Piano

Arranger, Bruce Cockburn, Canada, Composer, Indiana, Jazz, Linda Ronstadt, Piano, Producer, Toronto, United States December 25, 2020

This Toronto musician’s carefree wandering through the ’60s saw him working with Janis Joplin and Linda Ronstadt – and that’s only part of his story

Nick Krewen Special to the Star You may know him as the artistic director of the currently paused Beaches International Jazz Festival or hear him on one of the three radio programs he either hosts or co-hosts in the city. But did you know that Toronto’s Bill King, a three-time Juno Award nominee, also served as music director for blues-rock singer Janis Joplin, the stylistically versatile Linda Ronstadt, The Pointer…

Adult Contemporary, Arranger, Composer, Detroit, Funk, Grammy, Harp, Jazz, JUNO, Motown, Piano, Pop, Producer, R&B, Reggae, Rock 'N Roll Hall Of Fame, Songwriter, Spoken Word, Synthesizer, Technology, United States, Voice October 13, 2020

Stevie Wonder releases two songs at the same time in a bid ‘for the world to get better’

Nick Krewen Special to the Star Stevie Wonder has had his kidney transplant and is doing very well, thank you. In the first public acknowledgment that he had experienced the surgery since he announced his intention to undergo the knife last July, the Detroit-born Motown legend said during a virtual press conference from Los Angeles Tuesday afternoon that he was feeling  fine and in good post-surgery health.  “Let everybody know that…

Alberta, Canada, Hip-Hop, JUNO, Piano, Polaris, Pop, Producer, Songwriter, Soul, Toronto, Voice July 1, 2020

Black Canadian musicians discuss their songs linked to the death of George Floyd – one of them a ‘three-minute history lesson’

Nick Krewen Special to the Star It’s an ugly truth, but racism is more prevalent in Canada than we’d like to admit, say two Black Canadian artists who are illuminating the issue in their current and powerfully candid works. “There’s definitely a problem in Canada,” says Ruth Berhe –   better known as Ruth B. – who recently wrote and recorded the moving ballad “If I Have A Son” in the wake…

Arranger, Canada, Composer, Guitar, Indie pop, JUNO, Piano, Pop, Songwriter, Voice November 30, 2019

His father’s death taught him to stop trying so hard. Now Royal Wood is reaping the rewards.

By Nick Krewen Special to the Star November 30, 2019 On December 3, local singer and songwriter Royal Wood will be fulfilling a lifelong dream by headlining a show at Roy Thomson Hall. Actually, it’s a two-part aspiration, but he completed the first half a few years ago when he sold out Massey Hall. “It’s funny, I got shown a video a while back where I said I wanted to…

Bass, Canada, Composer, Electronic, Engineer, Experimental, Hip-Hop, Jazz, Mixer, Piano, Pop, Producer, R&B, Songwriter, Soul, Toronto, Voice July 22, 2019

Clairmont The Second is up for a climb

Nick Krewen Special to the Star July 20, 2019 Clairmont The Second may be one of the more ambitious rappers out there, but he’s in no rush to achieve the lofty stardom to which he aspires. “We knew from the start that it was going to be the long game,” said the Juno-nominated hip-hop artist born Clairmont Humphrey, who hails from the Jane and Weston area of Toronto and brings…