon and the Interprovincial Music Camp in McKellar, Ontario. She is currently signed to Brooklyn label La Reserve Records and has released several albums of original and standard music with them including her two JUNO award winning albums "Now Pronouncing" and "Featuring" and her JUNO nominated album with pianist Mark Limacher titled "You’re Alike, You Two”. Her latest album "Hello! How Are You?" features Caity accompanied by her regular piano trio and released on August 9th, 2024 on La Reserve.

Producer and Artist Representative Céline Peterson, works with some of the most exciting internationally acclaimed jazz artists on the scene today, including JUNO Award winners Caity Gyorgy, Jim Doxas, and Robi Botos, acclaimed vocalist Paul Marinaro, tap dancing storyteller Travis Knights, Canada's beloved songstress Jackie Richardson, and Member to the Order of Canada, Dr. Dave Young, pianist Ben Paterson, and the Doxas Brothers. Céline has also presented concerts and given inspiring speeches all over the globe (including Canada, The United States, Denmark, Barbados, Switzerland, and South America), and was host of the digital and radio broadcast program, No, I Do Not Play Piano, on JAZZCAST (2019-2022) and JAZZ.FM91 (2022).

Born in 1980 in Montreal into a musical family, saxophonist, clarinetist and composer, Chet Doxas is regarded as one of the leading voices of his generation. He has collaborated with such jazz luminaries as Oliver Jones, Carla Bley, Steve Swallow, Hank Jones, John Abercrombie, Dave Douglas, Ranee Lee, to name a few. He leads and co-leads several of his own groups which feature his original compositions, notably earning him SOCAN's Haygood Hardy Award as well as multiple Juno Award nominations. Chet has appeared on over one hundred recordings and for the last three years in a row has been voted to Downbeat Magazine's "Rising Star" Critic's Poll for tenor saxophone and clarinet category. "A future jazz star in the making" - CBC

Based in New Orleans but Winnipeg born, Chris Butcher is a musician firmly established as a representative of the future global music village, transcending genre and cultural predisposition. Chris has earned his place in a city renowned for horn players by playing, touring and recording with James Andrews & The Crescent City All-Stars, Bonerama, The New Orleans Jazz Orchestra, Delfeayo Marsalis & The Uptown Jazz Orchestra and many more. No stranger to Toronto audiences where he spent his formative years instigating The Heavyweights Brass Band and collaborating with Jane Bunnett, Jay Douglas and Archie Alleyne. This unique perspective has informed his musical direction and creative pursuits since relocating to New Orleans in 2017 and delving deeper into the roots of Black American music.

Whether touring with Canada’s finest or performing Jazz, Blues Pop, or Gospel showcases, Colleen Allen is one of the most cherished musicians on the Canadian music scene. Colleen plays all saxes, flute, clarinet and (a little bit of) accordion. She has performed extensively with Holly Cole, Molly Johnson, David Clayton Thomas, and Marc Jordan. Recent recordings include work with Carvin Winans, featuring Michael MacDonald, Take 6 and Martha Reeves. Colleen has also toured with Cirque du Soleil (Hamburg, Germany) and is currently a member of Hilario Duran’s award-winning Latin Jazz Big Band.

Jim Doxas, a native Montréaler, was born into an artistically vibrant family, his father a classical guitarist, educator and recording engineer, and brother a saxophonist and composer. Before finding the drums, Jim played a number of other instruments: piano, violin, trumpet and French horn. Working alongside his father as a recording engineer was Jim’s first love. This all changed in his teens when he was “forced” to record acoustic drums for his father’s jingles... While studying at Montréal’s McGill University, Jim established himself early on as versatile percussionist. The pool of strong drummers and percussionists in the city heavily influenced him. During his time at McGill, Jim was honoured with Yamaha’s Rising Star Award in recognition of outstanding achievement as an instrumentalist. In addition, he was a featured artist at Carnegie Hall in a gala performance celebrating young North American talent. Throughout his undergraduate degree, Jim studied with renowned pedagogue and drummer, John Riley. Jim has been heavily influenced by rock, jazz, Motown and World Music. His work can be heard on over 150 albums and soundtracks, and he is a popular featured artist at jazz festivals worldwide. Distinguished for his improvisational approach to jazz, he makes the case that percussion can be as performative as a lyrical instrument. What distinguishes Doxas’ approach to improvisation is that he refuses to play it safe, allowing the moment to dictate the kind of framework that will contain, shape and guide the piece of music. He is astutely committed to the belief that significant music is always distinguished by what is left unsaid, the gaps of which inspire him to produce a highly original vocabulary of accents. During the last several years, Jim has been recognized by way of receiving Felix and Juno Awards, as well as nominations for Academy and Grammy Awards. He was also the drummer in the Oliver Jones Trio for over a decade. Doxas puts premium importance on music education by conducting masterclasses and teaching at various music academies around the world. His current projects include Riverside (in collaboration with Dave Douglas, Steve Swallow, and Chet Doxas), Jean-Michel Pilc trio and the Jim Doxas Trio. Jim is currently a lecturer and teacher at McGill University, while also balancing an active performance schedule.

2021 JUNO Award winner Jocelyn Gould has been called “a leader in the next generation of great mainstream jazz guitarists” by Howard Paul, CEO of Benedetto Guitars. Her joyful energy has captivated audiences around the world and her passion for music is as infectious as her unique ability to connect with audiences. Jocelyn has absorbed the influences of the jazz guitar greats and has woven them into an exciting personal sound, citing Wes Montgomery, Grant Green, Joe Pass and Kenny Burrell as primary influences on the guitar. Jocelyn has performed and recorded internationally as a leader and with GRAMMY-nominated vocalist Freddy Cole, JUNO-winning trumpeter and vocalist Bria Skonberg, DownBeat Trombonist of the Year Michael Dease, Etienne Charles, Jon Gordon, Rodney Whitaker, Randy Napoleon and Diego Rivera. Jocelyn’s debut album, Elegant Traveler, won the 2021 JUNO Award for Jazz Album of the Year: Solo. Golden Hour, Jocelyn’s sophomore album, showcases her virtuosic guitar playing and dynamic compositions, and introduces her voice. It has received international critical acclaim and radio play including extensive play on Sirius XM Satellite Radio. Golden Hour reached #1 on Canadian and #9 on North American college radio jazz charts. Jocelyn’s Golden Hour Tour took place in June 2022 with performances at 11 Canadian Jazz Festivals.

Jodi Proznick is a Canadian jazz bassist, composer, educator and producer. In 2019, she was named Jazz Artist of the Year at the Western Canadian Music Awards and has been nominated for three Juno Awards. She was also a recipient of the British Columbia Lieutenant Governor's Arts and Music Awards in 2022. Jodi Proznick has earned a reputation as one of Canada’s finest jazz artists. She has won numerous National Jazz Awards, including Bassist of the Year in ’08 and ’09. Her group, the Jodi Proznick Quartet, was awarded the Acoustic Group of the Year and Album of the Year in ‘08 and the Galaxie Rising Star at the Vancouver International Jazz Festival in ‘04.

For more than five decades Joe Sealy has enjoyed a successful career as a musician, actor, composer, music director and recording artist. Tours have also played a significant part in Joe’s career. Some of the more notable ones include: 6 months on the road with Blood, Sweat and Tears; 19 concert tour of Africville Suite (including an appearance at the Canadian Embassy in Washington, D.C.); 20 city national tour of Timothy Findlay’s Piano Man’s Daughter (along with Veronica Tennant and Sylvia Tyson); 2 week tour of Norway and Denmark including a performance at the world famous Jazz House in Copenhagen. All of this work and success has not gone unnoted. Joe is both proud of, and humbled by, the acclaim he has received. Major awards include: a Juno Award for CD, Africville Suite; theDora Mavor Moore Award for music direction in the Toronto production of Ain’t Misbehavin; and a Gemini Award nominationfor his musical score for the documentary film The Road Taken. More recently, Joe was music director for tribute concerts honoring Sarah Vaughn and Dinah Washington and for a 100th anniversary concert honoring Frank Sinatra. Both sold out events were held at Toronto’s Koerner Hall. Joe has also hosted his own radio shows, Joe Sealy’s Duets and Joe’s Jazz on Jazz FM 91 in Toronto for the past 15 years. In 2010, Joe was invested in The Order Of Canada.

Kevin Turcotte (trumpet, flugelhorn) was born in 1964 in Ottawa, Ontario,Canada, but raised in Sudbury, Ontario. He recognized as one of Canada’s major trumpet talents with an impressive list of recording and touring credentials as a prominent player with the elite of Canadian jazz ensembles including time Warp, The Mike Murley Quartet, Rob McConnell and The Boss Brass, The Dave McMurdo Orchestra, Hemispheres New Music Ensemble, The Barry Elmes quintet, the Jazz Report All-Stars, The Kieran Overs Quintet, Andrew Downing’s Attention Span, The Jean Martin Trio, and NOJO. Kevin Turcotte has been regarded as one of Canada’s most proficient performers for nearly two decades. He studied music at the prestigious Banff School of Fine Arts and later, at the University of Toronto, where he joined the faculty in the 1990’s. He is first call favorite among many leaders, and has performed on over 75 recordings and in countless club and concert appearances. He has toured extensively throughout North America as well as with the Dave McMurdo Jazz Orchestra on the band’s 1991 Russian tour, in south America with Time Warp, with Don Byron in Italy. In addition to the extensive list of bands in which he is a principal player, Turcotte has worked with hundreds of international luminaries, among them Tito Puente, Dave Holland, Kenny Kirkwood, Pat LaBarbera, Bill Grove, and Kenny Wheeleer. Kevin Turcotte is also a dedicated jazz educator, with lengthy teaching tenure at the University of Toronto and as a lon- time adjudicator for MusicFest Canada. Since 1993, he has been named Jazz Trumpeter of the Year by Jazz Report Magazine and the National Jazz Awards multiple times, and was nominated again in the same category at the 2009 National Jazz Awards.

Multi award-winning Canadian singer-songwriter, pianist and CBC Music national radio host Laila Biali has headlined festivals and venues spanning five continents from New York City’s Carnegie Hall to Beijing’s National Centre for the Performing Arts, and supported international icon Sting. Her 2020 album release, Out of Dust, received rave reviews and was nominated for a 2021 JUNO Award. Laila was also honoured by SOCAN Music with the Hagood Hardy Award for Excellence in Songwriting. In 2019, Laila’s eponymous release won her a JUNO Award (Canada’s GRAMMY) for “Vocal Jazz Album of the Year.” The year prior, she was awarded top prize at the Canadian Songwriting Competition in the Jazz category. Laila was also the youngest-ever double winner at Canada’s National Jazz Awards when she was named “SOCAN Composer of the Year” and “Keyboardist of the Year.” She received her first JUNO nomination for Tracing Light (2011), and a spot on DownBeat Magazine’s “Best Albums of the Year” for both Live in Concert (2013) and Out of Dust (2020). In September of 2017, Laila was brought on as the host for CBC Music’s national radio show, Saturday Night Jazz, a weekly show broadcast to millions of listeners across Canada. While Laila continues to earn high honours in the jazz world, her signature sound transcends genre as she “masterfully mixes jazz and pop, bringing virtuosity and unpredictability to songs that are concise and catchy” (Washington Post). Her latest release – Your Requests – showcases personal arrangements of jazz classics requested by her social media community and features guest vocalists Kurt Elling, Emilie-Claire Barlow, and Caity Gyorgy as well as instrumentalists Anat Cohen, Grégoire Maret, Kelly Jefferson, Michael Davidson, George Koller, Larnell Lewis, Ben Wittman and Maninho Costa. “Biali’s voice – spanning registers – is pure and warm. She’s also fearless on piano and, above else, in her imagination.” – DownBeat Magazine

New Zealand-born jazz trumpet player Lex French is fast becoming a bright star on the Canadian jazz scene. French possesses a unique voice on the trumpet and plays with technical virtuosity and abiding musical inventiveness, often being compared to legendary trumpeters Freddie Hubbard, Woody Shaw, and Kenny Wheeler. "An extraordinary trumpeter" - Stanley Pean, CBC-Radio Canada Lex has collaborated with jazz luminaries such as Bennie Maupin, Aaron Parks, Diana Krall, Patti Austin, Kurt Elling, Charles McPherson, Camille Thurman, Ira Coleman, Darrell Green, David Binney, Sam Newsome, and John Hollenbeck. He is also an internationally sought-after composer and arranger and has recently been commissioned to write works for jazz orchestra, jazz quartet, and string quartet. His upcoming album In the World's First Summer is slated to be released on October 4th 2024 on Justin Time Records, and features a band of elite Montreal musicians: François Bourassa on piano, Morgan Moore on bass, and Jim Doxas on drums. Lex draws on myriad influences for this album, which includes original compositions inspired by the visual arts and poetry, arrangements of folk songs from around the world, and standards from the jazz canon. Lex is also a respected educator and he currently works at McGill University's Schulich School of Music in Montreal teaching large and small ensembles, jazz trumpet, jazz improvisation, composition and graduate jazz pedagogy. He is also a sought-after band-director and clinician.

Mark McLean is a dynamic studio and touring musician. He has been in demand over the past two decades anchoring and collaborating with such greats as Joe Sample, Gladys Knight, Rickie Lee Jones, John Legend, Jamie Cullum, Serena Ryder, Jann Arden, Dionne Warwick, Billy Joel and the late George Michael. Recently, Mark expanded his musical exploration into composing for film and television, co-scoring "How It Feels To Be Free," an episode of PBS's long-running series AMERICAN MASTERS. He followed that by scoring TV documentary BLACK LIBERATORS WWII for Canada’s History Channel and is currently scoring his first animated series for GBH Kids/PBS.

Matt Woroshyl is an award winning saxophonist, composer, bandleader, and educator. He has performed with esteemed musicians such as Jamie Cullum, Jane Monheit, Donny McCaslin, Wycliffe Gordon, Adam O’Farrill, Mike Murley, Robi Botos, Eric Marienthal, Tim Ries, Jon Faddis, Ingrid Jensen, Aaron Goldberg, Leo P, Mark Godfrey, Gabriel Zucker, Allison Au, Marie Goudy, John MacLeod’s Rex Hotel Orchestra, the Kyle Athayde Dance Party, After Funk, and KamyR, among others. Matt has performed extensively in such venues and festivals as the Blue Note, Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola, Birdland, Terminal 5, Apollo Theater, The Toronto Jazz Festival, Koerner Hall, Mile One Centre, The Sitka Jazz Festival, The Ottawa Jazz Festival, and The Rex. Matt is also a clinician and educator, having led music workshops across Canada and the United States.

Multiple JUNO award winner Mike Downes has been a prominent fixture both within the Canadian music scene and abroad, praised for his limitless versatility, seemingly effortless technique and uniquely melodic approach to the bass. Mike is not only an award-winning jazz bassist, but is recognized as a complete musician, equally masterful as a composer, arranger and educator. Mike has performed worldwide for over 4 decades with virtually all of Canada's top jazz musicians, including Officer of the Order of Canada Molly Johnson (as musical director), PJ Perry, Lorne Lofsky, Don Thompson, Kirk MacDonald, Robi Botos and Pat LaBarbera. He has performed with international artists Pat Metheny, Chris Potter, Michael Brecker, John Abercrombie, Peter Erskine, Kenny Wheeler, John Taylor, Dave Liebman and many others. Mike’s extensive and award-winning discography includes 7 albums as a leader (with his 8th to be released in March 2024), over 70 albums as a side musician and even more as a composer, arranger and producer.

During a career spanning over forty years, Toronto's Reg Schwager has proven to be one of Canada's leading jazz artists while making a mark internationally. Reg is a four-time winner of Canada's National Jazz Award for "Guitarist of the Year," and is on five Juno Award winning albums. In 2021, he was invested to The Order of Canada “for his indelible contributions to the Canadian jazz scene as a leading guitarist and composer.” He has led bands playing all of Canada's major jazz festivals and stages and has performed with Canadian greats Diana Krall, Oliver Jones, Dave Young and Peter Appleyard. From 1994 to 2004 Reg performed around the world as a member of the legendary George Shearing Quartet. As a stalwart of Toronto's music scene Reg has backed many leading jazz names: Zoot Sims, Gary Burton, Junior Mance, Pepper Adams and others. He can be heard on more than 200 recordings. Reg is on the 1996 album Velvet and Brass by Mel Torme and Rob McConnell which won a Grammy Award. CD releases under his own name including original compositions are the albums Songbook, Delphinus, Arctic Passage, Duets, Chromology, Border Town, Resonance and co-led with pianist/bassist Don Thompson, Ever Now, Live at Mezzetta and One Take: Volume Three

3x JUNO Award-winning musician, composer and educator Robi Botos has been hailed as one of the most diverse multi-instrumentalists of this generation. Drawing on inspiration from his Hungarian roots, his invariably expanding taste in music, or the experiences that shaped his life, Robi’s incomparable creativity and seemingly limitless technical ability have kept audiences returning to his performances with an eagerness for more than twenty five years. While recognized as a jazz artist, Botos is consistently inspired by projects and collaborations that draw influence from a variety of genres, which is why it should come as no surprise that his artistic output knows no bounds. Along with his renowned talents in the worlds of bebop, funk, blues, chamber and world music (to name a few), an undeniable component of Botos’s uniqueness that distinguishes him from others is the identifiable presence of the sounds and stories from his Hungarian roots. Sharing not just his personal history but that of his culture and people through his music has become a revered signature of Botos’s. His openness blended with his ever-evolving sound, incomparable creativity and seemingly limitless technical ability gains the listener's eager attention within a few notes, and keeps them both captivated and living in the moment while also eager to know what he is going to do next.

Sean Nimmons-Paterson, M. Mus., is a musician, composer, producer, and bandleader from Toronto, Canada. As a pianist with a multi-instrumental background, he has an extensive performance and recording resume including international tours and festival appearances. In 2020, Sean formed The Nimmons Tribute, a group dedicated to honouring his grandfather; Canadian clarinetist, bandleader and composer Phil Nimmons O.C., O. Ont. As the arranger, producer and pianist of The Nimmons Tribute, Sean released two critically acclaimed records that bridge the gap between his musical heritage and his own legacy. Sean’s work as a film composer is heard around the world, and he has written original scores and songs for over 40 films and series, airing on major international networks and platforms. His work as an album producer includes co-production on The Stella and Sam Album which received the Juno Award for Children’s Album of the Year in 2013. Sean continues to divide his time between performing and composing music from his studio in Toronto.

Taurey Butler is a phenomenal jazz pianist of the highest calibre. Hailing from East Orange, New Jersey, he has played all across the world from Hong Kong to New York and now makes his home in Montreal. He emerges as a fully-formed master of hard-driving swing deeply rooted in the blues.

Acclaimed Toronto composer and pianist Thompson Egbo-Egbo is always in key. Deeply rooted in his upbringing – moving to Canada from Nigeria at age four, commencing his dedication to playing the piano at the age of six – his innate aptitude and affection for the instrument resonates with him to this day. The key that keeps everything aligned is one where Thompson is in tune with his environment, collaborators, community and a signature approach to the art. On his forthcoming project, set for release via MNRK Music Group this fall, Thompson will draw from themes of transition, rebirth, realignment, joy, and optimism for the future. Partly inspired by the shifts and impact the last two years of the pandemic has placed on both a personal and professional level, audiences will experience the growth and depth of Thompson’s writing, as an offering of sonic catharsis and hope.