Kinga Heming - Vocals
Jazz and pop chanteuse Kinga was born in Poland, then moved with her family to
Amsterdam before settling in Ottawa, Ontario. While being baptized at four months of
age, she screamed out, and the attending priest predicted that Kinga would become a
singer. Her parents gifted Kinga with appreciation for music, including and especially
jazz, at an early age: Her father played in a jazz cabaret while her mother constantly
played vocal pop and jazz records by The Platters, Tony Bennett, Frank Sinatra and the
like.
Kinga attended Humber College in Toronto, studying voice and theory. In her last year
of study she won the Duke Ellington Honoree award.
Kinga has subsequently spread her vocal talents – as smooth, heady and sophisticated
as a well-matured brandy – throughout Canada: She has sung the American and
Canadian national anthems for the Toronto Blue Jays, Toronto Maple Leafs (in partial
French, for a sold-out contest against the Montreal Canadians), the Toronto Raptors,
and internationally-broadcast Hockey Night in Canada. Kinga has performed with pianist
Renee Rosnes, flugelhornist Guido Basso, and Don Thompson’s jazz ensemble, and
appeared at the National Jazz Awards, the Royal Ontario Museum, Canada’s Walk Of Fame.
Kinga has a new recording out "Forever In My Heart".
Sean Bray - Music Director/Electric guitar and vocals
Along with being a respected composer and educator, Sean Bray is considered to be one of Canada’s top guitarists. Sean started a serious pursuit of the guitar while living in Calgary, Alberta. He pursued jazz studies at Calgary’s Mount Royal College and went on to become a guitar instructor at Red Deer College. However, the dream of the big city was always in his sights, and he furthered his studies at the prestigious Manhattan School of Music in New York City. When Sean moved to Toronto in 1990, he became a sought after sideman, studio guitarist and leader of his own projects including his own record label, which was the first independent Canadian jazz label to be signed to a major record company. Sean has the ability to fit into many musical genres while still retaining an unmistakably original voice on his instrument. This has allowed Sean to be part of a wide variety of projects including: collaborations with the Okanagan Symphony Orchestra, as a member of the fusion Celtic band “Cod Gone Wild”, “Layer Cake Mountain”, “Rocky Mountain High - A Celebration of John Denver”,half of the folk/Americana duo “Bray & Co.” with his daughter, Michaela, and leader of “Sean Bray’s Peach Band”, which is a great outlet for his movie score inspired instrumentals. Sean is also the founder, producer and electric guitarist for “Songs of the Southern Belles”; a tribute to the great female country artists. Sean Bray is endorsed by PRS guitars, Planet Waves and D’Addario strings.
Shamma Sabir - Fiddle/vocals
From soulfull sounds to tunes filled with fierce joy, Shamma plays it all. A passionate ambassador of Canadian fiddle music, Shamma has a strong belief in the function of music: to bring people together in love and joy, to transcend words, to provoke intense emotion and to soothe the soul. Shamma is a very sought after fiddle player across Canada and is the leader of “Layer Cake Mountain” and a member of Cod Gone Wild in addition to being a member of "Songs of the Southern Belles".
Loni Moger - Acoustic guitar
Loni Moger is a talented and versatile musician who played his first professional gig at
the age of fourteen and began teaching at the age of sixteen. After spending four years
on the East Coast of the U.S. he received his bachelor’s degree from Boston’s
prestigious Berklee College of Music, studying Guitar, Voice and arranging. He returned
to Calgary where he worked with a variety of artists for almost two decades.
Loni has performed along side such international artists as “Bo Didley” and San
Francisco’s “Tuck and Patti“; "Senator Tommy Banks" as well as local Calgary favourites
“ The Swinging Bovines”, “Tim Tamashiro”, “Karl Roth” and Diva extraordinaire "Zoe
Theodorou".
He relocated to Kelowna, BC in September of 2008 and is already a sought-after
sideman. Loni shares, " I've played night clubs, concerts, weddings, political rallies,
live radio and television, bowling alleys, country clubs, street corners( otherwise known
as Busking), churches and living rooms, all of which were equally fun!" He enjoys
interpreting the works of others and performing his own material as well.
Loni is equally at home in a wide variety of musical styles ranging from Blues to Jazz to
Funk, Rhythm and Blues, Pop and Country. He also harbors a secret passion for
Classical music, having had several opportunities to work with the Calgary Philharmonic
Orchestra , including Pops concerts and most recently on the Operatic work "Ainadamar,
Fountain of Tears" and The "Lord of the Rings Symphony".
He regularly acts as an adjudicator in the combo category at the BC Interior Jazz Festival.
Stefan Bienz - upright and electric bass
Stefan began playing bass after seeing jazz bass legends Milt Hinton and Ray Brown and being asked by close friends to be the bassist on some epic Led Zeppelin jams. Since then just owning a bass has been like having an access pass to musical adventure. Stefan is a very in demand bass player in BC and is in many projects including “Layer Cake Mountain”. He tries to stay open-minded and will play with almost anyone in any style. Outside of music Stefan enjoys cooking, being silly with his kids and spending time outdoors with his wife.
David Mihal - Drums
Influenced by the many great drummers of the 70's, David began playing in his early teens and was soon working at a professional level. Some of his early work included Canadian blues artist Rita Chiarelli and RCA recording artist Shawne Jackson (Domenic Troiano).
While living in Toronto and studying with drummer and author Peter Magadini, David was asked to join Canadian jazz icon Oliver Jones and tour the US with Jamaican singer Kenny Hamilton. Living in New York City while touring with that project greatly influenced his musical development, providing the opportunity to meet many of the great artists and drummers of that period, including Elvin Jones. Upon returning to Canada, David spent the early 80's touring and recording with the "Refugee" forerunner "Michael Fury".
David currently records drum tracks for projects around the world from his private studio in Kelowna, BC, and as of 2014, is spending much of his time in Los Angeles and Nashville. David is also a member of the popular Celtic fusion band Cod Gone Wild.