Carl Bray - Piano
Galen Pelley - Drums
Soren Nissen - Upright Bass

If I Were A Bell - Frank Loesser

Carl Bray (born Toronto, Ontario 1988), graduated with a Bachelor of Applied Contemporary Music in 2010 from Humber College - School of Creative and Performing Arts.  As one of Canada’s top young pianists, he has been living and playing professionally in Toronto, since graduation.

Some awards include: the Ray Hnatyshyn Oscar Peterson Grant for Jazz Performance, Humber College Music and Academic Awards, Saskatchewan Music Teachers Association, Yamaha Outstanding Achievement Awards, Downbeat Magazine Award, and the CBC Galaxy Rising Star Award. After performing with Humber’s top jazz quartet featuring artist-in-residence Chris Potter and Terrence Blanchard, Carl was asked to play in the National Jazz Orchestra under the direction of Vic Vogel and Christine & Ingrid Jensen at the 2009 National Jazz Awards.  

The Carl Bray Trio performed a live recording session in CBC Radio 2’s studio for their Galleria Series (2009) and opened for Chris Potter & The Underground Band, who headlined the 2009 Regina Jazz Festival.  They also recently performed three dates for the 2011 TD Toronto Jazz Festival, followed by a solo performance for Manhattan’s Yotel Hotel grand opening. This past June, Carl was invited to perform for the Governor General’s private concert, hosted by the Ray Hnatyshyn Foundation, to honour their award recipients.  His original piece, “Talk of Hands” was performed solo and commissioned by Bruce Firestone for recording. 


If I Were A Bell - Frank Loesser

carlbray