2025 ARTISTS
Angela Pincente Big Band
Thursday, August 21 @ 6PM • Memorial Park
Toronto-based trombonist, composer, and arranger
Angela Pincente is a dynamic force in the city's vibrant jazz scene. A graduate of Humber College with a Bachelor of Music, Pincente honed her craft under the mentorship of renowned musicians such as Kelsley Grant, William Carn, Mike Downes, and Shelly Berger. Her sound blends intricate improvisation with a unique compositional voice, reflecting a deep understanding of jazz tradition while pushing the boundaries of the genre.
Pincente leads several of her own ensembles, including the Angela Pincente Quintet, Angela Pincente Tentet and Angela Pincente Big Band, showcasing her distinctive style as both a performer and a bandleader. Her compositions are marked by rich harmonic structures, complex rhythms, and a deep connection to the art of storytelling through music.
Pincente is also known for her arrangements, which are performed by both her own bands and other professional groups. Whether playing on stage or in the studio, Angela Pincente is a sought-after voice in Toronto's jazz community, with a passion for fostering new music and bringing her creative vision to life.
Free (in collaboration with Road to Cultivate)
Jeremy Ledbetter Trio
Thursday, August 21 @ 8:30PM • The Blou Room
Forged in a cauldron of raging, inspiring contemporary jazz, the Jeremy Ledbetter Trio pushes the boundaries of jazz and world music, providing an undiluted display of rampaging energy and captivating musicianship. Audiences must exercise caution. People who see this band are rarely the same again. If the Jeremy Ledbetter Trio were an inanimate object it would be a runaway train.
The Jeremy Ledbetter Trio sees Jeremy joined by Grammy-winning drummer Larnell Lewis (Snarky Puppy) and renowned electric bassist Rich Brown (Steve Coleman and Five Elements), who offer the perfect counterpart to Ledbetter’s iconoclastic energy at the piano. The Trio’s debut album “Got a Light?”, released in 2018, has been described as “a controlled explosion of big ideas and compelling musical storytelling” Their follow-up album, "Gravity", was released in Sept 2024.
Elizabeth Shepherd &
Michael Occhipinti (ES:MO)
Friday, August 22 @ 5PM • Beamish House
Elizabeth Shepherd and Michael Occhipinti (ES:MO) have been featured in each other's projects for almost a decade, with Elizabeth being the vocalist and pianist for Michael Occhipinti's The Universe of John Lennon, and Michael touring as the guitarist in Elizabeth's group promoting her albums Montreal and The Signal. Their new duo album, The Weight of Hope, was released October 29, 2021, and the two will be touring across Canada to support the album's release.
Michael Occhipinti has been called a guitar chameleon for his ability to work with many colours in different genres, while Elizabeth Shepherd’s unique voice and adventurous compositions also resist easy labelling. Between them, the two have received over a dozen nominations for Canada’s JUNO Award, and two Polaris Prize nominations; together they create a magical and compelling world of sound that can have an audience holding its breath one moment, and moving in rhythm the next.
Molly Johnson Quartet
Friday, August 22 @ 8PM • Port Hope United Church
Recognized as one of Canada’s greatest voices, jazz vocalist
Molly Johnson is a mother, singer-songwriter, artist, and philanthropist.
Throughout her career, she has captivated audiences both in Canada and Europe with her original pieces and interpretations of jazz standards. Not surprisingly, Molly is a laureate of multiple notable awards, including two JUNO awards, the Governor General Award, the Order of Canada, and the Chevalier Ordre des Arts et des Lettres. Outside her own musical endeavours, Molly is also an avid supporter and patron of the arts. As the founding artistic director of Toronto's Kensington Market Jazz Festival, she has introduced hundreds of performers and in her own words built a “local jazz festival that reflects the cultural depth” of the immediate musical community.
Michael Shand
Friday, August 22 @ 10:30PM • The Blou Room
Saturday, August 23 @ 10:30PM • The Blou Room
#2, 48 Mill Sreet South, Port Hope
Over 30 years of performance worldwide has earned
Michael Shand his place in the upper echelon of keyboardists in all of Canada. Despite, in just four years, having achieved a grade 9 Royal Conservatory of Music classical piano certification, his musicality has been deeply rooted in jazz, having been immersed in it since birth in the home. He then went on to study jazz at York University where he was a recipient of the Oscar Peterson Scholarship Award. However, it is the diversity of his musical influences that have uniquely moulded his playing style and made him a top choice for so many artists, across so many genres. Shortly after leaving York, Michael, then 22, was pianist and musical director for the quintet, Kollage, which featured Archie Alleyne and Dougie Richardson, pillars of Canada’s jazz community.​
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$10 cash at the door (free for musicians)
Duncan Hopkins
Friday, August 22 @ 10:30PM • The Blou Room
Saturday, August 23 @ 10:30PM • The Blou Room
Canadian double bassist, composer and arranger Duncan Hopkins has been working at the highest levels of jazz for almost thirty years. In that time, he has worked with such jazz legends as Norma Winstone, Bobo Stenson, Rob McConnell and the Boss Brass, Scott Hamilton, Houston Person, Warren Vache, Ed Bickert, Mark Murphy, Peter Appleyard, Bobby Watson, Jeremy Pelt, Byron Stripling, Diana Krall, Kenny Wheeler, Sam Rivers, Harry Allen and Edward Simon to name but a few and playing in clubs and venues such as the National Arts Centre in Canada, Royal Festival Hall in England and Carnegie Hall in The United States.
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He can be seen on film in “Where the Truth Lies” featuring Kevin Bacon and Colin Firth. He has toured extensively throughout Canada, Great Britain, Europe, Brazil and the United States. He can be heard on over fifty albums, numerous CBC, BBC, and NPR recordings and has seven recordings as a leader and several others as a co-leader. The new recording Who Are You? released in the summer of 2023 on TPR records has received national and international acclaim and airplay.
$10 cash at the door (free for musicians)
Lorne Nehring
Friday, August 22 @ 10:30PM • The Blou Room
Saturday, August 23 @ 10:30PM • The Blou Room
#2, 48 Mill Sreet South, Port Hope
JUNO and Jazz Report Award-winning drummer, Lorne Nehring is originally from Montreal, where he began playing piano, saxophone and drums. Lorne studied percussion and began his jazz studies at McGill University. He has studied with noted Toronto drum teacher and author, Jim Blackley as well as with American jazz great Keith Copeland in New York City.
He is an accredited teacher who for many years was the director of, and instructor at the much-respected Drum School at Long & McQuade on Bloor St. in Toronto. After fifteen years, Lorne has recently retired from his teaching position as a drum set instructor and professor at Humber College, Toronto. Lorne received a master’s degree in music from York University focusing his research on the importance of improvisation in jazz education.
$10 cash at the door (free for musicians)
Dave Young
Saturday, August 23 @ 10:30AM • Port Hope Public Library
31 Queen Street, Port Hope
Toronto-based and Winnipeg-born multiple award-winning bassist and composer Dave Young, is, without a doubt, one of Canada’s most valuable and beloved musical exports. Whether he’s performing as part of a classical symphony, or as an integral member of an iconic jazz trio (with the likes of the late Oscar Peterson), or leading any of his dynamic ensembles, Dave remains a total musician, with artistic soul in abundance. He first began studying the guitar and violin at age ten, but a turn of events at his first gig (a University dance band) compelled him to pick up the bass. Equally comfortable in the worlds of orchestral classical music and jazz, Dave is a multiple threat. As a classical musician, he has been a member of The Edmonton Symphony, The Winnipeg Symphony and The Hamilton Philharmonic. As a jazz artist, he is a chameleon-like bassist, who often shines brightest in collaborative efforts with other musicians. Because of his technical skill, few bassists (jazz or otherwise) are able to dig in, swing hard and still render a lyrical arco solo as Dave can.
One of Dave’s most beloved gigs was a five year stint (1961-66) as a member of iconic jazz guitarist Lenny Breau’s quartet. The list of musicians with whom Dave has shared the stage is a virtual “Who’s Who” of international jazz… including the late Oscar Peterson (with whom Dave had a thirty-five year musical relationship), Clark Terry, Harry “Sweets” Edison, Zoot Simms, Joe Williams, Oliver Jones, Kenny Burrell, Cedar Walton, Hank Jones, Nat Adderly, Peter Appleyard, Gary Burton, Barney Kessell, Ed Bickert, Ranee Lee, Marcus Belgrave, Don Thompson, Kenny Burrell and James Moody.
Nancy Walker Quartet with
Tara Davidson, Lauren Falls and
Ethan Ardelli
Saturday, August 23 @ 12:00PM • The Blou Room
Pianist and composer Nancy Walker has been recognized with honours Canada-wide, including the Montréal Jazz Festival’s Grand Prix de Jazz, the National Jazz Awards Keyboardist Of The Year Award, a JUNO nomination for Instrumental Album Of The Year, and an induction into the Mississauga Music Walk Of Fame. A dynamic improviser, an artful composer and a responsive accompanist, Nancy has been praised both for her work as a solo artist and as a musical collaborator. With several discs to her own credit as leader, she can also be heard on a wide range of recordings as a side player, by artists from Kirk MacDonald to Emilie-Claire Barlow. Most recently she can be heard on the 2024 recording Here’s To Life by John Neudorf (on which she is both pianist and co-producer), and Sarah Jerrom’s 2025 JUNO nominated Magpie.
Nancy’s work is not limited to the jazz idiom. As a composer of contemporary choral music, she was honoured to be commissioned to compose the music for a full-length musical theatre production (SATB chorus and soloists) in collaboration with The Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation, entitled FIRST. The musical premiered at the New Credit Community Centre in June, 2018, and in 2020-21 the production received The Ontario Historical Society’s Indigenous History Award. Later, the Mississauga Children’s Choir commissioned Nancy to adapt one of the songs from FIRST (Water, with lyrics by Steven Campbell) for their senior children’s choir. It was performed in May, 2024 at the final concert of the choir’s 2023/24 season.
Nancy’s compositions reflect her view of the age we live in – at times intense, at times poignant, at times cerebral. Her inspirations include architecture, cinema, literature, visual art and nature.
André Valério Quartet
August 23 @ 2:30PM • Ganaraska Brewing Company
André Valério is a Brazilian multi-instrumentalist known for his skills as a guitarist, composer, and arranger. He has travelled the world, performing at renowned music festivals and venues in Canada, the United States, Mexico, the Netherlands and Brazil.
From a young age, Andre was inspired by Brazil’s Bossa Nova music and began composing and arranging his own music. He has a deep appreciation for classical music and jazz, among other genres. Andre leads ensembles that specialize in Jazz, Brazilian, and Classical music, performing regularly in the city.
In 2017, Andre released his debut album, “Chrysalis,” featuring ten original songs composed and arranged by him. The album showcases his talent and includes collaborations with respected musicians from Toronto. You can find “Chrysalis” on popular digital platforms like Spotify, iTunes, Amazon Music, and Google Play.
Andre Valerio’s musical versatility and passion continue to leave a lasting impression on audiences worldwide.
Jeni Thai
Saturday, August 23 @ 3:30PM • Dreamer’s Cafe
When you meet her, Jenie Thai is composed, pleasant, amiable, friendly, and — she won’t like the word but you have to live with it — sweet. She has an open face, long hair, a ready smile and an easy laugh.
And she is also tough, and gritty, and plays barrelhouse piano steeped in the blues — and if that wasn’t enough to get your head around, she also writes and sings tough and tender ballads, direct from her heart to yours.
There's a new album, Night on Fire, with a sold out show at Toronto's Hugh's Room and — while she now calls Toronto home — she lives on the road, and there’s dust on her shoes, love in her heart, and a whole lot of music in her soul.
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Honours? There have been a few: nominations for Edmonton Music Awards as “Artist to Watch” and “Female Artist of the Year” in 2013 and 2014 and her achievement as semi-finalist at the 30th International Blues Challenge in Memphis (where she represented northern Alberta). Oh, and three Maple Blues award nominations (2016 - Best New Artist of the Year, 2018 and again 2019 for Best Piano Player/Keyboardist of the Year).
Who she sounds like: Always a fool’s game, this — imagine a singer, songwriter and player touched by the music of Tom Waits, Memphis Slim, Nina Simone, Bonnie Raitt, and some people say she sounds a little like Eva Cassidy (“I do?” she queries). She listens to old blues, edgy indie artists, sixties R&B, piano players with chops and soul, and the classic American songwriters.
Dizzy & Fay
Saturday, August 25 @ 6:00PM • Hotel Carlyle & Restaurant
Dizzy & Fay: the newest project from songwriters Mark Lalama and Amanda Walther. Based in Southern Ontario, the piano/vocal duo has released two full-length recordings of original music and is currently spinning on jazz radio stations throughout the United States and Canada. With compositions that are heartfelt and familiar, Dizzy & Fay craft songs that sound like timeless classics you’ve loved your entire life and their intuitive musical chemistry is captivating on stage, where audiences are fast becoming lifelong fans. Wholenote Magazine gave their new album ‘Hooked’ a glowing review, calling them “Highly musical tunesmiths and storytellers” and it was named “Ringer of the Week” at Jazz Weekly. It’s clear that with two albums in two years, the Dizzy & Fay Songbook is only just beginning.
Dizzy is Mark Lalama - singer/songwriter/pianist/producer, he has performed extensively and recorded/toured with countless artists including Guido Basso, Molly Johnson, Jackie Richardson, Marc Jordan, Chrissie Hynde, Olivia Newton John, Harry Manx, and many more.
Fay is Amanda Walther - Juno nominated singer-songwriter and award winning composer from Toronto, Amanda has spent most of her career as half of acclaimed folk-roots duo Dala, and recently composing music for film.
Oakland Stroke
Saturday, August 23 @ 8:30PM • The Ganaraska Hotel
Experience The Sound and Soul of TOWER OF POWER!!
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Oakland Stroke faithfully recreates the music of fabled Bay area soul band Tower of Power. The funk, the excitement and the soul. Based in Toronto, Canada. The band is led by Lou Pomanti.
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OAKLAND STROKE IS:
Lou Pomanti, organ
Tony Carlucci, trumpet
George St. Kitts, vocals
John Johnson, tenor sax
Steve Lucas, bass
Lou Bartolomucci, guitar
Chris Howells, trumpet
John Panchyshyn, tenor sax, vocals
Simon Wallis, baritone sax
Steve Heathcote, drums
Anthony Crea, sound
Ale Nuñez Trio
Sunday, August 24 @ 11:30AM • Hotel Carlyle & Restaurant
Ale Avery Nuñez is a Jazz Vocalist, Songwriter, and bandleader based in Toronto, Canada. Rooted in jazz and soul, she brings a musical sophistication to every performance, with a tone that is uniquely her own and a true dedication to her artistry. Her influences range from Sarah Vaughan, Carmen McRae, Nat King Cole, and Etta Jones to Aretha Franklin, Norah Jones and Feist. Although a recent graduate of the Bachelor of Music degree at Humber College in Toronto, Ale has gone on to establish herself as an in-demand vocalist and musician, making her mark in music scenes near and far. You can often see her perform at venues such as The Rex, and the Jazz Bistro. She has sung with some of the best musicians of Toronto and New York City including Neil Swainson, Terry Clarke, Adam Arruda, and more. Ale was featured in JazzFM91's 2024 Discover Women in Jazz series, and the TD Markham Jazz Festival. Ale is currently one of five finalists in the 2025 Ella Fitzgerald Jazz Vocal Competition by The Blues Alley Jazz Society, the winner will be announced on April 26th.
Ale’s debut EP, “Under the Lemon Tree,” is now available on all streaming platforms.
"After watching and listening to Ale's performance with JAZZ.FM91's Discover Women in Jazz series I became an instant fan. I'm now at the point where I reach out regularly to find out what she is working on or creating. Terrific writer, improvisor, band leader, performer, I'll be forever curious.” - Dani Elwell, JazzFM91
Alison Young Quintet
with Alexander Brown,
Reg Schwager, Jeff McLeod,
Chris Banks and Al Webster
Sunday, August 24 @ 2PM • The Ganaraska Brewery
Born and raised in Ottawa, JUNO-nominated saxophonist and composer Alison Young discovered jazz at an early age, gravitating towards the exuberance of Sonny Rollins and Cannonball Adderley, who continue to influence her to this day. As well as being featured in the National Youth Jazz Ensemble at the Ottawa jazz festival in 2001 and 2002, she began playing professionally as a teenager, developing an affinity for soul and R&B as well as jazz. Since moving to Toronto in the early 2000s to study music at the University of Toronto, Alison has been an active presence on the Toronto jazz scene.
Alison has been leading her own band in various formations since 2012, composing and arranging for duo through to septet. Her latest project features a line up of her favourite Toronto musicians: virtuoso bassist Ross MacIntyre on upright and electric; Saskatchewan's hard swinging Jeff McLeod on piano and organ; the eclectic and energetic Eric St Laurent on guitar; and the excellent Sly Juhas and Chris Wallace alternating on drums. The Alison Young Quintet has played the main stages of the Toronto Jazz Festival, the Ottawa Jazz Festival, the Markham Jazz Festival and the Niagara Jazz Festival. The Alison Young Quintet's debut album, 'So Here We Are', was released in November of 2018, and was nominated for a 2019 JUNO in the Solo Jazz Instrumental Album of the Year category.
Jazz Vespers
with Tryptique
Sunday, August 24 @ 4:30PM • Port Hope United Church
Scattered compositions by Fern Lindzon, Colleen Allen and George Koller coalesce into an atypical triptych, one deeply rooted in classical inspiration, adorned with delicate melodies and refined arrangements. This album, undeniably a celebration of artistic beauty, invites listeners to immerse themselves in the offerings of these three artists—a meeting of kindred spirits, sharing a musical vision that harmonizes the echoes of history with the immediacy of improvisation.
Their music traverses baroque elegance, the rhythmic intricacies of bebop, the soul of the blues, and ventures beyond, weaving in a particular affinity for the works of notable Canadian composers. *Triptych* is jazz-infused chamber music—an intimate dialogue among three master musicians and dear friends: Fern Lindzon (piano), Colleen Allen (flute, saxophones), and George Koller (double bass).
This musical exploration is a daring venture, guided by intuition and risk, crafting a sound world uniquely their own. At moments, one may sense echoes of 16th-century Italian music, reimagined in the warm, rounded tones of jazz. Such transformative artistry leads the listener through the labyrinth of musical history, from Liszt to Chopin and beyond, a journey that evokes the richness of my own conservatory years, where history itself seemed to play among the notes.
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