New Orleans Rhythm
Bios
Reide Kaiser, Patrick Tevlin and Colin Bray - New Orleans Rhythm
Patrick Tevlin – Leader, Trumpet, Vocal
Patrick Tevlin has been a band leader in Toronto since 1976. On his first trip to New Orleans two years later Patrick saw, heard and met trumpet great Kid Thomas Valentine, and he has never looked back. He built a style based on Kid Thomas along with Dede Pierce and other trumpeters who became well-known with the Preservation Hall Jazz Band.
In 1983 Patrick switched to tenor sax and clarinet, and joined The Happy Pals, under the leadership of Toronto trumpet legend Cliff “Kid” Bastien. His sax is rooted in New Orleans jazz as well as the early R&B style of stars like Fats Domino and Ray Charles. His clarinet is influenced by New Orleanians like George Lewis and Johnny Dodds.
When Kid Bastien died suddenly in 2003, Patrick moved back to trumpet and took over leadership of The Happy Pals. He switched careers from science (He holds a doctorate in physics and was Science Director at the Ontario Science Centre.) to full-time music in 2005.
In addition to The Happy Pals and the New Orleans-style parade outfit The Magnolia Brass Band, he now plays old-school R&B with Patrick Tevlin’s New Orleans Blues Band, ska with Frankie Foo and the Yoyo Smugglers, and of course leads the classic jazz trio New Orleans Rhythm. In the studio he has been featured on CDs by the Courtney Wells Band, Prince Perry and the Gladtones, Que Sarah and others.
Reide Kaiser – Piano
Reide Kaiser was born in Toronto, and although exposed to many different types of music as a child, showed little interest in playing any of it until he heard some piano ragtime in the early 1970s. He soon became a regular soloist at the annual “Ragtime Bash” in Toronto, and this interest led him into early jazz piano styles.
Solo career aside, Reide is best known as a band pianist. This has included stints with the Front Street Stompers, The Freeway Jazz Band and the Hot Five Jazzmakers. He was a founding member of the award-winning Jeff Healey’s Jazz Wizards, with whom he toured widely, and has recorded extensively for the Jazz Crusade label in the United States. Reide now performs and records regularly with Patrick Tevlin’s New Orleans Rhythm.
Colin Bray – String Bass
Colin Bray plays string bass in the authentic early New Orleans style. He has worked with most of Toronto’s New Orleans-style and classic jazz bands over the years, including The Happy Pals, The Hot Five Jazzmakers, The Grande Bouche Swingtette, and the Silverleaf Jazzmen. Along with Reide Kaiser, Colin was one of the original members of Jeff Healey's Jazz Wizards. He has recorded 31 CDs, and with Reide is a member of Jazz Crusade’s “All-star Rhythm Section.” He now performs on bass with Patrick Tevlin’s New Orleans Rhythm.
Colin’s jazz activities are wide-ranging. He founded the Classic Jazz Society of Toronto in 1994 and has been its president since. He is co-owner of Jazz Oracle, considered the world’s foremost label for reissuing 1920s/30s jazz on CD. In addition, Colin is a radio host and producer for over 18 years of Toronto’s (and probably Canada’s) only weekly radio show devoted to Classic 1920s/30s Jazz, “Sugarfoot Stomp” on CIUT Radio (89.5FM).
And Others...
New Orleans Rhythm enlarges to fit the occasion, with the addition of clarinetists such as Brian Graville or Janet Shaw, drummers the likes of Chuck Clarke or Lowelll Whitty, and others. It's up to you!
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