Music
Press
“All Smiles Jazz Quartet, had a large crowd of fans smiling for the opening night of Jazz in the Village.” –Jack Poirier
Saturday, September 15, 2007 - Sarnia Observer
“There are some things I recommend everyone do this summer: order a canoe from the coffee lodge, go swimming in the river with a noodle and see the All Smiles Jazz Quartet.” – Rachel Chivers - Sarnia Observer
Montreal, QC
Cam Britton Collective
January 14, 2008
Back in his small hometown of Grand Bend, Ontario, everyone knows Cam Britton as the saxophone player from Jam Night at Gables bar. Now an Honours graduate from Humber College, Cam Britton has released his debut album of original jazz music at one of the hippest clubs in Toronto (Ultra Supper Club 314 Queen St. W), and creating quite the buzz in Montreal.
How does someone from a beach town listening to classic rock and the Beach Boys start performing and composing jazz music? “My parents have always been very supportive of the arts,” says Britton. “They both sing in a choir and play a bit of piano. When I told my dad I wanted to be a jazz musician, he took me on a trip to New Orleans to see the birthplace of jazz. That trip changed my life.”
Cam is known for being a passionate performer who allows his diverse influences to shine in his music. “In high school I was really into Dave Matthews Band and would jam on those tunes all the time. I got into jazz soon after. The freedom and expression of musical improvisation is truly unbelievable.”
Cam Britton’s creative and soulful sound on the saxophone has gained him entrance into noteworthy musical circles. As the featured saxophonist in The Voices of Bahá choir, led by Tom Price and Grammy award winner KC Porter, Cam has performed in major concert halls throughout the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Venezuela, Trinidad, Jamaica, and Florida.
One of the most distinguishing features of Cam Britton’s impeccable sound is its ability to compliment any genre. Alongside Nandita Dias and Luis Mario Ochoa, Cam Britton’s passionate sound has infiltrated Latin, Swing and Indian Music and has brought sold out crowds to their feet. Such was the case at the 2007 Masala! Mehndi Masti! Festival at Exhibition Place in Toronto. This winter, he toured all across Canada as the star saxophonist with the country’s #1 reggae group, Jazz Cutta and Determination.
Presently Cam is blending his original jazz music with funk and house. “My album is contemporary jazz, which to me is a blend of swing, be-bop, pop music, and a fresh look at harmony.” Cam expects his next record to have more of an electronic influence. “Right now I’m composing works for solo saxophone, where I use effects pedals to apply digital delays and loops to my sound.”
That’s how you’ll be hearing him on Sunday January 20, from 2-4 performing at the Grand Bend Legion as part of the World Religion Day celebration—an event that brings all faith’s and clergies of Grand Bend and the world together to promote peace and unity. “It has always been a strong passion of mine to bring people together through music. Music speaks directly to the soul, and so I hope I can inspire some soul searching this Sunday afternoon.”
- Lakeshore Advance
Discography
Debut album, "The Cam Britton Collective," available in-store, and online at itunes.com, indiepool.ca, and CDbaby.com.
Feat. singles "Young Heart", and "Soft Spring"
Photos
Bio
Cameron Britton was born in 1984 in Burlington, Ontario. He grew up in the small beach town of Grand Bend where he began to learn the piano at age 4 and the saxophone at age 10.
His talent and passion for music blossomed during secondary school at St. Christopher's, Sarnia. He found his voice on the saxophone with the now Toronto based singer/songwriter Kevin Howley, and All Smiles Jazz Quartet. His love and experience playing funk, rock, pop, and jazz all grew simultaneously, thus embodying a truly new style of playing. Cameron received awards and accolades for musical achievement throughout his high school years.
In September 2003, Cameron began his studies at Humber College, Toronto, in the Bachelor of Music Performance program. There he further explored his unique sound with many talented young players such as Sophia Perlman, Tyler Emond, Tom Juhas, Todd Pentney, and LaNai Gabriel, as well as studied with some of Canada's finest jazz pedagogues, including Pat Labarbera and Kirk McDonald. He graduated with Honours in Spring 2007.
In the spring and summer of 2005 Cameron performed weekly with the original pop/rock band, Platypi. The band was featured at the Toronto Jazz Festival and the Burlington Sound of Music Festival.
In July 2005 Cameron toured the Caribbean with the international choir, The Voices of Bahá, led by Tom Price. The group included Grammy award winner KC Porter, writer and producer for Ricky Martin and Carlos Santana, and Justin Timberlake. The choir performed major concert halls in the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico (where the band was joined by national icon, Nydia Caro), Venezuela (where the band recorded for television), Trinidad, Jamaica, and Florida.
Cameron is the featured Saxophonist with Nandita Dias and the Jazz Ragas. On March 23, 2007 they performed with Cuban born guitarist/arranger/singer, Luis Mario Ochoa at Plaza Flamingo in Toronto, Ontario in support of three Latin American charities. Cameron brought the sold out crowd of five hundred people into a frenzy with his improvisations. Nandita and Cameron impressed audiences once again at Exhibition Place in Toronto for the 2007 Masala! Mehndi! Masti! Festival, the largest South Asian music festival in the country and one of the best attended of all Toronto festivals.
In the spring of 2007 Cameron entered the studio to record his debut album, The Cam Britton Collective. Comprised entirely of original contemporary jazz music, the album has enjoyed immediate success, landing on Canadian airwaves and being distributed across the country. The CD release party was held at the Ultra Supper Club, one of the finest and most exclusive venues in Toronto, for a sold out crowd of 250 people.
Cam Britton continues to perform regularly with The Cam Britton Collective, the funky and soulful Kevin Howley Project, and with the All Smiles Jazz Quartet. He is working hard composing nujazz, a blend of jazz with house and groove, for an upcoming album and tour. He lives with his wife Krisy in Montreal, Quebec.
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