Amanda Tosoff is a Toronto-based jazz pianist, composer, and educator (Humber College and MusicArtsCollective.com). She has received various honours, including the Montréal Jazz Festival Grand Prix de Jazz, the Toronto Arts Foundation Emerging Jazz Artist Award – and most recently, a 2022 JUNO nomination for her album Earth Voices. With her latest release, Amanda continues to pursue the creative and stylistic leap she began on her previous album Words, once again blending jazz, pop and art-song, as well as drawing on poetry with a deep personal and emotional connection. This summer, Amanda is touring with 5 of the 16 guest artists on her album, including JUNO Award winning vocalist Emilie-Claire Barlow, saxophonist Allison Au, bassist Jon Maharaj and drummer Morgan Childs. The band will perform music from Earth Voices, plus selections from Emilie-Claire’s repertoire – including clever arrangements of Burt Bacharach, Bob Dylan, Gershwin and more!

“Thoughtful, sparkling, poetically-inspired chamber jazz!”

– DELARUE (NEW YORK MUSIC DAILY)

“…with the release of Earth Voices […] Tosoff has taken the concept that she so brilliantly mastered with Words and built upon it. More instruments, more beautiful poems, more vocalists that equal more invigorating compositions that inspire and lift the already powerful words off the page into the present moment.”

– LAVENDER SUTTON (LONDON JAZZ NEWS)

Julian Taylor doesn’t fit in a box. He never has—and more power to him. A Toronto music scene staple and a musical chameleon, Julian Taylor is used to shaking it up over the course of 10 albums in the last two decades. Of West Indian and Mohawk descent, Taylor first made his name as frontman of Staggered Crossing, a Canadian rock radio staple in the early 2000s. These days, however, the soulful singer/guitarist might be on stage one night playing with his eponymous band, spilling out electrified rhythm and blues glory, and the next he’ll be performing at a folk festival delivering a captivating solo singer-songwriter set. His songs have been placed in shows like Kim’s Convenience, Haven, Private Eyes and Elementary. He’s been invited to perform at two Olympic Games. The soulful blues, rhythmic soul, rootsy rock riffs and troubadour-esque folk songs that comprise his music are worth putting your busy life on hold for. In everything he does, Taylor has carved his own path, creating genre-free music with a generosity of spirit and a strong belief in the healing powers of song. Off stage, Taylor recently ventured into radio; when the Indigenous radio station ELMNT FM opened in Toronto in 2018, Taylor became the station’s afternoon-drive host.

Taylor’s journey began in a musically artistic family: his father plays classical piano, while his cousins on both sides of his family sing and play music, and his uncle is the conductor of the Nathaniel Dett Chorale, which focuses on Afrocentric vocal music. Taylor started piano at age 5 and learned acoustic guitar over summer campfires. In 1995, while still in high school, he formed the band The Midnight Blues and started playing open stages in North Toronto. That band morphed into Staggered Crossing who were signed to a publishing deal in 1997, and their self-titled debut, released in 2001, spawned four rock radio singles, including top 10 hit “Further Again.”

When Staggered Crossing split amicably in 2007, Taylor started anew as a solo artist with two albums of rootsier material, while grinding it out on the cover band circuit in small towns across Ontario. In 2014, he launched the Julian Taylor Band and this time, all bets were off: all of Taylor’s myriad influences were on the table, masterfully combining and updating vintage sounds that inspired him to create bold, innovative new songs. Modern pop, vintage R&B, smooth soul, and the rock’n’roll swagger he was known for, were all tied together with an intense devotion to craft and a collection of some of Toronto’s finest musicians. JTB have three studio albums to date—their acclaimed debut Tech Noir, released in 2014, the double record Desert Star released two years later and 2019’s acclaimed Avalanche—and have no plans to slow down, although in 2020 Taylor revisited his solo career with 2020’s contemplative The Ridge.

Toronto poet Robert Priest describes Taylor and his work as “the kind of artist forever in the zone, the voice limitless, the songs full of feeling.

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Payadora is a contemporary chamber music ensemble that performs Argentinian/Uruguayan tango and folk music and original compositions inspired by that tradition. Payadora has self produced two albums and has developed a loyal following across Canada over the past six years. The ensemble balances a combination of virtuosity and creativity, with stylistic accuracy. The ensemble features a collection of some of the most respected chamber musicians in Canada. Founded in 2013, Payadora has become one of Toronto’s most vibrant and sought-after acts. Their broad scope in tango draws from the height of Buenos Aires’ Tango tradition, including compositions by De Caro, Pugliese, Troilo, and Salgan, to the masterful, contemporary sounds of Astor Piazzolla and beyond. Drawing from eclectic backgrounds in Classical, Jazz, Latin, Eastern European folk music, and improvisation, Payadora’s performances exude technical virtuosity, playful spontaneity, and rhythmic vitality.

Their recordings are played regularly on Jazz FM’s Cafe Latino and Classical 96.3. The Argentinean consulate recently made a video in support of Payadora showcasing interviews and live videos from Payadora’s concerts. In addition, Payadora is the featured ensemble in the 2019 documentary “The Sounds of Canada: Argentina.”

Highlights from Payadora’s past performances include sold-out shows at the Ottawa Chamberfest, Indian River Music Festival in PEI, St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts, Harbourfront Centre, Toronto Music Festival, the Lula Lounge, the Jazz Bistro, the TD Toronto Jazz Festival, and for the Canadian Opera Company’s World Music Series at the Four Seasons Centre. Payadora has been featured with the London Symphonia, Cathedral Bluffs Symphony and the Hannaford Street Silver Band, Festival of the Sound in Parry Sound, Stratford Summer Music Festival, Leith Festival in Owen Sound, Music in the Morning in Vancouver and Vancouver Island Music Festival.

They are currently collaborating with Grammy award-winning “Yiddish Glory” in concerts and have composed and arranged an entire record of Polish and Yiddish Tango. They will be performing at Queens University and a live TV broadcast for Zoomer Radio.

They received a grant from the Ontario Arts Council to produce a full-length film of 11 pieces in collaboration with PointeTango which they released in 2021.

They were selected to perform their show “Tango in the Dark” with PointeTango Dance Company as part of the Next State Theatre Festival and will be performing five live shows in Toronto in January 2022.

Payadora will be releasing their third album with a grant from the Ontario Arts Council in 2022. Additionally, Rebekah received creation grants from Ontario Arts Council and Toronto Arts Councils to compose new works for Payadora.

Carol has toured the world performing as a trio, to a big band, to being the invited guest with Pops symphony orchestras. No matter where she performs, she captivates audiences and receives standing ovations. She has enjoyed much of her career success in Japan and Canada. A “Distinguished Alumnus” of Berklee College of Music, Welsman is also a prolific song-writer and her songs have been recorded by such artists as Celine Dion, Ray Charles and Chrissy Hinde. Carol speaks English, French, Spanish and Italian fluently and also records in these languages.

“Blessed with so many musical gifts—taste, time, projection and a rhythmic sense of when to change chords—Carol’s piano is beyond reproach, warm yet rhythmically sharp, giving her voice a perfect hammock of support to swing in.” – REX REED

Like many other successful musical artists, singer/pianist Carol Welsman was surrounded by music from an early age. Music was “all over the family,” she recalls, reminiscing about her childhood in Toronto, Canada. Her mother was a piano teacher; an uncle was a violinist, and her father, Carol recalls, “played clarinet and saxophone quite well.” But the family member, who had the highest visibility, many decades prior to Carol’s musical successes, was her grandfather on her father’s side. “His name was Frank S. Welsman, and he was the founder and first conductor of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra.”

Carol, herself, was taking music lessons at an early age, and played contra bass and violin in high school. Her fascination with jazz was triggered by a friend who had, she says, “an incredible record collection.”

Carol Welsman’s passion for jazz led her to Boston’s Berklee College of Music in the 80s, where she majored in piano performance. She later traveled to Europe, and studied voice with Christiane Legrand (sister of Michel) and, in Paris, met Romano Musumarra (producer/songwriter for Céline Dion, Pavarotti and Garou). She became the English lyricist for Musumarra’s compositions, including a two#1 hit songs in France and Sweden. Welsman co-wrote the Ray Charles 1995 recording, “Out of my Life” and the 2006 duet “You Are My Miracle” for tenor Vittorio Grigolo and Pussycat Dolls lead singer, Nicole Scherzinger. Welsman’s debut CD Lucky “To Be Me” received a 1996 Juno Award nomination for Best Contemporary Jazz Album and led to her being named Best Female Jazz Vocalist of the Year (1996) by Jazz Report Magazine. Since then, six of her twelve albums to date have received Juno nominations.

FREE ADMISSION ALL WEEKEND – Approaching Rectory, the sound of traffic will give way to the sounds of Count Basie and Duke Ellington. A full stage. The summer sun. The unparalleled sound of big band. You’re going to want to bring your dancing shoes. With thanks to Russell Hendrix and Royal Oak Homes this stage is on the north side of Dundas Street directly across from Aeolian Hall. Under the shadow of the Aeolian, guests can enjoy the best that big band has to offer in the open air. Admission is by donation.

“I got everything I wanted. When I was young in Kansas City, I knew nothing about Frank Sinatra, Billy Eckstine, Ella Fitzgerald, of all those concert halls, of all those countries. I did not know what it was like to direct a band… All I wanted was to be big, to be in show-business, and to travel…and that’s what I’ve been doing all my life.” – Count Basie

Saturday Line-up

1:00 p.m. Enchanté with Laurraine Sigouin

3:00 p.m. Seth McNall Sextet

5:00 p.m. Big Bandemic with special guest Denise Pelley

Sunday Line-up

1:00 p.m. Baddest Big Band

3:00 p.m. Quintessential

FREE ADMISSION ALL WEEKEND – Some of the best jazz ensembles have performed on some of the finest patio gardens in the world’s great cities. The Curt Lind Dundas Garden at Aeolian Hall stands among them. Intimate, with access to all the amenities, the Curt Lind Dundas Garden Stage will feature excellence among duos and ensembles under the shade of the Aeolian Hall. Every half hour on Saturday and Sunday, guests will be admitted by donation. Enjoy everything wonderful summer has to offer but make it better by enjoying it with jazz.

“There’s something beautifully friendly and elevating about a bunch of guys playing music together. This wonderful little world that is unassailable. It’s really teamwork, one guy supporting the others, and it’s all for one purpose, and there’s no flies in the ointment, for a while. And nobody conducting, it’s all up to you. It’s really jazz__that’s the big secret. Rock and roll ain’t nothing but jazz with a hard backbeat.” – Keith Richards

Saturday Line-up

1:30 p.m. Nicole Tan Combo

2:30 p.m. The Crooners – Rick Kish & Connor Boa

3:30 p.m. Barclay Road Brassworks

4:30 p.m. Aiyoyô Project

Sunday Line-up

1:30 p.m. Young Ones (one hour set with John Kenny (guitar), Rob Weatherstone (electric bass) and Sandy McKay (drums)

2:30 p.m. Peter Karle Combo

3:30 p.m. Take Three

FREE ADMISSION ALL WEEKEND – An intimate setting with a view of Dundas Street, the Dave Southen Lounge is heart of Aeolian Hall. Nestled in the windows beside a vintage Yamaha grand, some of the best vocals in jazz will perform here Saturday (1 p.m. to 6 p.m.) and Sunday (1 p.m. to 4 p.m.). Admission is by donation. The full line-up will be announced soon.

“Jazz music is the power of now. There is no script. It is conversation. The emotion is given to you by musicians as they make split second decisions to fulfil that they feel the moment requires.” – Wynton Marsalis

Saturday Line-up

1:00 p.m. Sonja Gustafson with Charlie Rallo (piano) & Larry Ernewein (bass)

2:00 p.m. Gina Farrugia & Peter Karle

3:00 p.m. Hilary Welch

4:00 p.m. Denise Pelley

5:00 p.m. Bryan Gloyd

Sunday Line-up

12:00 p.m. Dizzy & Fay

1:00 p.m. Marque Smith & Scott Bollert

3:00 p.m. Laurraine Sigouin