New and
Events

April
2012
Performing with Decidedly Jazz Danceworks at the Grand Theatre
from April 13-22. Great to perform with all the dancers again
and also a thrill to work with powerhouse vocalist Jakie Richardson.
February 2012
Played a great Big Band gig with the Calgary Creative Arts Ensemble for the Summit Jazz Series at the Cantos Music Foundation. Lots of great charts and great musicians! Hope to play many more gigs with this superb ensemble.
January 2012
Hosted the first Mount Royal University Bass Day. The students played great and Simon Fisk gave a really inspiring clinic on creativity and improvisation. Check out some pictures at www.mountroyalbass.com
November
2011
Had some really great experiences this month at Mount Royal
University. We had the pleasure of bringing in drummer Dana
Hall. Got to do some playing at the school with him as well
as a performance at the Yardbird Suite in Edmonton. Hit the
studio for Jim Brenan's new disc with Dana, CHris Andrew and
myself. It is going to sound fabulous!
We also had the privilege of have Gary Smulyan, Ray Drummond
and Kenny Washington come by the school to work with our students.
Ray gave a two hour clinic to our bass students and I was
fortunate to get a private lesson with him myself.
October 2011
Just announced the new Mount Royal Bass Blog. All things
bass related at Mount Royal University. Lessons . Transcriptions
. Combo Arrangements
www.mountroyalbass.com
September 2011
Looking forward to the Sketches of Spain / Birth of the Cool
tribute this month at the Yardbird Suite!
August 2011
Had a blast playing with John Riley and the MRU faculty at
the Beat Niq!
June 2011
Doing the first gig with new band Caravan. Pleasure to be
at the Medicine Hat Jazz Festival.
May 2011
In Brazil for most of May. Playing with my Brazilian Quartet
featuring Jim Brenan, Djalma Lima and Edu Ribeiro at Jazz
nos Fundos.
April 2011
Doing some great Latin-Jazz gigs this month with the Origins
Ensemble and Bomba. CHeck out my gig listings.
Mar 2011
Excited to be working with Decidedly Jazz Danceworks again.
Just played the first few nights of Wilds at the Grand theatre.
The dancing, set, lights and costumes are amazing! The band
is killing too. Bob Tildesley, Chris Andrew, Jon McCaslin
and myself. Chris and I composed the music.
Nov 2010
Thanks to everyone that came out and made my Brazilian-Jazz
weekend at the Beat Niq a fabulous and sold-out event both
nights! Also thanks to the great band that really rose to
the occasion.
Oct 2010
Really excited that Bomba has been nominated for a Western
Canadian music award in the World music category for our latest
CD, ‘Cuarto Caminos’.
Sept 2010
Extremely excited to have signed an endorsement deal with
MARKBASS.
August 2010
Happy to be Assistant Director of this year's Mount Royal
University Summer Jazz Camp. We are proud to be bringing in
Ralph Bowen, Kenny Davis and John Riley.
June 2010
Performing in a new show with Decidedly Jazz this month.
Chris Andrew and I have written all the music for the show.
The show, Wiseapple, is a creation by Kim Cooper influenced
by images from the silent movie era. Here is a quote from
the Calgary Herald.
"A real star of WiseApple, is the hugely appealing,
original music -- early Jazz Agesounding, full-of -hooks stuff,
courtesy of composers Chris Andrew and Rubim de Toledo, who
double as pianist and acoustic bassist, respectively, in a
crack quintet that also includes Jim Brenan on clarinet, Bob
Tildesley on trumpet and drummer Ron Samsom."
May 2010
May was a great month. Performed with Victor Goines for 5
concerts. Then got to participate in the Jaco Tribute at the
Auburn. Also, Played 2 nights at the Beat Niq with the new
Origins ensemble. Had a blast on those!
Apr 10
Had a great surprise this month. My CD, the River was featured
on ESPN Brasil on their soccer show!!!! Those of you who know
me know what a soccer fan I am. This is a real treat for me!!
Here is a link to check it out!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJBGjiyldL8
Mar 10
Had a busy March performing with Decidedly
Jazz followed by a great concert with Brad Turner and a very
special event at the Grand Theatre. Bomba performed live for
the Live at the Grand series produced for CBC television.
Looking forward to seeing the final television show.
Feb 10
Rubim de Toledo guests as featured
artist with the Edmonton Jazz Orchestra (EJO)
It was a total honour to perform with
the EJO as their guest artist. We performed a variety of Latin-Jazz
numbers including a big band arrangement of my Jazz Suite,
the River, arranged by Jim Brenan. Also, performed a big band
arrangement by Seymour Axler of my song Autumn Solstice.
Also, it was a pleasure to be the guest
clinician at the Jazzworks Noncompetitive band festival. Heard
a lot of great young bands.
Here are some links to some press articles:
On Dance, Creativity ... by Kathleen
Bell (See Magazine) - Feb 2010
EJO Guest Brings Home ... by Roger
Levesque (EdmontonJounral) - Feb 2010
Jan 10
Had great time playing the Olympic relay in Banff. Played
with Bomba and also backup the Canadian Tenors.
Seeing the torch up close and watch everyone's excitement
was a very exciting moment.
Nov09
Here is a great review my CD 'the River' got in Legacy magazine.
Legacy is Alberta's magazine for New Heritage, Arts and Culture.
click here to read review
Sept 09
A few tracks off of my CDs have been selected to appear on
a some great compilations.
1 - Alberta Foundation for the Arts compilation CD
Track name: Sabes Que (Free
Download)
Album: Seu Swing (2007)
2 - Beat Niq compilation CD
Track name: The Cannonball (Streaming
MP3 Free
Sheet music)
Album: The River (2009)
July 09
I am very honoured to be able to announce that my new CD,
the River, has been nominated for BEST JAZZ RECORDING OF THE
YEAR by the Western Canadian Music Awards!
June 09
- Very excited to be opening for Branford Marsalis at the
Calgary International Jazz Festival on June 27. That should
be a great concert. I have always been a huge fan of Branford's
and his groups. 'Crazy People Music' is still one of my favorite
Jazz albums!
- Played another show with Decidedly Jazz Danceworks. It
was great to be involved in their 25 anniversary show and
to be able to play some of their olds works which defined
their style of Jazz dance.
May 09
- Here is a great review from Downbeat magazine of the Brenan
Brothers CD, the Throw Down!
THE THROW DOWN **** (4 STARS)
(Downbeat Magazine)
"In a program that offers surprises with each new song,
the Brenan Brothers' THE THROW DOWN is a swinging delight.
Key among the stars here is keyboardist Geoff Keezer, who
stands out on acoustic piano and electric piano. But tenor
saxophonist Jim Brenan and brother Craig Brenan on trombone
call the shots in this can't-miss outing. Also on board are
drummer Dana Hall, bassist Rubim de Toledo,
altoist Ralph Bowen and Terrell Stafford on trumpet ... "
- Really privileged to have played with Wycliffe Gordon and
Jay Clayton this month. Those are always great learning experiences
and very invaluable!
April 09
- Had a great CD release at the Yardbird Suite in Edmonton.
It was a full house and the band played great!
- Real honor to have my Calgary CD release concert broadcast
on CBC's Canada Live on April 5th.
- I have posted a video of the opening number, the Cannonball,
from my Calgary CD release concert at the Beat Niq. You can
watch it here: CANNONBALL
VIDEO LINK
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March 09- Here are some charts listing
my disc has placed on recently.
* CD of the week of CKUA (Mar 5th)
#1 Album on the CKUA Radio Charts for the week of (Mar 07)
#1 CHUO FM 89.1 Ottawa (Feb 24)
#2 CFBX Kamloops (May 09)
#2 CJSW in Calgary (Mar 31)
#3 CHYZ FM 94.3 Laval Quebec (Mat 17)
#4 on Chart Attack Jazz Top Ten Nationwide (Mar 3)
#4 on Earshot Jazz Top Ten Nationwide (Mar 17)
#8 CFRU in Guelph (Mar 3)
#25 on the Top 50 chart at CJSW (Feb 23) |
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the River - CD REVIEW by Roger Levesque
You've heard myself and other CKUA announcers rave over the gifts
of our own musicians right here in Alberta. It's not just hyperbole.
Rubim de Toledo's latest, The River is the latest convincing evidence.
Following his first solo release In Crimson And Charcoal, this
is another set of tunes originally conceived to accompany a production
by Calgary's Decidedly Jazz Dance, Tinge And Tone. While that previous
disc took a more experimental direction, The River flows to the
parameters of a '60s style acoustic jazz quintet, with tunes reminiscent
of Horace Silver, the Blue Note school and - in his 10-minute suite
The River - John Coltrane.
It knocks me out, first for how de Toledo's writing and arranging
sets up tasty harmonies, then for the depth of intuitive playing
and the excellent sound that captures it, and finally for some intangible
element we'll just call soul.
The obvious familiarity between bassist de Toledo, trumpeter Bob
Tildesley, reedman Jim Brennan, pianist Chris Andrew and drummer
Tyler Hornby certainly adds to the effortless quality of the performances
but I suspect the experience of playing for dancers also helped
inspire their buoyant spirits. When he solos you can feel de Toledo
tip-toeing or springing around on those strings and the exchanges
between them all conjure up even more mental imagery.
February 09 - Really
excited to release my new CD this month. The CD is called the River
and it is an acoustic Jazz disc with a mixture of modern Jazz and
Post-Bop with some Brazilian and Cuban influence. It features a
great quintet:
Bob Tildesley - Trumpet
Jim Brenan - Sax
Chris Andrew - Piano
Rubim de Toledo -Bass
Tyler Hornby - Drums
My CD release date is on February 21st at the Beat Niq Jazz and
Social Club in Calgary and I proud to announce that the concert
will be recorded by CBC for Tonic.
January 09 - I
am having a great time working with Decidedly Jazz Dance again.
Choreographer, Kim Cooper has created an incredible dance production
which gets performed throughout the six floors of the historic Grain
Exchange building in downtown Calgary! The show incorporates musicians
performing with the dances and concludes with a live set at the
Beat Niq Jazz and Social Club.
The group is called the 'reClaim 3' and features Jim Brenan (Bass
clarinet, Tenor Sax and Electronics) and Lyle Molzan (Toronto based
drummer with Jann Arden) on Drums.
Here are some shots taken by Noel Bégin:
December 08 - Just
finishing off my semester teaching at Mount Royal College. Had a
great group of students and it was a pleasure to watch them all
improved tremendously.
I'll be leaving for my yearly trip to Brazil
on the 18th. I'll be spending 4 days in Salvador to soak up the
Afro-Brazilian sounds in the streets and then heading to Santos
and Sao Paulo.
November 08 - A few great events happened
for me this month.
Firstly, It was a total blast recording with long time friend and
musical collaborator, Rob Malowany. Spend 3 days recording at Stew
Kirkwood's Sound Extractor studio in Edmonton. The new studio looks
and sounds great and Rob created a great atmosphere for us to record
his music in. It was also a pleasure playing for the first time
with drummer, 'Skippy' Sturwold.
Also on that same weekend, I performed with the Brenan Brother
on their, the Throw down, CD release party. It was great playing
with the guys and a total rush to play live with first class Jazz
drummer, Dana Hall!
October 08 - I had a really great time directing the Sounds of Brazil
Workshop. This was the first workshop and hopefully this will become
a yearly event.
September 08 - Rubim enters the studio to record his new Solo release.
August 08 -
Rubim tours with Latin-Jazz Group Bomba. Dates include Edmonton,
Calgary, Iqaluit, Hornby Island, and Toronto.
July 08 - Rubim
travels to Vada, Italy, to teach at the Jazz Obsessions Workshop.
June 08 - Rubim has just ended his
run as musical director with Calgary's Decidedly Jazz Danceworks
on their production entitled, Tinge and Tone production. As Musical
Director, Bassist and Composer Rubim composed a 90 minute score
for the show and directed his Jazz quintet live for 11 performances
with DJD. read review
April 08 - Rubim travels to Sestri
Levante, Italy to participate in the CREA Creativity Conference
of Europe w Bomba. Also Bomba tops over and performs 2 highly received
concerts and gives workshops in London, England.
April 08 - Rubim had the pleasure
of recording with the Brenan Brothers at the Homestead Recorders
Studio in Edmonton. The disc featured Jazz heavyweights Geoff Keezer,
Ralph Bowen and Dana Hall!
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Network
Official Website - www.rubim.com
Mount Royal Bass Blog - www.mountroyalbass.com
Summit Jazz Series - www.summitjazzseries.com
Decidedly Jazz Danceworks - www.decidedlyjazz.com
Mount Royal Summer Jazz Workshop (Artistic Director)
- www.mtroyal.ca
Latest Release
The River (2009)
Songs
(To download files, please RIGHT click (Mac: Option
click) on the link and click 'Save Target As...')
Quotes
CD Review from Legacy Magazine, Winter 2009
by Ron Chalmers
Bassist and composer Rubim de Toledo must be one of Alberta’s
busiest and most accomplished musicians ...
De Toledo fuses the rhythmic styles of Latin American music and
post-war American jazz evoking, Heitor Villa-Lobos, contemporary
salsa, Charlie Parker and John Coltrane – while achieving
something entirely fresh ...
(jazz scene) abounds in performers with virtuosic technique. The
eternal challenge is to innovative material that is thoughtful,
challenging, accessible, listenable and enjoyable. Rubim de Toledo’s
The River is all of that.
On Dance, Creativity and Corporate Teamwork
from See magazine, Feb 2010 by Kathleen Bell
... by simply listening to Toledo’s most recent album,
the River, you start to understand the importance of that dynamic
(teamwork, flexibility and creativity). It’s not about showing
off, but creating a seamless dance from idea to idea, measure to
measure, note to note.
Inspiration Flowed from Flood from the Edmonton
Journal, April 2009 by Roger Levesque
... all of that made The River one of the finest Jazz albums
of the year ...
CD Review from CKUA website, March 2009 by
Roger Levesque
It knocks me out, first for how de Toledo's writing and
arranging sets up tasty harmonies, then for the depth of intuitive
playing and the excellent sound that captures it, and finally for
some intangible element we'll just call soul.
The obvious familiarity between bassist de Toledo, trumpeter Bob
Tildesley, reedman Jim Brennan, pianist Chris Andrew and drummer
Tyler Hornby certainly adds to the effortless quality of the performances
but I suspect the experience of playing for dancers also helped
inspire their buoyant spirits. When he solos you can feel de Toledo
tip-toeing or springing around on those strings and the exchanges
between them all conjure up even more mental imagery.
2009 a busy year for jazz Musician from Jazz
Elements website, Feb 2009 by Cindy McLeod
Rubim de Toledo is one of the most sought-after studio and
performing artists on Alberta’s jazz scene. The versatile
bassist is also considered a Brazilian / Cuban master, and is active
on the Rock, R&B and Folk scenes ... The release (The River)
is one of three great jazz projects to hit the market in 2009 that
Rubim has helped to create all three.
BIOGRAPHY
A Canadian of Brazilian descent, Rubim combines the influences
of his cultural heritage, his passion for Cuban music, and his dedication
to the jazz tradition to create a refreshing sound and to bring
a rhythmic and conceptual depth to his bass playing. This keeps
him a highly in- demand sideman for projects in any style and has
also allowed him to nurture a fertile career as a bandleader.
With his latest release “The River” bassist and composer
Rubim de Toledo distinguishes himself as a writer with a the unique
ability to cross genres while maintaining a sound that is modern
yet pays respect to tradition. His bass playing demonstrates the
maturity of his approach and validates his reputation as a key musician
in the Western Canadian music industry.
Rubim has recorded three solo CDs to date: “Charcoal and Crimson”,
a Nu-Jazz experiment; “Seu Swing”, a World-Jazz venture;
and his latest release, "The River"
The River is garnering great critical and popular acclaim including
a Western Canadian Music Award nomination for “Best Jazz Album”
of 2009. The opening track has also been slected as CBC Radio's
Tonic theme song.
Rubim is well known as bassist and a founding member of respected
Latin-Jazz group Bomba and is currently performing with Latin-Jazz
group Caravan. With Bomba, he has recorded four CDs and has toured
extensively in Canada, the US, Europe, Asia and South America. Caravan,
working as a Bomba alias, continues this legacy.
In the last six years Rubim has been working extensively with Calgary’s
Decidedly Jazz Danceworks. He has played bass for 9 productions
and has acted as composer and musical director for 6 of those. Also,
Rubim is the bass instructor, teaches Jazz Improvisation and teaches
Jazz Combo classes in the Mount Royal University Credit Music Department.
He is the co-director of the Mount Royal University Summer Jazz
Camp and also the co-director of the Summit Jazz Series in Calgary.
Rubim is a fertile concert producer and continues to bring new
concert experiences to audiences on a regular basis. He has created
and produced new music concerts, tributes to Miles Davis’
Birth of the Cool and Bitches Brew and concerts featuring Brazilian
and Cuban music.
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Selected
Performances (Upcoming)
April 13 - 22 - Decidedly Jazz Danceworks Show
@ Grand Theatre, 8pm
April 21 - Broken City Jazz Jam w Arron Leany
3pm
April 26 and 28 - w Jens Linderman, Oscar Lopez
and the CPO
April 29 - With Beth Arrison at Ironwood
May 2 - Tyler Hornby Trio w/ Johanna Sillanpaa
@ Cliff Bungalow Jazz Series, 8pm
May 5 - Maracujah Cinco de Mayo Show at Starlight
Room (Edmonton)
May 11/12 - Terrell Stafford Quartet @ Beat Niq,
9pm
May 13 - 15 - Terrell Stafford Quartet @ Ironwood,
8pm
May 17 - Kawa w Arron Leany
May 18/19 - w Jon McCaslin at Beat Niq
May 23 - Ascend Trio at Beat Niq
May 25 - With Oliver Jones at the National Jazz
Summit (Grand Theatre)
Selected Performances (Past)
April 6 - Tyler Hornby Quartet w/ Johanna Sillanpaa
'Cole Porter Tribute' @ Yardbird Suite, 9pm
April 7 - W Kristian Alexandrov @ Beat Niq
Mar 16/17 - Parker with String concert w/ Vaughn
Ambrose (Beat Niq)
Feb 27 - w Chris Andrew. U of C Monday night Jazz
Series
Feb 25 - Brazilian Carnaval (BCAAB in Calgary)
Feb 18 - Summit
Jazz Series w Mark DeJong
Feb 14 - @Ironwood w Alfie Zapacosta
Jan 29 - Mount Royal Bass Day
1to4pm
Free Admission
Room U-111 (Mount Royal University)
Jan 21 - @ Beat Niq with Johanna Sillampaa
Jan 13 /14 - Directing Tribute to Bitches Brew
@ Beat Niq
Jan 7 - @Beat Niq w Carsten Rubeling. Tribute
to Joni Mitchell
Jan 6 - @Beat Niq w Carsten Rubeling
Jan 4 - @Cliff Bungalow Jazz series w/ MOunt Royal
Jazz Faculty
Dec 29 - @Kawa w/ Freedom Sound Quartet
Dec 17/18 - @Ironwood w/ Alfie Zappacoasta
Nov 10 - w/ Jim Brenan at Yardbird Suite
Nov 2 - Cliff Bungalow series w Vertigo Trio
Oct 27/28 - THE RUBIM DE TOLEDO OCTET LIVE AT
CANTOS FEATURING NEW MUSIC, DANCE AND VISUALS. FREE ADMISSION. ALL
AGES.
Oct 23 - w DJD at Fluidfest
Oct 22 - w/ Jim Head at Beat Niq 9pm
Oct 22 - Rubim de Toledo Brazilian-Jazz Ensemble
at Brazilfest 7-8pm
Oct 21 - w PJ Perry (Edm)
Oct 14/15 - w Dave Babcock at Yardbird Suite (Edm)
Oct 8 - Maracujah reunion concert at Starlight
room in Edmonton
Oct 3 - w Tommy Banks. U of C Monday night Jazz
series.
Sept 23/24 - Birth of the Cool / Sketches of Spain
tribute at Yardbird Suite.
Sept 9 and 10 - Chris Andrew CD release at Beat
NiqJuly 24 - Rubim de Toledo / Chris Andrew Dou
- Blue Pear (Edm)
August 21 - Sylvan Lake Jazz festival s Caravan
August 19 - MRU Summer JazzCamp faculty concert.
August 15 to 19 - Mount Royal Summer Jazz Festival
- Assistant Director
Aug 11 - Beat Niq w/ Vaughn Abrose
Aug 6 - Broken City Jam w Brent Mah
Aug 4 - Hyatt Regency Calgary Jazz Series w Sheldon
Zandboer
July 23 - Broken City Jam w/ Jon McCaslin
July 14th - Hyatt Regency Calgary Jazz Series
w Michelle Gregoir
July 9 - Summit Jazz Series @ Cantos
July 7th - Hyatt Regency Calgary Jazz Series w
Jim Brenan
July 1st - Canada Day w/ Caravan
June 25th - w Gary Guthman (Jazziz Society)
June 23rd - Medicine Hat Jazz Festival w/ Caravan
June 14th - Proarts concert series with Jon McCaslin Trio
June 9th - Chris Andrew Cd Release (Yardbird Suite)
June 3/4 - Tribute to Col Porter with Tyler Hornby
(Beat Niq)
June 3 - SUmmit Jazz Series (Latin-Jazz) @ Cantos
-7pm
May 27/28 - Tribute to Bitches Brew (Yardbird
Suite) - musical director
May 14 - Jazz nos Fundos (Sao Paulo Brazil)
April 9 - Bomba at Beat Niq
April 8 - Bomba at Arden Theatre (St. Albert)
April 1 - Origins Ensemble at Yardbird (Edm)
Mar 27 - Jack Singer w/ (Inter America Development
Bank Concert)
Mar 11 to 20 - w/ Decidedly Jazz Danceworks. Musical
director for 'Wilds' @ the Grand
Mar 5 - reClaim collective @ Beat Niq
Feb 25 - w Ross Taggart (Jazz is Society)
Feb 26 - w Ross Taggart (Jazz is Society)
Feb 4 - Broken City Jam w Andy Ericson
Jan 28 - w Shane Statz @ Beat Niq
Jan 21 - w Brent Mah @ Beat Niq
Jan 8 - w Aaron Young @ Beat Niq - 9pm
Jan 8 - w Jerold Dubyk @ Broken City 3-6pm
Jan 7 - w Carsten Rubeling @ Beat Niq
Promotional Resources:
CLICK HERE
FOR EPK!
rubim de toledo jazz bassist canadian calgary
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