Bon-vivant, party organizer, promoter and JAZZ.FM91 personality Jaymz Bee is hosting a best-of concert called “It Was A Very Good Year!” that will highlight the best songs from all the various events and charity galas he and his Royal Jelly Orchestra have performed over the course of 2008. Featuring over twenty singers and musicians, the concert promises to be a showcase of some of the best and brightest working in the Canadian jazz scene.
| June Garber, who is originally from South Africa, is a prolific performer who clocked over seventy performances in 2007. She’s well-known on the jazz circuit, and has sung at various festivals and functions in and around the Toronto area, and has made well-received appearances at festivals in Western Canada as well. Following her appearance with the Royal Jelly Orchestra, Garber’s singing engagements include performing at the Stephen Lewis Foundation for Children with Aids in East Africa charity event in January, and the Heartbeat Ball Gala Fundraiser in February. Heather Bambrick is also an accomplished musician in her own right. Winner of the 2004 National Jazz Award for Vocalist of the Year, Bambrick has performed with international Jazz talents, including Phil Nimmons, Kenny Wheeler, Guido Basso, Peter Appleyard, John Lamb, and Rob McConnell. Bambrick puts her jazz roots to good use as the host of JAZZ.FM91’s wildly popular “Sunday Afternoon Jazz” program. It’s been worth the effort, too; Bambrick has won her Broadcaster of the Year awards at both the 2005 and 2007 National Jazz Awards. Other performers taking part in “It’s a Very Good Year” include Scottish-born vocalist Michael Danso, singer and vocal coach Julie Michels, singer/saxophonist Christopher Plock, and sultry jazz-blues chanteuse Terra Hazelton. Sophia Perlman, who sings regularly at The Reservoir Lounge in Toronto, will be taking part, along with fourteen-year-old Missisauga jazz singer Stephanie Welton. The Royal Jelly Orchestra itself is compromised of several talented members, including Dora-Award winner Waylen Miki Richard Underhill on alto saxophone. Underhill is a recipient of the Roy Thomson Hall Award of Recognition, given out recently at the Toronto Arts Awards. His latest CD, Kensington Suite, has been nominated for a Juno for Best Instrumental Album. “It Was A Very Good Year” takes places at the Regent Theatre in Oshawa on November 22nd before moving to Toronto’s Diesel Playhouse on the 23rd. Tickets are $20 in advance, $25 at the door, and $50 for reception and show. |  |
