Browse "Musicians"

Alternative rock band 54-40 rose from the Vancouver punk scene of the late 1970s to achieve mainstream success in Canada in the late 1980s and the 1990s. They have had four platinum albums and one gold album and have been nominated for eight Juno Awards. They are perhaps best known for the hit singles “I Go Blind,” “Baby Ran,” “One Day in Your Life,” “Nice to Luv You,” “She La,” “Ocean Pearl” and “Since When,” among others. The band has been inducted into the BC Entertainment Hall of Fame and the Canadian Music Industry Hall of Fame. “I Go Blind” was inducted into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2021.

Al Baculis (Joseph George Alphonse Allan). Alto and tenor saxophonist, clarinetist, composer, arranger, teacher, b Montreal 21 Nov 1930, d Seminole, Florida 22 Jan 2007; L MUS clarinet (McGill) 1951.

Al (Alexander Peter) Cherny (b Chernywech). Fiddler, b Medicine Hat, Alta, of Ukrainian parents, 1 Nov 1932, d Missisauga, Ont, 23 Aug 1989. As a youth he studied violin with Frank Nowak and in his teens he played country music on CHAT radio, Medicine Hat.

Al-Hajj Sayyd Abdul Al-Khabyyr (né Russell Linwood Thomas), soprano, alto and tenor saxophonist, clarinetist, flutist, composer (born 22 March 1935 in New York, New York; died 15 February 2017 in Montréal, QC).

Al (Alan Douglas) Neil. Pianist, composer, visual artist, author, b Vancouver 26 Mar 1924. He studied with Glenn Nelson and Jean Coulthard but, save for some lessons with Wilf Wylie, was self-taught as a jazz pianist.

Alain Caron, composer, bassist and arranger (b at Saint-Éloi, Québec 5 May 1955). Known as a virtuoso on his instrument, he was part of the jazz-fusion group Uzeb from 1976 to 1990.

Alain Lamontagne. Harmonica player, composer, singer, storyteller, actor, b Verdun (Montreal) 14 Jul 1952. He began playing harmonica in his teens.

Alain Trudel. Trombonist, conductor, composer, b Montreal 13 Jun 1966; premiers prix chamber music, trombone (CMM) 1985. Alain Trudel studied (1981-5) at the Conservatoire de musique du Québec with Joseph Zuskin.

Albert (Cornelius "Con") Furey. Conductor, composer, arranger, trumpeter, b Dublin 7 Feb 1930, d Victoria 14 Nov 2007. Albert Furey studied in Dublin and, after service with the Irish army, joined the Radio Eireann Light Orchestra as trumpet player and staff arranger.

Alex (Charles) Kramer. Songwriter, pianist, b Montreal 30 May 1903, d Fairfield, Connecticut, 10 Feb 1998. He studied at the McGill Conservatory, played piano in Montreal movie houses, and conducted orchestras on CFCF and CKAC radio before moving in 1938 to New York.

(J.-) Alexandre (Zénon) Laurendeau. Oboist, clarinetist, b Lachenaie, near Montreal, 13 Dec 1870, d Montreal 13 Jul 1933. He was clarinetist in the Montreal Concert Band under the direction of Edmond Hardy and, after 1890, in the Sohmer Park orchestra. He later studied oboe with a Father Geay.

Alfie (Alfred) Noakes. Trumpeter, b Toronto 26 Jun 1903, d Christchurch, England, 27 Feb 1982.

Alfred De Sève (DeSève, Desève). Violinist, teacher, composer, (b St-Henri [Montreal] May or June 1858, d Montreal 25 Nov 1927). He began violin study at seven with Oscar Martel and made a promising debut six months later. He also was taught by Frantz Jehin-Prume.

Alfred E. (Edward) Zealley. Bandmaster, french hornist, writer, b Bristol 10 Jun 1878, d Agincourt, near Toronto, 15 May 1961. At 16 he became a bandboy in a military band and in 1898 he attended the RMS Kneller Hall.

Alfred (Joel) Fisher. Composer, pianist, teacher, b Boston 30 Jun 1942, naturalized Canadian 1974; B MUS (Boston) 1968, M MUS (Michigan State) 1967, PH D (Michigan State) 1976.