Author: JazzAndBlues

TD PEI Jazz & Blues proudly presents David Myles in concert 7pm Friday June 29 with Island singer/songwriter Rachel Beck opening, for an unforgettable evening at one of the best jazz venues in Atlantic Canada, St. Paul’s Anglican Church, Charlottetown.

“Nattily dressed in a suit and tie, wearing his trademark specs, David Myles looks like Buddy Holly transposed to an after-hours supper club. But Myles’s music conveys a populist appeal that leaves no one lacking.” – No Depression

David Myles frequents the same tailor as Buddy Holly and—thankfully—the same muse, but he’s cheating on that muse with the muse of folk-jazz, whoever that is. With catchy, throbbing, simple-but-not-boring and dance-able songs, Myles covers all the important bases in songwriting and performance.

Rock ’n’ roll’s diverse, electrifying roots dig deep into David Myles’ tenth album, Real Love. You can hear them in the old-school Johnny Cash shuffle and lightning-in-a-bottle twang of “Night And Day.” They pull you by the hand and dance slowly to the swingy drums and ‘50s-era, Roy Orbison croon of “Easy.” With the rousing orchestral thrill of “Night After Night,” they sprawl out into simmering soul as Myles seethes at a lover who’s been running around with another. Over Real Love’s 13 tracks, written as razor-sharp as Myles’ signature suits, those roots grow into a spectacular family tree of American musical tradition—with all its blood, sweat, and tears—that’s as endlessly entertaining as it is riveting.

Prince Edward Island singer-songwriter Rachel Beck is already making her mark on the national scene with a hit debut release and rave reviews at the 2018 East Coast Music Association (ECMA).
Beck’s self-titled album came out in March this year, and its first single Reckless Heart hit #1 on the CBC Music Top 20 after having the most online votes for 6 weeks straight. Beck’s hook-driven, emotive piano melodies captivate, and whether you see her live, hear her on the radio, or press play on one of her songs, the experience is just as impactful: you are not only brought under her vocal spell, but are an instant fan.

Tickets are $25 in advance and $30 at the door, plus taxes and fees
Doors open at 6:30pm and the music will start at 7pm
St. Paul’s Anglican Church corner of Prince and Grafton streets in downtown Charlottetown
All Events Festival Passes are available until June 27 $49 plus taxes and fees.

Advance tickets and All Events Festival Passes are available online or at the Eastlink Centre Charlottetown. Tickets ordered by phone or online may be picked up Monday to Friday, 11am to 4pm Thursday June 28. Once the Festival starts pickup at St. Paul’s Church on the night of the performances.

Again this year our festival keeps the focus on celebrating the incredible music talent in PEI and Atlantic Canada, beginning with an intimate jazz show Thursday June 28th at the historic St. Paul’s Church, with presentations to honour Ken Fornetran, this year’s Doug Riley Artist.

“Doug Riley Artist” is a designation awarded each year to an Island musician who exemplifies the spirit of dedication to musical excellence and to developing the jazz and blues community as personified by Doug Riley, the late, great keyboard master, composer, producer and arts exponent who chose PEI as his home.

After moving to PEI in 2012, Ken has been very active in the local music scene performing regularly across the Maritimes with Paul Tynan, Tom Easley, Island Jazz, Alan Dowling, and Ian Toms to name a few. Ken has also taught saxophone and woodwinds at St. FX University and Holland College School of Performing Arts (SOPA).

Originally from Windsor Ontario, Ken moved to Toronto in the late eighties to study music at Humber College. He has performed at most of Canada’s major jazz festivals and clubs with many of Canada’s finest musicians including Bernie Senensky, Norman Marshall Villeneuve, David Occhipinti, Roy Styffe, Bob Mover, Jerry Fuller, and others. He has played in a wide variety musical settings ranging from jazz great Curtis Fuller to Canadian pop icon Alan Frew (Glass Tiger) and Classic Albums Live.

His debut CD recording “Shadows and Short Stories” received an impressive 4 star review in Downbeat Magazine and was later listed as of of the “Best CD’s of the Year” in the same prestigious magazine. In addition to his career as a musician, Ken has also earned a reputation as one of Canada’s finest woodwind repair technicians.

For our first show of the 2018 TD PEI Jazz & Blues Festival, and this years Doug Riley Concert Ken will present an intimate evening of music that crosses genre labels, featuring special guests  Emmanuelle LeBlanc of Vishtèn and trumpeter Paul Tynan who recently won the 2018 ECMA for Best Jazz Recording.  As usual the concert will be held at the beautiful St. Paul’s Anglican Church, one of the best sounding venues for jazz in Atlantic Canada.

Visit peijazzandblues.ca for more information about this concert and the rest of our 2018 schedule.  Tickets can be purchased in advance at the Eastlink Centre Charlottetown.

Join us June 28 to 30 and help celebrate our 100% East Coast Jazz & Blues talent here in Atlantic Canada.

Announcing 2018 TD PEI Jazz & Blues Festival – June 28 to 30!

Thanks to the generous support of the TD Bank Group, the TD PEI Jazz & Festival is pleased to announce three days of the best jazz and blues music in Atlantic Canada, running June 28^th to 30^th this year and featuring performances by David Myles, Rachel Beck, Ken Fornetran and more.

The 2018 program keeps the focus on celebrating the incredible music talent in PEI and Atlantic Canada beginning with an intimate jazz show at the historic St. Paul’s Church on Thursday June 28^th with presentations to honour this year’s Doug Riley Artist, Ken Fornetran.  “Doug Riley Artist” is a designation awarded each year to an Island musician who exemplifies the spirit of dedication to musical excellence as personified by Doug Riley, the late, great keyboard master, composer, producer and arts exponent who chose PEI as his home.

Living in PEI for years now, Ken grew up in Windsor Ontario having the opportunity to hear and meet many of Detroit’s finest jazz musicians at a young age. In the late 80’s he moved to Toronto to study with Pat LaBarbera at Humber College and since then, he has performed at festivals, and club dates across Canada with leading jazz musicians including Roy Styffe, Bob Mover, Norman Marshall Villeneuve, Bernie Senensky, Jerry Fuller, David Occhipinti, and Paul Tynan and has performed with international musicians like Curtis Fuller and bassist Rodney Whitaker.  Ken’s debut CD “Shadows and Short Stories” with pianist David Restivo and singer Thyron Lee Whyte was given a 4* star review in Downbeat Magazine and labeled as one of the “best CDs of 2005”.  In addition to his career as a musician, Ken has also earned a reputation as one of Canada’s finest woodwind repair technicians.

“Hosting the TD PEI Jazz and Blues Festival is a great tradition for the City of Charlottetown. It’s an event that we’re honoured to be a part of each year,” said Charlottetown Mayor Clifford Lee. “The diverse programming makes an important cultural impact and provides an opportunity for our citizens and visitors to be exposed to the talent of artists from across the country.  We are grateful to the organizers for their continued commitment to putting on a world-class event and we look forward to celebrating local and regional artists at the upcoming festival.”

The 2018 TD PEI Jazz & Blues Festival is proudly supported by the generous support of TD Bank Group, Heritage Canada, and the City of Charlottetown.

For details about concerts and tickets please visit www.jazzandblues.ca and follow the festival on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram @PEIJazzAndBlues.

Thank you PEI!

The 2017 TD PEI Jazz & Blues Festival is a wrap!
Thank you, all our musicians, volunteers, sponsors and musicians
for another great year!   Please watch here and our our social media channels
for great photos of this year’s festival and for news about upcoming Jazz & Blues events
here in Prince Edward Island Canada.

Congratulations Rob Coles, winner of our 50/50 contest with the winning ticket 17283.
Total pot was $1415 and Rob wins $707.50.

Our 2017 festival puts the focus on celebrating the incredible music talent in PEI and Atlantic Canada, beginning with an intimate jazz show held Wednesday June 21st at the historic St. Paul’s Church with presentations to honour Doug Millington, this year’s Doug Riley Artist.

“Doug Riley Artist” is a designation awarded each year to an Island musician who exemplifies the spirit of dedication to musical excellence and to developing the jazz and blues community as personified by Doug Riley, the late, great keyboard master, composer, producer and arts exponent who chose PEI as his home.

As this year’s Doug Riley Artist, Doug was showcased with the Island Jazz Messengers on Wednesday June 21st at St. Paul’s Church with a program of original hard bop sextet music, music made famous by Doug Riley and Ella Fitzgerald and featuring three past Doug Riley artists, Ian Toms, Sean Ferris and Deryl Gallant.

On Saturday June 24 at 4:30pm Doug lead’s PEI’s premier big band, the Charlottetown Jazz Ensemble in their performance in the Free Concert Series on Victoria Row, and at 11pm Saturday night Doug will host the Late Night “Doug & Friends Jam” at the Pourhouse for the final event of the festival.

Help us celebrate our 100% East Coast Jazz & Blues talent here in Atlantic Canada.

Our TD PEI Jazz & Blues Festival moves to late June this summer, with a set of concerts from June 21 to 24 featuring the best local and regional jazz, blues, soul, rock and alternative music performers. Festival Chair Jim Power describes the change as a relaunch to support the long term evolution of the festival as it transitions to the Canada Day weekend for 2018 and beyond.

The 2017 program puts the focus on celebrating the incredible music talent in PEI and Atlantic Canada beginning with an intimate jazz show at the historic St. Paul’s Anglican Church on Wednesday June 21st with presentations to honour this year’s Doug Riley Artist. On Thursday June 22nd and Friday June 23rd there will be a number of rock, blues and jazz performances at select bars and clubs in Charlottetown, and festival organizers are excited to announce the return of a Free Concert Series on Victoria Row on Saturday June 24th.

The festival board is very pleased to announce that past chair Doug Millington is this year’s “Doug Riley Artist” for the 2017 TD PEI Jazz and Blues Festival. “Doug Riley Artist” is a designation awarded each year to an Island musician who exemplifies the spirit of dedication to musical excellence and to developing the jazz and blues community as personified by Doug Riley, the late, great keyboard master, composer, producer and arts exponent who chose PEI as his home.

As this year’s Doug Riley Artist, Doug will be showcased with the Island Jazz Messengers on Wednesday June 21st at St. Paul’s Church with a program of original hard bop sextet music, music made famous by Doug Riley and Ella Fitzgerald and featuring three past Doug Riley artists. On Saturday June 24 Doug lead’s PEI’s premier big band, the Charlottetown Jazz Ensemble in their performance in the Free Concert Series on Victoria Row, and at 11pm Saturday night Doug will host the Late Night “Doug & Friends Jam” at the Pourhouse for the final event of the festival.

On Thursday and Friday the festival switches to a wide set of jazz, blues and rock performances at select bars and clubs featuring artists including the Ken Fornetran Quintet, Salt Licks, Grahame Rhodes Quintet, the Sidewalks, Whiskey Business, Hello Delaware, Ian Sherwood, Paul Tynan, Slowcoaster, Max Keenlyside and John Campbelljohn.

The Free Concert Series on Victoria Row on Saturday June 24th will be an all ages “street party” beginning with performances from music students from intermediate and high school band programs followed by the Charlottetown Jazz Ensemble in the late afternoon. Beginning at 7pm the focus switches to blues and rock with performances by blues due Earle & Coffin from Newfoundland, Andrew Waite & the Firm, blues rock band Hillsburn and rising soul star Reeny Smith fresh from rave reviews at the latest ECMAs in Saint John.

100% East Coast Jazz & Blues!

“Hosting the TD PEI Jazz and Blues Festival is a great tradition for the City of Charlottetown. It’s an event that we’re honoured to be a part of each year,” said Charlottetown Mayor Clifford Lee. “The diverse programming makes an important cultural impact and provides an opportunity for our citizens and visitors to be exposed to the talent of artists from across the country. We are grateful to the organizers for their continued commitment to putting on a world-class event and we look forward to celebrating local and regional artists at the upcoming festival.”

The 2016 TD PEI Jazz & Blues Festival is proudly supported by the Government of Canada, Province of Prince Edward Island, City of Charlottetown, and the Charlottetown Tourism Accommodation Levy.

For more details and regular updates during the festival, please watch our social media channels including Facebook, Twitter and Instagram @PEIJazzAndBlues.

Mark your calendar for June 21 – 24, 2017 and get ready for some awesome music.

The 2017 TD PEI Jazz & Blues Festival will occur from June 21 – 24th in Charlottetown, PE. The departure from the previous time frame in late August is required to support the production of a festival that will sustain elevated growth for years to come. Moving our festival to this new time frame allows us to be within the Jazz festival time frame that exists in other urban areas of the country.” says Jim Power, Chair of the PEI Jazz & Blues Committee “This evolution of our annual music celebration will nurture economic growth by further stimulating tourism to the Island”.

The festival plans to align with the Canada Day weekend in 2018 in an effort to further grow this cultural celebration. Jim Power added “When we reviewed the calendar of events, we did not want to impact the incredible job by the City of Charlottetown planning for the 150th celebrations on Canada Day in 2017”.

Additionally, TD is excited to continue its 8-year partnership with the PEI Jazz & Blues Festival as the presenting sponsor and look forward to the festival’s growth. Shane Kennedy, District Vice President – TD expressed, “TD has been a significant supporter of Canadian music for over a decade and we are very pleased to continue our support of the PEI Jazz and Blues Festival as it evolves in 2017”.

“The TD PEI Jazz & Blues Festival is an anchor contributor to Charlottetown’s ever evolving cultural scene,” said Mayor Clifford Lee. “The City of Charlottetown truly believes that arts and culture are the backbone of vibrant and innovative communities, and is committed to the further development and promotion of culturally driven initiatives within our city. We look forward to working with the PEI Jazz & Blues Festival Board of Directors to build upon the momentum of today’s announcement, and both welcome and applaud the Festival’s efforts toward achieving a sustained, increased presence in Charlottetown.”

Further details on what is planned for the 2017 TD PEI Jazz & Blues Festival, festival lineup and ticketing will be announced soon.