Nicole Ratté & Tim Bedner

At home on the stage, vocalist Nicole Ratté is known for her warm, effervescent presence and light, sensual voice. Her performances include her favourite jazz standards with some special arrangements of well known French and Quebec songs.  Nicole has extensive experience singing with a number of musicians, from duos to big bands. She sang with the Big Band Caravane for several years, which provided her with great performance opportunities at festivals and corporate events.  She gives concerts regularly at Gigspace Performance Studio in Ottawa, La Grange de la Gatineau in Cantley, Les Brasseurs du temps in Gatineau as well as Les Mardis classiques (outside concert in Gatineau) and other events, sometimes as a trio and sometimes as a quintet. She has also performed many times at the TD Ottawa Jazz Festival since 2006. For more information and music samples: www.nicoleratte.com

 

Tim Bedner is an award-winning teacher with over 30 years of performance experience. He is a member of the guitar faculty at Carleton University’s Music department where he founded and directs the Carleton Contemporary Guitar Ensemble. He has co-authored “A Common Sense Approach to Improvisation” with jazz guitar legend Joe Negri, published by Mel Bay. He has performed throughout Ontario and the Mid-Atlantic region of the U.S., sharing a stage with artists as diverse as national fingerstyle champion Pat Donohue; Broadway diva Bernadette Peters; jazz guitarists John Abercrombie, Lorne Lofsky, Gene Bertoncini, and Bill Coon; saxophonist and composer Oliver Lake; Pittsburgh veteran jazz drummer Roger Humphries; George Garzone and John Lockwood of the Fringe. Tim’s CD Of Light and Shadow (2012) debuted at #1 on the CMJ Jazz Charts, and has been receiving favourable critical acclaim in Canada, the U.S., and the U.K. “Of Light and Shadow is a project that reflects not only Bedner’s virtuosity on his instrument, but also his notable compositional skills.” – Geannine Reid (Jazz Times)  For more information and music samples: www.timbedner.com