The Nick Nurse Foundation Summer Jazz & Groove Lab

Hannah Barstow

Hannah Barstow is a pianist, vocalist and composer based in Toronto. Her performance aesthetic is firmly rooted in the jazz music tradition and is strongly influenced by the trios and quartets of Shirley Horn, Ahmad Jamal and Blossom Dearie. Her compositions are influenced by jazz, classical, pop, and Latin music. She has performed with a number of world-renowned artists including Emilie Claire Barlow, Kris Davis, Mike Murley, Steve Wallace, Pat Collins, the Brian Barlow Big Band and the Greg Runions Big Band with the Kingston Symphony. Her first full length album, Beneath, will be released in August 2021. Personal Website

Matt Brubeck

Matt Brubeck is a JUNO award-winning performer, composer and educator specializing in improvisation on the cello. Raised on jazz and classically trained at Yale, Matt is at ease in multiple genres and has taken his cello improvisation skills into diverse musical territories. Matt has collaborated with more artists than he can remember, including David Braid, Kevin Breit, Marilyn Lerner, Nick Fraser and more. In addition to his jazz/improvising work, Matt has had many eclectic musical adventures including touring and/or recording with Tom Waits, Sheryl Crow, Dixie Chicks, Natalie McMaster, and Yo-Yo Ma. Personal Website

Karen Burke

Karen Burke holds a Master of Education degree (York), an Honours Bachelor of Music Degree (McMaster) and an A.R.C.T. Diploma in Piano Teaching (RCM). In 1988, she co-founded the JUNO award-winning Toronto Mass Choir, which has since recorded 12 albums and toured over 10 countries. In 2005, Burke joined the Department of Music at York University, where she established the York University Gospel Choir and developed the first post-secondary curriculum in gospel music in Canada. In 2019, Professor Burke was awarded the Harry Jerome Award in the Arts, Media and Entertainment category, which acknowledges a history of outstanding achievement. Personal Website

Corey Butler

Corey Butler is a songwriter, pianist, producer and educator. He is also the founder of Zamar Music Group, an organization committed to making a difference in communities through music education, mentorship, performance and production. Butler has served as the Musical Director of the JUNO award-winning Toronto Mass Choir for the past ten years and has also written songs with Grammy award winner and Hall of Fame inductee, Carvin Winans. Butler has also performed with internationally renowned musicians such as Jackie Richardson and Londa Larmond. He is currently part of the teaching faculty in the Department of Music at York University and in the Music Industry Arts Program at Centennial College. Personal Website

MIKE CADÓ

Mike Cadó is a Toronto-based guitarist, composer, and bandleader whose diverse experiences reflect a multitude of genres including jazz, blues, R&B, and more. In addition to being a faculty member in the Department of Music, he is also pursuing a doctoral degree in ethnomusicology. Mike’s decision to continue graduate studies has been inspired by his interest in exploring the unique relationships between the compositional and improvisational processes, which are unequivocally motivational forces behind his own vitality and music-making. Personal Website

TARA DAVIDSON

Tara Davidson is a JUNO award-winning alto and soprano saxophonist who has performed in many of the world’s prestigious venues. As a bandleader, Davidson has produced six recordings since 2004, four of which have been nominated by the JUNO Awards for “Album of the Year” in the “Traditional”, “Solo” and “Group” jazz categories. She has also performed on approximately thirty recordings as a side person. Tara Davidson is proud to be a Yamaha Artist. Personal Website

DEREK GRAY

Derek Gray works extensively as a bandleader, composer, and performing musician. He is skilled on drumset, Batá, cajón, djembe, Tibetan Singing Bowls among others. Derek has toured internationally with Georgian Bay, Gray Matter, Franco-Ontarian family band Ariko, Indo-jazz chamber ensemble Justin Gray & Synthesis, and the trans-Mediterranean group, Tamar Ilana & Ventanas. Derek has performed and taught music in Cuba, Korea, Spain, Indonesia, Italy, and Switzerland. Derek holds a Bachelor of Contemporary Music Degree from Humber College and a Masters of Ethnomusicology from York University. Personal Website

BRIAN KATZ

Internationally acclaimed guitarist, composer, educator and pianist Brian Katz, has been noted for his impeccable ability to bridge jazz, world and classical genres together. His outstanding “open”(free) improvisations have been regarded as seamlesly blending several of his musical influences together into separate coherent musical statements. His original compositions and theoretical works have been published worldwide and can be found as part of the Royal Conservatory of Music graded curriculum series. Katz is a member of the teaching faculty in the Department of Music at York University as well as the University of Toronto. Personal Website

RICK LAZAR

Rick was voted Percussionist of the Year five times by Jazz Report magazine and has produced and released 4 CDs with his group Montuno Police. Rick has toured and recorded with such artists as Bruce Cockburn, Barry White, Paul Shaffer and Loreena McKennitt. He is also the creator and artistic director of Samba Squad with whom he has written, produced and released 3 CDs. He is also an educator at York University teaching Escola De Samba and Cuban music courses. Rick’s knowledge of world drums and passion makes him a unique percussionist who is first call for a diverse array of artists. Personal Website

NOAM LEMISH

Dr. Noam Lemish is a pianist, composer, and Assistant Professor of Jazz Instruction and Pedagogy at York University. He has appeared in numerous performances and conducted workshops across Canada, the US, Europe, Israel, and Bhutan. He has released multiple albums, including his most recent work, Erlebnisse (2021). Lemish holds a Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA) in Jazz Performance and a Masters degree in Composition from the University of Toronto. Personal Website

LORNE LOFSKY

Internationally renowned jazz guitarist Lorne Lofsky has been performing professionally for over 42 years. Lofsky has toured, performed and recorded with a who’s who of the jazz world, including Oscar Peterson, Ed Bickert, Rob McConnell, Chet Baker, Joey DeFrancesco, Pepper Adams, Ray Brown, Neils Henning Orsted Pederson, Rosemary Clooney, Kirk MacDonald, Dave Holland and many other respected members of the international jazz community. Lorne has been a faculty member in the Department of Music at York University since 1978. Personal Website

Barry Romberg

Over the years Barry has worked with some of Canada’s finest musicians, led his own bands, and accompanied many international artists. Barry has been featured on over 100 recordings (studio/tv/radio), including 18 CDs as a leader/co-leader. Barry has been a featured performer on numerous Canadian Tours as well in Europe, the United States and India. He is currently a member of the teaching faculty in the Department of Music at York University. Personal Website

Artie Roth

Toronto Bassist-composer Artie Roth is known for “a real spring to his rhythmic step and a fullness to his sound” (Mark Miller-The Globe and Mail). As a leader he released “Parallels” (2005) “Currently Experiencing (2013) “Discern” (2015) and, most recently, ”Resonants” (2023). He also co-leads and has released two recordings with the Jazz trio “Tunetown” namely “There From Here” (2018) and “Entering Utopia” (2020). As a bassist/side-person, Artie has been recorded on over 60 full length recordings including multiple JUNO award winning and nominated albums. Artie currently holds the position of Bass Instructor and ensemble coach at York University and Centennial College.

Kevin Turcotte

Toronto-based trumpeter Kevin Turcotte has been an integral member of well-known Canadian jazz bands led by Barry Elmes, Andrew Downing, Michael Occhipinti, Adrean Farrugia and Mike Murley. In the past 30 years, he has participated in over 200 recording projects, amassing 30 JUNO nominations, with artists ranging from the Barenaked Ladies and Bruce Cockburn to Measha Brueggergosman. Kevin has toured widely in Asia, Europe and South America and has also been featured in Toronto and across Canada with a range of international artists.

Sundar Viswanathan

JUNO award-winning saxophonist, vocalist, recording artist and composer Sundar Viswanathan has performed extensively in Europe, Japan, South Africa, Brazil, Canada, the Caribbean, and the USA. Sundar is one of the founding members of the award-winning world jazz group Avataar. Their 2016 release, Petal, which explores the intersection of Indian classical, jazz, pop and ambient atmospheres, received critical acclaim from DOWNBEAT, JAZZIZ, worldmusiccentral and allaboutjazz. Sundar’s music is featured nationally and internationally on radio, television and print. He has also appeared on several recordings as a sideman. Sundar is currently an Associate Professor of Jazz at York University. Personal Website

Ron Westray

Jazz musician and composer Ron Westray is best known for his work as lead trombonist with the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, directed by Wynton Marsalis, and his collaborations with Wycliffe Gordon. He has appeared in concert with Ray Charles, Bob Dylan, Willie Nelson, Stevie Wonder, Dewey Redman, Roy Haynes, Randy Brecker among others. Professor Westray has recorded as a sideman on such major labels as Columbia, Sony Classical and RCA Novus. He joined York’s Department of Music in 2009 as the Oscar Peterson Chair in Jazz Performance. Prior to this, he taught in the Jazz Studies Department at the University of Texas at Austin.

Anna Williams

Anna Swaray Williams is a jazz vocalist and ethnomusicologist whose research interests lie in Black popular musics from Afrobeat to Zydeco. Her Master’s thesis was on African American protest music, while her PhD dissertation focuses on Black feminisms through song. A student of Sheila Jordan, Ranee Lee and Jeri Brown, Anna’s repertoire includes traditional jazz, free jazz and everything in between. Anna’s own unique sound, a blend of musical influences from the three continents on which she has lived, can be heard on national and international radio.

Sacha Williamson

Toronto singer, songwriter, performer and educator, Sacha Williamson, has performed extensively throughout Europe and North America. Her music has been featured internationally on radio stations such as BBC Radio 1Xtra, CBC, Jazz.FM91, as well as Pitbull’s Globalization Radio. Williamson’s debut EP, Love Life, which she wrote and co-produced, is available now on all major streaming services. Sacha is currently part of the teaching faculty in the Department of Music at York University, as well as in the Music Industry Arts Program at Centennial College. She is also the musical director for the Centennial College Music Industry Arts Program’s first-ever a cappella ensemble.