events

engine went into the studio to make a record, January 18 and 19.
we will likely have a CD release event in the spring.




the group

engine is a new quintet, formed by plutek and greg de denus.
engine parts are:

plutek | reeds


Peter Lutek, a.k.a. plutek, is a reed instrumentalist, specializing in improvised music. He was a founding member of the 40 fingers saxophone quartet, and has performed with New Music Concerts (Toronto), Freddie Stone, and David Mott. He was a member of the Toronto-based collective, Composers Workshop, and now performs with The Flying Bulgars, Barry Romberg's RALE, and the Avi Granite:6. Besides performing, plutek is active as a sound engineer, having produced recordings for 40 fingers, David Mott, Joseph Petric, and Rob Mosher.

greg de denus | piano


Canadian Jazz Pianist Greg de Denus is currently based in Toronto, Ontario. Greg's wide creative range, impressive technical ability, and uncompromisingly original improvisations have firmly established him as a rising star in the Jazz and Improvised music communities.Greg has performed at the CBC's Glenn Gould Studio, The Downtown Toronto Jazz Festival, The Jazz Winnipeg festival and is a regular at Toronto's staple jazz club The Rex.He has played on numerous award winning recordings as a sideman including: David Buchbinder's Shurum Burum Jazz Circus, which was nominated for Contemporary Jazz Album of the Year at both the 2006 Juno and National Jazz Awards, Barry Romberg's Random Access 3, which was nominated for Best Electric Jazz album at the 2005 National Jazz awards, and Shelly Berger's 2005 Release, Look Up.Greg's solo piano playing garnered him nominations for the Emerging Artist of the Year award at both the 2005 Distillery Jazz Festival and 2004 National Jazz Awards.Greg's debut CD "Transmissions" was released in 2003.He was awarded the Bobby Herriot Award for Compositon in 2002.His current focus is on solo piano performance and composition.


Greg has completed his formal training, graduating with honours from the Humber College Jazz Department. Greg's primary teachers were Don Thompson and Brian Dickinson.He continues to be affiliated with the College, teaching in the Community Music Program. Upon graduation Greg continued his professional development, travelling to New York City to study with Fred Hersch and Jim McNeely.From 2003-2005 Greg immersed himself in the study of classical piano, studying privately in the studio of I-Ping-Wang.


Greg received a scholarship to attend the prestigious Banff Centre for the Arts Jazz Workshop in May of 2007. Upcoming releases for 2009 include a solo piano CD entirely of improvised music, a duo CD with New York Saxophonist Peter Van Huffel, and a trio recording of new compositions.

tom richards | trombone


Tom Richards is a composer and performer living in Toronto. He plays trombone and piano in various projects ranging in style from indie-rock to modern jazz. He was a member of Composers Workshop and is currently working on a project which explores the relationship between text and sound.

dan fortin | bass


Daniel Fortin was born and raised in Peterborough, Ontario. He recently graduated from the University of Toronto's Jazz Performance Program, where he studied with Jim Vivian and Dave Young.He plays regularly with the Harley Card Quartet, The Jonah Cristall-Clarke Nonet, Casual Gang, Felicity Williams' Al Purdy Project, The Jessica Stuart Few, The Trevor Giancola Trio, The Troubled Few, and several other groups. He is a member of the Mike Ruby quartet, and can be heard on Mike's debut album, 'Playtime' on Alma/Universal Records Since moving to Toronto, Daniel has been an active member of the music community, playing with the likes of David Occhipinti, Dave Restivo, Serena Ryder, Roy Patterson, Barry Romberg, Andrew Downing, Quinsin Nachoff, Nick Fraser, Matt Brubeck and Alex Dean. As a student at U of T, he had the chance to perform with Kurt Elling, Renee Rosnes, Gene Bertoncini, Lorne Lofsky, and Tim Ries, among others. Daniel was the 2006 recipient of the Take Five Plus Rogers Harvey Glatt award from the Ottawa International Jazz Festival, where he performed as a part of the CBC Galaxie Rising Stars jazz group. He teaches bass privately and is on faculty at the Humber College Community Music Program. Regretfully, he is far better at Tony Hawk's Pro-Skater 2 for the Sony Playstation than he will ever be at playing music or doing anything else, ever.

ethan ardelli | drums


Ethan Ardelli is currently a freelancing musician on the Toronto music scene. Ethan graduated from the University of Toronto, Faculty of Music Jazz Program in 2006. Since graduating, he has had the opportunity to perform with David Virelles, Kieran Overs, Nancy Walker, Kevin Turcotte, Mike Murley, Adrean Farrugia, Quinsin Nachoff and Phil Dwyer. In October 2005, Ethan played on Jane Bunnett's cd "Radio Guantanemo". This album won the Juno for Contemporary Jazz Album of the Year in 2006. Ethan is also a member of the David Virelles Quintet. This group received the Grand Prix de Jazz at the Montreal International Jazz Festival in July 2006. The David Virelles Quintet's first album "Motion" features Mark Turner on tenor saxophone.



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engine

Date: 2010-02-03 11:26:34 EST

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