Richard Underhill is a Canadian

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

saxophonist. A founding member of the

jazz fusion Jazz fusion (also known as fusion and progressive jazz) is a music genre that developed in the late 1960s when musicians combined jazz harmony and jazz improvisation, improvisation with rock music, funk, and rhythm and blues. Electric guitars, ...

group

The Shuffle Demons The Shuffle Demons are a Canadian jazz fusion band from Toronto. Early career The band were formed in 1984 by saxophonist Richard Underhill in collaboration with a variety of Toronto-area jazz musicians including Mike Murley, Dave Parker and ...

, he has toured

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and

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

to critical acclaim for over 27 years. Underhill won a 2003

Juno Award The Juno Awards, more popularly known as the JUNOS, are awards presented annually to Canadian musical artists and bands to acknowledge their artistic and technical achievements in all aspects of music. New members of the Canadian Music Hall of ...

for his jazz solo debut ''Tales from the Blue Lounge'', and was nominated for the ''Prix du Jazz'' at the 2003 Montreal Jazz Festival. He followed up with the Juno nominated ''Moment in Time'' in 2005, Juno nominated ''Kensington Suite'' in 2007 and the CD/DVD ''Free Spirit'' in 2010.

Musical career

The founding member of Toronto's Shuffle Demons, Underhill took the Bop Rap ensemble from the streets of Toronto across Canada and to Europe.People who are not Rob Ford NOW Magazine
/ref> The group played jazz, folk, world and rock festivals from Halifax to Vancouver and from Italy to Estonia from 1986 – 1997, touring across Canada 15 times and through Europe 15 times. They played at several Jazz festivals including the North Sea Jazz, Molde Jazz, London's Outside In Jazz festival, the Edinburgh Jazz festival, the Sfinks festival, and Jazz a Vienne. They celebrated their 20th Anniversary with a cross Canada tour and by breaking the Guinness Book World Records for most sax players performing a song (900), although the record was later broken. The Shuffle Demons continue to tour and performed at festivals in India, China and Europe in 2006 and in Thailand, South Korea and the US in 2010. The band is currently working on a new album and toured Australia and New Zealand in 2011. Underhill has performed and recorded with The Neville Brothers/Meters, Han Bennink,

Julius Hemphill Julius Arthur Hemphill (January 24, 1938 – April 2, 1995) was a jazz composer and saxophone player. He performed mainly on alto saxophone, less often on soprano and tenor saxophones and flute. Biography Hemphill was born in Fort Worth, Texas, ...

Dr. John Malcolm John Rebennack Jr. (November 20, 1941 – June 6, 2019), better known by his stage name Dr. John, was an American singer and songwriter. His music encompassed New Orleans blues, jazz, funk, and R&B. Active as a session musician from t ...

, Kathleen Edwards,

Taj Mahal The Taj Mahal (; ) is an Islamic ivory-white marble mausoleum on the right bank of the river Yamuna in the Indian city of Agra. It was commissioned in 1631 by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan () to house the tomb of his favourite wife, Mu ...

Maria Muldaur Maria Muldaur (born Maria Grazia Rosa Domenica D'Amato; September 12, 1942) is an American folk and blues singer who was part of the American folk music revival in the early 1960s. She recorded the 1973 hit song "Midnight at the Oasis" and has ...

, Rob McConnell, Molly Johnson,

Blue Rodeo Blue Rodeo is a Canadian country rock band formed in 1984 in Toronto, Ontario. They have released 16 full-length studio albums, four live recordings, one greatest hits album, and two video/DVDs, along with multiple solo albums, side projects, a ...

, Andy Stochansky, Hawksley Workman,

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, Bob Wiseman,

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, Kevin Breit, NOMA and Toronto jazz stalwarts like

Steve Koven Steve Koven is a Canadian jazz pianist and member of the Steve Koven Trio and the Koven Collective. He is a composer, performer, producer and educator. In 1993 Koven established the Steve Koven Trio. Aside from performing worldwide with his tr ...

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and

George Koller George Koller (born December 9, 1958) is a Canadian bassist who has played free jazz, folk music, world music, and world fusion. Career Koller has worked with Bruce Cockburn, William Beauvais, Holly Cole, Peter Gabriel, Graeme Kirkland, Lore ...

. A session player and sideman, he has written horn and string arrangements for Kathleen Edwards, Molly Johnson, Andy Stochansky, Hawksley Workman,

, Bob Wiseman,

Big Rude Jake Andrew Jacob Hiebert (1 March 1963 – 16 June 2022), known professionally as Big Rude Jake, was a Canadian songwriter, singer, musician, and bandleader based in Toronto. The original "Swing Punk", he was associated with the neo-swing trend of t ...

and Lorraine Segato. He leads several diverse groups including his jazz quintet, the Funk Explosion and the improvising electronic groove ensemble Astrogroove. He also leads an improvising/free-jazz group, whose members vary but are mostly horn players, called The Kensington Community Orchestra. They most often play in Toronto's Kensington Market to celebrate car-free Sundays, and annually on December 21 for the solstice party Festival of Lights.

Toronto mayoral candidacy

On January 2, 2014, Underhill officially declared his mayoral candidacy for the city of Toronto, Canada for the 2014 Toronto election, running against incumbent Rob Ford. Underhill applied for a candidacy on January 2 with a marching band. His platform is largely transit based. He expressed resentment for being called a "fringe candidate" by Toronto Life, as he considers himself a serious candidate but embraces it to attempt to prove them wrong through his actions in his campaign. Underhill took part in the first debate of the elections on February 5, 2014, along with 4 other candidates including incumbent Rob Ford. He withdrew his candidacy on September 12, 2014, endorsing Olivia Chow for mayor.

Personal life

Underhill grew up in Salmon Arm, British Columbia and attended Salmon Arm Senior High where he graduated from in 1979. He can often be found out and about in the Kensington Market area of Toronto's downtown district. Underhill performed Van Morrison's ''Into the Mystic'' at the

state funeral A state funeral is a public funeral ceremony, observing the strict rules of Etiquette, protocol, held to honour people of national significance. State funerals usually include much pomp and ceremony as well as religious overtones and distinctive ...

for Jack Layton, deceased New Democratic Leader of the Official Opposition, on August 27, 2011.

Discography

* ''Tales from the Blue Lounge'' (2003) * ''Moment in Time'' (2005) * ''Kensington Suite'' (2007) * ''Free Spirit'' (2010)

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Underhill, Richard Canadian jazz saxophonists Male saxophonists Living people Juno Award for Contemporary Jazz Album of the Year winners Musicians from Toronto 21st-century saxophonists 21st-century Canadian male musicians Canadian male jazz musicians Year of birth missing (living people) The Shuffle Demons members