Kathleen Gorman

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Kathleen is a talented pianist / songwriter who grew up in Halifax, Nova Scotia, in a musical family where creative expression was encouraged. Piano lessons started at age six, and years of classical studies gave her a solid musical foundation.She was exposed to a wide range of musical genres, from symphony concerts to local blues and jazz bands, touring artsits like Ray Charles and Victor Borge. She started composing at the piano in her teens, and always had numerous opportunities to play in local festivals, recitals, and to sing in church choirs. By sixteen she knew she wanted to play popular styles, blues and Jazz, and to write her own music. From the music of Gershwin to Marvin Hamlish, Michel Legrand to Steely Dan and Stevie Wonder, she was inspired to write her own songs and began doing so in her teens.
She completed an ARCT in piano performance, and later a BA in Enlish lit, all the while developing her early songwriting and compositional skills on the family grand piano. She composed a piano piece for CTV’s final coverage of the Winter Olympics in Sarajevo. This was enough encouragement for her at age twenty two to move to Montreal where she was accepted into Concordia for Jazz and compostion studies, and later McGill Universty for composition and orchestration. Montreal provided a rich cultural environment of jazz festivals, late night jam sessions at clubs, and a chance to hear a lot of great Jazz artists from around the world.
She worked steadily as a pianist/singer in upscale hotel gigs like the Hilton and Ritz Carlton, as well as corporate events, before finally moving to Toronto. After setting up a home studio, Kathleen collaborated with local artists and producers on numerous recording projects, including her song, " Hope and Pray" written for 911 which was aired on CBC radio in September, 2001.
She has performed at countless local venues, from solo piano at the School House restaurant, the Liberty Bistro, to dance venues and outdoor blues fests with R& B and jazz bands. She is a member of the Canadian Songwriters' Association, the International Association of Jazz Educators and SOCAN. She started the Toronto Music Lab, a creative project studio for songwriters and local musicians to collaborate and record, and offers her composition and arranging skills to other musicians/artists in Toronto.
Recently she recorded a collection of jazz/pop originals with some of Toronto’s top jazz musicians, including Henry Heillig (bass) Rob Piltch (guitar) Ben Riley ( drums) Dennis Kelde ( Hammond B organ), and long time collaborator Kirk Starkey (cello). These self produced and arranged songs feature Kathleen on piano, Rhodes and vocals, beautifully recorded and mixed by Jeremy Darby, mastered by Ron Skinner in Toronto.