Meet the musicians for our Pentecost Jazz Mass!
Nathan Hiltz
Hailing from Antigonish, Nova Scotia, Nathan is a skilled performer having held residencies with his groups at The Rex Hotel, The Senator Restaurant, The Jazz Bistro, and in Toronto’s thriving theater district at Joe Mama’s for over 9 years. His groups feature music from the classic jazz guitar tradition, the great American songbook, and the great Hammond B3 organ trios and quartets. Nathan is also an accomplished solo guitarist, holding a residency at Motel in Toronto’s Parkdale strip for over 5 years. In this capacity Nathan has explored the solo work of master jazz guitarists like Lenny Breau, Joe Pass, and pianist Bill Evans alongside great South American guitarists like Luiz Bonfa, Garoto, and Augustin Barrios. Nathan is on a constant search for freedom within a wide range of forms and feelings. He injects improvisation into every performance and above all he seeks to dissolve the barriers across genres that are separated by time, place, and style.
Nathan has played at Canadian jazz festivals including Halifax, St John’s Wreckhouse, Montreal, Toronto, The Beaches, Kensington Market, Markham, Uptown Waterloo, Huronia Arts Fest, Barrie Drumfest, Niagara, Edmonton, Victoria, Medicine Hat, Port Hope, Calgary, Regina, Jazz on the Wing in Whitehorse, Yukon, and the Ottawa Folk Festival. Internationally Nathan has performed at South by Southwest in Austin, Texas, The Northern Lights Festival in Ajicjic, Mexico and the Leopolis Jazz Festival in Lviv, Ukraine. Nathan has toured nationally with artists Terra Hazelton, GHT, Melissa Lauren, and Jill Barber.
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Nathan has appeared on over 30 albums to date. They include guitar trio, organ trio, organ quartet with saxophone, and quartet with saxophone. He has also composed and arranged jazz music for voice including The Bright Lunch Trio featuring Whitney Ross Barris and his Mass for Guitar and Singers, the latter recorded with SATB and subsequently performed by the Grace Church on the Hill choir. Most recently his genre bending folk jazz group ‘Samways’ received a grant from the Toronto Arts Council to record stunning vocal interpretations of early Canadian poetry in a female vocal trio featuring jazz singer virtuosos Shannon Butcher, Melissa Lauren, and Jessica Lalonde.
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Johnny Griffith
Johnny Griffith is a multi-Juno Award nominated saxophonist, composer and producer who has played and recorded with numerous artists including Don Thompson, Hawksley Workman, Jeremy Pelt, Ernesto Cervini’s Tune Town, Charlie Hunter, The Wailers, Alex Dean, Laila Biali, Al Henderson Quintet, Brandi Disterheft and Terra Hazelton to name a few, and is a member of the popular Canadian funk/hip hop group, the Pocket Dwellers. He has toured extensively across Canada, the United States, and Europe performing at all the major Canadian music festivals as well as several international venues including the Montreaux Jazz Festival in Switzerland.
The Johnny Griffith Quintet is the artist’s first solo venture and launched with “Dance with the Lady” in 2015. Featuring NYC’s Jeremy Pelt on trumpet, the album was the featured release on WBGO Jazz radio New Jersey. Johnny continues with the soon to be released “The Lion, Camel and Child”, again with Pelt, previewing at the TD Toronto Jazz Festival 2018.
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Jon Meyer
Jonathan Meyer, born and raised in Toronto, has performed professionally for over fifteen years with internationally renowned and award-winning artists such as Peter Appleyard, Allison Au, Tony “Oulabula” Bazley (Wes Montgomery, Leroy Vinnegar), Ned Goold (Harry Connick Jr.), Pat Labarbera, Michael Kaeshammer, Bill Murray, Mary Margaret O’Hara, Norman Marshall Villeneuve, and David Virelles to name just a few. He has played on numerous film and television soundtracks including the Chet Baker biopic “Born to be Blue” and has toured extensively throughout North America and Europe. He has recorded over twenty albums with artists encompassing a diverse range of styles, including jazz, rock, pop, folk, avant-garde electronic, and everything in between.
Matt Smith
Matt Smith is a soulful trumpeter and vocalist based in Toronto, Ontario. With a passion for jazz deeply rooted in the style of legends like Louis Armstrong, Chet Baker, and Nat King Cole, Matt brings a refreshing blend of tradition and innovation to Toronto’s vibrant music scene. Joined by pianist Evan Miles, and bassist Max Simpson, the Trio pays homage to the rich history of the music while giving each tune its own unique sound.
In addition to his trio, Matt can be found performing with integral Toronto groups such as Big Smoke Brass, and the Juno-winning Sattalites. An artist committed to quality and versatility, Matt Smith is one to watch.
Taylor Maslin
Taylor Maslin is a clarinetist/saxophonist in the Jazz tradition. In 2019 he completed his studies at Humber College- since then he has maintained a busy performing schedule in the city of Toronto. Maslin has appeared at numerous Toronto music institutions as either a leader or sideman, including the Jazz Bistro, Rex, Drom Taberna, and Koerner Hall, amongst others.