Daniel Bado is a jazz guitarist, composer, and educator based in Toronto, Canada.
Bado got accepted into York University’s jazz program starting in September of 2015. He has studied privately under world renowned jazz guitarists, Roy Patterson, and Lorne Lofsky. Daniel also studied jazz composition under esteemed Canadian composer and drummer, Barry Elmes.
Daniel has also studied and played in ensembles at York University under Lorne Lofsky, Frank Falco, Mark Eisenman, Kelly Jefferson, Kevin Turcotte, Al Henderson, Barry Elmes, Brian De Lima, Casey Sokol, and Mike Cado.
York University awarded Daniel with the Ella Fitzgerald Award for Jazz Performance & the Marlon Lower Prize in Composition.
Bado has been fortunate enough to be a part of Toronto’s ever growing music scene, and sharing the stage with some of its best up-and-coming musicians including Nico Levy, Ben Carney, Jeremy Worden, Sam Ruttan, Jon Catanus, Matt Bawtinheimer, Christopher Anderson-Lundy, Peter Eratostene, Kaelin Murphy, Cole Mendez, and Leighton Harrell among many others.
Daniel is delighted to be on the faculty of “The Ontario Conservatory” music school in Toronto, where he shares his passion for music by providing private and group lessons to children and adults of all ages. Daniel is committed to nurturing his students’ creative expression of their compositional and improvisational guitar skills as he fosters their love of music.
Members
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Sam Ruttan - Drummer
Based in Toronto, Ontario, Sam Ruttan is a dynamic young jazz drummer currently studying music at York University. Having initially played piano, Sam switched to drums at age 9 and began taking lessons privately, learning the fundamentals of the instrument and developing a versatile set of skills in a range of styles. Sam was accepted into York University’s music program in 2015. Since then he has had the chance to learn from many of Canada’s top musicians. He has studied privately with drummer Barry Romberg, and played in performance ensembles led by Kelly Jefferson, Anthony Michelli, Lorne Lofsky, Frank Falco, and Roy Patterson. In addition, Sam has attended master classes and seminars led by Chris Potter, Dennis Mackrel, Mike LeDonne, Robert “Sput” Searight, and Horacio Hernandez. As a performer he has gained experience as a side man playing with other young Toronto musicians, and has been part of the York University Jazz Orchestra as a drummer/percussionist since 2017.
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Leighton Harrell
Born in Washington D.C. and raised in Raleigh, North Carolina, Leighton’s first introduction to music and to the bass was his middle school orchestra class. He began playing jazz at 16 and at 17 he was selected to be a member of the prestigious Triangle Youth Jazz Ensemble. With this band, he attended the renowned Essentially Ellington competition in New York with the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra. The band’s Rhythm section earned an honorable mention. Now 20, Leighton is currently a student in the jazz program at the University of Toronto, where he has studied privately with Dave Young, Andrew Downing and Geoff Young. Other Teachers and mentors of his include Marlene Rosenberg, Michael Dease, Rodney Whitaker and Steve Haines.
