Greg Finnegan was born in County Wicklow,
Ireland. He spent his childhood in Edmonton and with his family later moved
to Vancouver Island. Greg studied theatre arts in Victoria and in Vancouver
he became involved in comedy writing. Greg continued his vocal training
and began to develop his own repertoire of "standards".
Greg's musical odyssey took him to Toronto where he perfected
his distinctive vocal style working a series of one-nighters in small clubs
in and around that city. He first performed with a band called "Close
Enough For Jazz" and the a self-titled "Greg Finnegan Jazz Trio".
Meanwhile, Greg continued his writing for the stage, and
his theatrical credits include a production of his full length book musical
"The Case Of The Curious Cabaret" at the 1995 Kawartha Summer Festival
in Lindsey, Ontario.
Greg's collaboration with his musical director, guitarist
Sean Bray, began in 1994. They soon began performing together as a duo.
Greg recently made his recording debut on the Toronto
jazz label "Counterpoint Recordings". Produced and arranged by Sean Bray,
the CD is entitled "Songs in a Misty Night" and features Greg backed by
the Sean Bray Trio.
After the release of his jazz vocal CD 'Songs In A Misty
Night' (Counterpoint Recordings & Polygram Canada) Greg's performances
have included appearances at one of Canada's premier jazz clubs 'The Top
Of The Senator'. He was featured as the 'Artist Of The Day' on BRAVO Television
and has appeared at The Downtown Toronto Jazz Festival.
Greg Finnegan makes an impressive recording debut with
'Songs In A Misty Night', interpreting such standards as 'When Sunny Gets
Blue' and 'Good Morning Heartache', the Boz Scaggs' pop classic 'We're
All Alone', and an original tune, 'Until Tomorrow', composed by Toronto
musician Sean Bray, who is also the producer/arranger of 'Songs In A Misty
Night'.
Drawing comparisons to Chet Baker and Michael Franks,
Greg Finnegan "performs the music with sincerity and meaning, making the
lyrics tell the story the way the composer intended." He has surrounded
himself with some of the finest contemporary jazz musicians in Canada.
Along with guitarist Sean Bray who also plays on all tracks, the recording
features drummer Mike McClelland, bassist Artie Roth, and a special appearance
by celebrated horn player John MacLeod.
The playlist for 'Songs In A Misty Night' includes CBC-FM,
CJRT-FM, CFMX-FM, CKLN-FM, and a feature spot on the Air Canada In-Flight
Music program, and 'Songs In A Misty Night' was selected as "CD OF THE
MONTH" on CIXX-FM Radio (London, Ontario) - the Jazz Junction Jazz Show.
Here are just some of the comments made about Greg Finnegan's
'Songs In A Misty Night':
"...outstanding..." (Michael Lyon, CFMX-FM)
"I love it!" (Don Robinson, CFLY-FM)
"...enjoyable..." (Frank Proctor, CKLY-AM)
"I've had this CD for 24 hours and it's really
growing on me!"
(Ross Porter,
'After Hours', CBC-FM)
"...it's a great record..." (Wally Dawson, CKLN-FM)
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