Jaymz Bee has been called “The Ed Sullivan Of Canada”, “An expert guide to the Toronto jazz scene” and “a cross between Andy Warhol and Ferris Beuler”. Whatever you want to call him, as co-host of Benmergui In The Morning (weekdays 6-10am) and host of “Jazz In The City” (Saturdays 6-8pm) on JAZZ.FM91 and (www.jazz.fm) , Jaymz certainly is knee deep in jazz. When not on radio or producing records for his Timely Manor label, Jaymz can be found promoting events and emceeing charity galas. He has been performing in Oshawa since the eighties with his band Look People and has enjoyed working with all the great people of The Oshawa Jazz & Blues Festival for the past six years.

The Royal Jelly Orchestra was formed in 1985 for a special concert at Ontario Place Forum to play a charity event for AIDS on Much Music called Kumbaya, the brainchild of singer Molly Johnson. Since that time The RJO have released eight CD’s and played hundreds of concerts in ballrooms and nightclubs; outdoor festivals and soft-seat theatres. Under the direction of Dora Award winner Waylen Miki on piano, the band also features Juno winners Richard Underhill (alto sax) Christopher Plock (tenor sax) and Tony Quarrington (guitar). Rounding out the line-up are some of Canada’s finest session players, who also lead their own bands: Artie Roth (bass) Glenn Anderson (drums) and Howie Moscoe (trumpet).

The RJO features both established vocalists and new rising stars. In the early years, singers such as Michael Buble, Sophie Milman and DK Ibomeka would sing with the band. The evening is filled with some sweet surprises – discovering new talent is always a thrill – and some guaranteed show stoppers – who are eager to play the brand new Regent Theatre in Oshawa.

All musicians and singers participating in this wonderful night will be available after the show to sign CDs made available for purchase.

Tickets Now on Sale!!

Saturday November 22, 2008

Doors: 7pm

Showtime: 8pm

Tickets $20 / $50 includes reception

The Regent Theatre

50 King Steet East, Oshawa

www.regenttheatre.ca

Ticket master: 905.433.9494 or

http://www.ticketmaster.ca/event/1000414FD2AF7B7F?artistid=1266200&majorcatid=10002&minorcatid=203

Oshawa Jazz and Blues Festival 2008

Now in its 7th year, the Oshawa Jazz and Blues Festival features the best of Canadian Jazz and Blues performers, local artisans, children’s entertainment, food vendors, and much more. Clear your schedule from August 4th - 10th and join us for a week of music, culture and community in the heart of Downtown Oshawa at the 2008 Oshawa Jazz and Blues Festival, Durham Region’s premiere summer festival.

Artisans and Crafters Wanted!

The Oshawa Jazz and Blues Festival is seeking visual artists, artisans and craftspeople to be part of the Main Event, on Saturday, August 9th, 2008.

• Download the Artisans Alley application (PDF - 50KB)

Food Vendors Wanted!

The Oshawa Jazz and Blues Festival is seeking Food Vendors to be part of the Main Event, on Saturday, August 9th, 2008.

• Download the Food Vendor application (PDF - 52KB)

For any other information regarding the 2008 Oshawa Jazz and Blues Festival

Please contact the Springboard Music & Events office at:

Oshawa Jazz and Blues Festival
c/o Springboard Music & Events
PO Box 96001
245 Wentworth St
Oshawa, ON L1J 8M4
Telephone: 905-743-0770
Fax: 905-576-7653

Email: becky@springboardmusic.ca

The Oshawa Jazz and Blues Festival has a new owner/producer. Becky Choquette of Springboard Music and Events has taken the helm of the Oshawa Jazz and Blues Festival. The 7th annual Oshawa Jazz and Blues Festival is scheduled to take place at various venues across the city of Oshawa from August 4th to 10th, 2008.

“Ms. Choquette’s experience managing the 2007 festival will allow her to transition into her new role nicely,” says Kerri King, founder of the Oshawa Jazz and Blues Festival. Since King took on her new position as tourism manager at the Region of Durham, she is divesting her interest in all events formerly produced by her production company Eclipse Concerts Inc. “Becky’s energy, enthusiasm and passion for live music make her the perfect candidate to take the festival to a whole new level,” adds King.

The Oshawa Jazz and Blues Festival started in 2001 as part of a downtown revitalization strategy and together with the support of The City of Oshawa, Downtown Oshawa Board of Management and a host of supporters from the local business community has been built into Oshawa’s premiere summer music event drawing thousands of people from Durham Region and beyond into Oshawa for a week each summer.

“I am extremely excited to be the new producer and look forward to working with our community partners to build on the current momentum of the festival,” said Becky Choquette. Springboard Music and Events is currently seeking volunteers, interested community partners and local musicians to participate in the 2008 event.
For more information contact
Becky Choquette, Springboard Music and Events
905.743.0770
becky@springboardmusic.ca

The 6th annual Oshawa Jazz and Blues Festival is gearing up to attract over 20,000 visitors by booking top-notch Canadian artists to wow the crowds. The Main event of the week-long festival is a free concert at Memorial Park on Saturday, August 11. Performers set to take the stage for the Blues Revue will be Danny Marks, Jack DeKeyzer, Big Daddy G. This triple treat of jazz professionals guarantees a world-class performance to thrill the crowds at this not-to-be missed summer event.

Juno-Award winner and local boy Jack deKeyzer is comfortable playing to large audiences such as the Montreal Jazz Festival and to small, intimate clubs with just a few hundred guests. Always a favourite at the Oshawa Jazz and Blues Festival, deKeyzer performs internationally over 150 shows per year and is set to release a new CD this summer. Danny Marks has been on the professional scene for decades and has been honoured with the Toronto Blues Society’s “Blues with a Feeling Award” for his lifetime of achievement in music and broadcast. Joining Marks and deKeyzer, Juno nominees Big Daddy G return to the Oshawa Jazz and Blues Festival.

Rounding out the list of local and national Jazz and Blues professionals on the roster for the day-long concert are Classic Swing, Paul Grecco, Sultans of String, Kollage, and Johannes Linstead with others yet to be announced.

The Main Event at Memorial Park offers a full day of family entertainment featuring non-stop music and entertainment from 11am to 11pm. With the help of funding from the City of Oshawa and the Downtown Action Committee, the event is free of charge. Returning to this year’s festival is the Artisans’ Alley featuring local artists and craftspeople selling their creations, the Side Stage where local jazz and blues performers entertain their hometown supporters, and the popular Rogers kids area where the little ones can let loose in a safe and fun environment.

The full line-up of the week-long festival’s performers will be announced at a launch event on June 14th. For information about performers, volunteer opportunities and applications for Artisans Alley, visit www.oshawajazzandbluesfestival.com.

Now entering its 6th year of success, the annual Oshawa Jazz and Blues Festival features the best of Canadian Jazz and Blues performers, local artisans, children’s entertainment, food vendors and more. The festival is a week-long celebration of music, culture and community. With events throughout Oshawa and the Durham Region, the Oshawa Jazz and Blues Festival is a premier summer festival for central eastern Ontario that continues to evolve and grow year over year, with 2006 attendance exceeding 10,000 visitors at a combination of ticketed and free events. Visitors are consistently treated to the finest musical talent in the industry including renowned artists Downchild Blues Band, Jeff Healey’s Jazz Wizards, Jack de Keyzer, Colin Linden, Dione Taylor and Big Daddy G to name a few.

Who: Celebrated Blues and Jazz artists
What: Main event of the Oshawa Jazz and Blues Festival
Where: Memorial Park, Oshawa (Simcoe St S and John St)

When: Saturday, August 11; non-stop music on 2 stages from 11am-11pm
Tickets: FREE

Websites:
www.oshawajazzandbluesfestival.com
www.eclipseconcerts.com
www.jackdekeyzer.com
www.dannym.com
www.bigdaddyg.com

For media information, interviews and photographs, please contact:

Eclipse Concerts + Events
Kerri King, Producer, Oshawa Jazz and Blues Festival
Tel: 905-986-0666, Fax: 905-986-0013
E-MAIL: kerri@eclipseconcerts.com

Website: www.eclipseconcerts.com and www.oshawajazzandbluesfestival.com

Celebrating music, culture and community.

The previous evening, Wild T and the Spirit closed out the festival’s showcase day, the Big Event at Memorial Park, with a powerful, guitar-driven version of the national anthem. It was a great way to end a day-long concert which also featured the Peter Smith Quartet, Reckless Abandon, Fruteland Jackson, the Johnny Max Band, Sophie Milman and an all-star revue of some outstanding female jazz singers, including Genevieve, Elizabeth Shepherd, Lyne Tremblay, Michels and Ajax’s Janelle Monique. The Saturday event also featured local artisans and craftspeople showcasing their wares in Artisans’ Alley and a Lil Jazzers’ Workshop hosted by Oshawa Centre

Even Friday’s rain couldn’t dampen the spirits of a large crowd that took in the Mardi Gras Street Party. Loco Zydeco, the Kevin Clark Band and Swamperella provided the New Orleans sound, while vendors like the Cajun Corner provided some of the tastes of the Big Easy in the party hosted by the Downtown Oshawa Board of Management and co-sponsored by Bell and Royal Bank.

The Oshawa Jazz and Blues Festival is a presentation of the Downtown Action Committee and, this year, featured great events like a jazz divas night, where some of the top female jazz vocalists in Canada entertained a sold-out crowd at Catch 22 Nightclub, a stop by Jack de Keyzer’s Silver Train Tour at Le Skratch, an evening of swing music under the stars at Parkwood Estate wiuth Swing Shift Big Band, sponsored by Kitchen, Kitchen, Simeson and McFarlane, and a very entertaining lesson on The History of the Blues by one of Chicago’s premier musicians and Blues in the Schools educator Fruteland Jackson.

The 2006 Oshawa Jazz and Blues Festival is scheduled for Aug. 7 to 14 2006.

Guys and Dolls, which has been described as the perfect musical comedy, will take to the stage during the Oshawa Jazz and Blues Festival. The hit musical is a presentation of Summerstock in conjunction with Durham Continuing Education and the Durham District School Board and is hosted by the Eastdale School of Music, Theatre and Dance.

The musical opens at Parkwood Estate on Sunday, Aug. 14, with two performances before going on to play at the Yonge and Dundas Square, in Toronto, from Aug. 18 to 21.

The local production features the work of 65 high school students from across Durham Region as stage and orchestra performers and technical support staff. Joan Mansfield is the executive director and producer of the musical, Jim Senft is the director and James Klodnicki is musical director. The play is choreographed by Zade O’Blenes.

Guys and Dolls, based on the Damon Runyon’s “The Idyll of Sarah Brown”, tells the story of the unlikely romance between Sarah Brown, a pure-at-heart, urban missionary, and Sky Masterson, a slick Broadway gambler. Throw into the mix the relationship between Nathan Detroit, who runs the “oldest established permanent floating crap game in New York,” and Miss Adelaide, who is the main attraction at the Hot Box nightclub and wants Nathan to marry her. The play features music by Frank Loesser and book by Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows.

The musical will be performed at Parkwood Estate, during the Oshawa Jazz and Blues Festival, with performances at 2:30 and 6:30 p.m. Tickets cost $15 in advance and $20 at the door, on the day of the performance.

Tickets are available at Parkwood Estate, 270 Simcoe St. N. in Oshawa, through the Oshawa Jazz and Blues Festival website or by calling (905) 986-0666 or toll free at 1-800-576-1086.

Jackson is a singer, songwriter and educator who performs at blues festivals, cultural centers and clubs worldwide. He is one of the few Americans dedicated to performing and preserving acoustic blues in its various styles, both traditional and contemporary. His songs range from blues ballads to folk and gospel standards and what he refers to as “Baby-Boomer” blues. Many of his original works combine contemporary themes played in the spirit of early blues musicians in the classic styles.

Jackson calls himself a blues activist and oral historian promoting awareness through education by conducting Blues in the Schools programs. “Mr. Fruteland’s” students range from the exceptional to the emotionally challenged and the high risk students as well as the economically depressed areas who have participated in programs like Bluz in the Hood and the Trading Handguns for Harmonicas. These programs have proven to be an excellent tool for providing a well-rounded educational curriculum as well as bringing the history, music and style of the blues to students of any age.

Jackson will also be part of the exciting lineup of entertainers at the Big Event in Memorial Park, on Saturday, Aug. 13.

The lecture and listening session will be held at the Oshawa Holiday Inn, 1011 Bloor St. E., on Monday, Aug. 8, starting at 7 p.m. Admission to History of the Blues costs $10 in advance and $12 at the door, on the night of the show.

The festival’s opening day is solidified with the addition of a Blues Jam at the Banshee Cocktail Bar and Deli, in north Oshawa, starting at 9 p.m. Admission to the event is $5.

Catch 22 Nightclub in downtown Oshawa hosts a Jazz Divas Showcase at on Tuesday, Aug. 9. The show starts at 7 p.m. and tickets cost $20. Jack de Keyzer’s Silver Train Tour on Wednesday, Aug. 10, at Le Skratch Billiard Bar and Grill in the Midtown Mall. Tickets cost $10 in advance and $12 at the door. The show starts at 9 p.m.

Kitchen, Kitchen, Simeson and McFarlane presents Swing Night at Parkwood Estate on Thursday, Aug. 11, with the music of Swing Shift Big Band. Tickets for Swing Shift cost $20. The evening will also feature a dinner prior to the show. Tickets for the entire evening (dinner and show) cost $40. Dinner starts at 5:30 p.m. and the band begins playing at 7 p.m.

Mardi Gras Street Party, presented by the Downtown Oshawa Board of Management and co-sponsored by Bell and the Royal Bank, will get the weekend festivities in downtown Oshawa started at noon on Friday, Aug. 12. Admission is free…and so are the beads! After the Mardi Gras Street Party, the Official Festival After Party, starts at 11 p.m. in the Big Sexy.

The showcase event of the Oshawa Jazz and Blues Festival is, once again, the Big Event at Memorial Park, an all-day free concert in downtown Oshawa on Saturday, Aug. 13. The 2005 Oshawa Jazz and Blues Festival comes to a close on Sunday, Aug. 14, with and a gospel jazz brunch on the grounds of Parkwood Estate, starting at 11:30 a.m. Tickets cost $20.

Those are only a few of the words and emotions which describe the lineup for the 2005 Oshawa Jazz and Blues Festival, which runs Aug. 8 to 14 in downtown Oshawa and venues across the city.

Festival producer Eclipse Concerts is proud to announce a diverse, talented and entertaining lineup, which includes an array of local, national and international performers that are scheduled to appear at Oshawa’s premier summer music celebration this year.

“We have brought together a spectacular group of musicians and performers for the 2005 festival,” says Kerri King, of Eclipse Concerts. “And that is spectacular in talent as well as scope in the fact I think this year’s lineup will appeal to all musical tastes.”

The Oshawa Jazz and Blues Festival is expected to attract thousands of jazz and blues music lovers to indoor and outdoor venues, providing a week full of entertainment and cultural events providing fun for the entire family throughout the City of Oshawa this summer.

The festival opens on Monday, Aug. 8, with a lecture and listening session on the History of the Blues, featuring one of Chicago’s premier blues musicians and Blues in the Schools educator Fruteland Jackson. The event will be held at the Oshawa Holiday Inn starting at 7 p.m. Admission to History of the Blues costs $10 in advance and $12 at the door, on the night of the show.

The festival’s opening day is solidified with the addition of a Blues Jam at the Banshee Cocktail Bar and Deli, in north Oshawa, starting at 9 p.m. Admission to the event is $5.

Some great music from top contemporary female jazz singers will be part of a Jazz Divas Showcase, at Catch 22 Nightclub in downtown Oshawa, on Tuesday, Aug. 9. Jazz-FM personality and National Jazz Award-winning vocalist Heather Bambrick will welcome special guests Emilie-Claire Barlow, Eliana Cuevas, Melissa Stylianou and Laila Biali. The show starts at 7 p.m. and tickets cost $20.

Jack de Keyzer’s Silver Train Tour makes a stop at the Oshawa Jazz and Blues Festival on Wednesday, Aug. 10, at Le Skratch Billiard Bar and Grill, in the Midtown Mall. The Juno Award winner will perform songs from his 25-year career and will be backed by a stellar band, including Chris Murphy on saxophone. Tickets cost $10 in advance and $12 at the door. The show starts at 9 p.m.

Regarded as one of the top three dance bands in Ontario, Swing Shift Big Band will be part of the festival as Kitchen, Kitchen, Simeson and McFarlane presents Swing Night at Parkwood Estate on Thursday, Aug. 11. Tickets for Swing Shift cost $20. The evening will also feature a dinner prior to the show. Tickets for the entire evening (dinner and show) cost $40. Dinner starts at 5:30 p.m. and the band begins playing at 7 p.m.

One of the new events which are sure to put people in partying mood is the day-long Mardi Gras Street Party, on Friday, Aug. 12, in downtown Oshawa, presented by the Downtown Oshawa Board of Management and co-sponsored by Bell and the Royal Bank. There will be plenty to experience with a grand sidewalk sale, cooking demonstrations, a musicians’ parade and, of course, great Cajun vibes and sounds from Swamperella, the Kevin Clark Band and headliner Loco Zydeco. Admission is free…and so are the beads!

After the Mardi Gras Street Party, the celebration continues in downtown Oshawa’s The Big Sexy with the Official Festival After Party, starting at 11 p.m.

The showcase event of the Oshawa Jazz and Blues Festival is, once again, the Big Event at Memorial Park, an all-day free concert in downtown Oshawa on Saturday, Aug. 13. Great music from some of the best local, national and international jazz and blues musicians will be part of the day, as will the popular Artisans’ Alley, featuring displays and booths by many local artists and craftspeople, and the Creative Kids’ Area, sponsored by Oshawa Centre. Musical entertainment starts at 11 a.m. with the Peter Smith Quartet and continues throughout the day with performances by Reckless Abandon, Fruteland Jackson, the Johnny Max Band, Sophie Milman, Jaymz Bee’s Babes in Jazzland — featuring Genevieve, Marieve Herington, Lyne Tremblay, Julie Michels, Elizabeth Shepherd and Ajax’s Janelle Monique – and the rocking blues of Wild T and the Spirit,

The 2005 Oshawa Jazz and Blues Festival comes to a close on Sunday, Aug. 14, with and a gospel jazz brunch on the grounds of Parkwood Estate, the popular tourist attraction and national historic site. The afternoon will be hosted by Rev. Dr. Don Wright and feature the music of Herb Knox with special guests Julie Michaels and Jazz-FM personality Jaymz Bee. The brunch starts at 11:30 a.m. Tickets cost $20.

Oshawa’s summer music celebration starts on Monday, Aug. 8, and runs through Sunday, Aug. 14, with a week full of entertainment and cultural events providing fun for the entire family. Planned events for the week are expected to attract thousands of jazz and blues music lovers to indoor and outdoor venues throughout the City of Oshawa this summer.

Among new events planned are a jazz divas night featuring some contemporary female vocalists, a blues revue, a day-long Mardi Gras-style street party and a gospel jazz brunch.

The showcase concert of the Oshawa Jazz and Blues Festival, the Big Event at Memorial Park, promises to be better than ever and also returning are the popular lecture night, which provides entertaining information about the world of jazz and blues music, and swing night, a magical evening under the stars in the beautiful gardens of Parkwood Estate.

The 2005 Oshawa Jazz and Blues Festival site will be officially launched on June 1.

We hope you visit us then and learn about what’s in store this summer at Oshawa’s premier music celebration.

If you have any questions about the 2005 Oshawa Jazz and Blues Festival, please feel free to contact the Festival Producer, Kerri King of Eclipse Concerts at 905-986-0666 or email kerri@eclipseconcerts.com.