Jazz and Blues Bands
Mark LaForme
MARK LaFORME was born and raised on the Mississauga's of the New Credit Reserve on November 6, 1954. By the age of eleven he had his first guitar and set out to learn and master the music he heard around the house, such as the family's Hank Williams and Ray Charles records, or the latest hits coming over the airwaves to the kitchen radio.
It was this healthy dose of country, soul, rhythm & blues and pop that became the foundation of Mark LaForme's diverse styles, for when he sings and plays country, he sounds country; and when he rocks, he rocks with the best of them.
Avalon String Trio
Avalon String Trio is a unique musical outfit that features
violinist Jenn Tufgar, guitarist Stephen Parton and 'cellist Trina
Nadeau. The three players are also available in different combinations as a duo, ie: guitar and 'cello, 'cello and violin, etc. A guitar and flute duo is also available.

Their repertoire includes works from the Renaissance, Baroque, Classical, Romantic and Contemporary eras. The performances also highlight various traditional and Celtic pieces, as well as some original compositions. In the absence of well-known classical pieces composed specifically for guitar, 'cello and violin (save for a few pieces by Paginini), their arrangements have stemmed from symphonies, string quartets, harpsichord and piano pieces, as well as 'cello
sonatas and solo guitar pieces.

Avalon String Ensemble is based out of Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
Curtis Ray Smith
Providing the complete sound of a jazz quartet while minimizing cost and space requirements to a single performer is accomplished through the use of the latest technology in electronic sequencing for accompaniment.   When required for larger venues, other musicians can be added to form a duo, trio or quartet.  Curt’s 100+ song repertoire includes guitar instrumental arrangements of Jazz and Blues standards, hits from popular artists such as George Benson, Diana Krall, BB King, Ray Charles, Burt Bacharach, Carlos Santana, Aretha Franklin and The Beatles, combined with classic Latin, Motown, Soul, and R&B melodies.

Through the use of the latest “Bose L1 Model II’ sound system, the entire venue is filed with smooth, balanced, “audiophile quality” sound with no ‘hot spots’ or ‘cold spots’ within the venue.  For larger venues, multiple L1 Systems can be utilized, as well as a Sennheiser wireless transmitter / receiver when possible to link to an existing music playback system.  

Vickie van Dyke
Vickie van Dyke (vocals) was singing before she was talking (according to her mother). These days some people like her talking better than her singing. Then again, some people like her cooking better than her talking and her singing. There are those who like her ... oh, nevermind. She has written and recorded many of her own compositions, which received airplay across Canada back when dinosaurs still roamed the earth, but her number one love is performing live. Vickie says "I sing whatever I want as long as I can put a jazzy spin on it. Except for when I'm in the mood for metal." She also maintains that making music has to be fun. "It's more important to me that my players are fun people who are cool to hang out with. The fact that they are all incredibly talented is a bonus. Of course, once they become big stars they leave me, but I'm okay with that. Really. No, honest. It's fine."

Since turning to a career in radio, Vickie has also hosted her own television show and found time to write for television, radio and newspaper. Currently the midday host at Smooth Jazz WAVE 94.7 (Hamilton), Vickie was named the first ever Broadcaster Of The Year at the 2005 Canadian Smooth Jazz Awards. Her nutty off-the-cuff wit, confident stage presence, versatile voice and eclectic repertoire combine to create an unforgettably entertaining evening.

Julie McGregor
Canadian jazz vocalist, Julie McGregor, got her start in music at age of four listening to her father's old jazz 78's.  She loves modern day singers but it was the influence of her father's old record collection of jazz greats however, that most greatly influenced her and her love of jazz.

 Julie works with many great jazz musicians. She has performed three times at Toronto Parkdale Arts Festival. Last year, she performed with Bernie Senensky, along with Artie Roth, Cam Jobson and sax player, Bill Mulhal. In 2004, Julie won the Best Jazz Vocalist at the Burlington Jazz Festival. In last year's Luminato's Art of Jazz Festival at the Distillery she performed in a Jazz Choir with guest soloists Kevin Mahogony and Barry Harris. In 2006, Julie was on stage with the Real Divas at the Toronto Downtown Jazz Festival in Nathan Phillips Square. Julie has also organized two very successful musical fundraising events to help save a church in her neighbourhood.

 Available for any size band from duo, trio to sextet.

 Jazz Review

 "Caught jazz vocalist Julie McGregor's act on St. Clair Avenue West in Toronto.

 I have listened to Julie perform over the last decade and her voice has matured and mellowed into a very real and personal sound. Her phrasing in her up-tempo version of 'Speak Low' was impeccable. Standards like 'End of a Love Affair' and 'You Don't Know What Love Is' had distinctive styling. And, for a steamy, humid Friday night, Dave's was packed and most people stayed for the entire evening. Julie, hat on backwards and perched on a high stool, ended the night with a memorable rendition of 'Good-Bye Pork Pie Hat' by Charlie Mingus. The crowd loved it.

 Julie McGregor is definitely a jazz vocalist to watch."

 Gayle Winship

Michael Keys

"ENTERTAINER" MICHAEL KEYS
A Singer and Keyboardist with over four decades of performing..... It's his life-long Entertainment experience, large Repertoire and ability to perform in a wide variety of musical styles that allows Michael to read an Audience and deliver the right music... on the spot. It's what separates an Entertainer from a Player. You cannot buy this experience, you have to earn it...and Michael has certainly paid his dues...over and over again. 

Starting from the early age of 10, Michael taught himself to Sing, play Keyboards and Keyboard Bass. When performing, he does all the Bass work (like Stevie Wonder and Ray Manzarek of the Doors) and the Vocals and the Keyboards... all at the same time! It's a unique style which is Michael's alone. The result is a very full sound. He doesn't read music....says he was always too busy performing to take the time to learn how. Whether it's "Easy Jazz", "Classic Pop", Boogie Woogie Blues, "Classic R'nB" or "Classic R'nR"... Michael puts his own unique "spin" on it to the delight of his Audiences. 

Michael Keys performs.... SOLO, DUO, TRIO of QUARTET. 


Tiffany Thompson
Singer-songwriter Tiffany Thompson has been impressing audiences for over a decade with her deep, sultry, soulful voice. This diverse entertainer has consistently swooned audiences in numerous jazz lounges and kept them grooving on the dance floor at her weekly R&B shows, both locally and across the country. Tiffany's versatility is apparent to those fans who have experienced her arrangement style and the quality of her voice in both her R&B and Jazz settings.


Paul James Band

Paul James is a Canadian cultural icon. A veteran entertainer, this player has seen all that this crazy music business has to offer. His talents as a guitarist, vocalist, band leader, stage acrobatic, and songwriter have allowed James to produce the music he loves for over three decades.

Paul James is a Juno winner (Canadian music industry award) in the Best Roots and Traditional Music category... not surprizing! And Paul has recieved two Toronto Music awards for Best Club Band and Best Blues Artist.

Jack de Keyzer
From concert halls to nightclubs, arenas to honky tonks, guitarist, singer & song writer, Jack de Keyzer has performed across America for the past 25 years. Equally adept at blues/rock/country and rock-a-billy styles the Canadian guitar icon, has released 3 CD’s to date. His latest, Juno Award nominated (Best Blues Album) and Maple Blues Award winning (Best Blues Recording) Down in the Groove is a rocking and bluesy collection of soulful originals.

Jonathan Russell
Jonathan Spent 3 years in Music Theatre at Sheridan College. Since then, with the overwhelming support of family and friends, Russell's career exploded locally and is spreading across the country. The London Free Press says, "Singer/harp player Russell recalls ageless blues star Long John Baldry in his ability to play areas other than the blues".


The Blues Pirates
What do you get when you combine the classic styling of the Blues with classic Rock, R&B, Soul an d Funk?  I’ll tell you what you get... “The Blues Pirates”.  This band combines their love of performers like Muddy Waters, Wilson Pickett, Koko Taylor, James Brown, Stevie Ray Vaughan, ZZ
Top, Led Zeppelin, B.B. King and Bonnie Raitt just to name a few - and have mixed it up with a totally cool and funky style all their own…

So, sit back, relax and order yourself a tall cool something, because The Blues Pirates are in the house, and ready to steal away all your worries. Whether you love to dance, or just sit and listen—this band always puts on
a great show!
 
“This band is a classy but happening act with their own
style of up-tempo blues, rhythm and blues, and soul 
that can play anywhere...”

Robyn Pauhl
Canadian Country/Jazz singer Robyn Pauhl is caught up in the hectic pursuit of attending high school while maintaining a career as a much-booked entertainer throughout southern Ontario.
Already an opening act for the likes of George Jones and Loretta Lynn, Robyn is earning her stripes in between classes at Hamilton's Westmount Secondary School. Not to mention performing with her Canadian colleagues Shania Twain, Terri Clark, Prairie Oyster, Michelle Wright, Bruce Guthro, Jason McCoy, and Jim Witter.
In 1997 she won the Ontario Country Music Association's Rising Star Award. Last year Robyn and the jazz band won the gold in Montreal at a North American High School Jazz Competition. She is currently also the lead singer in the Hamilton All Star Jazz Band in her spare time. Robyn is an accomplished instrumentalist who plays accoustic guitar, bass and alto sax. She lives with her mother Wendy and her brother Jeremy in Hamilton, Ontario.

The Majestics

Toronto's live music scene in the 60's and 70's produced a number of memorable bands that made their mark, both locally and internationally.
Few have survived the years since. One band that did is The Majestics.Throughout the years The Majestics have remained one of Toronto's premier groups, offering audiences a professional entertainment package which to this day still captures the high energy, look, and sound made famous by the hit makers of the golden age of Rock and Roll and Rhythm and Blues.

Robbie Lane and the Disciples
This band goes back to the golden age of Yonge Street in the early `60's, taking over at the fabled Coq D'Or Tavern after Ronnie Hawkins' first Hawks left him to eventually become The Band. Robbie Lane & The Disciples have never really gone away, but they have performed infrequently for many years while Lane stayed active in various parts of the music business. They now bill themselves as a "60's/70's/80's R&B R'n'R Show". Their regular Sunday afternoon gig at P.K. Creek in Mississauga puts them in the spotlight once more.
The current Disciples are: Don Hart, bass/vocals; Joe Rigon, drums; Steve Shelski, guitar and lead vocals; Michael Keys, piano/lead vocals; Glenn Hill, blues harmonica/lead vocals and the horn section: Edward "Z", tenor sax; Joe Allen, trumpet and Stewart Elliott, baritone sax/lead vocals. Robbie Lane is the most effective of the all the vocalists and for a band that is not known as a blues band, this one-hour revue is all spirited, horn band blues, albeit in a lounge setting.

LMT Connection
Through the influences of R&.B, Rock, and Delta Blues, the LMT Connection have mastered the unique energy of Rock 'n Soul. Since 1989 they have established themselves as one of the hardest working bands in the country. Performing an average of 250 one-nighters a year, their popularity has been built on exciting showmanship and solid musical talents.

Mark "Bird" Stafford
Mark shares a phenomenal passion for making music and, as he's been performing since he was knee-high to a sharecropper and beyond. Mark loves to write, to record and lives to hit the boards. His passion is for 'all things '50s' and it shows in his tireless ability to sweat, swing and boogie. Yet his wide-ranging abilities include anything possible in both diatonic and chromatic formats. The energy he applies to his favourite musical styles - from Chicago blues to swing, R&B, jump, funk and most things in-between - is entirely his own and born of his love of enthusiastic crowds. From suave, soulful and sophisticated, to hard-rockin', hard-boppin' and just plain hard-not-to-love, The Bird is - and remains - the word.

The Beat Heathens
The real "Beat Heathens" was the brainchild of former MuchMusic VJ Dan Gallagher and former Coney Hatch bass player Andy Curran. Among the original members of the band was guitarist Mike Montgomery (see the Dan Gallagher page).

Mike played on and off with Dan for many years, as well as pursuing many other musical ventures including opening his own recording studio where he produced over 100 albums.

James Anthony
James Anthony has a unique style and grace, along with a feel for a wide-range of music, stemming from Rhythm & Blues to Country, which gives him a leading edge. But the One feature that James is most renowned for, is his captivating slide work. James is looked upon as being a guitarist’s guitarist. Guitar playing is what James Anthony does best, and that on its own, is what leaves his audience with the feeling of complete musical satisfaction.

Chris Murphy
CHRIS MURPHY (Saxophone,Hammond Organ and Vocals) is a blues musician and entertainer based in London Ontario. From 1992-1997 he was the leader and frontman with the Old Chicago Blues Band the house band at the Old Chicago Speakeasy and Grill in London On. The band performed three shows a night, five nights a week for more than five years. During that time the band released two CD's and performed with more than 50 guest vocalists. They were also featured on their own TV Show "Speakeasy Blues" for Rogers Cable TV they produced 10 half hour shows and 9 one hour shows.

Sharon Musgrave
World class singer, Sharon Musgrave was born in England and raised in Canada after a detour to her parents homeland of Dominica. She returned to England to commence her music career, following a one year Broadcast Journalism course at Humber College, Toronto. Armed with confidence, her songs and a dream, she set out to find her niche in the British music industry. Through hard work, her determination eventually paid off.
She toured Japan, Australia, Scandinavia, Africa, and Europe, promoting herself on stage, radio and television with various artists.
She was asked by WEA in 1992 to record with jazz recording artist Julian Joseph. She sang the Curtis Mayfield track The Other Side of Town, as a single for his album, The Language of Truth. The video, often played on Bravo, opened doors for a TV commercial for Teacher's Whisky. Filmed in black and white, she played a blues singer in a 60s bar scene, singing "No Greater Love."

Odyssey Blues Band
The Odyssey Blues Band featuring Suzanne Hyatt is one of the finest, most popular new Blues/R&B bands in the Niagara and Buffalo regions. Commissioned by the Odyssey Tap & Grill in downtown St. Catharines, the band hosts a blues matinee every Saturday afternoon to a wide array of local and regional fans. Purely entertaining, the band has a genuinely fun, feel-good sound, and with the powerful voice of Suzanne Hyatt, highlights the music of the women of the blues such as Etta James, Koko Taylor and Bonnie Raitt. Featuring Blues with a fun R&B spin, the band is an all star group of veteran musicians with members from Niagara, Toronto, and Kingston - a combination which has garnered fast attention from Blues and R&B fans all over the Niagara/Buffalo area.

 

General

The Jitterbugs
The JitterBugs are a Jump'n'Jive Swingin' combo that takes the sound and feel and puts it all together in a way that grabs you, daddio. They can whip up a dance floor frenzy just like outta some movie. It's a scene! Big vocals, horns a'plenty and swingy rhythms that do it up just right. This band is jumpin' with a solid 8.

Mannheim Virtuosi
Mannheim Virtuosi is a unique string ensemble that performs a vast array of musical styles including: Baroque, Classical, Contemporary, Pop, Rock, Jazz, Blues, Latin, Celtic, New Age, Seasonal, Ethnic for weddings, cocktail parties, banquets and much more! From a duo to a 10-piece ensemble, Mannheim Virtuosi also performs with harp, guitar, piano, voice, flute, trumpet, drums, percussion, etc.

Kidz Kidding
Paul, Mary Lou, and George are three distinct characters whose musical antics take young audiences through a wide variety of musical styles, including popular movie themes, as well as original songs from their three recordings. Shows include songs from their newest release, "Chase A Rainbow". Their hi-tech musical arrangements and sound production are only surpassed by Mary Lou's constant efforts to try and control Paul and George's "kidding around." Audience participation takes on many unique forms in each different show.

The Cowguys
The Cowguys are an Ottawa based performing duo who have been delighting audiences worldwide since1990.
"100 % Canadian Ground Beef" is the title of their award winning show, in which they expertly blend circus, western and magic skills with dexterity, wit, danger, and stupidity. A comic explosion waiting to happen, the Cowguys are "Guaranteed Fresh" and will make your sides hurt from laughing too much. If causing excessive laughter was a crime they'd be illegal.
"100% Canadian Ground Beef" features a barrage of tricks laced with continuous patter between themselves and the audience. They create a nonstop roller-coaster ride of a show by expertly meshing a high level of technical skill with their tried and tested characters. Also avid ad-libbers, The Cowguys love to interact with the crowd and find humour amongst their spectators. Their best shows are those in which the crowd "creates" it's own material. Aside from keeping shows interesting for themselves, these ad-libbed bits are what keep crowds coming back to see The Cowguys' show again and again.

Ultimate Hypnotist Dinner SHOWS 

 

 

"Expect The Unexpected" 
Hypnotist Dinner Shows 75 people to Corporate.

Seeing is Believing. 2 Hours of Excitement and Laughter .  Booking into Next Year Call for Details.

LARGE SELECTION OF HYPNOTISTS TO CHOOSE FROM


Ace up the Sleeve: Stephen Elvay

Stephen Elvay is an amazing magical talent. Witty, engaging and supremely entertaining, he is one of Canada's funniest and most popular entertainers. A master of 'Situational Comedy Magic', his one man show and extraordinary talents have garnered rave reviews from both agents and clients.

Projecting a solid corporate image, Stephen combines unbelievable feats of magic with a warm and friendly style that is unbeatable!

Stephen's value at your corporate function is immediate and irresistible. His high energy humor and stunning magic will mystify and motivate your prospects, clients and colleagues.

That Magic Guy
No other form of entertainment is more universal than magic and no other magician is more flexible than - Peter Mennie, THAT MAGIC GUY! Over thirty years experience performing in every situation, for every age group, guarantees that he can entertain at your next gathering: for business or pleasure! His audience has fun and they will remember your event long after it is over!


Bearmoon productions has serviced and hosted many different events and functions over the past twenty five years: weddings, anniversaries, private functions, birthday events, bar/bat mitzvahs, summer camps, stag & does, school events/dances, product launches, corporate events bar/nightclubs (in Canada and the USA), and charity events, just to name a few!

We will work with your budget and/or your planning committee to handle events ranging from 60 to 60, 000 people.

All our sound and lighting equipment is professional quality, along with well-trained and courteous staff to ensure your event(s) run worry free.


Murder Mystery Interactive Theatre

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