Hampton Avenue, Jazz Acappella Vocal Ensemble, was established in 1995 under the leadership of Debbie Fleming.
They began as a 9 voice group of professional singers who loved singing arrangements of songs by The Hi Los, Singers Unlimited, Manhattan Transfer and Take 6. They recorded a Christmas CD, released in 1996, entitled “All I Want For Christmas” featuring original Christmas songs, and a few wel- known carols, arranged with tight jazzy harmonies, and upbeat rhythms.
Over the next 7 years, they continued performing, and recorded another CD, entitled “Everybody Sing” – this time with 8 voices. In 1999, they received a Jazz Report Award for “Vocal Group of the Year” based on their success with these two amazing albums, which may be purchased by visiting our Market page.
Hampton Avenue is now a quartet, consisting of all original members –
Debbie Fleming, Suba Sankaran, Dylan Bell and Tom Lillington.
Debbie has been a professional singer in the Toronto area for over 2 decades. She has been heard singing backup vocals on albums by many recording artists, including David Clayton Thomas, Anne Murray, Rita MacNeil, Susan Aglukark, Frank Mills, Rik Emmett, Alan Jackson, as well as with large choirs. She is an arranger and composer. Debbie is the recipient of the Slaight Music SING! Toronto Legacy Award.
Suba holds her Master’s Degree in Music from York University in Toronto. Suba composes, arranges and transcribes music for various genres. Suba also performs Karnatak (South Indian Classical) music and is a member of an ensemble led by her father, the renowned master drummer, Trichy Sankaran. In addition to Hampton Avenue, she sings in Retrocity — an ’80’s retro a cappella vocal septet, and with her husband, Dylan Bell, in FreePlay and Autorickshaw. Suba is also a session singer, adding her voice to jingles, soundtracks and recordings. She is a DORA award-winning, JUNO-nominated musician.
Juno-nominated Dylan Bell is a mainstay on the Canadian music scene, having sung with many of Canada’s premiere vocal ensembles such as Cadence; Hampton Avenue, the Nathaniel Dett Chorale, The Watch, the eclectic FreePlay Duo, and the 1980s-era vocal pop group Retrocity. He is an accomplished pianist, bassist, composer and arranger, teacher., music director and producer/engineer. Dylan has worked with groups ranging from vocal jazz, (Cadence, Hampton Avenue, the Swingle Singers, FreePlay Duo, The Watch), to vocal pop (Retrocity, the Nylons) to eclectic jazz and world music (Autorickshaw, Ray Montford Group), to classical (Nathaniel Dett Chorale; Lara St John) to flat-out rock ‘n’ roll (Honeymoon Suite). He’s played stages across the world from his native Toronto, to Stockholm, Sweden, to Calcutta, India,
Tom is a composer, accompanist, arranger, and vocalist performing for various different groups. He was a founding member of The Nathaniel Dett Chorale and a cappella 80’s group Retrocity. Tom can be heard in jingles, soundtracks and recordings as a much in-demand bass singing maestro.
