Acoustic Architects

Arranger, Canada, Composer, Festivals, Herbie Hancock, Jazz, Toronto June 25, 2023

The steel pan is more than a vacation sound to Joy Lapps — it’s about the joy of self-expression

Lapps is one of the few women to specialize in steel pan or steel drum. She will share her passion with the Toronto Jazz Festival. By Nick Krewen Special to the Star Quiz time: what sunny-sounding percussive instrument that invokes the sound of the Caribbean is forged from a 55-gallon industrial drum? The answer: the chromatically pitched steel pan, which is front and centre of Joy Lapps‘ first full-length album of…

Alt. Rock, Canada, Folk, Indie, Leonard Cohen, Neil Young, Producer, Rock, Songwriter, Toronto May 26, 2023

Hayden’s first solo album since 2015, Are We Good, was worth the wait.

‘Packed with several gems of emotional nuance and sly wit and humour, the album doesn’t stray too far fromthe low-fi, grassroots charm that Hayden first established. By Nick Krewen Special to the Star Even when you enjoy a career as low key as Paul Hayden Desser and his music, eight years between albums is quite the delay. For the artist who plies his trade by his middle name –  Hayden –…

Adult Contemporary, Arranger, Bryan Adams, Business, Composer, Grammy, John Hiatt, Los Angeles, Mariachi, Music Industry (Trade), Music Publishing, Pop, Producer, Record Labels, Trumpet, United States May 10, 2023

Herb Alpert brings 60 years of hit-making to Toronto’s Queen Elizabeth Theatre

 By Nick Krewen Special To The Star You may remember him for his No. 1 smashes “This Guy’s In Love With You” and “Rise” – and for his signature “happy” trumpet sound fronting The Tijuana Brass –  but Herb Alpert has worked his way into your musical DNA probably more than you realize. Yes, there were the familiar ’60s instrumental hits like “The Lonely Bull,” “A Taste of Honey,” “Spanish Flea”…

Bon Jovi, Bryan Adams, Canada, Canadian Music Hall Of Fame, Engineer, Grammy, Honolulu, JUNO, k.d. lang, Metallica, Producer, Rock, Rock 'N Roll, Ron Sexsmith, Songwriter, The Tragically Hip, Toronto, United States, Vancouver, Voice, Willie Nelson May 5, 2023

‘He was a great man’: Bob Rock on Gord Downie and Lustre Parfait: their happy accident album.

Love of family and hockey bonded the late Tragically Hip frontman and the Payola$ co-founder and producer. By Nick Krewen Special to the Star So, it turns out that Tragically Hip singer Gord Downie had at least one more album in him. But there’s a difference between Lustre Parfait, the brilliant work he recorded with Payola$ co-founder and über-producer Bob Rock (Metallica, Michael Bublé, Mötley Crüe) that’s out Friday and…

Garage Rock, Grammy, Grunge, Guitar, Guns N' Roses, Hard Rock/Heavy Metal, Los Angeles, Metallica, Rock, Songwriter, United States April 13, 2023

Metallica’s Kirk Hammett loves Toronto – but he won’t be playing here anytime soon

Hammett and his metal band mates are limiting their time on the road but not the music itself. New album 72 Seasons is out Friday. By Nick Krewen Special to the Star Metallica fans, there is some good news and some bad news. First, the positive stuff: to support 72 Seasons, the San Francisco heavy rock band’s 11th studio album and first since 2016’s Hardwired…To Self-Destruct, the tandem of singer…