Gigs

Guitarist Lorne Lofsky and Pianist Bill Mays.
After their 1990 duo debut at the Montreal Bistro

Show at 8pm, Doors at 7pm
$39+ in advance, $46+ at the door

Pianist Bill Mays’ career as a professional musician spans the last 65 years and includes a multitude of musical endeavours. Following four years as a bandsman in the U.S. Navy, Bill spent 15 years as a session player in Hollywood studios.In 1984, he re-located to New York City, firmly establishing himself as an in-demand sideman and leader of his own ensembles. He has worked with jazz legends Benny Golson, Shelly Manne, Red Mitchell, Gerry Mulligan, Bud Shank, Frank Sinatra, Vanguard Jazz Orchestra, Sarah Vaughan and Phil Woods. His many recordings as a leader (solo, duo, trio and sextet) are well-documented on the Chiaroscuro, Concord, DMP, Palmetto, Steeplechase and Sunnyside record labels.

A prolific composer and arranger, Mays has written extended suites for bass, flute, woodwind septet, and pieces for big band and orchestra (New York Philharmonic, Carnegie Hall Jazz Band, Turtle Creek Chorale, WDR Big Band, U.S. Air Force Airmen of Note). His latest recordings include Phil & Bill (duo with saxophonist Phil Woods), Front Row Seat (solo), Mays Plays Mays (trio/quintet), Autumn Serenade, and Soundscape (trio). His songs have been used in movies and television: Anamorph, Burn After Reading, Hamlet, Looker, Succession, The Fifth Estate, Tribeca, and Honey, Don’t. His keyboard work has been heard on hundreds of film soundtracks, among them Fargo, Fur, Godfather 2, Hail, Caesar!, Jaws 2, Julie & Julia, Rocky 2, Interview with the Vampire, Superman, The Big Lebowski, The Good Liar, The Spanish Prisoner and White Noise. Mays has received rave reviews with the publication of his first book, Stories of the Road, The Studios, Sidemen & Singers: 55 Years in the Music Biz.

Lorne Lofsky is an internationally recognized jazz guitarist. Born and raised in Toronto, he has been playing professionally for the last 42 years. He has played/toured or recorded with a who’s who of the jazz world, including Oscar Peterson, Ed Bickert, Rob McConnell, Chet Baker, Joey DeFrancesco, Pepper Adams, Ray Brown, Neils Henning Orsted Pedersen, Rosemary Clooney, Kirk MacDonald, Dave Holland, and many other respected members of the international jazz community.

He has been a faculty member at York University’s Fine Arts/Music Program since 1978 and also teaches at the Humber College Community Music Program. Lorne is a mainstay of the Toronto jazz scene and performs extensively in the Greater Toronto Area. He has also given clinics/concerts at St. FX University in Antigonish, Nova Scotia and McGill University in Montreal. See Bill Mays and Lorne Lofsky on Saturday June 6.