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Pianist Paul
Tobey was born the son of Rev. Arthur and Joy Tobey; the
middle child of three siblings. Living on a minister’s
salary meant a tough go for this young family and with no
record player in the home; popular music was simply not
a large part of Paul’s formative years. At the age
of eight, church organist and pianist Mark Perry agreed
to give Paul piano lessons. Paul’s mother would save
up .50 cents so that every Friday evening the aspiring pianist
could buy a hamburger after school on his way to his piano
lesson – a boyhood memory he still cherishes to this
day.
Listen
to Jazz Pianist Paul Tobey
Without a doubt, Paul
was immediately absorbed by the piano, and by age nine he’d
already developed a competitive spirit and won many pianist
performance awards at the local Kiwanis Festival. His mother
never had to remind him to practice as his own self-discipline
and love for the piano kept him going.
During a field trip to
Toronto to see jazz
pianist Oscar Peterson perform, Paul connected with
jazz and he quickly switched gears leaving behind his classical
pianist training. After graduating from the Concordia
University with a Degree in Music, Tobey chose Montreal
as the home base to launch his career. The next 15 years
on the Canadian jazz scene would become fertile grooming
grounds to polish a young virtuoso pianist. Not only would
Paul be hailed for his mastery as a pianist, he would become
what the media dubbed “a legend in the making”.
From classical to jazz
to popular piano music,
Paul has always charted a distinctive path. As a young emerging
artist and pianist, he accepted jobs as Musical Director
on various Cruise Lines to make ends meet. In 1993, he met
and married a Montréal native, Nancy, who eventually
took the reins of his career. As an emerging manager, Nancy
booked Paul to major contracts headlining in Dubai
- United Arab Emirates. Successfully fostering relationships
with Arab Royalty, Tobey would be the first prominent jazz
pianist in the Middle East with appearances in Bahrain,
Fujairah, Al Ain and Abu Dhabi. Paul and Nancy’s partnership
proved to be a successful one, as she continued to book
Tobey at home and abroad in countries such as The Netherlands,
United States, Europe and Japan.
In 1994 Paul Tobey’s
first jazz pianist album “Orpheus”
( jazz
pianist ) was released through the Hilton Hotel Chain
in the Middle East. His second album “Wayward”
(jazz
pianist)distributed by Fusion III would propel the jazz
pianist in front of Canadian audiences and critics, garnering
him numerous favourable reviews. However, it wasn’t
until his third Album “Street
Culture” (jazz
pianist) did Tobey get the attention of the international
Jazz Media, garnering him rave reviews, a Juno Nomination,
an 8 record deal with Arkadia Jazz in New York, and airplay
on radio stations and airlines around the world.
Listen
to Jazz Pianist Paul Tobey
Unfortunately, the couple’s
mounting success turned into a personal nightmare,
when in early 1999, Paul awoke one day with a severe case
of Tinnitus
(Ringing in the Ears). This form of chronic tinnitus would
change both of their lives forever. Paul’s constant
physical suffering led him on a downward spiral into chronic
depression. The pianist sought medical attention and he
and Nancy scoured the globe to find a cure but, there was
none to be found. At the same time, a political rift was
developing in the jazz industry between Nancy and two key
prominent figures in jazz. As the fight escalated Paul grew
more and more disillusioned with the jazz music scene. Eventually,
in support of his wife, and to give himself time for personal
healing, he made the choice to walk away from his jazz career
completely.This was a bold move at the time, but it would
eventually open many doors which led to even greater
musical opportunities.
Paul’s personal healing
journey of mental, emotional, spiritual and physical health
was just beginning. In addition to Paul’s ongoing
struggle with tinnitus, he and his wife were having some
very tough legal battles in their professional lives. There
were three defamation suits pending against leading jazz
industry giants. Also, in the wake of 9/11, Paul’s
New York based record label, Arkadia Jazz, was reneging
on its contracts. During this difficult time Paul recorded
his first solo jazz pianist CD “Live
at the Glenn Gould.” It is very introspective
account of Paul’s state of mind at the time. Though
funded by the Ontario
Arts Council, the album has never been released to the
mainstream public.
Then, in the face of complete
uncertainty, in a move that showed newly aquired confidence
and inspired living, the Tobey’s decided to drop their
law suits. They were quoted as saying “In
order to attract the new, you must be willing to let go
of the old”. Excited about letting go of
the negative energy, they refocused their attention to doing
what they love and began to reinvent their lives and forge
new more mainstream audience.
Paul’s next self
produced album, Live
at the Sanderson, featured a whole new side to his
music. Under the direction of veteran Producer Bruce Davidsen
(best known for his work with pianist
Frank Mills, pianist
Haygood Hardy and Anne
Murray), Tobey worked at becoming much less cerebral
in his playing style. He adopted an entertainment style
that would showcase a collection of popular instrumental
pianist pieces using a mix of jazz, classical and popular
music.
The critics began to rave
about the pianist's “entertainment style” and
“technique”. It was the birth of a whole new
showman! Both the album and live concerts garnered new fans,
magazine covers and more sales. This album was awarded Pianist
of the Year, and ironically Jazz Album of the Year. But,
the ultimate reward was Paul’s growing audiences and
sold-out performances.
In the spring of 2004,
Paul achieved a personal triumph when he trekked a spiritual
pilgrimage on the Road
to Santiago. While walking the 850 km across Northern
Spain, Paul composed 22 new compositions including 9 for
himself on piano and full symphony orchestra. Paul is currently
perfecting these arrangements for his World Premiere of
the Road
to Santiago Suite to be performed with the Brantford
Symphony February 18th, 2007.
In addition to the music
created during his pilgrimage he and his partner, documentary
filmmaker Drew Dekker, shot over 60 hours of film. Paul
has so far produced 2 short documentaries from the footage:
The Brotherhood
about the famous Gregorian Chanting Monks of the
Benedictine Order from Santo
Domingo de Silos, and Oh
Ye of Little Faith, which tells an inspiring personal
journey of faith and creativity.
As fate would have it,
and because of his growing notoriety, Paul started getting
numerous requests to give motivational
and inspirational seminars. With over 30 speaking
engagements booked, he decided to acquire some training
skills and became a certified trainer. He also started adding
motivational products to his catalogue. Fans can now download
online seminars, meditation recordings, films and books.
Paul’s subscription list has grown to over 10,000
people in under a year. His journey with tinnitus
became very public as Tinnitus Today the journal of the
American Tinnitus
Association published his story.
However, Tobey’s
resurgence into the limelight was to be sidelined once again
as his mother was diagnosed in the advanced stages of Multiple
Myeloma and kidney failure. Joy Tobey, also affectionately
known as Mrs. Clause, was an avid lover of Christmas music.
In late 2005, with time quickly running out for his mother,
the pianist set up an impromptu recording session and recorded
“Christmas
at the Piano”; with the arrangements and production
taking less than 10 days to complete.
Listen
to Jazz Pianist Paul Tobey
Paul also mounted a Christmas
concert at the same time which was to be the last time his
mother ever saw him perform. The community responded in
numbers to the live concert, and over 600 tickets were sold
in less than 10 days.
Ball
Media delivered the CD to the concert hot off the presses
only one hour before curtain call. More than 320 CD’s
were sold during the 15 minute intermission, and the morning
paper headlines read “A
Frenzied Mob Right About New Tobey CD”. But
the best part is that Paul had granted his mother’s
final Christmas wish as she was wheeled into the concert
hall for one last concert.
She died only a few short
weeks later and as she lay in the hospital emergency room
she requested a CD player from the staff so she could pass
away while listening to her son’s music. With her
favourite piece “Jesu Joy of Man’s Desiring”
playing in the background she slid into a coma and died
the same day Jan. 25th 2006. Paul’s Christmas at the
Piano remains a deeply personal project with enormous amount
of love poured into each and every Christmas medley.
And for many of these
reasons, jazz pianist Paul Tobey has learned to be
a multi-dimensional artist. From jazz, classical to popular
music performance, from filmmaking, composing for cinema
to public speaking, he’s an artist that crosses all
demographics in his appeal. Recently, in June 2006 he triumphed
at the Montreal Jazz Festival which was his first
return to jazz audiences since 2002.
On Feb. 18th 2007, Paul
debuts his Road to Santiago Suite with Symphony –
an eclectic mix of inspiring instrumental pianist music
utilizing all his styles including Spanish folk, jazz pianist,
classical and popular piano. To be continued…
Listen
to Jazz Pianist Paul Tobey
. . . . .
What makes pianist Paul
Tobey's Concerts so different? Click
here to find out!
" Pianist Paul
Tobey is a dynamic individual. He is a natural in front
of the audience both when he speaks and plays. His witty
banter is very entertaining but of course it is his musicianship
that is most moving." Barrie Life
~ Review From 2006 Barrie Jazz and Blues Festival Read
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