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Bill Gilliam

Experimental & New Music
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Recordings

Urban Undercurrents

Record Details

Artist
Bill Gilliam Ensemble
Release
1988
Genre
Contemporary Jazz
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Record Tracklist

  1. Alecia -:-- / -:--
  2. Paradiso Perdido -:-- / -:--
  3. When the Sun Turned Radiant Blue -:-- / -:--
  4. Night Sight -:-- / -:--
  5. Desert Fall -:-- / -:--
  6. Cat Walk -:-- / -:--
  7. Pleasure -:-- / -:--
  8. South of the River -:-- / -:--
  9. Santina -:-- / -:--
  10. Ebb & Flow -:-- / -:--

The rich and eclectic music of this ensemble has evolved from Bill’s unique piano playing and writing style that combines contemporary jazz with nuances of new music performed by some of Toronto’s hottest jazz players. Ernie Tollar’s lyrical sax improvisations on these bitter sweet melodies with Lina Allemano on trumpet and Bill’s compelling piano style, are underscored on this album by Howard Gaul on drums and Dave Young on bass engaged in a masterful interplay of driving grooves and sensitive accompaniment.

personnel and instrumentation…

Bill GIlliam – piano
Ernie Tollar – sax, bamboo flute
Lina Allemano – trumpet
Dave Young – bass
Hward Gaul – drums

liner notes…

Recorded and mixed at Inception Sound
Engineered by Mike Roper
Produced and mastered by Ron Allen, Hypmelodics

About Bill

Bill is a Toronto based composer / pianist who creates and improvises new music compositions blending contemporary harmony and jazz idioms with his unique style of piano and prepared piano playing.

Originally from London UK, he studied jazz and film composition at Berklee College of Music. His diverse compositions, performances and recordings, with support from the Ontario Arts Council and Toronto Arts Council, have been showcased at Canadian venues as well as in London, UK and the USA.

He is active in Toronto as a composer, improvisor and presenter of innovative performances combining composed and improvised music, spoken word and visuals.

Upcoming Concerts

Date
October 19, 2025 Oct 19
What Is Freedom In Times Like These?
Annette Studios, 566 Annette St, Toronto, M6S 2C2
Note

Sunday Oct 19th, 8pm
Annette Studios
566 Annette St, Toronto

$20/PWYC

"What Is Freedom In Times Like These?" a spoken word & music performance featuring actor/musician Rod Campbell & cellist Margaret Maria & myself .

Set 1: Actor / musician Rod Campbell and pianist Bill Gilliam perform poems and excerpts by authors Constantine Cavafy, Adrienne Rich, Rabindranath Tagore, Samuel Beckett, Zbigniew Herbet, Rumi and Gilliam, expressing the difficult paths we take to preserve our rights and freedoms and the need to celebrate their continuation.

Set 2: The Marbyllia duo — cellist Margaret Maria and myself — will chart a new direction, exploring the freedom of musical expression through Portalz landscapes, performing cello and piano improvisations with spacious electronic sounds and rhythms. Rod will join us for the finale to enrich our textures of sound and poetry.

More
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Recent PostsFeed

  • Marbyllia – Uncountable Spheres – Media Quotes & Reviews
    March 4, 2024
  • Marbyllia – Margaret Maria & Bill Gilliam release “Uncountable Spheres”
    November 18, 2023
  • “Outside The Maze” – media comments & album reviews 2023
    August 18, 2023
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