MURATA, QUARRINGTON & TAFT
This trio, made up of violinist San Murata, guitarist/vocalist and arranger/composer Tony Quarrington, and Beverly, plays swingy standards, sweet ballads and French chansons, celebrating the lyrics and melodies of the great composers like Gershwin, Ellington, Kern and Porter. "M, Q & T" have played at restaurants like Nice Bistro in Whitby, Terra Cotta Inn, and Fieramosca Trattoria as well as the Colborne Art Gallery, and Oeno Gallery, and weddings and other private events, and have been featured every year since 2008 at Dominion on Queen for The Toronto Downtown Jazz Festival. Their music is light, fun, and engaging.
SAN MURATA
San Murata has become one of the most in-demand and appreciated violinists on the Toronto jazz scene. His approach to jazz violin emphasizes pure melody and romantic lyricism, evoking the atmosphere of a Paris salon or a Manhattan tea room.
San has played with most of Toronto's top jazz musicians, including Norm Amadio, Jake Langley, Bernie Senensky, Danny McErlain, and the late Bob George. The National Jazz Awards has nominated San as "Best Violinist of the Year" four times to date, and he appears on five CDs, including two recordings as leader.
San has performed at top venues throughout Toronto, including The Top of the Senator, The Rex Hotel, Le Select Bistro, the Ontario Science Centre Concert Series hosted by CJRT-FM, and a ten year stint at Prego Restaurant in Yorkville. In addition, San has appeared at the Downtown Toronto Jazz Festival every year since 1994, at the All Canadian Jazz Festival in Port Hope, and at numerous hotels and event venues for weddings, private events and corporate parties, in various combos. He has also performed four tours of Japan, with dates in Hokkaido, Tokyo and the Kyushu region (Fukuoka and Hiroshima).
TONY QUARRINGTON
Tony has been a guitarist and producer for decades, in addition to playing his own original instrumental jazz. Besides recording work as a sideman with such figures as Jaymz Bee and the Royal Jelly Orchestra, Tony's own music on two CDs has been well-received. Notable projects of his own include: the CBC-released art-inspired hybrid jazz venture, GROUP OF SEVEN SUITE, which features (among others) Jane Bunnett, Don Thompson, Jeff Bird of Cowboy Junkies, and Jane Siberry; a self-titled album from his trio SWING STREET; and a collaboration with veteran B-3 player Denis Keldie, called HAMMOND GRITS.
Tony was guitarist and arranger on a Bee-produced project called '2 A.M. AT THE TORCH CAFE', for the five-octave countertenor SERAFIN, and has also recorded with Kevin Breit, singer/guitarist George Grosman, his own fun 1920s combo, 'The Jazzophones', as well as 'The Hawaiianaires', and the Yiddish Swingtet 'SHUL DAYS' who perform some of Tony's original klezmer/jazz tunes.
Tony is favoured for his mastery of a wide range of styles within the jazz genre, and his extensive knowledge of songs dating back to the 1920s. He's a sensitive accompanist and also a fine crooner.