Gene Dinovi, jazz pianist and composer, comes to Humber to perform and share stories of his long life’s work with some of jazz’s greatest legends, from Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker to Doris Day and Tony Bennett. Having lived in Toronto since the 1970s, Mr. DiNovi, at 96, remains one of the few living connections to the earliest days of bebop. He will be joined, in conversation and performance, by Music Faculty Professor and Program Coordinator, Dr. Andrew Scott, also a jazz guitarist with whom Gene has made numerous CDs and performed many concerts.

This Noon Hour Concert is an exciting opportunity to hear original compositions performed by one of Toronto’s most acclaimed and experienced jazz pianists and get the chance to hear firsthand accounts about the legendary jazz musicians with whom he performed. Gene DiNovi – Music and Dialogue with Andrew Scott takes place at 12:15 p.m. on November 27 in the Humber Cultural Hub (HCH) Recital Hall (A106) at the Lakeshore Campus.

More about the featured artist:

Gene DiNovi began his musical life as a jazz pianist on 52nd Street in New York sitting in with none other than Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker. Following that remarkable beginning, Gene went on to play and record with Lester Young, Benny Goodman, Artie Shaw, Buddy Rich, and Chubby Jackson. Moving to Hollywood in the 1960s, Gene worked with Peggy Lee, Tony Bennett, Lena Horne, as well as virtually every great singer of that era as composer, pianist, and musical director. As a composer, Gene’s collaborations with Johnny Mercer have been recorded by Percy Faith, Nancy Wilson, Doris Day, Dinah Shore, Victor Feldman, Carmen McRae, and others. DiNovi has also composed during this time with Harold Arlen, Jimmy Van Heusen, and Harry Warren. Having lived in Toronto since the 1970s, Mr. DiNovi, at 96, remains one of the few living connections to the earliest days of bebop.

Photo: Gene DiNovi in 1987 (Photo: Colin McConnell)