Vocalist Ori Dagan is the recent winner of the CBC Radio competition “Canada’s Next Top Crooner.” Born in Israel and raised in Toronto, he initially trained as a classical pianist from ages six to sixteen, dabbling in creative writing and musical theatre before discovering jazz in his late teens. He dropped out of the University of Toronto’s English program to pursue a musical education, earning a Bachelor of Fine Arts from York University with a focus on jazz vocals and classical voice; he went on to study jazz performance, songwriting and improvisation at the prestigious jazz program at Humber College and attended the Vermont Jazz Centre’s intensive summer workshop to study with Sheila Jordan and Jay Clayton.
Since devoting his life to jazz performance, Ori has performed in many venues across Canada including Toronto’s Gladstone Hotel, Trane Studio, Old Mill and the Reservoir Lounge, as well as Montreal’s House of Jazz, Upstairs and Dieze Onze. He has also been a featured performer at the York University Bryden Awards, the Canadian Public Relations Society ACE Awards Gala and at the SJ01 Digital Arts Festival in San Jose, California.
Dagan’s critically acclaimed debut, “S’Cat Got My Tongue” (2009) established him as a musical adventurer within the standard jazz landscape. On his new release “Less Than Three” (April 28, 2012) the vocalist explores new territory, reimagining material by Elton John, Madonna, Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra and Lady Gaga, along with originals, standards, and selections in his native tongue of Hebrew stirred into the mix.
