Growing up in a musical home, listening to favourites Ella (Fitzgerald) and Anita (O'Day), along with Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, Frank Sinatra, The Mills Brothers and Broadway show soundtracks by composers like Cole Porter and Frank Loesser made a big impression on Beverly. As a child of two people who grew up and fell in love to the music of the '30s and '40s, she developed a strong affinity for this era of "classic jazz", tough talkin' dames, flat-footed fellas and American film noir.

Beverly has sung in nightclubs and restaurants (both in Toronto and in Japan) for ten years, leading her own group since 2001. She has performed at a wide range of venues in Toronto and beyond, including: The Drake Hotel, The Distillery Historic District, Eden by the River, Lisa's Cafe, Mezzetta, Mezzrow's, The Millcroft Inn in Alton, Momo's Bistro, The Montreal Bistro, Quigley's, The Rex Jazz & Blues Bar, U of T's "Friday Jazz at Oscar's" Series, and jazz festivals in Barrie, Muskoka, Orangeville and Peterborough, as well as The Celebrate Toronto Street Festival, to name a few. In March, 2006, she made her Los Angeles debut to a full house at Orange County's Spaghettini Restaurant with L.A. players Ron Levy (piano) and Bruce Lett (bass). Pictures are at "Photos" .

In the spring of 2005, Beverly premiered her tribute in English and Portugese to Brazilian composer and icon Antonio Carlos Jobim, at the Distillery Jazz Festival. She has selected familiar and lesser-known numbers from the classic bossa nova era for this ongoing project. The crowd of several hundred at the Distillery was enthusiastic and supportive and you can see some shots of the event at "Photos". (See what Brasil News had to say at "News & Reviews" .) Beverly and the Bossa Nova Project most recently appeared on the Mainstage of the Peterborough Jazz Festival in September 2006, opening for headliners Joe Sealy and the Blay Ambollay Sextet.

You can also catch Beverly performing arrangements of swing and blues standards with Mitch Beube's 9 piece Swing Band as well as the York Jazz Ensemble. Both groups feature stellar horn sections (including trombone, trumpet, and several saxes), fun arrangements (including some commissioned by Beverly for these groups) and a polished stage show. Beverly joins the Mitch Beube Swing Band in the summer months, including recent appearances at the Gravenhurst Opera House and Bigwin Island, and she occasionally performs with YJE through the rest of the year at various Toronto venues.
For details on future and past performances, please visit "Upcoming Shows" .

Beverly's debut CD, "How 'Ya Gonna Keep 'Em Down on the Farm?", described as a "charming collection" by the National Post, is available online through Tower Records and CD Baby, at live shows, and at selected stores in the Toronto area. For this full-length recording (12 songs!), Beverly's quartet (Roland Hunter, Rob McBride and Jesse Baird) was joined by sax player Chris Gale for 2 tracks, and pianoman Gordon Webster also appears in a duet with Beverly. The disc was celebrated with an official launch party at the Montreal Bistro in May 2004 - Beverly's first appearance at the venerable club and a completely sold out show! The disc is currently receiving airplay from radio stations around the world from Argentina to Tasmania, including Canada's Premiere Jazz Station, Jazz FM 91.1, and CBC Radio across Canada. Check out "News & Reviews" for more, including press commentary from the Toronto Star's Geoff Chapman and others.

In addition to public performances, Beverly is busy providing entertainment for private and corporate clients as well as charitable organizations throughout the city. For more on this work, please visit "Events". Her repertoire encompasses nearly 5 decades (1920s - 1960s) and 5 languages (French, German, Spanish, Portugese and English), as well as a variety of musical styles within the jazz, latin, swing, lounge and cabaret genres. Beverly also has a growing roster of professional musicians who play classical, pop, reggae and other styles for functions and events. Some of the musicians with whom Beverly has worked are pianists Norm Amadio, Robi Botos, Adrean Farrugia, Tania Gill, Gordon Webster and Richard Whiteman, guitarists Tony Quarrington and Ted Quinlan, and tenor sax players Bob Brough, Chris Gale and Bob Mover.

Beverly frequently performs live and would love to see you out at a show!

Get in touch by submitting this form or by sending an email to: hello AT beverlytaft DOT com


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