SEAN MCCARTHY 4TET
5.30
Sean McCarthy is a Canadian saxophonist and bandleader originally from Montreal, now residing and working in Toronto. Sean primarily performs traditional jazz and swing music and specializes in the soprano saxophone in the lineage of Sidney Bechet, Bob Wilber, and Steve Lacy. The Sean McCarthy Quartet draws on the rich repertoire of the Great American Songbook as well as jazz composers such as Duke Ellington, Fats Waller, Hoagy Carmichael, and more.
RODA DE SAMBA
8.30
Roda de Samba de Toronto is one of the most traditional grassroots samba bands in Toronto, bringing classic samba to Canada since 2014. A group of friends who first gathered together to play a few gigs during that year’s soccer World Cup, upon great audience feedback and having lots of fun playing together they then moved on to biweekly presentations that became a tradition and fundamental part of the exciting Bloor Street West cultural mix, bringing a loyal and highly energetic crowd to the area on Saturday afternoons for the next four years, and to many other places after that.
Grassroots samba, or "samba de raiz" as usually called in Brazil, has a little something for everyone: from the ones who would love to be in Rio de Janeiro for Carnaval, to the ones who would love to dance to some mellow tunes together, everybody finds something to enjoy when real samba is played.
Roda de Samba de Toronto brings together friends Carlos Cardozo on cavaquinho and voice, Cristiano de Oliveira on percussion and voice, André Valério on 7-string guitar and Dijerdam "Baiano" Gomes on percussion
15$ cover after 10pm, with all proceeds going directly to the musicians performing.
DONNÉ ROBERTS
11.30
Singer-songwriter/guitarist Donné Roberts was born in Madagascar. Now based in Toronto, Canada. He’s earned a matchless reputation for his compositions, strong catchy melodic lines that makes his audience sing along with him during live performances, strong message on the lyrics, also the excitement and the high energy and professionalism of his live shows.
Donné Roberts is a passionate performer. When he hits the stage, he carries with him an energy that immediately exhilarates the crowd even if they've never heard his music before. Donné performs mainly in Malagasy mother tongue from his birthplace of Madagascar. Yet this never proves to be a barrier to the audience, providing living proof that music truly does transcend languages.