Mark Ferguson is a trombonist, pianist, composer, arranger, producer and music educator at Carleton University. He's worked with great artists such as Ella Fitzgerald, Tony Bennett, Dionne Warwick, Natalie Cole and Rosemary Clooney. These days he is part of a new ensemble with Mike Tremblay (reeds), bassist
Donna Grantis's older brother had this acoustic guitar, you see, and one summer when she was about 13 she thought she'd pick it up and learn some chords. "I checked out the tab for Stairway to Heaven and there was no looking back." The rest is six-string
This year's TD Ottawa Jazz Festival is billing itself as putting female performers front and centre. Perhaps no concert epitomizes this more than the one that will feature a large ensemble assembled by the composer and sax player Christine Jensen. On June 25, she will be the
Deep in the archives of the National Film Board of Canada lies some of the best music ever composed in this country. Allyson Rogers knows this because she's been in there hunting down the work of a man named Eldon Rathburn who is likely the most
Jane Siberry started painting about 10 years ago when she was stuck in a recording studio. "I was in there way too long," Siberry, who is better known as a singer-songwriter, said in an interview with ARTSFILE. "I had to do something so I went to Woolworth
In the 1970s, Ottawa was not a cultural hotbed. There were artists here working hard to try to make a career but many left the city to find their way in Toronto, Montreal and New York. That there is today a flourishing community with artists who
Ranee Lee is not one to slow down. To prove the point, this pillar of Montreal's — and Canada's — jazz scene was just in Sochi, Russia for a concert. That's right — one concert. "It took longer to get there and get back than the concert.
These performances were reviewed June 16. The Ottawa Fringe Festival continues until June 23 at various downtown venues. Tickets & information: ottawafringe.com, 613-232-6162. Pinter Stew (Third Wall Theatre, Ottawa) You leave this show feeling as if you, too, have been chucked into a stew, one whose main ingredients
Joey Landreth has won a JUNO with his brother David for their work as the Bros. Landreth. Now he has released a new collaboration with Roman Clarke called Hindsight. They'll be in Ottawa on June 20 at the NAC. Before the show Joey answered some
God is a Scottish Drag Queen (Mike Delamont, Victoria, BC) The world could use a few more laughs these days. Fortunately, God is at hand. Large, stentorian-voiced Mike Delamont, aka God the Scottish Drag Queen (“I look like a sexy chesterfield,” She says, referencing Her 1980s
