Radiohead Jazz Project @ 3030 Dundas

NOTE: Seated tickets for this show are SOLD OUT. We are just awaiting word from the venue on if they can accommodate a few more. These tickets, if we are able to release them, will likely be standing only. Stay tuned...(this note added Sun Feb 12)

 

The Radiohead Jazz Project was started by the Lawrence University Conservatory of Music in Wisconsin, when they commissioned 12 big band arrangements of Radiohead songs.  Starting with some of those initial arrangements in 2011, the Toronto Jazz Orchestra has since put their own spin on the Radiohead Jazz Project, expanding the repertoire to include contributions from a variety of local arrangers including Chris Hunt, Tara Davidson, Mike Downes, Chelsea McBride, Christian Overton and Josh Grossman, among others.  The 20-piece band - larger than usual thanks to the additional of vibraphone in the rhythm section - is under the direction of Artistic Director Josh Grossman, and fronted by outstanding vocalist Alex Samaras, whose unique interpretations shine a new light on this music.  From Kid A to OK Computer and beyond, this is Radiohead as you’ve never heard it.

The 18-piece Toronto Jazz Orchestra (TJO) was created in 1998 to perform music by some of the most important composers in jazz – writers like Thad Jones, Bob Brookmeyer, Phil Nimmons, Rob McConnell and more. Over the past 23 years, their repertoire has evolved to include compositions and arrangements ranging from classic swing tunes to the leading edge of contemporary jazz, with an emphasis on Canadian composers and arrangers. The TJO seeks to educate, entertain, and increase the public’s understanding and appreciation of big band jazz.

Since 1998, the TJO has performed regularly at Toronto’s Rex Hotel. Their fourth CD, 20, was released in June, 2018. The ensemble won top prize at the Markham Jazz Festival’s Jazz Stars of the Future competition in 2000, and has since appeared in the JVC, Beaches, Lakefield, Markham, Brantford, Kensington Market, World of Jazz and TD Toronto Jazz Festivals. The TJO has also performed at the Milton Centre for the Arts, the Richmond Hill Performance Arts Centre, Ottawa’s Shenkman Centre and as part of the Welland-Port Colborne Concert Association and Sarnia Concert Association series.