Choose artist...

Top 10 for Dec

Does the world need yet another Hallelujah cover? Art of Time Ensemble answers in the affirmative / THE GLOBE AND MAIL

Art of Time Ensemble is a Toronto based musical collective of leading Canadian musicians from the worlds of jazz and classical music. Formed in 1997 by Andrew Burashko, Art of Time has become an integral part of Toronto’s cultural scene. They have become a destination for today’s most accomplished artists working in music, dance, theatre, film, and literature. The artists with whom the Ensemble has collaborated represent the finest in their disciplines, including writers Margaret Atwood and Michael Ondaatje; singers Barbara Hannigan and Madeleine Peyroux; actors Brent Carver and Martha Burns; dancers Peggy Baker and Evelyn Hart; and filmmakers Peter Mettler and Bruce MacDonald among many others. The group has just released: Songs Of Leonard Cohen LIVE.
 

"The 13 tracks on this album were recorded live in concert as part of a Leonard Cohen tribute in 2018. Over three nights, this tribute also featured 15 Canadian authors and poets many of whom knew Leonard Cohen personally. These shows were deeply emotional, and it shows in every single performance.  “In choosing the songs for this tribute, I wanted to cover the entire span of Cohen’s career, showcasing both, well- known classics and lesser-known tracks such as “Come Healing” and Treaty” from very late in his career. I also, very deliberately chose a diverse group of composers and arrangers with disparate sensibilities to create a very distinct aesthetic universe for each song. The singers on this album are all veterans and icons of the Canadian pop music scene - all forces of nature in their own right. Their passion for these songs shines through in every performance.”        - Andrew Burashko 


The singers each have their own international careers and are all veterans of the Canadian pop scene: Steven Page, Sarah Harmer, Tom Wilson, Sarah Slean and Gregory Hoskins. 


Steven Page is the founder and former lead singer of Barenaked Ladies. He went on to pursue a solo and enjoys success internationally. Recently, he was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame. Sarah Harmer is a platinum selling Canadian singer, songwriter. Time Magazine called her debut album “the best debut album of the year”. Tom Wilson is a member of the Nashville based roots band called Blackie and the Rodeo Kings and former lead singer of the band Junkhouse. As a solo artist, he continues to tour regularly throughout North America.


Sarah Slean is an acclaimed Canadian singer, song writer, actor and film composer. She has been nominated for multiple Juno and Gemini awards and has received a Screen Actor’s Guild of Canada award for her co - scoring the TV series Detention Adventure. Gregory Hoskins fronted the popular Canadian folk rock band The Stick People in the 80s and 90s. Since then, he has enjoyed a successful performing and recording career spanning 30 years. He collaborates regularly with Art of Time Ensemble.  The arrangers include nine composers from the pop, jazz and classical worlds including the English composer Gavin Bryars, and all the arrangements explore the intersection of popular song and chamber music, featuring some of the best instrumentalists in Canada.  
 

THE GLOBE AND MAIL writes….Art of Time Ensemble: A Singer Must Die. Does the world need yet another Hallelujah cover? With its forthcoming new concert recording Songs of Leonard Cohen Live, the classy Toronto pop ensemble led by Andrew Burashko answers in the affirmative. For further evidence, a series of Ontario performances dedicated to the Cohen songbook will likely close with the late Montrealer’s signature hymn reimagined by Gregory Hoskins and Steven Page, two singer-songwriters who know their way around the “fourth, the fifth, the minor falls, the major lifts.” Oct. 13-14, Harbourfront Centre Theatre, Toronto; Oct. 15, Avon Theatre, Stratford, Ont.; Oct. 16, Burlington Performing Arts Centre, Burlington, Ont.