The Little Band

YouTube videos

Summertime

Bring It On Home to Me

Cry Me a River

Fly Me to the Moon

Fever

Feeling Good

The Thrill is Gone

Stray Cat Strut

Bring it on Home

At Last

Comes Love

Route 66

Georgia On My Mind

Cry Me a River

Biographies

Telma Pinguelo

Telma grew up around her father’s Pink Floyd records and playing rock classics, but it wasn’t until she stumbled upon a jazz documentary on a rainy weekend night at home that her true colours as an artist were revealed. Immediately drawn to the depth of jazz, blues and bossa nova, she spent countless hours listening to the greats like Ella Fitzgerald, Chet Baker and Nat King Cole, while unveiling inspiring contemporary references like Madeleine Peyroux, Stacey Kent and Melody Gardot. Driven by her fascination for music, she started learning the guitar and writing her own lyrics. She further studied piano and vocals at her hometown’s music school in Portugal, performing in local clubs and events. Telma has a unique, captivating style and is known for her blend of smooth and soulful vocals delivered with passion and grace. She remains grateful for the opportunity to share her love of music with others as she continues working hard to perfect her skills and contribute to the ever-evolving landscape of jazz, blues and bossa nova.

Martin Loomer

After studying jazz performance at York University in the 1970s Martin Loomer became the guitarist and arranger for the seminal Toronto jump band Shox Johnson & His Jivebombers. From there he was recruited by world-famous saxophonist Jim Galloway to both recreate the jazz classics of the 1930s and play acoustic rhythm guitar in the tradition of Count Basie’s Freddie Green and others of that era.  Founding Jim Galloway’s Wee Big Band, Martin dedicated much of the next 30-plus years to this music, assuming leadership of the band with Jim’s passing in 2014. After further developing his arranging and playing experience with the Tom DeMoraes Swing Orchestra and subsequently with the Canadian Tribute to Glenn Miller for fifteen years, Martin has returned to his love of the great black bands of the 1930s and their neglected repertoire with his big band the Orange Devils. In recent years he has returned to the electric guitar with the Ugly Bug Band. the Starfires, the Lunacy Cabaret band, Moon Junk and The Little Band, displaying his facility with jazz, blues, folk and rock.

Peter Evans

Peter has a long history of classical music training in piano and percussion, including an Honours Bachelors degree in Theory and Composition from the University of Western Ontario.  He has a depth of experience in playing orchestral and choral music as well as in top 40, rock, blues and jazz bands.  Peter’s obsession with everything about drums and drumming, and his focus on a musical approach and “playing for the song”, makes him a popular addition to the many bands he has played with since the early 1980s.  You may have seen him over the years playing for theatre, Orchestra Toronto, the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir, or more recently with Toronto’s Grimshaws, Sax Magic, or the Christopher James Watson Band.  Peter’s musical contribution is always thoughtful and intentional and supports The Little Band in delivering an eclectic mix of blues, jazz, and jazzified pop tunes.

Ross Eddie

Ross started playing trombone in Grade 7, quickly switched to tuba, then added string bass when he was 17. He played his first professional gig that year, at a bar to remain nameless since the age of majority then was 21. Ross couldn’t decide between a career as a musician or an engineer. He finally settled on the latter, but not before playing an endless stream of bowling banquets, Christmas and New Year’s Eve parties, weddings and society dances, and studying music theory with Gordon Delamont. Ross has vague memories of being in the house band for the Shelburne Fiddle Festival, playing the Deep River Jazz Festival, and also at the House of Hambourg, Toronto’s cellar jazz club of the 1960s. He played baritone sax lines on a tuba on a few occasions in a rehearsal band led by Paul Hoffert, of Lighthouse fame. Ross claims he didn’t play a note for 25 years until dragooned by friends of Mike Patton at Bluffers Park Yacht Club. His favourite book is The Music Lesson by Victor Wooten.

Mike Patton

Mike started playing campfire songs with a harmonica in the 1980s because both things seemed simple and enjoyable. In 2000, some guys he worked with at the Toronto Sun newsroom formed a band, and a whole new world opened up. The Rim Pigs were not what you would call good, but people came to see them just because they were having such a great time. In 2007 Mike found himself working for the Ontario Government, where employees hold an annual charity fundraising battle of the bands that has grown to become a multi-week event with more than 20 bands. Playing with people who were very good musicians was shocking and educational. Mike’s band, The Briefing Notes, won the contest one year. In 2012 he answered a Craigslist ad from some old blues guys in East York who were looking for a harmonica player. (Few people are ever looking for a harmonica player.) This was the genesis of Greystone, the R&B band that Mike gigged with until 2020.  He started out listening to the Chicago-style harmonica greats – Little Walter, James Cotton, etc. – and then the handful of world-class Toronto harp players like Carlos del Junco, Jerome Godboo, and Roly Platt.  Like those Telecaster thumpers out there, Mike likes to play a transfixing, ego-boosting solo, but says the biggest rush is when the whole band comes together to create a magical moment. That’s why he started The Little Band in 2018. To everyone out there, he says: Make a happy noise.

Contact info

Mike Patton

mpatton@rogers.com

416 269-2380

Thanks

Many thanks to Andrew Boyd, who recorded videos at Bluffers Park Yacht Club on June 10, 2023 and September 30, 2023. Andrew’s work on YouTube can be found at https://www.youtube.com/@AndrewsGuitarChannel

Also thanks to Walter Groves and Wlodek Witt for still photography.

Telma Pinguelo

Martin Loomer

Peter Evans

Ross Eddie

Mike Patton