BIOGRAPHY
Yvette is a JUNO Award Nominated jazz vocalist (Best Vocal Jazz Album Of The Year 2009) who has recorded and performed on three continents with Jazz and World Music acts such as:
~ Her own self-titled modern jazz project
~ JUNO Winning contemporary jazz band, The Merlin Factor
~ JUNO Nominated, Maryem Tollar and Ernie Tollar’s Arabic-Jazz Ensembles
~ JUNO Nominees, The Flying Bulgar Klezmer Band
~ 3 time National Jazz Award Nominees, Rich Brown’s Rinsethealgorithm
~ Canadian guitar hero, Kevin Breit
~ The Robi Botos Trio
~ Serbian saxophone sensation, Jasna Jovicevic’s Modern Jazz Project
~ The Toronto Tabla Ensemble
~ Vespera Women’s Choir
~ Blues Royalty, Syreeta Neal
~ Canadian pop culture icon, Lorraine Segato
Yvette was born and raised in Toronto, Canada and began singing professionally at 16. Her expressive vocals are rich and soulful, her delivery of lyrics mature and her technique flawless. She says music is her connection to the source and this reverent approach shines through in her sincere and unaffected performances.
Jazz has always been Yvette’s main focus but growing up in Toronto’s multi-cultural and inclusive society, she was exposed to a myriad of roots and folk music from around the world. By remaining open to the world of influences that surround her, Yvette sports immense versatility by lending her talents to Hungarian, Arabic, Yiddish, Brazillian, Jamaican, African and Indian projects. She has sung in at least 9 different languages and more than a dozen genres including Traditional and Modern Jazz, R&B, Classical and Klezmer music.
Ima and Cactus Flowers are Yvette’s two Modern Jazz offerings. Many of the songs are self-penned but in Ima other songwriters such as Joni Mitchell, brother, Ernie Tollar, Dave Restivo and Kevin Breit also take the spotlight. The arrangements are mainly piano trio and voice but also draw on instruments as diverse as bansuri (bamboo) flute, mbira (African thumb piano), mandolin and tabla.
Ms Tollar, has performed at dozens of Jazz and World Music Festivals while touring across Canada, Europe and South America. She has written music for film, sung for television and live radio broadcasts and has released two Modern Jazz albums under her own name.
The recipient of numerous scholarships and grants, Yvette has studied with Jazz legends, Sheila Jordan, Joe Lovano, Kenny Werner and Dave Holland. She studied voice at The Royal Conservatory of Music and with Canada’s first Speech Level Singing expert, Bill Vincent. As well, she has studied theory, jazz improvisation, composition, Arabic and Hungarian singing, organ and piano.
Yvette has performed throughout Canada and around the world including at:
The Toronto Downtown Jazz Festival
The Atlantic Jazz Festival
The Medellin Jazz Festival (Columbia, South America)
The Guelph Jazz Festival
The Markham Jazz Festival
JUNOFEST (Vancouver 2009)
The Danforth Mosaic Jazz Festival
Art Of Jazz Festival
The Stratford Music Festival
FemCab
The Dartmouth World Music Festival
LulaWorld Music Festival
Africaday Festival In Calgary
The Edmonton Folk Festival
The Vancouver Folk Festival
The Salmon Arm Folk Festival
Harrison Hot Springs Music Festival
Frostbite Music Festival
The Mission Folk Festival
Grand Casino (Belgrade, Serbia)
The Goddor Club (Budapest, Hungary)
The Columbus Jazz Club (Budapest, Hungary)
The Budapest Jazz Club (Budapest, Hungary)
Margaret Greenham Theatre (Banff, Alberta)
Club Soda, Upstairs Jazz Club (Montreal)
The Rex, The Top O’ The Senator, The Trane Studio, Hart House (Toronto)
Yonge Dundas Square, Harbourfront Centre (Toronto)
Glenn Gould Studio, Enwave Theatre, The Music Hall (Toronto)
The West End Cultural Centre (Winnipeg)
The Basement (Saskatoon)
Sidetrack Café, Firewater (Edmonton)
Capilano College (Vancouver)
Mercury Theatre (Duncan, BC)
Yvette is a part of one of Toronto’s most musical families.
~ Her husband is Rich Brown who has toured the globe and recorded with international and Canadian acts such as Steve Coleman, Hermeto Pascoal, Rudresh Mahanthappa, James Blood Ulmer, Andy Milne’s Cosmic Dapp Theory, Kim Mitchell, Bruce Cockburn, 480 East, Daniella Nardi, and Jane Siberry. His own successful project Rinsethealgorithm has thrice been nominated for Electric Band of The Year by the National Jazz Awards. In 2010 Rich was nominated best bass player/guitarist by The Smooth Jazz Awards. The only bassist to ever to receive that honour.
~ Big brother, and JUNO Nominee, Ernie Tollar (Trichy Sankaran, Maza Meze, Tasa, Holly Cole, NOJO, Dave Restivo, Chris McKhool and the Sicilian Jazz Project) has played on over 100 recordings and has written music for film, theatre and dance. Ernie introduced Yvette to Jazz and World Music and they continue to take part in each other’s musical projects and are best friends.
~ Her singing sister-in-law, Maryem Tollar, is well known in the World Music community for her JUNO Nominated Arabic/Jazz Ensemble and her frequent appearances in Christos Hatzis’, productions such as Constantinople as well as her recorded and live work with guitarist, Jesse Cooke. She is featured vocalist on the lead song of the Bollywood Blockbuster, GURU and was a founding member of Maza Meze and Doula. Yvette has appeared as back-up singer and as featured vocalist on two of Maryem’s CD’s and subsequent Canadian tours.
~ The youngest member of the family is Yvette’s sister, Allison Long who grew up on rock, pop and folk music but has also ventured into the world of jazz via her studies at Humber College’s degree program. Allison performs her original folk based material regularly around Toronto and beyond. Allison sings back ups on Yvette’s latest, CD, Ima. Equally talented in the world of visual arts, she is currently finishing her degree at Ontario College of Art and Design.
~ Brother-in-law, Rob Brown plays drum kit. He performs with rinsethealgorithm and is a first call drummer in Toronto’s church communities. Rob has organized wildly popular drumming festivals in and around Toronto featuring many of Canada’s hottest drummers.
~ Cousins, Reg Brown, Jeff Brown, who grew up next door to Yvette, are both rock musicians (bass and drums respectively) who have toured extensively throughout Canada for the last 20+ years and can take credit for exposing Yvette’s young ears to rock legends like Jimi Hendrix, Rush, Supertramp, The Beatles and many more.
