Events presented by Preservation Studio
UPCOMING EVENTS
SIMCOE COUNTY GROOVE DIGGERS/SKYLINERS YOUTH
SIMCOE COUNTY GROOVE DIGGERS
The Simcoe County Groove Diggers (led by pianist Alex Kazak) is a newly formed contemporary jazz outfit based in Ontario. The group delivers a dedicated instrumental repertoire of original compositions alongside intricate, modern interpretations of jazz standards. Their sound bridges mainstream jazz with elements of classical architecture, heavy fusion, and Latin rhythms. The project features a lineup of seasoned professionals well-entrenched in the Canadian music landscape:
• Alex Kazak (Leader / Piano): A versatile jazz pianist with a deep classical background. His career includes extensive international work as an ensemble leader and music director. Now based in Barrie, he actively shapes the local scene by hosting regional jazz series and jam sessions.
• Daryl Jahnke (Guitar): A veteran Canadian jazz guitarist, composer, and educator who formerly headed the guitar program at Vancouver Community College. Known for his pristine lyrical tone, Daryl's eclectic career spans touring internationally, recording with Juno-winning ensembles, and performing alongside major symphony orchestras.
• Jason Leslie Turner (Bass): A highly in-demand bassist and fixture of the Simcoe County jazz scene. Known for his exceptional rhythmic versatility, Jason frequently backs touring headliners and anchors premier jazz ensembles across the region.
• Damien Sampson (Drums): A bilingual educator and precise, high-energy percussionist. Damien is equally at home driving local jazz rhythm sections or tracking dynamic grooves in regional recording studios.
Instead of running through predictable jazz charts, the quartet emphasizes live, collaborative storytelling and adaptive interplay. Led by Kazak’s compositional vision, the result is a technically sophisticated performance that is entirely accessible to both dedicated jazz fans and casual listeners.
SKYLINERS YOUTH
The Skyliners Youth Big Band has been supporting high school music for over 10 years!
Tickets also available at
PAST EVENTS
Events hosted by Preservation Studio are hybrid concerts/live recording sessions. Our aim is to present and document some of the amazing music happening within your community!
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We work with local venues and arts organizations to put on performances featuring artists from the community. Tickets are available for $25.00.
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We believe in the importance of music and creating paid opportunities for artists. Ontario (and more broadly Canada) is home to many amazing musicians. Our goal is to showcase them!
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For now, the recording session is intended to document the performance while providing the artist with a high-quality recording that they can use as they wish. In the future we aim to create and sell CDs, and are working on a subscription mailing list that distributes recordings of local artists across Ontario.
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At the moment we are running events as small pop-ups. In the future we plan to expand our services by selling CDs directly, and creating a mail subscription list. As always our goal is to support musicians as much as possible! To that end a portion of every CD and subscription sold will be paid out to the artist. We also plan to register as a not-for-profit.