Rob McConnell Born in London, Ontario, McConnell took up the valve trombone in high school and began his performing career in the early 50’s performing with saxophonist Don Thompson Edmonton, Bobby Gimby and fellow Canadian Maynard Ferguson. He also studied arranging and composition with Gordon Delamont. In 1968, Rob formed The Boss Brass, a big band that...
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Born in London, Ontario, McConnell took up the valve trombone in high school and began his performing career in the early 50’s, performing with saxophonist Don Thompson in Edmonton, Bobby Gimby and fellow Canadian Maynard Ferguson.He also studied arranging and composition with Gordon Delamont. In 1968, Rob formed the Boss Brass, a big band that would become his...
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Eugene Amaro (tenor saxophone, alto saxophone, flutist) born September 25, 1926, was a popular Canadian jazz musician and leader of his own Eugene Amaro Quartet, and long-time member of Rob McConnell and The Boss Brass. He also co-led the Sam Noto/Eugene Amaro Quintet and performed with the Ron Rully Sextet and Ian Mcdougall’s Dectet in the Sound of Toronto Jazz...
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Guido Basso (trumpet, flugelhorn, harmonica, conductor, arranger and composer) was born in Montreal in 1937. Guido was only nine years old when he began playing the trumpet, becoming recognized as a prodigy while studying at Montreal’s Conservatoire de musique du Quebec. He was just a teenager when he was already becoming prominent on the Montreal club scene, where...
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Brian Barlow (drummer, percussionist, guitarist, producer) was born in 1952 in Bellville, Ontario, Canada. He has spent mosst of his career in the Toronto recording studios and is one of Canada’s most recorded musicians. His work in the studio and on the concert stage with a widely diverse group of artists including, Ringo Starr, Alanis Morrisette, Bob Seger, K.d....
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Ed Bickert (guitarist) was born in 1932, in Hochfeld, Manitoba, and raised in the farming and fruit-growing community around Vernon, British Columbia. Universally regarded as a guitar genius, Bickert was largely self-taught, developing an intereest in jazz harmony by studying Stan Kenton recordings. In his early teens he gained experience playing onstage with his mother...
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Dave Caldwell (tenor and alto saxophones, flute, clarinet) was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. At the age of 18, after playing and recording with Halifax’s finest bands, Caldwell left his home town to study formally with Joe Viola at the Berklee School of Music in Boston. Completing his studies and work in the Boston area, he moved to Montreal where he began...
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Bruce Cassidy (trumpeter, EVI player, composer, arranger, producer) was born in Fredricton, N.B., schooled in Nova Scotia and Dalhousie University. Bruce first started playing trumpet in Montreal in the 1950;s with Joe Sealy snd Hubie Basso. After studying at Berklee College in Boston, he moved to Toronto where he became a fixture on the Toronto jazz scene, both in clubs...
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Arnie Chycoski (trumpet) was born May 7, 1936 in New Westminister, British Columbia. Called by celebrated band-leader Rob McConnell, “One of the top three lead trumpet players on the planet”. Arnie passed away Sept. 10, 2008 near Olympia Washington. In the 1950’s Arnie was appearing at a jazz club in Victoria called The Scene. At that time Arnie was an...
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Terry Clarke (drummer) was born in 1944, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. He began displaying rhythmic aptitude at a very early age, and was just 12 years old when he began studying formally with noted drum teache and author, Jim Blackley, Blackley was, and remains, a primary figure in Clarke’s continuing development as a musician. In 1965, Clarke moved to...
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Michael Craden (percussionist, painter, graphic artist) was born in 1941, passed away in 1982. He was best known for his work with Paul Horn & Nexus. In 1976, Paul Horn album “Altitude of the Sun”, 1976 Rob McConnell & The Boss Brass “Jazz Album”. He also played percussion on Moe Koffman’s, “Master Session” in 1973....
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Jimmy Dale (Piano, organ, arranger, composer, conductor) born on October 23, 1935, London, England. He immigrated to Canada with his family in 1947 at the age of 11. He attended The Royal Conservatory of Music for two years where he was a pupil of pianist Alma Allen. He also studied music theory and music composition privately in Toronto with Gordon Delamont. Dale began...
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Bob Day (trumpeter, flugelhorn, composer) was born in Toronto on 27 Aug 1946, and passed away in Calgary 9 Sep 2007. The son of flutist Gordon Day, Bob Day studied trumpet 1961-8 with Don Johnson, attended the Berklee School of Music in 1966, and studied arranging and composition 1967-73 with Gordon Delamont in Toronto. He was a member of the National Youth Orchestra...
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Alex Dean (saxophones, clarinet, flute, piccolo, oboe) was born in 1954. Renowned as one of Canada’s foremost jazz saxophonists, reedman Alex Dean has played and recorded with a who’s who of legendary musicians, bands, and ensembles during a stellar career as an award-winning musician, clinician, artistic director, and jazz educator. His playing credentials...
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Dave Dunlop (trumpet, flugelhorn, cornet, piccolo) was born in 1955, London, Ontario, Canada. In 1975, he moved to Toronto to attend Humber College. Studying with Rainer Schmidt and don Johnson had a major impact onhis playing and helped prepare him for the long and varied career he established. His trumpet and flugelhorn have been heart around the world in many styles...
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Jerry Fuller (drummer) was born on April 5, 1939 in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. He passed away July 13, 2002 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He came from a musical family, his father Jerry was a saxophonist who led a big band at the Palliser Hotel in Calgary from 1937 through 1944. The family then moved to Vancouver and his dad became the leader at the Cave from 1944 into...
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Ron Hughes (trombone and bass trombone) has recorded nine albums (CD’s) with Rob McConnell and The Boss Brass starting from 1976 through to 1998. Albums Recorded with The Boss Brass The Jazz Album ◄ (3 versions) Attic 1976 Big Band Jazz ◄ (2 versions) Umbrella (2) 1977 Present Perfect ◄ (2 versions) MPS Records 1980 Singers Unlimited, The With Rob McConnell...
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John Johnson (saxophone, flute, clarinet, piccolo and harmonica) a Toronto native, John studied music at Humber College and began his professional career in 1979. Within four years he established himself as a force on the Toronto music scene. John is a rare combination of musical sensitivity and technical ability. Able to play just about anything, he is highly respected...
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Jerry Johnson (trombonist, educator) was an exceptional Toronto musican and jazz educator who passed away in Stratford, Ontario, Canada on March 7, 2005. He was on the faculty of Humber College in Toronto for a number of years, played with Rob McConnell and The Boss Brass for many years, recording 9 albums (CD’s) with the band. He was a member of the famed Phil...
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Alastair Kay (trombonist) is widely recognized as one of Canada’s finest trombonists. Over the past three decades, he has performed with some fo the world’s best orchestras, entertainer, and jazz artists including Ella Fitzgerald, Buddy Rich, Frank Sinatra, Harry Connick Jr., Dizzy Gillespie, Tony Bennett, Phil Woods, Mel Torme, Renee Rosnes, diana Krall,...
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Moe Koffman (flute, saxophone, clarinet, composer, arranger) was born Dec. 28, 1928 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He passed away on March 28, 2001 in Orangeville, Ontario, Canada. A Canadian jazzlegend, Koffman gained lasting respect and recognition by his peers as one of the nation’s most important jazz institutions throughout a celebrated five-decade career in...
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Pat LaBarbera (saxophonist, teacher, composer) was born in Mt. Morris, NY, in 1944. His first teacher was his father, Joseph, a clarinetist. His brothers are also noted jazz musicians: Joe, a drummer, and John, an arranger and composer. LaBarbera’s other teachers included Joe Viola, Don Menza, and Joe Allard (saxophone), Joe Henderson, Lee Konitz, and Warne Marsh...
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Bob Leonard (baritone saxophone, clarinet, bass clarinet, flute) has spent 20 years in Rob McConnell and The Boss Brass while also playing in the pit orchestra’s of Toronto’s busy theatres. As he puts it, “too many shows and acts to count or name”. He also has played on numerous jingles and film scores. He is a first rate woodwind doubler which...
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Russ Little (trombonist, composer, arranger, conductor) was born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada in 1941. He was raised on the island of Jamaia for the first few years of his life before moving back to Canada to attend Malvern Collegiate Institute and the University of Toronto where in 1966 he attained his honours degree in the Humanities, with special emphasis on History...
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Bob Livingston (trombonist) is a charter member of Rob McConnell’s famed boss Brass, playing trombone in live concert, recording, and touring with that renowned big band from the time of its formation in 1968. He is heard on more than 30 albums and CD’s with The Boss Brass, and many other recordings including releases by Santana, John Herbeman, The Spitfire...
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Lorne Lofsky (guitarist) started off playing rock music but took an interest in jazz upon hearing the Miles Davis album “Kind of Blue”. Hearing this record was, for Lofsky, a musical revelation that led to a dramatic change in his approach to playing music. Lofsky began a more formal study of music while attending York University, in the mid 70’s...
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James MacDonald (french horn) is a freelance professional French Horn player, educator, and conductor from Ontario, Canada who has enjoyed many successes in a wide variety of musical activities over many years of music making. he continues (29 years now) as principal horn with the Mississauga Symphony Orchestra, and also plays with the Ontario Philharmonic, and orchestra...
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John MacLeod (trumpet, flugelhorn, composer, arranger, bandleader) was born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada in 1955. His impeccable credentials in nearly every aspect of the music industry have been firmly established in a distinguished career spanning over three decades on the Canadian music scene as a player, composer, arranger, and conductor. As a jazz artist, he has had...
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Steve McDade (trumpet/flugelhorn) was born in Bridgeton Cross, Glasgow, Scotland in 1962. His family moved to Burlington, Ontario, Canada, when Steve was 4 years old. McDade began playing the trumpet at the age of 12 with the Burlington Teen Tour Band, touring Europe and North America to participate in band competitions, and at just 14 was featured as a soloist at...
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Ian McDougall (trombonist, arranger, composer) was born in 1938, in Calgary, Alberta, Canada and grew up in victoria, British Columbia where he began his “professional” career at the age of 12 when he joined the Victoria Local (247) of the American Federation of Musicians, the youngest person ever to join that local. Ian is perhaps best known for his work as...
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Dave McMurdo (trombonist, composer, arranger, conductor, educator) was born March 4, 1944 in Isleworth, England, and passed away on June 13, 2011. He spent his early life in vancouver, British Columbia, Canada where he studied music at the University of British Columbia. It was there that he began composing music and playing in s variety of bands including the famed Bob...
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Marty Morell (drummer, percussionist, vibraphonist, producer) was born in1944. He played with the Bill Evans Trio for seven years – longer than any other drummer. Morell attended the Manhattan School of Music and studied mallets with Morris Goldberg, and tympani with Saul Goodman at the Juilliard School of Music. Prior to joining Bill Evans, he worked and/or...
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Gary Morgan (saxophonist, bassist, arranger, composer) was born in Santiago, Chile and moved to Toronto, Ontario, Canada, at the age of 2. Tuned to music from an early age, he digested the popular music of the day, country music, Top 40, blues, big bands, rock & roll and rhythm & blues. Formative events in his early life included hearing the bands of Lionel...
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Mike Murley (tenor and soprano saxophonist) was born in Truro, Nova Scotia, Canada in 1961. Mike Murley has emerged as one of the country’s finest jazz artists since moving to Toronto from his native Nova Scotia in 1981. His critically-acclaimed work as a leader and a sideman has placed him at the forefront of Canada’s jazz scene for more than a decade. Since winning the...
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Sam Noto (trumpet, flugelhorn) was born in 1930, Buffalo, New York, U.S.A. Reputed as an excellent bop soloist, Noto has worked throughout North America with some of the biggest names and best bands in jazz, including Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Buddy Rich, Red Rodney, Don Menza, Joe Romano, Larry Cavelli, Louie Bellson, Kenny Shroyer, Frank Rossolino, Ed Leddy,...
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Ernie Pattison (trombone, bass trombone) has worked extensively with Rob McConnell and The Boss Brass over the years, The Brass Connection and Mel Torme, and many others. 1986 – Night Flight ( Rob McConnell and The Boss Brass ) 1987 – Five Star Edition ( The Brass Connection ) 1991 – The Brass Is Back ( Rob McConnell and The Boss Brass )...
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P.J. Perry (tenor/alto saxophone, clarinet, flute & piccolo) was born in 1941, in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. He is a jazz saxophonist from Edmonton, Alberta. He has won one Juno award as a solo artist, and one for his work with The Rob McConnell Tentet. Perry was born to prominent western Canadian band leader Paul Perry and Margaret Yeo. Early in life they moved...
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Terry Promaine (trombonist, arranger, composer) is an Associate Professor and Coordinator of Jazz Studies at the University Toronto, The Director of “The Jazz Camp” at the Interprovincial Music Camp (IMC) and remains busy as a freelance tenor trombone/tuba/bass trombonist. He appears with numerous Toronto based groups including, The Mike Murley Septet, The John Macleod...
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Dave Restivo (piano) isone of canada’s most respected and influential jazz artists, well-known for his work with Rob McConnell’s The Boss Brass and Tentet, the Mike Murley Quintet, and legendary songwriter Marc Jordan. He has also performed and recorded with Dave Holland, Kenny Wheeler, John Abercrombie, Mel Torme, Pat LaBarbera, Carla Bley, Steve Swallow,...
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Earl Seymour (tenor and baritone saxophone, EWI-Steiner) was born on Sept.13, 1951 in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Earl was born the third of four children. His parents, the late Art and Wanda Seymour, encourage Earl to take up the clarinet at the age of 9, and he continued until he reached high school, where he began his romance with the saxophone. After high school, Earl...
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Al Stanwyck ( trumpet, flugelhorn, trombone, piccolo trumpet) was born in 1939, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He went to school in Barrie, Ontario where he was taught by W.A. Fisher continuing his studies later in Toronto. Stanwyck was just 18 when he went on the road with the great Lionel Hampton. He followed that with stints with The Glenn Miller Band (led by Ray...
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George Stimpson (french horn) was born in Mobile, Alabama October 4, 1948; I grew up in rural Alabama developing a feel for nature. Having 2 sisters and a brother close in age, we could always play ball or build a fort in the woods by the house. We swam in Mobile Bay and the Gulf of Mexico to escape the oppressive Southern heat. “Even after hearing my sister play...
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Reg Schwager (guitarist) was born in 1962, Leiden, The Netherlands. He is today, and has been for many years, one of Canada’s leading jazz guitarists. When he was three years old, his family moved from Holland to New Zealand where he studied Suzuki violin. when he was six, his family moved again, this time to Sudbury, Ontario, Canada. There he took music lessons in...
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Don Thompson (bass, piano, vibraphone, composer, arranger, producer, educator) was born in 1940, in Powell River, British Columbia, Canada. After taking piano lessons as a young child, he took up the string bass and vibraphone in his teens, all instruments on which he is basically self-taught. He moved to Vancouver in 1960 and began his career as a professional musician,...
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Jerry Toth (saxophonist, clarinet, flute, composer, arranger) was born on Nov. 15, 1928 in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. Heo passed away on March 31, 1999 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He was from a well-known musical family including brothers Rudy, a prominent bandleader/composer, and Tony, a saxophonist. Celebrated as a member of Rob McConnell’s “The Boss...
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Erich Traugott (trumpeter) was born in 1928, in Poland, but was brought to Canada (North Battleford, Saskatchewan) when he was just nine months old. He started playing the cornet when he was three years old, on an old horn his father owned, and with the encouragement of both parents, and born with perfect pitch, he was soon playing at levels far beyond his years....
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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...
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Jim Vivian (bassist) was born in 1961. One of the most in demand bassists in Canada, Jim has performed and recorded with numerous Canadian jazz artists including Don Thompson, Sonny Greenwich, Jon Ballantyne, David Occhipinti, Pat LaBarbara, Oliver Jones The Maritime Jazz Orchestra, Mike Murley, Brian Dickinson, Jeff Johnston, and Rob McConnell and The Boss Brass. On the...
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Steve Wallace (bassist) was born in 1956, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and is today regarded by many as the most powerful bass player that Canada has produced. He is almost cetainly the most experienced, having begun working with visiting jazz greats in Toronto clubs such as Bourbon street, Lytes, and George’s Spaghetti House while he was still in his twenties,...
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Brad Warnaar (french horn) was principal horn player with the Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra. He attended the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, N.Y. He was principal horn player in the Eastman Wind Ensemble and at 19 became a member of the Rochester Philharmonic. He was a former member of the Rochester Brass Quintet and the Toronto Symphony. Brad Warnaar also played...
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Ted Warren (drummer) was born in 1965, in Saskatchewan. He studied Music at Montreal’s Mcgill University, and received a certificate in Jazz Studies from St. Francis Xavier University in Antigonish, Nova Scotia. He teaches in the Jazz Studies programs at both Humber College in Toronto and Mohawk College in Hamilton, Ontario, and is also a well-regarded clinician...
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Jiro “Butch” Watanabe (trombonist) was born June 7, 1923 in Fraser Mills, British Columbia, Canada. He passed away November 5, 2002 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Butch Watanabe was an accomplished trombonist who worked with Oscar Peterson, Lionel Hampton, Rob McConnell and The Boss Brass, Peter Appleyard, Phil Nimmons, Ron Collier, and Anne Murray....
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Rick Wilkins (tenor saxophone, arranger, composer, conductor) was born in 1937, in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. He is widely recognized as one of the country’s most accomplished saxophonists, and among the most consummate arrangers and conductors in the world. In 2003, he was awarded both the Order of Canada and the Queen’s Jubilee Medal in recognition of his...
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Dave Woods (trumpet, bandleader) was British-born, but built his career as an outstanding trumpet-player and exceptional bandleader inToronto over the past several decades. Woods played in the trumpet section of Rob McConnell’s celebrated “The Boss Brass” for much of the band’s existence, as well as most of the other big bands and several smaller...
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