Bruce Jones

Bruce Jones is a musician of Canadian/Brazilian descent. He grew up near Sao Paulo and first picked up a guitar at the age of 13, very quickly developing proficiency as a player and composer. Jones began his formal musical training at the Academia Paulista de Musica (Sao Paulo) and later pursued studies in classical guitar, orchestration and composition at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto.

His classical training ironically led Jones to discover that his real roots were in the rhythms of his Brazilian youth, including Bossa Nova, Maracatu, Samba, Olodum and Axe. In Toronto he began a teaching career at the Eli Kassner Academy in 1978 and for the next 10 years contributed to the growth of many talented local guitarists.

At the same time, Jones was the leader of Toronto’s foremost Brazilian rhythm outfit, Cocada and later Da, both of which enjoyed large followings of music and dance aficionados and featured on the worldbeat and jazz festival circuits in Canada and Brazil, as well as in Cape Verde and Argentina. In Toronto in the late 80s and throughout the 1990s, Jones’ bands featured at annual Harbourfront festivals, WOMAD, Hispanic festivals, The Bamboo Club and Carribana, where Jones’ samba school outfit GRES Unidos do Canada won Best Traditional Ensemble for seven years running. Cocada opened for the likes of Zap Mama, Djavan, Youssou N’Dour and Gilberto Gil.

Musicians with whom Jones collaborated during this time included Perry White, Steven Donald, Chi Sharpe, Lionel Williams, Rick Lazar, Bill McBirnie, Ron Allen, Amarando Borg, Eliane Abolicao, Etric Lyons, Zulema Class, Daniel Barnes, Bill Norman, Art Avalos, Mike Sereny and Phil Dwyer.

Jones has recorded numerous CDs of original work, which highlight his remarkable versatility and outstanding talent as a composer, arranger, instrumentalist and producer. His song, Africa Feliz placed third in the 1997 John Lennon Songwriting Contest in New York City and his CDs Sarava Criola and Canada Eh! were released to critical acclaim.