Alto Cantina
Listen to their first song
Bianca Ortolano - Vocals, Keys
At the center of Alto Cantina is Bianca Ortolano. Her presence, undeniable.
Bianca’s vocal phrasing, classic but definitely her own. Her tone, dusky and seductive.
And she has a dynamic range that matches her multi octave instrument.
Her musical education, voice and piano, is classical and pop but her real background is certainly jazz. Studying with the great Ranee Lee and learning to blow were a beginning but soon she sought out the more exotic. Anita O’Day and Rickie Lee Jones became her new jumping off point.
For Bianca’s day to day life there was singing on Tim Hortons and other commercials. But she wanted more and soon was leading a contemporary jazz quartet. Gigs at the upscale Ritz Carlton, Hotel de la Montagne and Manoir Richelieu followed. A turning point was a gig at the Casino de Montreal, where she performed, accompanied only by the renowned Montreal guitarist Tony Romandini. The idea of a stripped down presentation suited her approach and the underlying concept for Alto Cantina was born.
Gary Moffet - Guitar
Artist, producer, composer, arranger; Former member of famed Canadian band April Wine;
Gary's multi faceted career has earned him more than 40 Canadian gold and platinum awards,
including 3 double platinum awards for producing and 4 double platinum awards as an artist.
For foreign sales, Gary has received American gold (500,000) and American platinum (1,000,000) for the April Wine albums "Nature of the Beast" and "Harder....Faster". During Gary's years as a member of April Wine, the band was honoured with 16 Juno award nominations. In his home province, Gary has also earned 2 ADISQ statuettes for International record sales.
His style, elusive. His approach, always original. Gary's the one you pick out of the wall of guitars that was April Wine. His stage presence and energy, unforgettable. (check out “Roller” on YouTube - Live at the Hammersmith Odeon). But even more than that, his arranging and production skills, as in the Canadian rock classic "Oowatanite". His void in that band was never filled. "Gary was always the band guy, never the individual. Always crafting his parts to make the band sound better. That’s his producer side. To make the band shine."
Daniel Zanella - Drums
Daniel Zanella started his career in the music industry at the age of fourteen. As a drummer, he played and took part
in more than two hundred television and radio shows and as well as many CD and DVD recordings.
On tour, he accompanied numerous artists here in Quebec, across Canada and in Europe with Robert Charlebois.
Versatile musician, early on he had the opportunity to perform jazz, classical, pop, rock, funk, folk and latin music.
Still active as a freelancer in "Le Showbizz Québécois", his love and passion for music is as strong and vibrant as when he started more than thirty years ago.
Jean Pellerin - Contrabass
Distinguished contrabassist who has had the opportunity to play with the greatest names in Quebec, the United States and in France e.g. Celine Dion, Robert Charlebois, April Wine.
His impressive track record makes us understand the attribution of many awards he has collected.