NEWS!
August 11-14, 2016:
Teaching Creative Jazz & Improvising Guitar Symposium
Presentations
Concert Series
Interview for Guitar Moderne
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Live at the Tranzac Vol 1
Ken Aldcroft - William Parker
Mister, Mister
Solo Ken Aldcroft
Red & Blue
Ken Aldcroft & Scott Thomson
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Ken Aldcroft Presents
Second Wednesday Series
The Tranzac, 10pm
Alaniaris
Third Sunday of the Month
The Tranzac, 3pm
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itunes
Most of Trio Records' catalogue is now available as downloads from itunes
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Here is a poem written by Nicholas Power which was inspired by a set of improvised music performed by me, drummer/percussionist Germaine Liu and bassist Jim Sexton at the LoD Series in Toronto.
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Ken Aldcroft - guitar
Karen Ng- alto saxophone
Emily Denison- trumpet
Scott Thomson- trombone
Wes Neal - bass
Joe Sorbara - drums
This six-piece group, featuring the instrumentation of a fairly conventional modern jazz ensemble, is the primary conduit for Ken Aldcroft's compositional and conceptual work. In performance, a set list serves less as a road map for the execution of Ken's varied and dynamic pieces and more like a menu of possibilities; the group's members can, individually or collectively, spontaneously arrange any of the available material. Employing a system of aural and gestural cues, the group playfully and creatively reshapes each piece in the spirit of free improvisation, the approach that underpins the ensemble's composite musical experience.
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Convergence is neither a jazz crew playing tunes nor a free-improv unit, slipping from one to another both within and between songs. While I am as addicted as anyone to energy music's sugar high, Aldcroft's formula leads to an ultimately more satisfying full-course banquet.
Lawrence Joseph, Cult Montreal 2012
Sneaky Pete - Slugs' is an ambitious set of finely executed free jazz; it's the next logical step in the continued refinement of this crew's fresh and intoxicating sound.
Bryon Hayes, Exclaim! 2012
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 | Emily Denison Emily Denison is a trumpet player in Toronto's jazz and creative music scenes. She is currently studying at the University of Toronto, working towards a Bachelor of Music in Jazz Performance. Since beginning at U of T, Emily has been a recipient of the Paul Read Jazz Scholarship, the Noreen and Phil Nimmons Jazz Scholarship, and the Mary Alice Stuart Jazz Scholarship. She recently attended the Banff International Workshop in Jazz and Creative music as a TD fellow. Emily can be heard on the U of T 12tet's debut album, Rebirth, as well as around Toronto with fusion band Snaggle, Ken Aldcroft's Convergence Ensemble, and her own trio Denison, Ballyk, Davis. |
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| Wes Neal Originally from New Brunswick, bassist Wes Neal studied at St. Francis Xavier University and the New England Conservatory prior to settling in Toronto, where he is in demand in musical contexts in multiple genres. He combines sympathetic and rock-solid accompaniment on song-based material with fabulous improvising instincts that put his technical command of the bass to compellingly creative use. Apart from several of Ken Aldcroft's projects, Wes has been part of several key groups in Toronto's creative music scene: Out of Order, Marcel Aucoin, The Rent, Shaw/Rampersaud/Neal/Martin, and the AIMToronto Orchestra. |  |
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 | Karen Ng Alto saxophonist Karen Ng received her education from Humber College's renowned jazz program and earned her Bachelors of Fine Arts in Music at York University. She has had the great opportunity of studying with the country's top saxophonists including Pat LaBarbara, Alex Dean, Kirk McDonald, Mike Murley and Kelly Jefferson. Noted for her involvement with Toronto based bands Do Make Say Think, Broken Social Scene, Woodshed Orchestra and Contemporary Jazz Juno award winning group the Happiness Project, she has had the pleasure of touring Europe, Asia and North America. Canadian festival appearances include Hillside, Ottawa Folk Festival, Guelph Jazz, Halifax Jazz, Sappy Fest and TD Toronto Jazz. |
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| Joe Sorbara Joe Sorbara is a highly inventive drummer and percussionist with a penchant for coaxing music out of practically anything. Joe's drumkit is regularly augmented with found and prepared material that ensures that the sounds at his ready disposal are practically orchestral in scope. He combines these skills with an extraordinary time-feel that makes him one of the most swinging drummers in Canada when the music demands it of him. Joe?s primary creative outlet is his Other Foot First septet. Elsewhere, Joe plays in the Remnants Trio, Ronda Rindone's Quorum, the AIMToronto Orchestra and a trio with Wes Neal and British saxophonist Evan Parker. |  |
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 | Scott Thomson Scott Thomson is a trombonist and composer who works in Montréal and Toronto. He plays in regular ensembles in many styles, and prizes ad hoc improvising as a way to meet many creative people. He has studied with Roswell Rudd, Jean Derome, Eddie Prévost, and John Oswald. He leads The Rent, a quintet dedicated to repertory by Steve Lacy as well as Scott?s songs. The Rent?s all-Lacy self-titled debut recording was released on Ambiences Magnétiques in 2010. Scott has composed a series of site-specific works that he calls ?cartographic compositions? for mobile musicians and audiences in unconventional performance contexts for which he has had several notable commissions and residencies. |
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Recordings:
The Great Divide |
Trolleys |
Our Hospitality | 
Sneaky Pete-Slugs' |
Saskatoon |
Tangent |
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Contact:
Ken Aldcroft
77 Wychcrest Ave.Toronto, Ontario
M6G 3X8
Canada
416-530-0983
kenaldcroft at yahoo.ca
