Women’s Blues Revue Band
The Women’s Blues Revue Band has been a cornerstone of the Women’s Blues Revue since its inception in 1986. Over the years, the WBR Band has featured many of Canada’s most prestigious instrumentalists and blues musicians, including Donna Grantis, Brandi Disterheft, Suzie Vinnick, Sue Foley, Colleen Allen, Lily Sazz, Carrie Chesnutt, Rebecca Hennessy, Morgan Doctor, Christine Bougie, Emily Burgess, Lindsay Beaver and many more.
The Women’s Blues Revue Band perform continuously throughout the evening, supporting the featured vocalists and forming the foundation of the show.
This year’s Women’s Blues Revue Band includes:
Elena Kapeleris (Sax & Bandleader)
Emily Burgess (Guitar)
Carrie Chesnutt (Sax)
Alison Young (Sax)
Marie Goudy (Trumpet)
Morgan Doctor (Drums)
Stacie McGregor (Keys)
Angelique Francis (Bass)
BAND MEMBERS
Elena Kapeleris | Saxophone & Bandleader
Elena Kapeleris is a Toronto-based saxophonist, vocalist, composer, bandleader, and educator, whose love of various styles of music has lead her from Jazz, to R&B, to Blues, to World Music and more. A graduate of the Humber College Jazz Performance program, Elena has studied saxophone with world renowned saxophonist Pat LaBarbera, composition with the great Don Thompson, and voice with Shannon Gunn.
Elena is currently a member of blues singer Rita Chiarelli’s touring band, Yetunde Ajasin’s Afrika Libre, and play with Kellylee Evans band, Jully Black’s group, The Jay Danley Ethiojazz Project and Larry Graves’ Surfire Sweat.
Kapeleris also leads multiple projects of her own, and is in the process of writing her second album. She is currently a private instructor of voice and woodwinds at Centennial College. During Elena’s career, she has performed with many other recognized artists such as Brandi Disterheft, Pat LaBarbera, Neil Swainson, Hilario Duran, Rich Brown, Tanya Tagaq, Eric St- Laurent, Sly Juhas, Colleen Allen, Rebecca Hennessy, Shakura S’Aida, Christine Duncan,
Ted Quinlan, and many more. She has played Massey Hall and the NAC in Ottawa multiple times with the Women’s Blues Revue. Kapeleris has performed with these great artists at many different venues in the city, as well as clubs and Jazz and Blues Festivals around the world.
Emily Burgess | Guitar
Emily Burgess graduated with honours from Humber College’s prestigious music program at twenty-two years old, majoring in guitar. Direct from the hallways to the roadways, Emily began touring Canada and the U.S with the JUNO nominated 24th Street Wailers. Eight years and hundreds of shows later, she fronting her own band, The Emburys, and playing guitar with many different acts across Canada. Emily has shared the stage and traded riffs with guitar greats Jimmie Vaughan, John Primer, Garrett Mason, Suzie Vinnick, Sue Foley, and Sam Weber, among others. Burgess wrote two songs and took guitar duties for 2015’s JUNO nominated album “Wicked” by The 24th Street Wailers.
Since 2014, Emily has toured year-round with ‘The Baddest Band in the Land’, The Weber Brothers, bringing her constantly evolving approach and style to the band.
As a guitarist for the Women’s Blues Revue Band since 2014, Emily has had the opportunity to take her place alongside many of Canada’s top musicians at Toronto’s legendary Massey Hall every November.
In November 2017, Burgess released her debut solo album ‘Are We In Love?’, produced by The Weber Brothers. CBC music journalist Bob Mersereau calls the album “Empowering” and “A Big Winner”. John Valenteyn of The Maple Blues Newsletter writes “…she has a knack for writing attractive tunes that feature her biting lead guitar…a combination not often heard”. He adds that the album is “Gorgeously produced”.
Emily won “Best New Artist’ in 2018 at The Maple Blues Awards.
Alison Young | Saxophone
Born and raised in Ottawa, JUNO nominated saxophonist and composer 
Alison Young discovered jazz at an early age, gravitating towards the exuberance of Sonny Rollins and Cannonball Adderley, who continue to influence her to this day. As well as being featured in the National Youth Jazz Ensemble at the Ottawa jazz festival in 2001 and 2002, she began playing professionally as a teenager, developing an affinity for soul and R&B as well as jazz. Since moving to Toronto in the early 2000s to study music at the University of Toronto, Alison has been an active presence on the Toronto jazz scene.
As a sideman, Alison is versatile and in-demand, at home on soprano, alto, tenor and baritone saxophones, in a wide range of genres. She has toured across North America, Europe, South America, the Caribbean, and Asia with Joe Sealy, the Heillig Manoeuvre, Alysha Brilla, Big Rude Jake, Johnny Reid, and the Shuffle Demons, and has appeared on over 40 recordings. Her 2018 album, ‘So Here We Are’, has received regular play on JazzFM and CBC radio, as well as numerous jazz radio programs across Canada. In DownBeat magazine, writer Ted Panken described her playing at the Dominican Republic Jazz Festival as having “endless creativity and flair”. In 2017 Alison was chosen as one of the ‘Best 35 jazz Canadian Jazz Artists under 35’ by the CBC. Later that year, she was featured in Pat LaCroix and Ted O’Reilly’s book, “Toronto Jazz Treasures” alongside many of her musical heroes. In the summer of 2019, Alison toured across Canada accompanying iconic pop star Corey Hart, and was featured on his single “Dreaming Time Again”.
Alison has been leading her own band in various formations since 2012, composing and arranging for duo through to septet. Her latest project features a line up of her favourite Toronto musicians: virtuoso bassist Ross MacIntyre on upright and electric; Saskatchewan’s hard swinging Jeff McLeod on piano and organ; the eclectic and energetic Eric St Laurent on guitar; and the excellent Sly Juhas and Chris Wallace alternating on drums. The Alison Young Quintet has played the main stages of the Toronto Jazz Festival, the Ottawa Jazz Festival, the Markham Jazz Festival and the Niagara Jazz Festival. Seeking to combine her love of hard bop, soul, and New Orleans-style funk, Alison recorded an album of mostly originals with this ensemble in 2017, putting an emphasis on energy and drive, but also prioritizing elegant, singable melodies. Canadian jazz star Guido Basso joins the quintet on two songs, lending his lyrical sound to the album. The Alison Young Quintet’s debut album, ‘So Here We Are’, was released in November of 2018, and was nominated for a 2019 JUNO in the Solo Jazz Instrumental Album of the Year category.
Carrie Chesnutt | Saxophone
One part instrumentalist, one part cabaret diva, Carrie Chesnutt has had a dual career as saxophone and flute sideman and recording artist, as well as a One Woman cabaret dynamo. Carrie’s one woman show ran for 8 seasons in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico as well as touring Costa Rica and Canada.
Carrie has performed at Canada’s Walk of Fame, played with Late Night With David Lettermans’ Paul Shaffer, blues legend Paul Butterfield, Canadas Queen of the Blues Rita Chiarelli, English songwriter and gay icon Tom Robinson, Mary Wilson of the Supremes, entertained at private parties for Rick Moranis and Tom Hanks, and opened for the one and only Phyllis Diller.
Carrie’s hard hitting funk band FAT LUCYs music has been described as soulful tight and muscular
A long time regular in the WBR house-band, ( and VERY glad to be back onstage this year! ) she is a persevering, wandering sax slinger for hire these days- in case you are looking.
Marie Goudy | Trumpet
Born in Toronto, trumpet player/vocalist Marie Goudy started her professional
career at the age of sixteen. By the age of nineteen, she had already played with many notable musicians including Benny Golson, Cleo Laine and Maria Schneider. Since then she has performed with Michael Buble, Donny McCaslin, Glass Tiger and many others.
She graduated from the University of Toronto’s Masters in Jazz Performance program in 2017. She has made her mark on the Toronto music scene playing jazz, funk, mariachi, folk and Latin music, and was a featured soloist in the 2018 SOCAN Awards. Marie has played on three JUNO-nominated albums with folk-funk singer/songwriter Alysha Brilla and toured to France, Chile, Yellowknife, and Singapore with that group. In 2020, Marie came in second place in the Toronto Star Readers’ Choice Awards for Best Local Musician or Band.
Marie is a celebrated composer and arranger, and in 2018 released her first album of original music with her ensemble the Marie Goudy 12tet. This album, “The Bitter Suite” featuring vocalist Jocelyn Barth and produced by John MacLeod, was released in October of 2018. It reached #3 on the national jazz charts and received many glowing reviews, appearing on several “Top 10 Albums of 2018” lists. Marie currently leads the jazz quintet Paloma Sky, who performed a live on-air concert on Jazz FM 91.1 as part of their “Discover Women in Jazz” program in August 2022.
Morgan Doctor | Drums
Morgan Doctor is a Juno and Dora nominated performer and composer. Morgan’s original scores can be found on award winning films such as COMING CLEAN (2021) and Oscar shortlisted and Emmy nominated film, LAST FLIGHT HOME (2022). Her most recent work, THE NEW AMERICANS, premiered at 2023 SXSW film festival and will be on Netflix Jan1st 2024.
As a drummer, Morgan has spent years touring and playing with such Canadian artists as Andy Kim (Arts and Crafts), Jill Barber, Chantal Kreviazuk and Raine Maida, Fefe Dobson ,The Cliks , Ron Sexsmith, Kevin Drew, Alex Lifeson, Sandra Bernhard and many others. This is her 7th year at the Women’s Blues Revue.
Stacie McGregor | Keyboards
Pianist and composer Stacie McGregor placed 3rd in the National Yamaha Songwriting Contest 
at the age of 12. A Juno Award recipient in the “World Music“category as a band member of blues guitarist Madagascar Slim’s 1999 recording “Omnisource”, she has since recorded three jazz albums as a leader with her debut “Straight Up” charting in over 15 countries. The song “Uncle B” from the album received a 2nd place award in the International Songwriting Competition.
She has been nominated twice for the Grand Prix de Jazz General Motors and the Prix Étoiles Galaxie de Radio-Canada award at the Montreal Jazz Festival.
She co-led an album titled “Swift” with saxophonist Billy Robinson (Charles Mingus, Archie Shepp) with Billy Hart (Herbie Hancock, Miles Davis) on drums and Cutis Lundy on bass.
Her last solo recording “Rhythm, Hart & Soul” features her original compositions performed in a trio setting with New York based veteran musicians Billy Hart on drums and bassist Santi DeBriano.
The late Canadian jazz legend, drummer Archie Alleyne chose her to be the musical director of his award winning “hard-bop” band Kollage in 2013, which she continues to lead since his passing.
Her compositions can also be heard on the 2017 Kollage release “No Fuss, No Muss” (G-Three) In 2019 she was selected as a nominee for the Ontario Arts Council’s Louis Applebaum Award for best composer in Ontario.
Angelique Francis | Bass
JUNO Winning artist Angelique Francis, is a versatile and exceptionally gifted musician. This multi-talented, multi-instrumentalist, multi-genre singer-songwriter/composer has wowed audiences across the globe with her electrifying performances, instrumental abilities and powerful textured vocals. She is known for her eclectic mix of various musical genres including Folk, Blues, Soul, Roots, Gospel and Americana. Angelique has shared the stage/opened for a large roster of well-known musicians such as Gary Clark Jr, Joe Bonamassa, Eric Gales, Keb’ Mo’, Jimmy Vivino, Beth Hart, Tom Cochran, Burton Cummings, and many more. Her diversity, passion and love of music can be heard in all of her original compositions.
©2024 Toronto Blues Society. Design by Janine Stoll Media.
TBS logo and WBR artwork by Barbara Klunder
The Toronto Blues Society acknowledges the annual support of the Ontario Arts Council, the City of Toronto through the Toronto Arts Council and the Department of Canadian Heritage, and project support from FACTOR< and the Government of Canada through the Department of Canadian Heritage (Canada Music Fund) and of Canada’s Private Broadcasters, The Canada Council for the Arts, the SOCAN Foundation, SOCAN, the Ontario Media Development Corporation, and the Ontario Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport.