Ian Jutsun

LEAD VOCALS – SMOOTH JAZZ AWARDS NOMINEE

“The magic of music lies in the emotional effect that draws us in as we listen.” —Ian Jutsun

“Ian’s performance of ‘The Lament’ created the most beautiful and soulful moment in the show! He strives for perfection each and every time he performs.” —Jim Abbott, Music Director, Bombay Dreams

Vocalist, actor and comedian Ian Jutsun began his singing career at the age of 13 in Montreal, and has lived in Toronto since 1992. Ian is a consummate performer with thousands of live shows to his credit. He has worked in television, theater and film throughout North America, and is one of Canada’s most respected voices.

Ian’s numerous accomplishments and affiliations include:

  • featured singer and principal actor on Broadway in the Andrew Lloyd Webber production Bombay Dreams; worked directly with Grammy/Oscar winner A. R. Rahmann, who composed a featured song for Ian entitled “The Lament”
  • winner, CHIN Radio Singing Contest
  • winner, FACTOR Songwriting Award
  • nominee, Best Male Vocalist, Smooth Jazz Awards
  • lead vocalist, Galaxy All-Star Orchestra’s Tribute To The Kings Of Swing & The Fabulous Crooners
  • featured on Made in Canada (CBC production)
  • performed and toured as a comic, releasing four albums
  • current member of The Platters with Norris Vines
  • Bank of Montreal national tours
  • two CDs of original compositions with The Night Porters

 

 

 

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Jay Speziale

BASS + BACKING VOCALS  – R&B MASTER

A native of Hamilton, Ontario, Jay Speziale fell in love with music at the age of six. After years of accordion instruction, Jay “couldn’t take it anymore” and talked his father into letting him take drum lessons. After a stint in local marching bands, and yet another instrumental switch (this time to bass), Jay started a band and learned all the music of — shades of things to come! — Chicago, Lighthouse, Blood, Sweat & Tears and Sly and the Family Stone.

Jay moved to Toronto in 1977, and began his full-time playing career in earnest. He co-founded the acclaimed R&B band Backstreet in 1985, and played with sixties greats Billy J. Kramer, Lou Christie, Del Shannon, the Mamas and the Papas, Peter Noone, Ben E. King, the Marvelettes, Leslie Gore, The Drifters, The Platters and Tommy Roe.

After Backstreet disbanded in 1997, Jay toured with multi-platinum rock vocalist Sass Jordan for several years. A busy freelancer live and in studios nationwide, Jay takes great satisfaction from his membership in Brass Transit: “I find it amazing that my life has come full circle. Here I am playing the very music that made me want to play in the first place!”

 

 

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Phil Poppa

SAXOPHONES + BACKING VOCALS  – MULTI-WOODWIND SIDEMAN

Phil Poppa has been lucky enough to be an active musician since playing his first paying gig at the age of 15. He started out on clarinet in seventh grade, and began learning instruments throughout his life and career to the point where he is now hired to perform on soprano, alto, tenor and baritone saxes as well as flute and wind synth. Phil played all those instruments on his solo album What You See is What You Get, as well as singing lead and background vocals. His CD was nominated for Album of the Year at the 2009 Smooth Jazz Awards, and Phil was nominated for Wind Instrumentalist of the Year.

Phil has long been active in the Toronto studio scene, playing on numerous jingles, TV and radio shows, and albums. As well as being a member of such notable bands as The Spoons and Bamboo, Phil has also performed with the Fabulous Thunderbirds, Glass Tiger, Zappacosta, The Partland Brothers, Frozen Ghost, Bob Hope, Dinah Christie and many more. Along with Tony Carlucci and Michael Massaro, Phil formed the hot horn section known as The Whorns of Babylon, which performed with many of the artists above, as well as local R&B legends like George Oliver, Reflections and Soul Foundation. He has traveled the world in various musical ensembles, most recently as a member of the Tony Carlucci Orchestra in Hong Kong and Bangkok and on tours of Europe and the Middle East for the Canadian Government.

https://store.cdbaby.com/cd/philpoppa

 

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Doug Gibson

TROMBONE – LOW BRASS SPECIALIST

Born in Toronto, Doug Gibson starting playing the trombone at the age of 12. He was exposed to a wide variety of music early in his playing career, and quickly became a fan of  Chicago, especially trombonist James Pankow. “Pankow has the greatest commercial trombone sound in the world,” he says.

He went on to study music at Humber College, where he also took up the bass trombone. Subsequently, Doug became a first-call studio musician in Toronto, and has performed on a long string of albums and national jingles.

Doug is also an in-demand pit orchestra musician, and has performed in dozens of theatrical productions, including The Secret Garden, Legally Blonde, The Sound Of Music, Dirty Dancing, Monty Python’s Spamalot, Bat Out Of Hell and Martin Short’s acclaimed one-man show.

Other artists with whom Doug has performed include Hugh Jackman, Jeff Beck, Barry Manilow, Natalie Cole, Aretha Franklin, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Paul Anka, Lighthouse, Jann Arden, Eason Chan and David Clayton-Thomas.

 

 

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Don Breithaupt

KEYBOARDS + BACKING VOCALS – EMMY AWARD WINNER
Emmy Award winner Don Breithaupt grew up surrounded by music: jazz from his piano-playing father; classical from his soprano mother; rock, funk and soul from the world around him. He took up piano early, and in his twenties attended Berklee College of Music on a full scholarship with a major in Composition and Arranging. Returning to Toronto, he became an in-demand sideman, over the years accompanying Aretha Franklin, Sam Moore, The Drifters, Sass Jordan, Kim Mitchell, Rik Emmett, Chuck Berry, Peter Noone, Marc Jordan, Walter Zwol and many more.

In addition to an Emmy Award for Outstanding Original Song, Don’s career in television has yielded three SOCAN Awards and a Gemini Award nomination for Best Original Score. He was twice shortlisted for the Fred Ebb Award for Musical Theatre Songwriting, and is a ten-time nominee at the Smooth Jazz Awards. In 2020, his Monkey House project garnered a Juno Award nomination for Best Jazz Vocal Album, and he has twice won the jazz category of the USA Songwriting Competition.

Don has contributed original songs to many major-label releases, most recently Chicago’s #1 Christmas album and The Manhattan Transfer’s acclaimed comeback album, The Junction. His songs have been recorded and/or performed by Grammy, Tony and Juno honorees like James Naughton, Kelli O’Hara, Carolyn Leonhart, Catherine Russell, LaChanze, Brent Carver, Kate McGarry, Sarah Slean, Dione Taylor, Wendy Lands and Alfie Zappacosta.

 

 

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Paul Delong

DRUMS – JUNO AWARD WINNER, JAZZ EDUCATOR

Best known for his multi-platinum success with rock artist Kim Mitchell, Paul DeLong has forged a career that encompasses funk, fusion, jazz and Latin, working with such diverse artists as Tom Scott, Domenic Troiano, David Blamires, Lawrence Gowan, Colm Wilkinson, Doug Riley, Hilario Duran, David Clayton-Thomas, Roger Hodgson, Rik Emmett, Lighthouse, FM and The Canadian Tenors. 

As a Juno Award winner and respected session player, Paul has performed at P.I.T. and the N.A.M.M. shows in Los Angeles, twice at the Montreal Drumfest, and at the Quebec Drumfest. He is one of SABIAN Cymbals’ most popular and effective clinicians. 

Paul has taught at Humber College in Toronto for over 30 years, and written several articles for Modern Drummer magazine. He also taught and performed at KOSA 2010, the Stickman Drum Experience in 2013, and has done online video lessons for Drum Hang and Drumeo. His  books DeLong Way To Polyrhythmic Creativity On The Drumset and DeLong Way to Musical Phrasing on the Drumset are distributed worldwide by Hudson Ltd.

www.pauldelong.com

 

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SILVIO SIMONE

GUITAR + BACKING VOCALS — GOLD-SELLING ROCKER
For decades, Silvio Simone’s presence on the Canadian rock scene has been a boon to his many famous collaborators. A spine-tingling lead guitarist, producer and songwriter, he has recorded and/or performed with Triumph, Tom Cochrane, Lee Aaron, Zappacosta and many other classic rock artists. Beyond his widespread audibility, he is easy to find on video: he has toured extensively in major venues, and has appeared on television shows including The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and Late Night with David Letterman. Silvio’s solo projects include his bestselling Baha Cafe and Viva La Guitarra albums, and his more recent pursuits include long stints in the musicals Rock Of Ages, We Will Rock You and Bat Out Of Hell.
www.silsimone.com

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Tony Carlucci

TRUMPET – VETERAN STUDIO MUSICIAN + BAND LEADER

Tony Carlucci’s musical career started when his father introduced him to the trumpet. He was nine. By the age of eleven, he was playing in weekend bands and studying under Canada’s premier trumpet teacher, Dr. Don Johnson. By age 15, Tony held a chair in Canada’s Youth Orchestra, and was a regular in Toronto’s musical theater scene, performing in such shows as West Side Story, The Pajama Game and A little Night Music. At age 22, Tony landed his first musical director job for New Zealand’s top show singer, Frankie Stevens, touring Canada’s top showrooms for six months.

Working regularly on the CBC Television Network in the eighties, Tony played with such artist as David Clayton-Thomas, Corey Hart, The Fabulous Thunderbirds, Frozen Ghost, Percy Sledge, The Drifters, Sam and Dave, The Spoons, Zappacosta, Rita McNeil, Don Rickles, Paul Anka and Matt Dusk.

In 1989, Tony started his own group, Synthetic Earth, and began composing music. The group was runner-up in the Hennessy Jazz Search in Los Angeles that year. His Amarosa Music production company provides live and original recorded music for large corporate functions worldwide, including exotic destinations like Thailand and Hong Kong. Tony is still in high demand in the Toronto studio recording scene.

 

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Ian Jutsun

LEAD VOCALS – ONE OF CANADA’S MOST RESPECTED VOICES
“The magic of music lies in the emotional affect that draws us in as we listen” – Ian Jutsun

“Ian’s performance of ‘The Lament’ created the most beautiful and soulful moment in the show! He strives for perfection each and every time he performs the piece”.
Jim Abbott
Music Director Bombay Dreams
Singer, actor and comedian Ian Jutsun began his singing career at the age of 13 in Montreal and has lived in Toronto since 1992. Ian is an accomplished and consummate performer with thousands of live performances to his credit and has worked in TV, theater and film throughout North America.

Ian’s numerous accomplishments and affiliations include:

• Featured singer and principal actor on Broadway in the Andrew Lloyd Webber production Bombay Dreams.
• Worked directly with Grammy & Oscar winner AR Rahmann during Bombay Dreams. Rahmann composed a featured song for Ian called “The Lament”
• Winner-CHIN radio singing contest
• Winner-Canadian FACTOR songwriting award
• Nominee- Best Male Vocalist category, Canadian Smooth Jazz awards
• Lead vocalist-Galaxy All Star Orchestra-Tribute To The Kings Of Swing & The Fabulous Crooners
• Featured on Made in Canada-CBC production
• Co-written performed and toured as a comic, releasing 4 albums
• Current member of The Platters with Norris Vines
• Bank of Montreal Canadian tours
• Has released two CDs of original compositions
• 2016 will release a new jazz/pop all original project called “The Night Porters”

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