Jaymz Bee
Encyclopedia
Jaymz Bee is a Canadian
musician, writer and radio personality.
, Ontario
. He is a graduate of Inglenook Community High School
.
band Look People from 1985 to 1994. When Look People became the house band for Friday Night with Ralph Benmergui
in 1992, Bee was the show's musical director. The band also backed up comedians such as Judy Tenuta
, Harland Williams
, Mark DeCarlo
and Jim Carrey
, performed on two Lollapalooza
tours and performed extensively in Europe for several years. Following the end of the show, the band broke up and Bee began recording lounge music
albums as Jaymz Bee and the Royal Jelly Orchestra
.
Jaymz Bee was also the lead singer of the Bee People, (prior to his work with Look People, The Royal Jelly Orchestra and various projects) and was a founder of the Al Waxman
Fan Club. The Fan Club began in the 1980s following the heyday of the King of Kensington television show. Bee, his associates Clay Tyson (son of Ian and Sylvia
), Bazl Salazar, Bruce J. Scott and artist Max MacDonald would host parties and write songs in honour of Waxman. In 1988 Jaymz also appeared on the Carlos Perón
album Impersonator II.
In 1985, Jaymz met a Swiss band called Chinook, who had a change of plan after arriving in Toronto and discovering they had a lot of hard rock competition. They auditioned for singers and with over forty responses, decided Jaymz Bee was best suited for the band's sound. Within a few weeks Look People was born, and took off to play Switzerland summer festivals with one important addition. A man who would become Bee's best friend and long time collaborator; drummer Great Bob Scott. The band toured back and forth between Europe and North America many times in their nine year run. They released two EPs, three albums, one single, and several cassettes. They made a series of music videos; some shot on film with countless extras and others with a low to no budget. The video for the song "Five" received high rotation on Much Music in 1992 and made their top ten list. It was made for a mere $500...shot edited and directed by Bee.
On April 13, 1994 the band played their final two shows. A set at Club Lingerie in L.A. followed by a bizarre performance (following a band made up of porn stars) at The Palomino
in North Hollywood. They parted amicably and rumours of a reunion live to this day.
Jaymz Bee returned home to Toronto and began working on a jazz (lounge) recording with childhood friend and multi-instrumentalist, Jono Grant. After recording a three song demo they were offered a gig by Molly Johnson to perform at Ontario Place for her first nation-wide AIDS benefit called "Kumbaya". The concert was broadcast coast to coast on Much Music. About this time, Jaymz and an artist ally, Melleny Melody
, formed an independent label called "Nepotism Records" and the first RJO debut CD was recorded. From there Jaymz was offered a position with BMG Music Canada, running a boutique label called "Leisure Lab". He released four CDs, three for his own band (featuring a plethora of guest vocalists) and one for Calgary crooner Tim Tamashiro. The next Indie Label was the short lived "Leisure Disc" which went in to partnership with the ill-fated Songcore.
and CFMJ
.
In 2002, he released a new album, produced by Dave Howard, Sub Urban by Jaymz Bee and the Deep Lounge Coalition and followed that with another RJO Release entitled "Seriously Happy" for Wychwood Productions. His last recording with the RJO was "Toronto Launch Pad", recorded in 2006 for his own label, Timely Manor.
In 2004 he began hosting radio programs on CJRT
. In 2005 Jaymz produced a concert at the request of Ross Porter (President and CEO), to raise money for the not-for-profit radio station and "Jazz Lives", a concert featuring dozens of jazz greats at Convocation Hall, was the result. It has become an annual event in early May each year and all 1,600 tickets are sold every time. Bee also created and hosted a tour of Toronto clubs called "The Jazz Safari" which has become the most popular incentive in the history of the station. Jaymz takes a couple dozen donors to five jazz venues in Toronto about 40 nights per year and also offers international excursions to jazz capitals such as New York, Havana, New Orleans, San Franscisco and Chicago.
While Jaymz is currently working at JAZZ.FM91 in Toronto, he also runs a PR firm called Bullhorn; writes freelance for various papers and magazines and has a regular column called "City Lights" in FYI Magazine.
Currently, Jaymz is busy with his latest project...a pop group called BONZAI SUZUKI which features Dave Howard, Sahra Featherstone, Great Bob Scott, Bubz Magoo, Geegee, Legs Mahoney and BebopB. Their self-titled debut was released in the summer of 2011 and many videos can be found on You Tube. This is the first recording of completely original music Bee has made in over ten years.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
musician, writer and radio personality.
Personal life
Jaymz was born and raised in North BayNorth Bay, Ontario
North Bay is a city in Northeastern Ontario, Canada. It is the seat of Nipissing District, and takes its name from its position on the shore of Lake Nipissing.-History:...
, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
. He is a graduate of Inglenook Community High School
Inglenook Community High School
Inglenook Community High School is an alternative high school which offers only senior courses. It is housed in an historical building designed by William George Storm in Corktown, in downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The school has, on average, one hundred students and six teachers...
.
Early career
Jaymz Bee was the lead singer for the alternative rockAlternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
band Look People from 1985 to 1994. When Look People became the house band for Friday Night with Ralph Benmergui
Friday Night with Ralph Benmergui
Friday Night! with Ralph Benmergui was a Canadian television variety show, which aired on CBC Television from 1992 to 1993. In its first season, the show aired at 10 p.m., following Prime Time News. In its second season, it aired at 11 p.m....
in 1992, Bee was the show's musical director. The band also backed up comedians such as Judy Tenuta
Judy Tenuta
Judy Tenuta is an American entertainer, actress, comedienne, author, producer and accordionist.-Early life:...
, Harland Williams
Harland Williams
Harland Williams is a Canadian actor, comedian, author, artist, musician and radio personality.-Personal life:Harland Reesor Williams was born on November 14, 1962, in Toronto, Ontario, to Lorraine , a social worker, and John Reesor Williams, who worked as a member of the Ontario Provincial...
, Mark DeCarlo
Mark DeCarlo
Mark DeCarlo is an American actor.DeCarlo is the voice of Hugh Neutron on the television show Jimmy Neutron. He hosted the Travel Channel's Taste of America with Mark DeCarlo for 2 seasons in 2004 and 2005, and is also known as the host of the early 1990s dating game show Studs...
and Jim Carrey
Jim Carrey
James Eugene "Jim" Carrey is a Canadian-American actor and comedian. He has received two Golden Globe Awards and has also been nominated on four occasions. Carrey began comedy in 1979, performing at Yuk Yuk's in Toronto, Ontario...
, performed on two Lollapalooza
Lollapalooza
Lollapalooza is an annual music festival featuring popular alternative rock, heavy metal, punk rock and hip hop bands, dance and comedy performances, and craft booths. It has also provided a platform for non-profit and political groups. The music festival hosts more than 160,000 people over a...
tours and performed extensively in Europe for several years. Following the end of the show, the band broke up and Bee began recording lounge music
Lounge music
Lounge music is a retrospective description of music popular in the 1950s and 1960s. It is a type of mood music meant to evoke in the listeners the feeling of being in a place — a jungle, an island paradise, outer space, et cetera — other than where they are listening to it...
albums as Jaymz Bee and the Royal Jelly Orchestra
Jaymz Bee and the Royal Jelly Orchestra
Jaymz Bee and the Royal Jelly Orchestra is a Canadian lounge music and jazz band.-History:The band was formed by Jaymz Bee , following the breakup of The Look People, and were quickly offered a spot on Molly Johnson's Kumbaya Festival bill...
.
Jaymz Bee was also the lead singer of the Bee People, (prior to his work with Look People, The Royal Jelly Orchestra and various projects) and was a founder of the Al Waxman
Al Waxman
Albert Samuel Waxman, CM, O.Ont was a Canadian actor and director of over 1000 productions on radio, television, film, and stage...
Fan Club. The Fan Club began in the 1980s following the heyday of the King of Kensington television show. Bee, his associates Clay Tyson (son of Ian and Sylvia
Ian and Sylvia
Ian & Sylvia were a Canadian folk and country music duo which consisted of Ian and Sylvia Tyson, née Fricker. They began performing together in 1959, married in 1964, and divorced and stopped performing together in 1975.-Early lives:...
), Bazl Salazar, Bruce J. Scott and artist Max MacDonald would host parties and write songs in honour of Waxman. In 1988 Jaymz also appeared on the Carlos Perón
Carlos Perón
Carlos Perón is a Swiss musician, and was a founding member of the band Yello.-Biography:His first solo album was Impersonator . Perón founded the TRANCEONIC studio in Zürich together with Boris Blank. In this experimental studio the two developed what would later on become the famous Yello sound...
album Impersonator II.
In 1985, Jaymz met a Swiss band called Chinook, who had a change of plan after arriving in Toronto and discovering they had a lot of hard rock competition. They auditioned for singers and with over forty responses, decided Jaymz Bee was best suited for the band's sound. Within a few weeks Look People was born, and took off to play Switzerland summer festivals with one important addition. A man who would become Bee's best friend and long time collaborator; drummer Great Bob Scott. The band toured back and forth between Europe and North America many times in their nine year run. They released two EPs, three albums, one single, and several cassettes. They made a series of music videos; some shot on film with countless extras and others with a low to no budget. The video for the song "Five" received high rotation on Much Music in 1992 and made their top ten list. It was made for a mere $500...shot edited and directed by Bee.
On April 13, 1994 the band played their final two shows. A set at Club Lingerie in L.A. followed by a bizarre performance (following a band made up of porn stars) at The Palomino
Palomino Club (North Hollywood)
The Palomino Club was a music venue in North Hollywood, called "Country Music's most important West Coast club" by the Los Angeles Times. It featured such performers as Johnny Cash, Linda Ronstadt, Buck Owens, Patsy Cline, Delaney Bramlett, The Flying Burrito Brothers, Johnny Carver, Hoyt Axton,...
in North Hollywood. They parted amicably and rumours of a reunion live to this day.
Jaymz Bee returned home to Toronto and began working on a jazz (lounge) recording with childhood friend and multi-instrumentalist, Jono Grant. After recording a three song demo they were offered a gig by Molly Johnson to perform at Ontario Place for her first nation-wide AIDS benefit called "Kumbaya". The concert was broadcast coast to coast on Much Music. About this time, Jaymz and an artist ally, Melleny Melody
Melleny Brown
Born in Toronto, Canada, Melleny Brown is a singer, songwriter, artist, music producer, video producer and voice actress....
, formed an independent label called "Nepotism Records" and the first RJO debut CD was recorded. From there Jaymz was offered a position with BMG Music Canada, running a boutique label called "Leisure Lab". He released four CDs, three for his own band (featuring a plethora of guest vocalists) and one for Calgary crooner Tim Tamashiro. The next Indie Label was the short lived "Leisure Disc" which went in to partnership with the ill-fated Songcore.
Recent career
In 1997, he published the book Cocktail Parties for Dummies, and began hosting radio shows on Toronto's CFRBCFRB (AM)
CFRB, Newstalk 1010, is an AM radio clear-channel station in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, broadcasting on 1010 kHz, with a shortwave radio simulcast by CFRX-SW on 6.070 MHz. The station broadcasts a mix of talk and news throughout the day from its transmitter located in the community of...
and CFMJ
CFMJ (AM)
CFMJ is a Canadian radio station, broadcasting at 640 kHz on the AM dial. It is officially licensed to Richmond Hill, Ontario, but the studio is in the newly-constructed Corus Quay building, located at 125 Queens Quay East in Toronto...
.
In 2002, he released a new album, produced by Dave Howard, Sub Urban by Jaymz Bee and the Deep Lounge Coalition and followed that with another RJO Release entitled "Seriously Happy" for Wychwood Productions. His last recording with the RJO was "Toronto Launch Pad", recorded in 2006 for his own label, Timely Manor.
In 2004 he began hosting radio programs on CJRT
CJRT-FM
CJRT-FM is a Canadian public radio station, which broadcasts at 91.1 on the FM dial in Toronto, Ontario. CJRT currently operates as JAZZ.FM91.The station transmits at a strength of 40,000 watts; as its transmitter facilities are at the CN Tower...
. In 2005 Jaymz produced a concert at the request of Ross Porter (President and CEO), to raise money for the not-for-profit radio station and "Jazz Lives", a concert featuring dozens of jazz greats at Convocation Hall, was the result. It has become an annual event in early May each year and all 1,600 tickets are sold every time. Bee also created and hosted a tour of Toronto clubs called "The Jazz Safari" which has become the most popular incentive in the history of the station. Jaymz takes a couple dozen donors to five jazz venues in Toronto about 40 nights per year and also offers international excursions to jazz capitals such as New York, Havana, New Orleans, San Franscisco and Chicago.
While Jaymz is currently working at JAZZ.FM91 in Toronto, he also runs a PR firm called Bullhorn; writes freelance for various papers and magazines and has a regular column called "City Lights" in FYI Magazine.
Currently, Jaymz is busy with his latest project...a pop group called BONZAI SUZUKI which features Dave Howard, Sahra Featherstone, Great Bob Scott, Bubz Magoo, Geegee, Legs Mahoney and BebopB. Their self-titled debut was released in the summer of 2011 and many videos can be found on You Tube. This is the first recording of completely original music Bee has made in over ten years.