Lenny Solomon (born 28 September 1952) is a Canadian jazz, pop, and classical violinist and composer. An active studio musician, he has performed on hundreds of recordings and soundtracks. He has also recorded two of his own jazz albums: After You've Gone and The Gershwin Sessions.[1] He has appeared as a guest soloist with a number of orchestras, including the Toronto Symphony Orchestra and the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra,[2] and has served as concertmaster for a variety of theatrical entertainments. He was awarded The Jazz Report 's Violinist of the Year award three times.[3]
Lenny Solomon | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1952 (age 71–72) Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
| Genres | |
| Occupation(s) | Instrumentalist, composer |
| Instrument | Violin |
| Years active | 1969–present |
Solomon was born in Toronto. He attended Vaughan Road Collegiate Institute alongside his also musically talented older sister Maribeth. His father, Stanley Solomon, was a principal violist with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra; Lenny studied under violinists Albert Pratz and Steven Staryk.
In 1969, Solomon co-founded the Canadian folk-pop music group Myles and Lenny together with Myles Cohen.[4][5] Myles & Lenny performed and recorded during most of the 1970s, won the 1976 Juno Award for Breakthrough Group of the Year and then parted ways. In 1982, Solomon formed the pop string quintet Quintessence with guitarist Bill Bridges. They made a few recordings[citation needed] for Duke Street Records and toured throughout Canada during the 1980s.
During the 1990s, Solomon toured with the Lenny Solomon Trio,[6] which was dedicated to jazz violin. In 1997, with violinist Moshe Hammer and pianist Bernie Senensky, he founded The Galaxy Trio, which blended classical and jazz styles and recorded one CD.[7]
In 2000 Solomon established the chamber group Trio Norté, which released one album in 2002,[8] and the violin ensemble Bowfire[9] which made its debut performance at Expo 2000 in Hanover Germany. Bowfire was internationally successful and toured the world until 2015.[10]
In 2015, Lenny enlisted Marc Ganetakos and longtime collaborator and bassist Shelly Berger to help write and perform on his new album, The Blues Violin.[11][12]
As of 2019, Solomon was the music director of the Elton John tribute band Elton Rohn.[13][14]
References
edit- ^ LeBlanc, Larry (30 September 1995). "Solomon Interprets Gershwin Faves, September 1995". Billboard. Retrieved 11 September 2021.
- ^ "Credits – Shelly Berger". shellyberger.com. Shelly Berger. Retrieved 11 September 2021.
- ^ "Lenny Solomon". The Canadian Encyclopedia.
- ^ McGinnis, Ray (24 May 2017). "Can You Give It All To Me by Myles & Lenny, May 2017". vancouversignaturesounds.com. Vancouver Pop Music. Retrieved 11 September 2021.
- ^ "Myles & Lenny / Can You Give It All To Me". Archived from the original on 21 December 2021. Retrieved 11 September 2021 – via YouTube.
- ^ "The Lenny Solomon Trio". media.dlib.indiana.edu. Indiana University. Retrieved 11 September 2021.
- ^ "The Galaxy Trio CD". marquisclassics.com. Marquis Music. Retrieved 11 September 2021.
- ^ "Trio Norte CD". marquisclassics.com. Marquis Music. Retrieved 11 September 2021.
- ^ Duckett, Richard. "Lenny Solomon and his blazing fiddles, January 2007". telegram.com. Telegram Worcester, Massachusetts. Retrieved 11 September 2021.
- ^ Quill, Greg (20 March 2009). "Bowfire: There's no second fiddle, March 2009". Toronto Star. Retrieved 11 September 2021.
- ^ Wetnight, Rainey (June 2015). "Lenny Solomon – The Blues Violin Album Review, June 2015". bluesblastmagazine.com. Blues Blast Magazine. Retrieved 11 September 2021.
- ^ Popovic, Ivana (27 February 2015). "The Blues Violin, Lenny Solomon, February 2015". thewholenote.com. The Whole Note. Retrieved 11 September 2021.
- ^ "Elton Rohn performs at Flato Markham Theatre, April 2019". markhamtoday.ca. Markham Today. Retrieved 11 September 2021.
- ^ Kurek, Dominik (28 August 2018). "Toronto musician discusses the art of being Elton John tribute artist, August 2018". toronto.com. Retrieved 11 September 2021.