LIVELab Presents Adi Braun: NOIR

FREE Virtual Concert & Science Snapshot followed by LIVE Q&A

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Register here: https://livelab.mcmaster.ca/events/adi-braun-noir/

**The concert link will be sent by email a few days before the concert to the email address provided at registration**

LIVELab and Adi Braun invite you to an evening of delicious and dangerous music from the era of the Film Noir. Let the words and music transport you back to a time where Marlene Dietrich wraps you in the arms of “The Blue Angel” (1931), Doris Day sings of Ruth Etting’s woes in “Love me or Leave Me” (1955), where you become seduced by the haunting beauty of David Raskin’s melody “Laura”, (1944) and you taste the bittersweet reality of life in “As Time Goes By” (1942).

“Noir” is a show filled with songs and repartee from this truly unique period in film-making where, as Fay Helm said in “Phantom Lady”, there are “no names, no addresses – just companions for the evening”.

Adi Braun

On October 23, 2017, critically-acclaimed singer/songwriter Adi Braun launched her latest recording, Moderne Frau, which pays tribute to the women of Weimar Berlin and the music of the 1920s. Stirred by her lifelong passion for German cabaret, Braun’s 5th recording features music by leading composers of that era and includes three of her own original songs.

Moderne Frau follows Adi’s previous celebrated recordings: Canadian Scenes I (2010), which marked her singer/songwriter debut; Live at the Metropolitan Room (2007), recorded off-the-floor at New York’s renowned jazz/cabaret venue; The Rules of the Game (2006), from which the song Show Me Yours was featured on the hit U.S. TV series The “L” Word and Delishious (2003), short-listed for a 2004 Juno Award nomination.

Her sophisticated style and subtle delivery evokes such vocal greats as Sarah Vaughan, Lotte Lenya, Judy Garland and Rosemary Clooney. Elizabeth Ahlfors of New York’s Cabaret Scenes describes Adi as, “A tad Dinah Washington, a hint of Lena Horne, the enveloping warmth of Doris Day, all gift-wrapped up in a unique sound that is singular Adi Braun!” Adi’s repertoire ranges from the Great American Songbook, to European cabaret, to contemporary songs by Canada legend’s Shirley Eikhard and Gordon Lightfoot as well as her own originals. Whether she is singing in English, French, Spanish or German, Adi Braun is “a power-frau who gives jazz standards a unique touch, telling stories that are miniature life moments” (Rheinische Post, Düsseldorf, Germany).

Born in Toronto, Adi Braun grew up in Europe surrounded by music and musicians. Her parents were opera singers, and her father, Victor Braun, was one of Canada’s leading baritones. Her first instrument was piano, which she began studying at the age of six. With no formal voice lessons, she made her first pop/jazz recording at age 19. Following family tradition, Adi trained classically at the Royal Conservatory of Music and the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Music. She began her singing career as a classical recitalist, a soloist with orchestra and on-stage in operas and operettas alongside her brother, baritone Russell Braun. In addition to her many musical roles, Adi teaches German art song at the Royal Conservatory of Music and is a German diction coach for the Canadian Opera Company.

Adi started “singing sideways” in the late ‘90s and returned to the music she loves – which she calls “cabarazz” – drawing on aspects from both cabaret and jazz. After winning a local competition in 2001, she was catapulted to centre-stage as one of Canada’s leading jazz vocalists. In 2007, Adi was nominated as Best Major Jazz Vocalist of the Year by the Manhattan Association of Cabarets and Clubs (MAC).

Daniel Barnes
Daniel’s deep groove, dynamic sense, superior sound and versatility keep him in demand as a drummer with a top echelon of jazz artists in Canada including Joe Sealy, Holly Cole, Jackie Richardson, Adi Braun, Richard Underhill, Micah Barnes and many others, also backing visiting Americans Don Braden, Ron Westray, Dizzy Reese, Russ Nolan and others.

Daniel has earned distinction in World Music circles having toured internationally for a decade with an icon of Ethiopian
music Ms. Aster Aweke (and others in this genre) recording her widely known video “Aster Aweke-Live in London”. Back home in Toronto Daniel spent a decade in The Flying Bulgar Klezmer Band, earning a Juno nomination in 2003 for the CD “Sweet Return”, recording and performing with Egyptian Canadian artist Maryem Hassan and backing Eliane Cuevas in live performance.

Daniel’s CD releases “Culmination” and “Classic Beauties” have become staples on jazz radio in Canada and feature his writing, arranging and producing. His third upcoming release specializing in Ethiopian Jazz is set to do the same. His live group appears regularly in Toronto while having performed at The Toronto and Montreal International Jazz Festivals amongst many other local Festivals.

Daniel plays Gretsch Drums, Murat Diril Cymbals and Headhunter Sticks and Creations exclusively.

Pat Collins
Originally from Qualicum Beach, B.C., bassist Pat Collins moved to Toronto in 1988 and has become one of the more active bassists on the Canadian Jazz Scene. Pat has performed with such legendary musicians as Oscar Peterson, Joe Henderson, Dizzy Gillespie, Herb Ellis, Jimmy Cobb and Lee Konitz. He has also performed with legendary Canadian musicians as Moe Koffman, Rob McConnell, Ed Bickert, Peter Appleyard and Don Thompson.

In January, 2005, Pat released his first CD as a leader, on Cornerstone Records, entitled “In the Moment” featuring some of Canada’s premier jazz musicians, Mike Murley, Reg Schwager and Barry Elmes. The CD has received rave reviews, including “In the Moment is a CD that’s very easy to like”, (Richard Bourcier, JazzReview.com), and “This is a classy contribution to the jazz canon”, (Geoff Chapman, Toronto Star). The Pat Collins Quartet was nominated for a 2005 National Jazz Award as “Acoustic Group of the Year”, “Album of the Year” in 2006, and Pat
was nominated as “Acoustic Bassist of the Year” in 2005 and 2006.

In May 2020, Pat released his second CD as a leader, also on Cornerstone Records. It’s a trio recording featuring two of Canada’s premier jazz musicians, Tom Szczesniak on accordion, and Reg Schwager on guitar. The album is entitled, “Time Well Spent” and features compositions by all members of the trio, as well as tunes by Paul Simon and Michel Legrand.

Pat is also an educator and is on the full-time music faculty of Mohawk College, in Hamilton, Ontario. Pat also taught for many years at Humber College in Toronto, as well as many summer music camps including the Interprovincial Music Camp, Kincardine Summer Music Festival, and the National Music Camp. Pat is currently on the faculty of the Prairielands Jazz Camp in Regina, Saskatchewan as well as the Jazz for Adults camp at Wilfred Laurier University in
Waterloo, Ontario.

Pat is active as an adjudicator and clinician at music festivals across Canada, including Musicfest Canada, The Golden Horseshoe Musicfest, and the West Coast Jazz Festival.

Adrean Farrugia

Award winning pianist and composer Adrean Farrugia is one of Canada’s most distinct voices on the piano.
Since the late 1990s Adrean has been in high demand as a freelance performer and teacher. Keeping a busy touring schedule, mainly as a sideman, Adrean has toured extensively across Canada and the United States as well as in venues across Europe and in Japan.

Adrean has performed/recorded with some of jazz’s greatest and most diverse artists including: Larry Carlton, Curtis Fuller, Tom Scott, Bob Brookmeyer, Randy Brecker, Eric Alexander, Ron Blake, Joel Frahm, Matt Penman, Brad Goode, Jeremy Pelt, Kenny Wheeler, Darcy James Argue, Don Thompson, Lorne Lofsky, Kevin Turcotte, Kelly Jefferson, and Pat Labarbera.

Adrean has appeared on more than 30 recordings to date and his debut recording as a leader Adrean Farrugia v1.0: Live at the Senator was released in the summer of 2006. In 2008, Adrean forged a new project entitled RICOCHET . The band released their JUNO nominated debut recording in 2010 on the Mainstage at the TD Canada Trust Toronto
International Jazz festival.

Adrean is currently on the faculties of York University and Mohawk College where he teaches jazz piano and improvisation. He has also done workshops/clinics at the Sydney Conservatorium, University of Colorado, University of Toronto, The University of Western Ontario, The Banff Centre for the arts, Grant McEwan University, and in Warsaw Poland as part of the Polish Jazz Society’s 35th annual Summer Jazz Workshop. As well, Adrean has been a
contributing writer to piano guru Larry Fine’s publication “The Piano Book”, the world’s foremost publication on all things piano. In 2011 Farrugia was invited to be a performer and panelist at the 63rd annual Conference on World Affairs in Boulder Colorado. He was the sole invitee from Canada.

Adrean Farrugia is a Shigeru Kawai artist.

Science Snapshot by Dr. Marshall Chasin
“What have hearing aids for music taught us about hearing aids for speech”

Dr. Marshall Chasin is Director of Audiology and Research at the Musicians’ Clinics of Canada, Adjunct Professor at the University of Toronto (in Linguistics), and Associate Professor in the School of Communication Disorders and Sciences at Western University. He is the author of over 200 articles and 8 books including Musicians and the Prevention of Hearing Loss. He writes a monthly column in Hearing Review called Back to Basics. Dr. Chasin has been the recipient of many awards over the years including the 2012 Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Award and the 2017 Canada 150 Medal. He has developed a new TTS app called Temporary Hearing Loss Test app. And he is not as boring as this bio makes him sound!

We gratefully acknowledge our sponsors:
McMaster University Alumni, TD Insurance, incite Foundation for the Arts, Unitron, Marsales Real Estate, Long & McQuade