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Lorne Lofsky
Lorne Lofsky is an internationally recognized jazz guitarist. Born and raised in Toronto, he has been playing professionally for the last 42 years. He has played/toured or recorded with a who’s who of the jazz world, including Oscar Peterson, Ed Bickert, Rob McConnell, Chet Baker, Joey DeFrancesco, Pepper Adams, Ray Brown, Neils Henning Orsted Pederson, Rosemary Clooney, Kirk MacDonald, Dave Holland, and many other respected members of the international jazz community.
In addition, he has been a faculty member at York University’s Fine Arts/Music Program since 1978 and also teaches at the Humber College Community Music Program. Lorne is a mainstay of the Toronto jazz scene and performs extensively in the Greater Toronto Area. He has also given clinics/concerts at St. FX University in Antigonish, Nova Scotia and McGill University in Montreal.
During one week at George’s Spaghetti House as a sideman with trombonist Butch Watanabe, Lorne met the jazz legend Oscar Peterson. A few weeks later Lorne received a phone call from Oscar who offered to produce a record on the prestigious Pablo record label. The result was Lorne’s debut album entitled “It Could Happen To You”.
Lorne continued to work extensively in the Toronto area, including an appearance at the Ontario Place Forum as a featured guest with Oscar Peterson. Lorne also played with Oscar in Edmonton, Alberta for a week in ’82. In 1983 Lorne did an extended tour of the East coast of Canada with renowned saxophonist Pat LaBarbera. Also, in 1983 to 1991 Lorne played in a quartet with legendary jazz guitarist Ed Bickert. This quartet played frequently in and around the Toronto area. This collaboration yielded two recordings (one of which was for the prestigious Concord label entitled “This Is New”) and a tour of Spain in 1991.
In the early 80’s, Lorne began an important musical association with saxophonist extraordinaire Kirk Macdonald leading to the formation of a quartet that has continued to perform extensively in the Toronto area. Various versions of this quartet have played numerous dates outside of Toronto, including the Atlantic Jazz Festival, Montreal’s Upstairs Club, Vancouver’s Cotton Club and others.
From ’94-’96, Lorne was a member of the Oscar Peterson Quartet. The group performed at Carnegie Hall in N.Y.C., the Montreal Jazz Festival, Sao Paolo, Brazil and played numerous concerts throughout Europe. In addition, Lorne was featured on 3 CDs with Oscar. One of them was a double CD recorded live in Paris.
In addition, Lorne has, over the years taught many clinics on jazz guitar and improvisation. Lorne has been a jazz instructor at York University, in Toronto, since the late 70’s. As well, Lorne has taught for several years at the University of Toronto and has an extensive private teaching practice.
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Lorne Lofsky: Steward of the Canadian Guitar Tradition
by John Chacona
Guitarist Lorne Lofsky rocketed to fame when It Could Happen To You (Pablo Records, 1981), his debut release as a leader, was produced by fellow Canadian Oscar Peterson. Lofsky has since toured and recorded with a wide range of musicians from all around the world, including Peterson, but his hometown of jny: Toronto has been his base for more than 40 years. In that time he has witnessed many changes in the scene of that dynamic, cosmopolitan city, and has ...
read moreBarry Elmes Quintet: Night Flight
by Pierre Giroux
Barry Elmes is a drummer and composer who, over the years, has made notable contributions to the Canadian jazz scene. On the release Night Flight, he pays tribute to several iconic composers such as Charles Mingus, Cedar Walton, Keith Jarrett, Bill Evans and Hank Mobley each of whom had made a deep musical impression on Elmes. He showcases this through his creative voice, using their compositions as the framework. Joining Elmes for this pianoless release are ...
read moreGuido Basso: One More For The Road
by Pierre Giroux
Guido Basso, known for his mastery of the flugelhorn and trumpet, died in February of 2023. From his earliest days in Montreal playing with the Maury Kaye band, to working in the US with top performers such Vic Damone and Pearl Bailey, Basso gained a reputation as a consummate musician who was capable of working in a variety of settings. Deciding not to remain in the U.S., Basso returned to Canada and settled in Toronto. Here, he established himself as ...
read moreCanadian Jazz Collective: Septology
by Jack Bowers
The Canadian Jazz Collective is a septet comprised of several of that country's leading jazz musicians. Trumpeter Derrick Gardner, tenor saxophonist Kirk MacDonald and guitarist Lorne Lofsky certainly need no introduction to jazz fans, in Canada or most anywhere else, nor do pianist Brian Dickinson, bassist Neil Swainson, drummer Bernd Reiter and clarinetist Virginia MacDonald. Septology, a compendium of eight songs written by Gardner, Lofsky or MacDonald, was recorded at a studio in Germany's Black Forest during a European tour ...
read moreGuitarists in Review: Lofsky, Scott, Rose and Bro
by Jerome Wilson
Here are current releases by four accomplished guitarists who display their talents in varied contexts. Lorne Lofsky This Song Is New Modica Music 2021 Lorne Lofsky is a highly respected Canadian guitarist. This is his first recording as a leader in over 25 years, a relaxed but energetic session with three other Canadian veterans, saxophonist Kirk MacDonald, bassist Kieran Overs and drummer Barry Romberg. Lofsky's fluid style is an important part ...
read moreLorne Lofsky: This Song Is New
by Friedrich Kunzmann
The liner notes to This Song is New explain how the term “old school" suits guitarist Lorne Lofsky just fine. Not in its pejorative sense, but rather in the spirit of a master of an old art, now considered to be quaint. It is indeed a fitting description for the compositions and performances that constitute the guitarist's first recording of original material in over 20 years. More a player than a composer, the former Oscar Peterson collaborator presents a strong ...
read moreLorne Lofsky: This Song Is New
by Jack Bowers
Over the years the guitar has earned a unique position in the annals of jazz. At times strident, ear-splitting and generally distasteful, at others one of the loveliest, most amiable and pleasing instruments in any circumstance, especially when placed in the capable hands of a master such as Canada's Lorne Lofsky. This is the guitar as it should be played, smooth and mellow but never without due diligence or an emphatic purpose in mind. The quartet date This Song Is ...
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