Jeff Reilly

Official Bio

The past couple of years have seen ECM recording artist Jeff Reilly emerge as a distinct and powerful voice in the field of improvised contemporary music. His diverse background in a wide variety of musical styles serves him well in concert as he brings knowledge, awareness, technique and depth of emotional expression to every moment of music making on his Bass Clarinet. He appears as a soloist on the Warner Classics CD “The heart has its reasons” and on the ECM new series as a soloist with the Elmer Iseler Singers in a performance of Peter-Anthony Togni's remarkable composition "Lamentatio Jeremiah Prophetae" a concerto for bass clarinet and choir. His trio Sanctuary (with organist Peter Togni, and cellist Christoph Both) has received international praise for its transcendental performances of an entirely unique form of contemporary music. Jeff Reilly also records, tours and performs with the jazz drummer Jerry Granelli, the British duo of bassistBarry Guy and violinist Maya Homburger, and the Halifax based Upstream Orchestra. He also performs regularly with the Toronto based saxophonist David Mott, and the Toronto based Evergreen Club Contemporary Gamelan Orchestra. As an improvising soloist, he has performed with I Musici de Montreal, Symphony Nova Scotia, the Elmer Iseler Singers and in various other groups across Canada, the United States and in the U.K. Jeff Reilly's career is multi faceted. He also is a composer and a music producer for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Jeff Reilly has produced an extensive number of concert and studio recordings, CD's and radio documentaries for which he has won an East Coast Music Award, a New York Radio Performance award, and a Juno award nomination. He also is a founder and past co-artistic director of the Halifax, Nova Scotia based Upstream Music Association and the Upstream Orchestra, and was the Artistic Director of the Open Waters Festival of New and Improvised Music which featured a ground breaking 48-piece professional improvising orchestra. He has had three world premiere compositions performed by Symphony Nova Scotia, and numerous other works performed by the Upstream Orchestra. Many of his larger works have been broadcast on CBC Radio 2. Recent performances include the world premiere of "Lamentatio Jeremiah Prophetae" by Peter-Anthony Togni with the Elmer Iseler Singers. Jeff Reilly's composition "Meditations on Innocence" with the Evergreen Club Contemporary Gamelan Orchestra, the world premiere of his "Chiaroscuro" for Symphony Nova Scotia featuring Bass Clarinet, a concert with the British bassist Barry Guy in a performance of "Nasca Lines" with the Upstream Orchestra at the Scotia Festival of Music, a critically acclaimed performance at the FIMAV festival in Victoriaville, Quebec with percussionist Jerry Granelli and recent CD release concerts in London, Paris and throughout Germany with Peter Togni and Christoph Both in the ensemble Sanctuary. Jeff Reilly's music is published by Metisse Music in Paris, France and he is managed by Latitude 45 Artist Management based in Montreal, Quebec.

CONNECTIONS:  Symphony Nova Scotia, Upstream Orchestra, Jerry Granelli, Penderecki String Quartet, pianist Jane Coop, and the Elmer Iseler Singers

LATEST RECORDING: "Lamenations of Jeremiah" Jeff Reilly and the Elmer Iseler Singers ECM New Series 2129.