Emmy award winning composer, arranger, and guitarist STEVE D’ANGELO has been a staple of the Toronto studio music scene for 30 years. He has composed and arranged music for New Orleans legend Dr. John, World Music icon Taj Mahal, and African choral sensation Lady Smith Black Mambas, and collaborated with Canadian jazz legends Guido Basso and Doug Riley.
To describe D’Angelo accurately, the phrase “musical chameleon” springs to mind. He cites the guitar as his favorite instrument, but he is equally at home at the piano and keyboards as well as bass, ukulele, baritone guitar, mandolin, and percussion. His talent as a multi-instrumentalist has served him well in his work as an award-winning composer for film and television.
Graduating from York University, D’Angelo immersed himself in Toronto’s thriving R&B scene. His versatile musicianship also scored him roles as a touring guitarist with Juno-winning roots-based singer/songwriter Susan Aglukark and with Bowzer’s Rock ‘n Roll Party, backing up such artists as Little Anthony and Sam Moore (Sam and Dave). In 2001, he co-founded The EggPlant, a full-service production house supplying creative to the television and advertising community. This company has gone on to earn a stellar international reputation and multiple industry awards for its work. He has contributed over 100 themes and written the music for countless successful advertising campaigns for some major multi-national clients.
D’Angelo made his solo debut as a recording artist in 2008 with his album Monkey Swing, a diverse and charming instrumental jazz record featuring a roster of leading Toronto jazz musicians, and showcases Steve’s talents as a player, writer, bandleader, and producer. His recently-released second album, Dancing Sideways, explores different moods and textures while maintaining the jazz tradition of improvisation.
This evening’s explosive STEVE D’ANGELO QUARTET features TODD PENTNEY (piano), STEVE LUCAS (bass), and LORENZ CASTELLI on drums, playing material from D’Angelo’s last CD as well as reworked jazz standards, in the up-close-and-personal ambience of The Home Smith Bar.