JVs boogaloo squad is a soul-jazz organ trio harkening to the great 60’s and 70s organ groups of the past such as Dr Lonnie Smith, Grant Green and Lou Donaldson who blended jazz improvisation with with the popular funk and R&B styles of their day.
Toronto-based keyboardist and composer Joel Visentin is a proud Winnipeg export with a passion for the Hammond B3 organ. Originally a pianist, the organ first grabbed him while studying music at Humber College. He has played with Barbra Lica, Kelly Lee Evans, Avery Raquel and Shannon Butcher, only to mention a few. In 2015 he joined up with the unparalleled guitarist Adam Beer-Colacino and veteran Toronto drummer Jeff Halischuk to form the group of his dreams, JV’s Boogaloo Squad. The musical connection was electric, and all three musicians immediately recognized that they had stumbled on something greater than the sum of its parts. They have since worked their way up through the national club circuit, recently headlining at major jazz festivals throughout Ontario and Québec including Toronto’s International Jazz Festival in 2018. In the short time since the release of their 2019 album, “Going to Market”, JV’s Boogaloo Squad has reached #6 on US Campus Jazz Radio charts as well as number #29 on JazzWeek’s chart for US commercial Radio. Brad Barker of Jazz FM 91 has even named this project one of three “new jazz albums from 2019 that you need to hear”.
“You can bet it’s gonna be a funky good time” ~ Errol Nazareth, CBC Big City Small World
“this is Toronto’s grooviest three-piece band. Going to Market captures a sound from the past that sounds like the future” ~ Brad Barker, Jazz FM 91
Check out: “Duchenne Smile” “Ticket to Ride” www.jvsboogaloo.com
