Brilliant Corners – Matt Endahl and Nancy Walker Duos
Catch Matt Endahl and Nancy Walker and their invited musicians for two duo sets!
Fri May 8th, 2026
Door opens: 7:30 PM
Show: 8:00 PM
Matt Endahl and Nancy Walker Duos.
Matt Endahl
From 2013 to 2022 I lived in Nashville, TN where I played in groups led by Rahsaan Barber, Dara Tucker, Chester Thompson, Marcus Finnie, Jeff Coffin, Joel Frahm, and many others. I’ve shared the stage with legendary figures like Jimmy Heath, Henry Grimes, David Liebman, Duffy Jackson, Jane Ira Bloom, Arthur Blythe, Jeff “Tain” Watts, Marcus Belgrave, Roger Humphries, Dave Douglas, Nicolas Bearde, and Karrin Allyson.
From 2003-2013, I lived and worked in Ann Arbor, MI where I was a student of
Geri Allen, Ellen Rowe and Stephen Rush at the University of Michigan. I played with many groups, including the James Hughes/Jimmy Smith Quintet, Liquid Street, the Legendary Wings, and Balkan-jazz band Ornamatik. I formed my own group, Symbology (2006-2008) and was the leader of Canterbury House band Quartex (2009-2013).
In 2008 I was selected as a Bösendorfer Montreux Jazz Solo Piano Competition semi-finalist. After moving to Nashville, I taught at Belmont University, Middle Tennessee State University, the Nashville Jazz Workshop. I am currently doing doctoral work in Critical Studies in Improvisation at the University of Guelph.
Pianist and composer Nancy Walker has been recognized with honours Canada-wide, including the Montréal Jazz Festival’s Grand Prix de Jazz, the National Jazz Awards Keyboardist Of The Year Award, a JUNO nomination for Instrumental Album Of The Year (Rainy Days And Mondays, 2006), and an induction into the Mississauga Music Walk Of Fame. A dynamic improviser, an artful composer and a responsive accompanist, Nancy has been praised both for her work as a solo artist and as a musical collaborator. As a side player she can be heard on a wide range of recordings, by artists from saxophonist Kirk MacDonald to vocalist Emilie-Claire Barlow to children’s entertainer Raffi. More recently she can be heard on the 2024 recording Here’s To Life by John Neudorf (on which she was both pianist and co-producer), and Sarah Jerrom’s 2025 JUNO-nominated Magpie.
Nancy has several discs to her credit as leader. Her most recent (released September, 2025) is Deeper Down, featuring Nancy as pianist and composer, with Tara Davidson (saxophones), Lauren Falls (bass) and Ethan Ardelli (drums). Her compositions reflect her view of the age we live in – at times intense, at times poignant, at times cerebral. Her inspirations include architecture, cinema, literature, visual art and nature.
“Nancy Walker has played enough piano to know how to keep listeners interested however hard she pushes the boundaries of familiarity.” Toronto Star
“Harmonically she’s influenced by the usual suspects—Evans, Hancock, Jarrett, etc.—but her delicate touch and denser harmonic constructs brings to mind British pianist John Taylor as well…Walker’s music is easy on the ears, but don’t mistake that for lacking in interest or challenge, because she masks an advanced harmonic concept within an accessible veneer.” All
About Jazz
“A fine example of the modern jazz musician’s art.” The Globe and Mail
