ONSOUND IV: what is jazz?|Humberto Piccoli; Bill Brennan, Rob Power & Pat Boyle

NOTE: This event is at the Mun School of Music - Suncor Hall

The final night of ONSOUND IV: what is jazz? takes us back to Suncor Hall for an evening of exciting performances from Humberto Piccoli and a supergroup of some of St. John’s finest. Humberto presents an intimate solo set exploring the intersections of Brazilian rhythm, jazz harmony, and open-form improvisation, inviting listeners into a space where structure and spontaneity converge. Bill Brennan (piano), Patrick Boyle (trumpet), and Rob Power (percussion) will delight listeners with an evening of original music informed by their combined decades of experience – both as soloists and playing together – here in St. John’s and around the world.

 

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HUMBERTO PICCOLI is a Brazilian jazz guitarist, composer, and improviser currently based in St. John’s, Newfoundland. Rooted in both Brazilian music traditions and modern jazz language, his performances balance lyrical expression with rhythmic complexity. With over 20 years of experience as a performer and educator, Humberto has developed a distinctive voice on the guitar—fluid, exploratory, and deeply melodic.

 

He holds a Master of Music in Jazz Guitar Performance and a Master’s in Ethnomusicology, blending academic insight with intuitive artistry. Having lived in Curitiba before relocating to Canada, he draws on a rich cultural background to inform his improvisational approach and compositional sensibility. In Canada, he has collaborated with musicians across jazz, improvised, and world music scenes, while continuing to explore themes of migration and cultural dialogue through sound.

 

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BILL BRENNAN, PATRICK BOYLE, AND ROB POWER have been musical friends for many years, performing together in an array of ensembles. Boyle is a fearless sonic explorer driven by discovery. Curiosity is his compass. His frontiers are in performance (trumpet and guitar), improvisation, composition and education. Patrick is Associate Professor of Jazz Studies at the University of Victoria where he teaches courses in music business, theory, history, pedagogy, and performance. Power is an active chamber musician, soloist, improviser, orchestral player, composer, teacher, and instrument builder. He has performed with new music ensembles, folk artists, improv groups, world music ensembles, and over twenty Canadian orchestras. Along with performances in Europe, Asia, Africa, South America and the United States, he has appeared at festivals across Canada from Whitehorse to St. John’s. Brennan’s expertise as a pianist, percussionist, composer and producer can be heard on some 140 albums to date. More than 40 years of relentless experience have garnered Brennan a solid reputation as a performer, composer and arranger of contemporary classical, jazz, folk and world music — always exploring, always open to new ideas, Brennan’s talents resist classification. The Toronto Star says: “Brennan … is a central figure in this country’s music.”