Bill McBirnie is a Canadian jazz and Latin flute specialist.  He has studied with renowned flutists, Samuel Baron, Robert Aitken and charanga ledgend, Richard Egues. Bill's awards include Flutist of the Year—Jazz Report Awards and he is also the only one to be a "triple crown" winner in all three of the USA National Flute Association’s jazz flute (1) Soloist, (2) Masterclass and (3) Big Band competitions.  As a testament to his superior skill, he was solicited personally by Sir James Galway to serve as the resident Jazz Flute Specialist at Sir James' official web site.  He is also a teacher, clinician and woodwind columnist with Canadian Musician magazine.  You can find additional information about Bill at his website (www.extremeflute.com) or you can contact him directly at extremeflute@look.ca 


Saxophonist, composer, music journalist. Majors on tenor and soprano saxophones. Also sings and plays guitar, pennywhistle, harmonica, & various percussion instruments.

bruce jones

composer. performer. producer. teacher

647 569 8384 brucedadajones@gmail.com

Bruce Jones is a musician of Canadian/Brazilian descent. He grew up near Sao Paulo and first picked up a guitar at the age of 13, very quickly developing proficiency as a player and composer. Jones began his formal musical training at the Academia Paulista de Musica (Sao Paulo) and later pursued studies in classical guitar, orchestration and composition at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto.

His classical training ironically led Jones to discover that his real roots were in the rhythms of his Brazilian youth, including Bossa Nova, Maracatu, Samba, Olodum and Axe. In Toronto he began a teaching career at the Eli Kassner Academy in 1978 and for the next 10 years contributed to the growth of many talented local guitarists.

At the same time, Jones was the leader of Toronto's foremost Brazilian rhythm outfit, Cocada and later Da, both of which enjoyed large followings of music and dance aficionados and featured on the worldbeat and jazz festival circuits in Canada and Brazil, as well as in Cape Verde and Argentina. In Toronto in the late 80s and throughout the 1990s, Jones' bands featured at annual Harbourfront festivals, WOMAD, Hispanic festivals, The Bamboo Club and Caribana, where Jones' samba school outfit GRES Unidos do Canada won Best Traditional Ensemble for seven years running. Cocada opened for the likes of Zap Mama, Djavan, Youssou N'Dour and Gilberto Gil.

Musicians with whom Jones collaborated during this time included Perry White, Steven Donald, Chi Sharpe, Lionel Williams, Rick Lazar, Bill McBirnie, Ron Allen, Amarando Borg, Eliane Abolicao, Etric Lyons, Zulema Class, Daniel Barnes, Bill Norman, Art Avalos, Mike Sereny and Phil Dwyer.

Jones has recorded numerous CDs of original work, which highlight his remarkable versatility and outstanding talent as a composer, arranger, instrumentalist and producer. His song, Africa Feliz placed third in the 1997 John Lennon Songwriting Contest in New York City and his CDs Sarava Criola and Canada Eh! were released to critical acclaim.

Discography

Bill mcBirnie and Bruce Jones Forever 2021

Bill McBirnie and Bruce Jones Grain of sand, 2015

Songs and Accidents, 2008 Flash of Fuchsia, 2006

Vaca Malhada, 2004

Amazon Dreams II, 2004

Proyecto Patagonico, 1999 Sarava Criola, 1995

Canada Eh!, 1993

Amazon Dreams, 1992

• Vela e Barco, 1991

⚫ Da, 1990

⚫ It Changes All, 1989

• Where Two Waters Meet, 1988

• Dialects, 1986

Film/TV Scores

• Dancing with Sarina (TVO), 2002

• Time is on my Side (directed by Jacques Holender),

1995 •Latin Nights (directed by Anthony Azzopardi), 1993

Production

Latino Che! Jaime Lopez, Toronto, 2003

⚫Salva Te, Grupo Enigma, Patagonia, Argentina, 1998 • Extreme Flute/Desvio, Bill McBirnie, Toronto, 1998

• Amor e Evolução, Dudu Araújo, Cape Verde, 1992

•Adventures of a Red Crocodile, Yana, Toronto, 1992

⚫ Beaches, Ian Scott, Toronto, 1991

Awards and Grants

Third Place, John Lennon Songwriting Contest (New York City)-Africa Feliz 1997

FACTOR Professional Publishers Award, 1994 FACTOR New Talent Demo Award, 1993

Ontario Arts Council Popular Music Grant, 1995 Toronto Arts Council Composers Grant, 1995 Toronto Arts Council Cultural Incentives Grant, 1995 FACTOR Touring Grant, 1994 Ontario Arts Council Popular Music Grant, 1992

Followers of extremeflute@look.ca