one pg Bio
BIO Tena Palmer
Nova Scotia native, composer/vocalist Tena Palmer; graduated from St Francis Xavier U. with performance diplomas in baritone sax and flute and a B.Mus. in voice. Well-known in Canada, as a ground-breaking vocal improviser, Palmer studied with masters in the fields of voice and improvisation in New York and internationally with the help of arts grants from all levels of government. She spent six years immersed in Reykjavik’s hot bed of new music, made extended tours/residencies in Scandinavia, Holland, Prague and Central Europe and is now based in Toronto. In 1993, while a resident of Montreal, Tena won the Prix SOCAN, (Best Jazz Composition), for The Hills of Loch Katrine. With the Celtic/Jazz band, Chelsea Bridge, she made several national and international tours, performing at the Molde Jazz festival, Norway, New York’s famed Blue Note Club, the Canadian Embassy, Washington, D.C. amongst many other prestigious venues, TV and Radio broadcasts. Chelsea Bridge won the Grand Prix du Jazz at the Montreal Jazz Festival. The group was named Best Vocal Group by Jazz Report Magazine. An article on Tena appears in Downbeat Magazine critic, Scott Yanow’s new book, The Jazz Singers, (Backbeat Press, 2008).
Her solo CD, Crucible, (Bad Taste Records) was a Scandinavian new music chart-topper for 6 months and the highest seller in a 5 cd series of new music from Reykjavik, including recordings by Leo Smith, Hilmar Jensson, Skuli Sverrisson and others. Tena has recorded five CDs in Canada, (see discography) all listed in the top ten for their respective years of release by leading critics in the Canadian and international press. Her latest CD, North Atlantic Drift with pedal steel/ guitarist, Dan Artuso and double bassist, ,John Geggie, combines roots and jazz has received several 4 star reviews, sold-out in its first run, and is currently receiving airplay in dozens of countries worldwide.
As a composer,commissions include, works for theatre including, along with co-composers/performers, Hilmar Jensson and Petur Gretarsson, Halldor Laxness' "UnglingurinnI Skoginum" premiered @ historic Idno Theatre, with Danish Royalty and Icelandic President in attendance.( first performance in Icelandic language; a complex melody on a poem by the Nobel laureate--whew! The reviews were favourable, noting the accent as 'charming'.)
"Nine Mile March", was commissioned for Halifax’s, 19 pc Upstream Orchestra (reviews on press page) Palmer conducted in lieu of taking a vocal part in this piece. At the 2007 Halifax jazz festival’s live-to -air CBC broadcast, Tena led a one hour concert which premiered original roots material, including, "Dan Mason"( written on the plane from St.Johns the night before, the setting of a 1923 poem by a brother's witnessing of her great grandfather's death.) This piece premiered by a quartet with NY slide guitar master, David Tronzo, T.O. trumpeter, Kevin Turcotte, and NS/NB bassist, Tom Easley.
"North Atlantic Ocean", was another piece for the Halifax Festival, this time, for an 8 pc ensemble of composer / performers from Canada and Europe; a 2006 live CBC concert broadcast.
In Toronto since 2006, Tena actively pursues many projects:
Tena Palmer and Bevy - her original works interpreted by the pantheon of Canadian jazz : Mike Murley – saxophones, Reg Schwager – guitar, Jim Vivian – double bass, and Ted Warren – drums. She is an active member of the creative music community, performing duos regularly with double bassist Rob Clutton, and with pianist Marilyn Lerner, in Palmer/Lerner/Clutton.
With the 7 piece electro-acoustic group, EAR-CAM, Tena’s improvisations and spoken words, garnered critical acclaim from the New York press covering the latest Festival International de Musique Actuelle de Victoriaville.
A spring tour featured Tena as guest artist /composer with the ECM recording artists, Sanctuary Trio – (bass clarinet, pipe organ and cello) at St Mary’s Basilica. In the two week NS tour, were many workshops, clinics, & gigs with The Kindred – Tena's NS quartet: Joel LeBlanc- guitar, Tom Easley – bass, Mark Adam – drums & Christoph Both – cello.
Nestled, sexily between the NS legs, was Easter, a full week of full-house festival concertizing in Reykjavik with Bluegrass band GRAS, Good Friday gospel- testifying with the local musical firmament, and Chicago blues greats, and finally, a reunion eXpOp gig, with Hilmar Jensson, Matthias Hemstock and Joi Asmundsson; experimental pop.
Projects:
- Cantar Felice: a Brazilian bossa/samba duo with Reg Schwager
- BEVY: TP's jazziest group with the jazziest dudes in Canada:
- Mike Murley - saxes
- Reg Schwager - guitar
- Jim Vivian - doublebass
- Ted Warren - drums
- On-going studio work with guitarist/pedal steel player, Dan Artuso
- Palmer/Lerner/Clutton w/pianist, Marilyn Lerner and double bassist, Rob Clutton
– Chamber Jazz: the Music of Roddy Ellias (CD to be recorded in the fall)
–Tena's next solo cd of original material will be recorded with Hilmar Jensson, Matthias Hemstock and guests, & release is scheduled for: winter of 2009
(Research and pre-production of these works is generously funded by the Canada Council for the Arts)
Discography (selected)
• “North Atlantic Drift” – Frökken Lesley, original folk trio/jazz duo with John Geggie and Dan Artuso - 2005
• Hymn of the 7th Illusion – Kitchen Motors,( chorister) with composers Barry Adamson and Pan Sonic, for choir and electronics, 2001 (listed by WIRE magazine in, “Best of 2001”)
• Nart Nibbles – Kitchen Motors, compilation of Icelandic experimental music, 1999 (listed by WIRE magazine in, “Best of new music”, for its month of release)
• Crucible"- Smekkleysa, (Bad Taste Records) solo CD 1998
• The Blue Wall - Woolly Records, featured vocalist with the David Parker Trio, 1997
• Not Drowning...Waving - Unity/Page, with Justin Haynes, 1996
• Double Feature - Unity, with Chelsea Bridge Tentet, 1995
• Tatamagouche...Next Left - Unity, with Chelsea Bridge, 1994
• Blues in a Sharp Sea - Unity, with Chelsea Bridge, 1992
The Long Version
Tena Palmer began in music as a horn player in Truro Nova Scotia, achieving her dream of opening for Count Basie in 1980, at The National Arts Centre with her highschool band ; winners of the Canadian Stage Band festival. She went on to earn a jazz performance diploma on baritone sax and flute, at St. Francis Xavier University, before completing a B. Music - voice there, in 1984.
After NS, Tena spent four years in Toronto, singing in big bands and small groups, before moving to Montreal in 1988. There, her groups performed at several jazz festivals while Tena maintained a busy schedule of club appearances in Quebec and Ontario jazz venues.
In 1992 Tena was invited by Rob Frayne, Jean Martin and John Geggie, to create Chelsea Bridge, a jazz / Celtic quartet which, during her 5 year tenure with the group, yielded Palmer a SOCAN award for best composition and Chelsea Bridge, the Grand Prix de Jazz at the 1993 Festival International de Jazz de Montreal. Each of the group’s three cds topped the Canadian jazz critics’ top ten list for its year of release.
The group toured Canada several times, was the subject of a documentary film, performed for several national radio and TV broadcasts, at New York’s Blue Note, The Molde Jazz Festival in Norway, and was voted Best Jazz Vocal Group by Jazz Report Magazine in 1995.
In 1996, Tena left the group to focus on a voice/guitar duo which demanded a more refined singing style; savouring harmonic settings of guitar and piano on compositions which highlighted poetry above all. This pursuit culminated in several tours, concerts and the release of a critically acclaimed duo CD, …not drowning, waving… with the exceptionally gifted composer/guitarist, Justin Haynes.
In September of that year, Tena accepted a teaching position in Reykjavik, Iceland, embarking on a very fruitful period of creation and collaboration with the exceptionally vibrant music community in Iceland.
In her sixth year as jazz voice instructor there, Tena wrote the syllabus for rhythmic music vocal instruction: Icelandic Ministry of Education.
In 1998 Palmer released her first solo cd, Crucible, on Smekkleysa (Bad Taste Records ), part of a five -cd series of experimental music, (Frjalst er i Fjallasal: Freedom is in the Hall of Mountains) by contributors, Skuli Sverrisson, Hilmar Jensson, Andrew D’ Angelo, Petur Gretarsson, Matthias Hemstock, Johann Johannsson, Leo Smith and others. Crucible (with Petur Hallgrimsson, Johann Johannsson, Kjartan Valdemarsson, Matthias M.D. Hemstock, & Petur Gretarsson) received much airplay on the continent and was listed in the top 3 new music cd for 6 months in ‘99, on Sweden’s P2 national radio, which featured a retrospective of her work in a one hour documentary.
During her stay in Iceland, Tena collaborated on several compilation cds and live performances with the arts collective/ think tank, Kitchen Motors, including tracks on Nart Nibbles, and Hymn for the Thirteenth Illusion, with the Hljomeyki Choir - music by Pan Sonic and Barry Adamson.
In 2000, she was a guest of the Upstream Orchestra, performing Barry Adams compositions with the composer in small and large ensemles, at Open Waters Festival of New Music, Pier 21, Halifax. Also in 2000 she contributed as a composer and singer to Dave Parker’s cd, The Blue Wall, with Reynald Drouin and Pierre Cote.
The Reykjavik experience was productive and Tena had irons in many fires: singing Portuguese and dancing the samba with Bossa Nova band, Felicidade, playing tin whistle and singing traditional Celtic repertoire with Alba, exploring forms, sound textures in an experimental electro-acoustc duo with percussionist., Matthias M.D. Hemstock, while presenting original music and poetry with her group, Crucible.
Tena co-wrote and performed for theatre, collaborated on sound tracks for dance and visual art presentations, with Iceland’s leading artists in many fields.
Her bluegrass band GRAS, quickly garnered an enthusiastic following, with much TV and radio coverage, opening stadium concerts for Sigur Ros, Alex Gifford of The Propellorheads, Bonnie Prince Billy (Will Oldham) and playing at the opening/closing events of the Reykjavik International Arts Festival, including a personal favourite of Tena's : A concert at the festival-opening exhibit of photographer, Mary Ellen Mark; an important artistic influence.
Late in 2001 Tena boarded a freighter with 11 Icelandic sailors and at midnight, from the bridge she watched the Northern Lights; fanned and waving across the harbour as she moved house and home to Holland. While based there she also toured in Canada and Iceland before moving to Ottawa in 2002.
Ottawa provided a resting place where Tena re-connected with old friends and family aftrer her father's passing, performed briefly with bluegrass band, Little Thicket, and in 2005, with funding from the Ottawa arts fund, recorded her most accessible cd to date: North Atlantic Drift, a collection of bass/voice jazz duest and folk-influenced trios with pedal steel/guitarist, Dan Artuso and double bassist, John Geggie.
This cd recieved several 4 star ( i.e. wonderful, excellent) reviews and the first run sold out instantly, on a national tour of jazz festivals and an October East Coast tour in 2005. Then, Tena was off touring Europe again, singing bluegrass with flat-picker, Slavek Hanzlik.
Based in Prague and Southern Bohemia, Tena and Slavek toured Germany, Switzerland, Denmark and the Czech Republic for four months with award-winning Czech mandolinist Zdenek Jahoda and German guitarist, Guntmar Feurstein.
In March 2006, Tena re-located to Toronto where she is happily ensconced in a sunny perch on West Queen West.
Current ensemble: Reg Schwager, Jim Vivian and Ted Warren; old friends and kindred spirits and masterful musicians.
She teaches in Ottawa at Carleton University and privately in Toronto; listing JUNO and ECMA winners among her student allumni.
Tena also can be found singing and playing tin whistle at Celtic concerts, collaborating with Rob Clutton and others in Toronto's new music scene, writing like a demon for the next gig...
Tena has opened for:
Count Basie
Oscar Peterson
Oliver Jones,
Ginette Reno,
Bonnie Prince Billy (Will Oldham)
the Propellorheads
Sigur Ros
Norma Winstone.
Guest Instructor at:
Norwegian Academy of Music in Oslo
Salkrasti Jazz Festival - Riga, Latvia
Universities across Canada
Ingesund Hogskolli - Arvika, Sweden
F.I.H. - Icelandic Music Conservatory - Reykjavik, Iceland
Community clinics in Germany
Performed/Recorded with:
NEW MUSIC:
Hilmar Jensson
David Tronzo
Barry Guy
Maya Homburger
members of:
múm
Apparat Organ Quartet
Johann Johannsson
Pierre Tanguay
David Mott
John Gzowski
BLUEGRASS / FOLK:
Slavek Hanzlik
Emory Lester
Dave Clarke
Abdullah Chaddeh
John Showman & Andrew Collins, of Creaking Tree String Quartet
Jamie Snider of Wonderful Grand Band/Figgy Duff
tin-whistle with Papar, on 2 gold CDs -
Reykjavik
JAZZ:
Tena has had the pleasure of performing with a great many of the country's finest jazz musiciansas well as several outstandign European and American artists.
UPCOMING PROJECTS:
On-going research of new works with Dan Artuso in Ottawa,
Jan.2009
– Bevy @the Rex, Toronto
–“bent folk” electronica masters & 2 voices with Christine Duncan @ Somewhere There
March – Chamber Jazz: the Music of Roddy Ellias with guitar, tuba, clarinet, violin & voice - N.A.C., Ottawa
March / April
– Duo concerts with David Braid
- Trio concerts with imp+une
Tena is now creating her next solo cd and plans to research sound textures and arrangements with Hilmar Jensson, Matthias Hemstock and Johann Johannsson in Aug, 2009.
Tena has been the grateful beneficiary of arts funding for projects, study and travel from:
The Canada Council for the Arts,
Ontario Arts Council,
Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec,
Ottawa Arts Council,
Félag íslenskra hljómlistarmanna (Society of Icelandic Performing Artists),
The Nordic Council
Tena Palmer’s recordings and an article on her work are documented in, Jazz Singers: The Top 500 by Downbeat writer, Scott Yanow, Backbeat Press, pub.