CaneFire

CaneFire is a high-energy Caribbean jazz unit led by composer/pianist Jeremy Ledbetter.
Jeremy is a versatile young composer, producer, and multi-instrumentalist who has covered a lot of ground in his short musical career. Born and raised in Ontario, Canada, Jeremy began classical training on the piano at the age of seven. Winning competitions consistently along the way, he eventually reached the ARCT level of the Royal Conservatory of Music. After completing a degree in jazz performance at York University in Toronto, Jeremy began what would become several years of traveling and learning the music of different cultures. Now, he has lived and worked in Trinidad and Tobago, Australia, Cuba, the USA, and Nicaragua, and has acquired a vast range of musical expertise that covers everything from Afro-Cuban to Zouk. This wealth of experience enables Jeremy to create music that brings together several different cultures from a uniquely Canadian perspective.

Although the piano remains his main instrument, Jeremy is an accomplished performer on instruments ranging from the steelpan to the didjeridu. As a performer and musical director, Jeremy has toured extensively throughout North America, Latin America, and the Caribbean, working with a variety of groups and artists including the following: Charlie’s Roots, Michael Boothman, Andy Narell and The Mighty Sparrow in Trinidad; Irakere and Grupo Diakara in Cuba; Dimension Costena in Nicaragua; and Luther Francois in St. Lucia. He has performed at the St. Lucia Jazz Festival, the New Jersey Performing Arts Centre, Trinidad’s Pan Ramajay festival, Toronto’s John Basset Theatre, the Jamaican Prime Minister’s Residence, and Roy Thomson Hall in Toronto. He has also established himself as an “in-demand?producer of Caribbean and Latin music and has composed and produced music for film and television. As a broadcaster and educator, he has hosted radio shows on calypso and Garifuna music, and he has written several articles on Caribbean music for travel magazines.

In 2002, Jeremy began working with Trinidadian legend David Rudder, subsequently producing his 2003 album “Blessed.? He has continued to work with Rudder, presently filling the multiple roles of pianist, musical director, arranger and producer. Earlier this year, Jeremy was given the opportunity to direct “The Rhythm River,?a concert featuring David Rudder, Mungal Patasar, and Andy Narell, at Toronto’s Hummingbird Centre and Trinidad’s Queen’s Hall. Also this summer, Jeremy arranged and orchestrated the musical production “The Brand New Lucky Diamond Horseshoe Club? written by Tony Hall, which will run in Trinidad in 2005. It was also this year that Jeremy began work with his own project of original music, “CaneFire?

CaneFire is a seven-piece Caribbean Latin Jazz project that features the steelpan in a way you’ve never heard it before. Canadian-born pan genius Mark Mosca takes the instrument to new levels of expression with his energetic and inventive performances. The group’s material is based on the compositions and arrangements of pianist Jeremy Ledbetter and also includes a few familiar Caribbean and Latin classics. The rest of the group is a who’s who of the top young stars of Toronto’s jazz and Latin music scenes. The band includes Cuban powerhouse Alexis Baro on trumpet; Canadian saxophone wailer Shaun Evans; Latin jazz specialist Paco Luviano on bass; and the explosive Cuban percussion duo of Chendy Leon and Alberto Suarez. CaneFire is a truly original project that captivates audiences with the raw energy of their performances ?Caribbean jazz with FIRE.