Champagne Weather
2026-04-16 19:30 - 22:00 UTC | Silence, 46 Essex Street, Guelph, ON, N1H 3K8, Canada
April 16th, 2026
7:30 PM
Come check out some beautiful music!

Piers Oolvai will perform an opening set.
Dubbed “the future of folk music” by Canadian folk icon Ian Tamblyn, Champagne Weather (Canada) creates ever-changing tidepools of harmony and melody. Every song is a shimmering blanket of sound with flashes of Philip Glass, Laurie Anderson, Appalachian fiddle and Maritime folksong.

Brilliant Corners: A Silence Jazz Series - Tim Hagans
2026-04-25 20:00 - 23:00
Sat April 25th, 2026
Door opens: 7:30 PM
Show: 8:00 PM
Brilliant Corners – Time Hagans’ Quartet
Brilliant Corners: A Silence Jazz Series
Seven intimate live performances featuring Canada’s finest jazz instrumentalists and a distinguished international guest Tim Hagans.
Where exceptional music meets meaningful community in Guelph’s Silence listening room—a space designed for retreat, connection, and deep listening. Three-time Grammy nominated composer and trumpeter Tim Hagans performs and records with his Tim Hagans Synesthesia band and as a guest composer, conductor and soloist with the NDR Bigband and other large ensembles. His most recent CD, A Conversation, an original multi-movement concerto performed by Hagans and the NDR Bigband was an Editor’s Pick in Downbeat Magazine. His CD Faces Under The Influence, A Jazz Tribute to John Cassavetes is a suite of 7 musical portraits inspired by characters from the films of John Cassavetes. The recording features the NDR Bigband in Hamburg with Mr. Hagans as guest composer, conductor and trumpet soloist. Downbeat writes: “Hagans himself shines as the braying Richard Forst in Faces. Hagans suite underscores the sadness and confusion, empathy and hope in Cassavetes’ gritty works with accuracy and honesty.”
Tim Hagans was nominated for Grammy awards for Best Instrumental Composition for “Box of Cannoli” from The Avatar Sessions; Best Contemporary Jazz CD for Re*Animation and Animation Imagination. Tim Hagans is the featured soloist on the soundtrack by Howard Shore for the movie The Score, starring Robert DeNiro and Marlon Brando.
In June 2012 he was awarded an honorary doctorate of music from the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki.
Tim Hagans has performed and recorded with Thad Jones, Ernie Wilkins, Joe Lovano, Bob Belden and Dexter Gordon. It was Thad Jones who encouraged Tim to write music, and Hagans’ first composition appeared on a Thad Jones Eclipse LP. For three years he was a member of the Stan Kenton Orchestra. For fifteen years he was artistic director and composer-in-residence for the Norrbotten Big Band, traveling to Sweden to perform, conduct and arrange projects with guests including Rufus Reid, Randy Brecker, Peter Erskine, and Dave Liebman. The Avatar Sessions CD features music he created during that tenure, performed by Tim Hagans, the Norrbotten Big Band, and the above mentioned guest artists. He was the recipient of the 2008 IAJE/ASCAP Established Composer commission and was awarded a National Endowment for the Arts Composition Grant.
Other notable commissions include the Barent’s Composers Orchestra in 2009; NDR Bigband in 2001, 2004, 2013, 2016, 2023, 2024, 2026 & 2027; Norrbotten Chamber Orchestra in 2003, 2007 and 2014; and the UMO Jazz Orchestra in Helsinki in 1997 and 2005. He has composed music for Christer Engberg’s play The Hostage and for Jazz Baltica.
In 2007, he began performing and composing for the Michele Brangwen Dance & Music Ensemble, a contemporary dance company dedicated to the use of live original music in performance and the integration of musicians into the stage imagery.

Brilliant Corners - Matt Endahl and Nancy Walker Duos
2026-05-08 20:00 - 23:00
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.

Nancy Walker
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

Brilliant Corners - Pat LaBabera Quartet
2026-05-09 20:00 - 23:00
May 9th, 2026

Doors: 7:30 PM
Show: 8:00 PM
Brilliant Corners – Pat LaBabera Quartet
Brilliant Corners: A Silence Jazz Series
Seven intimate live performances featuring Canada’s finest jazz instrumentalists and a distinguished international guest Tim Hagans.
Where exceptional music meets meaningful community in Guelph’s Silence listening room—a space designed for retreat, connection, and deep listening.
Pat LaBarbera Quartet
Pat LaBarbera (born Pascel Emmanuel LaBarbera on April 7, 1944, in Mt. Morris/Warsaw, New York) is an American-born Canadian jazz saxophonist, woodwind multi- instrumentalist, composer, and highly respected educator. He is widely regarded for his intense improvisational style rooted in the post-John Coltrane tradition and for his contributions both as a performer with top jazz ensembles and as a mentor to generations of musicians.
Pat was raised in a deeply musical family; his father taught him and his two younger brothers, trumpeter/arranger John LaBarbera and drummer Joe LaBarbera-the fundamentals of music from an early age. Immersed in performance from childhood, Pat’s first studies included clarinet and saxophone, and he developed his improvisational skills in family performances long before formal training.
He went on to study at the renowned Berklee College of Music in Boston from 1964 to 1967, where he focused on arranging, composition, and advanced jazz performance. His teachers included noted jazz educators such as Joe Viola, John LaPorta, Herb Pomeroy, Don Menza, Joe Allard, Joe Henderson and Joe Allard.
Shortly after leaving Berklee, LaBarbera began a notable professional career in big band jazz. From 1967 to 1974, he was a featured tenor saxophone soloist with the Buddy Rich Big Band, touring extensively throughout the United States, Europe, and Japan and appearing on major recordings as well as network television shows such as The Ed Sullivan Show and The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, Kraft Music Hall, Mike Douglas and many more.
During this period, he also played with other major ensembles led by Woody Herman and Louie Bellson, and performed alongside jazz and popular music legends including Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Dizzy Gillespie, Ella Fitzgerald, Chick Corea, McCoy Tyner, Stevie Wonder and others.
In 1974 LaBarbera moved to Toronto, Ontario, where he would make his home and become a central figure in Canada’s jazz community. The following year he began a long association with the legendary drummer Elvin Jones and his Jazz Machine, touring and recording with Jones through the late 1970s and joining the band for further international tours in the early 2000s.
LaBarbera’s impact extends far beyond performance. Since 1976, he has been a faculty member at Humber College in Toronto, teaching saxophone, ensemble performance, jazz repertoire, and advanced improvisation. He has also taught at York University, the University of Toronto, and at summer jazz workshops such as the Banff Jazz Workshop and Jamey Aebersold camps. Many prominent Canadian saxophonists-such as Mike Murley, Ralph Bowen, Alex Dean, Kirk MacDonald, and others-count LaBarbera among their key influences or teachers.
LaBarbera has released numerous albums as a leader, showcasing his deep knowledge of jazz tradition and his innovative voice. His 2000 album Deep in a Dream won the Juno Award for Best Traditional Instrumental Jazz Album, one of multiple honors recognizing his artistry.
His recording credits span a wide range of sessions-as a leader and sideman-with more than 100 appearances on albums and countless festival and club performances worldwide. Pat LaBarbera is celebrated not only for his expressive, technically brilliant saxophone playing but also for his dedication to education and community building within jazz. His influence has shaped the sound of modern jazz performance and study in Canada and beyond, making him a revered figure among musicians and audiences alike.
“Pat has tremendous musical ability beyond technical facility. He has great power of concentration to
detail and is totally committed with body and soul,” Elvin Jones

Brilliant Corners - Rebecca Hennessey's Makeshift Island
2026-05-15 20:00 - 23:00
May 15th, 2026
Doors: 7:30 PM
Show: 8:00 PM
Brilliant Corners – Rebecca Hennessey’s Makeshift Island
Brilliant Corners: A Silence Jazz Series
Seven intimate live performances featuring Canada’s finest jazz instrumentalists and a distinguished international guest Tim Hagans.
Where exceptional music meets meaningful community in Guelph’s Silence listening room—a space designed for retreat, connection, and deep listening.
Rebecca Hennessey’s Makeshift Island
Rebecca Hennessy is an award-winning Canadian trumpeter, vocalist, composer, and bandleader whose work bridges jazz, roots, and the singer-songwriter tradition. Grounded in a deeply personal yet outward-looking approach to songwriting, she creates music that is intimate, spacious, and quietly powerful. Her warm, distinctive voice and expressive trumpet function as parallel storytellers, shaping songs that feel direct, unguarded, and emotionally resonant. Whether performing as a vocalist, instrumentalist, or bandleader, Hennessy’s music invites listeners into a space of deep listening, subtle interplay, and emotional honesty.
A recipient of the Toronto Arts Foundation Emerging Jazz Artist Award (2018), Hennessy has emerged as one of Canada’s distinctive trumpet voices—equally compelling as a soloist, collaborator, and ensemble leader. She has been a Yamaha Artist since 2021, performing on the YTR-8310Z trumpet. Known for her lyrical phrasing, melodic sensibility, and deeply musical approach to improvisation, Hennessy moves fluidly between genres, drawing on the language of jazz while embracing the storytelling traditions of folk and roots music.
Her vocal recordings—including All the Little Things You Do (2020), Joy Will Find Us (2023), and Makeshift Island: Live at the Jazz Room (2025)—showcase her original compositions and highlight a longstanding creative partnership with guitarist Kevin Breit. Across these projects she collaborates with a circle of deeply respected musicians, including pianist Tania Gill, bassist Michael Herring, and drummer Dave Clark. Together they create a spacious and responsive musical environment in which Hennessy’s songs can unfold organically. Throughout these recordings, her trumpet remains central: lyrical, melodic, and song-driven, expanding the expressive role of the instrument within contemporary Canadian jazz while remaining rooted in the intimacy of song.
Her current studio project marks a significant artistic evolution, placing Hennessy fully at the centre as a multi-instrumentalist and narrative songwriter. Built around a collection of original songs that explore connection, memory, mortality, and our shared relationship to the natural world, the album reflects her ongoing interest in the emotional and spiritual dimensions of human experience. While one song reflects on her paternal family’s journey from Constantinople (now Istanbul) to Canada, the broader arc of the project celebrates something universal: our collective need to practice presence, care, and meaningful connection—to one another and to the living world around us. Her single Crickets offers an early glimpse into this reflective and immersive body of work, hinting at the spacious sonic landscapes and poetic storytelling that shape the album as a whole.
In addition to her work as a songwriter and bandleader, Hennessy is co-leader of the jazz quartet Way North alongside Michael Herring, Richie Barshay, and Petr Cancura. The ensemble has released three albums and has become known for its collaborative spirit and exploratory approach to modern jazz. Way North was invited to perform in Panama at the international jazz festival founded by pianist Danilo Pérez, further establishing the group’s international presence.
A longtime presence at Massey Hall in Toronto, Hennessy led the band for the Women’s Blues Revue from 2013 to 2022 and returned as a featured vocalist in 2024. Over the course of her career she has toured extensively across North America, Europe, Mexico, Panama, and Sri Lanka, bringing her distinctive voice and trumpet sound to audiences around the world. As both a performer and collaborator, she has worked with a wide range of artists including Adele, Ron Sexsmith, Feist, Broken Social Scene, and Yellowjackets.
Through her work as a composer, improviser, and bandleader, Rebecca Hennessy continues to carve out a distinctive space within Canadian music—one where jazz improvisation, poetic songwriting, and emotional storytelling meet with clarity, curiosity, and care.

Brilliant Corners - Jen Lo Trio
2026-05-24 14:00 - 18:00
May 24th, 2026
Doors: 1:30 PM
Show: 2:00 PM
Brilliant Corners: Jen Lo Trio
Brilliant Corners: A Silence Jazz Series
Seven intimate live performances featuring Canada’s finest jazz instrumentalists and a distinguished international guest Tim Hagans.
Where exceptional music meets meaningful community in Guelph’s Silence listening room—a space designed for retreat, connection, and deep listening.
Jen Lo Trio
Jen Lo is a pianist and keyboardist based in Toronto. Originally grew up in Macau, China, she studied classical music and started playing jazz when she was 16. During her undergrad at the University of Toronto, she studied with many prominent Canadian pianists such as David Restivo, Noam Lemish, Mark Eisenman and David Braid.
She has been active in the Toronto jazz scene since 2021 as both a session keyboardist and a bandleader, participating in many Canadian music festivals and events such as the Toronto Jazz Festival. Some of the most recent musical projects and bands she is in include Minh Hoang’s Duck Society, Robert Lee, Patrick Smith, Dan Pitt, Lavender Town, etc.

Brilliant Corners - Ted Warren Sextet
2026-05-31 14:00 - 18:00
May 31st, 2026

Doors: 1:30 PM
Show: 2:00 PM
Brilliant Corners – Ted Warren’s Sextet
Brilliant Corners: A Silence Jazz Series
Seven intimate live performances featuring Canada’s finest jazz instrumentalists and a distinguished international guest Tim Hagans.
Where exceptional music meets meaningful community in Guelph’s Silence listening room—a space designed for retreat, connection, and deep listening.
Ted Warren
Ted has a solid reputation as a musical, versatile drummer. He is an active member of Canada’s jazz scene and has been recognized with Jazz Report’s Drummer of the Year award. He is also a well-regarded clinician and adjudicator.
Ted fronts his own quartet, Ted’s Warren Commission, which has released three CDs, First Time Caller, Songs For Doug, and the recently released The Great Regina Pizza Debate He is also member of Broadview, which he co-leads with Rich Brown and Mike Murley. They released their debut recording, Two of Clubs, on Addo records.
His latest band is Camera Pigeons, which is a quartet he formed in 2019. He was the drummer for the Boss Brass and can be heard on six of their recordings, including Velvet and Brass (with Mel Tormé), From Lush to Lively (with Oliver Jones), Even Canadians get the Blues, and The Boss Brass Plays the Jazz Classics.
Ted was also the artistic director for Kitchener Waterloo’s Jazz Room for the first five years of its existence Ted studied music at McGill and received a certificate in Jazz Studies from St. Francis Xavier University and completed his B. Mus. from Thompson Rivers University. He recently received his Master’s in Community Music from Sir Wilfrid Laurier University.
He has worked with many acclaimed performers, including Slide Hampton, Bob Newhart, Maynard Ferguson, Lew Soloff, Chuck Mangione, Jeff Healey, Norma Winstone, Sheila Jordan, Adam Nussbaum, Howard Johnson, Nick Brignola, Kenny Wheeler, Ron McClure, Doc Severinsen and Jerry Bergonzi. Ted’s extensive touring has taken him to Poland, South Korea, Spain, Brazil, Iceland, and Japan. He has also performed at Carnegie Hall with harpist Joanna Jordon.
In addition to his other recorded work, you can hear Ted on Mike Murley’s CDs Extra Time, and the Jazz Report’s Album of the Year recipient, Conversation Piece. You can also hear Ted on the Juno Award winning Tales from the Blue Lounge by Richard Underhill. Ted’s recorded work also includes the video game Cuphead and CTV’s Bomb Girls.
