John Sherwood started piano lessons at an early age and made his way through the Royal Conservatory grades, working on his ARCT while in high school. At this time he discovered jazz and immersed himself in the music of Oscar Peterson, transcribing and learning the repertoire found on the many recordings available. After high school John joined the Niagara College Jazz Band and began playing with many of the area musicians. His Toronto debut came in 1987 when Ted O’Reilly presented him at one of the Monday night Science Centre concerts. These concerts were broadcast on CJRT FM, and as luck would have it, Moe Koffman heard the broadcast and immediately booked John to play a week at Toronto’s premier jazz club, George’s Spaghetti House. The years that followed were busy ones, John toured and recorded with Dave Young, Terry Clarke, Peter Appleyard, Rob McConnell, Guido Basso, Ed Bickert, Butch Miles, Jake Hanna, Bucky Pizzarelli, and many more. John now resides in London, Ontario, and enjoys his private recording studio and local appearances in the area.
Ralph De Luca is a professional musician and music educator in London, Ontario. An accomplished performer on saxophone, clarinet, and flute, Ralph has been an active performer in the London area, regularly appearing with many local jazz artists and ensembles. Additionally, for the past twenty-eight years, Ralph has served as the music director and played lead saxophone in the London Jazz Orchestra, recipients of several London Music Awards. Other performing credits include The Grand Theatre, Talbot Theatre, Imperial Theatre, Stratford Festival Theatre, Orchestra London, Ice Capades, Garden Brothers International Circus, RCMP Musical Ride, Della Reese, Mel Torme, Rob McConnell, The Supremes, and many more. Retired from 32 years of teaching instrumental and vocal music at the high school level and nine years of teaching woodwind methods (flute, clarinet, saxophone, and oboe) at the Don Wright Faculty of Music at Western University in London, Ralph continues to be active in the area as a performer, clinician, and music festival adjudicator.
