Toronto based composer and pianist David Virelles has won the Louis Applebaum Composers Award for 2008. This year’s $10,000 award recognizes excellence in a body of work by an emerging artist in the field of jazz composition.

Born and raised in Santiago de Cuba, to a musical family, David Virelles started to play the piano at the age of 7 and began composing at age 13. Classically trained in one of Cuba’s prestigious music schools, Virelles developed an interest in jazz listening to his grandfather’s record collection. Virelles has gained recognition for creating his own distinctive sound, in which improvisation within different structures is one of the most important components.

Based in Toronto since 2001, 25 year old Virelles studied at the University of Toronto, and at Humber College, where he won the first Oscar Peterson Award. His compositions have been featured on several groups/projects including his quintet, as well as Jane Bunnett and Spirits of Havana, the Neil Swainson Quartet, Francisco Mela, Roberto Occhipinti Quartet and the Roman Filiu Quartet. The CBC commissioned Virelles to write music to pay tribute to Glenn Gould on the 75th anniversary of his birthday. The piece, which featured Virelles and his quintet as well as the Penderecki String Quartet, was inspired by Gould’s documentary, “The Idea of the North”. Winner of numerous awards, his debut album “Motion” on the Justin Time label features original compositions performed by his group.

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Tonight at the Rex catch the Hilario Duran Trio at 9:30pm. Friday the Hogtown Synacopators get things swinging early, before Sara Dell takes the stage and warms things up for the Bob Brough Quartet. Saturday JHolly Clark Trio gets things warmed up before the Childs/Tosoff Quintet at 9:30 pm.

At Gate 403 you can catch the Sarah Jerrom Trio from 5:00 pm followed by Kevin Lalibert at 9:00 m.

And finally, you can catch the Heather Bambrick Trio at The Home Smith Bar
Saturday at 8:30pm.

Cheers!

If you haven’t got your tickets yet you should get movin’. Bob is in town Monday, October 27 at the Old Mill Inn as part of the Jazz FM Sound of Jazz Concert Series.

Trust me, you don’t want to miss this one. Here are a couple of his to get you motivated.

Diana Krall – Devil May Care

Conjunction Junction

Toronto’s JAZZ.FM91 has announced the launch of three new, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, commercial-free internet radio streams dedicated to great jazz music. High Standards, devoted to classic tracks from legendary jazz vocalists: Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra, Billie Holiday, Molly Johnson and Diana Krall just to name a few; The Grooveyard, a channel featuring the best in contemporary jazz: Pat Metheny, Medeski, Martin and Wood, Metalwood, Joshua Redman, Sisters Euclid and many more; and, Cool Docs features documentary profiles of many of the giants of Canadian jazz including: Moe Koffman, Rob McConnell, Lenny Breau and Jane Bunnett.

The three new radio streams are just the latest in a string of new online initiatives by Canada’s Premier Jazz Station. In May of 2008, JAZZ.FM91 relaunched their website www.jazz.fm with a redesigned look, an improved interface and a range of new features including podcasts, streaming video, a searchable playlist, interviews, and new, on-demand jazz documentaries.

Check it all out at jazz.fm