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INTRODUCING...

Our 2024  
Sun Life Uptown
Waterloo Jazz Festival Artists

Laila full body piano shot - Rachel Cicoria.jpg
Laila full body piano shot - Rachel Cicoria.jpg

FRIDAY JULY 19, 2024

Featuring Laila Biali

Multi award-winning Canadian singer-songwriter, pianist and CBC Music national radio host Laila Biali has headlined festivals and venues spanning five continents from New York City's Carnegie Hall to Beijing's National Centre for the Performing Arts, and supported international icon Sting. In 2020, Laila was honoured by SOCAN Music with the Hagood Hardy Award for Excellence in Songwriting. In 2019, Laila’s eponymous release won her a JUNO (Canada's GRAMMY) for "Vocal Jazz Album of the Year.” The year prior, she was awarded top prize at the Canadian Songwriting Competition in the Jazz category. Laila was also the youngest-ever double winner at Canada’s National Jazz Awards when she was named "SOCAN Composer of the Year" and "Keyboardist of the Year." She received her first JUNO nomination for Tracing Light (2011), and a spot on DownBeat Magazine's "Best Albums of the Year" for Live in Concert (2013) and Out of Dust (2020). In September of 2017, Laila was brought on as the host for CBC Music's national radio show, Saturday Night Jazz, a weekly show broadcast to listeners across Canada. While Laila continues to earn high honours in the Jazz world, her signature sound transcends genre as she "masterfully mixes jazz and pop, bringing virtuosity and unpredictability to songs that are concise and catchy" (Washington Post). Laila's highly anticipated album, Out of Dust, which features multiple GRAMMY nominees and winners including Lisa Fischer, Alan Ferber, John Ellis, and Larnell Lewis, released March 27, 2020 and was also nominated for a 2021 JUNO Award.

HILARIO PIANO - 1.jpg

SATURDAY JULY 20, 2024

Featuring Hilario Duran & His Latin Jazz Big Band

Hilario Duran is well-recognized for his piano playing and composing skills. After making his
mark in Cuba, he has made a name for himself since his arrival. Duran is a multi-Canadian Juno
Award winner and nominee, an American Grammy nominee, a multi-Canadian National Jazz
Award winner & nominee, and the proud recipient of the 2007 Chico O'Farrill Lifetime
Achievement Award.
Duran's art form describes all musical elements influenced by the Cuban pianists, composers, and
directors of the Golden Age of Cuban music.

SUNDAY, JULY 21, 2024

Canadian Jazz Collective Septet

The 2024 JUNO-nominated Canadian Jazz Collective, a newly created group of established and Award-Winning Canadian jazz artists, is taking audiences and critics by storm. With a collaborative approach to the presentation of original Canadian jazz, the Collective’s repertoire features of original compositions by saxophonist Kirk MacDonald, trumpeter Derrick Gardner, and guitarist Lorne Lofsky, all specially arranged for this ensemble. This exciting ensemble was formed with the purpose of creative collaboration and to showcase the musicians’ world-class artistry and original compositions. The Canadian Jazz Collective Septet comprises leaders Kirk MacDonald
(saxophonist/composer), Derrick Gardner (trumpeter/composer), and Lorne Lofsky (guitarist/composer), along with rising star clarinetist Virginia MacDonald, bassist Neil Swainson, pianist Brian Dickinson, and Austrian drummer Bernd Reiter. Since its inception in May 2022, the CJC (Canadian Jazz Collective) has made highly successful tours through Europe, Canada, and the U.S., and released two albums – including the 2024 JUNO-nominated Septology. www.canadianjazzcollective.com
Performance Line-up:
· Derrick Gardner—trumpet & flugelhorn
· Lorne Lofsky—guitar
· Pat Labarbera—tenor saxophone
· Tara Davidson—soprano sax
· Brian Dickinson—piano
· Neil Swainson—bass
· Bernd Reiter—drums

CJC group storefront 2023.JPG

FRIDAY, JULY 19TH

5:00pm

JAKOB DURST QUARTET

6:30pm

NEZQWIK

8:00pm

RALF BUSCHMEYER QUARTET

9:30pm

LAILA BIALI

SATURDAY, JULY 20TH

12:30pm

YOUTH JAZZ ENSEMBLE

2:00pm

GENNARO NOTOMISTA

3:30pm

GIGI KC AB

5:00pm

FRIENDS OF THE FESTIVAL

6:30pm

ALLISON AU

8:00pm

TIM LOUIS

9:30pm

HILARIO DURAN AND HIS LATIN JAZZ BIG BAND

SUNDAY, JULY 21ST

12:00pm

YOUTH JAZZ ENSEMBLE

1:30pm

PATTI PAYNE

3:00pm

CANADIAN JAZZ COLLECTIVE

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