Though he's been forging a strong path toward musical success for more than a decade, Canadian pianist / composer Paul Tobey took several dramatic steps forward when his versatile band dazzled attendees at the 1998 JazzTimes Convention. Since then, his rise in the non-Canadian world has sped up dramatically. To wit, Tobey recently signed a multi-project deal with New York-based Arkadia Jazz, making his label debut with the worldwide release of his brand-new CD, Street Culture - an imaginative quartet outing with saxophonist Mike Murley, bassist Jim Vivian and drummer Terry Clarke.

A versatile and talented classically-trained musician who switched to jazz in the early 1980s, Tobey is excited about Arkadia's long-term plans for an array of projects that will showcase his talents. He continues to receive substantial support from Canadian institutions, including the Department of Foreign Affairs and FACTOR (Foundation to Assist Canadian Talent on Record) which sponsored the Paul Tobey Orchestra appearance at the 1998 JazzTimes convention. He has also obtained funding from the Ontario Arts Council for crafting new compositions and for a solo piano recording. Ongoing sponsorship from the Canada Council supports Tobey's Canadian tours.

Tobey's wife and manager Nancy Houle, of The Jazz Solution Artist Management agency, submitted CD masters to Arkadia and only one other label. But they kept running into Arkadia CEO Bob Karcy at various events and felt that was an important sign. Tobey received a grant to perform at The Hague Jazz Convention, and at a dinner hosted by the Canadian Embassy ended up seated across from Karcy, who soon after made an offer.

"When I saw Paul's performance at the Hague Jazz Convention, it confirmed what I heard on his demo," says Karcy. "Paul is a unique and brilliant pianist and composer. It's always an exciting feeling when I can bring great talent into our family, and I feel privileged to have the opportunity to document Paul's body of work under the Arkadia umbrella."

Born September 7, 1962 in Owen Sound, Ontario, Tobey received earliest musical training from the church organist where his father was minister. The family was immersed in the church and owned no stereo or record collection. From ages eight to 18, Tobey studied classical music and played piano for church services. A college field trip to a Toronto club where pianist Oscar Peterson was playing exposed him to jazz for the first time.

"I had reached a level of classical playing where I was playing everybody else's music and these guys were blowing me away with on-the-spot compositions which I didn't understand. It was mind-boggling to an 18-year-old," says Tobey. He had polished his classical chops playing plenty of contrapuntal music by Johann Sebastian Bach "which was probably as close to jazz as you can get." Significantly impressed with Peterson's adept, spontaneous inventions, Tobey yearned to apply his own levels of proficiency to a similar improvisational technique.

Challenged by what he'd heard, Tobey began to make the transition through an intensive jazz studies program at Mohawk College in Hamilton, earning his 1981 diploma in two years instead of the usual three because he'd already studied theory and harmony basics. At age 21, he moved to Montreal to attend Concordia University, graduating in two years with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree (1984). Tobey majored in jazz composition and arranging and his minor in computer studies - and subsequent penchant for staying abreast of the latest technology - allowed him to program CD-ROM enhancements to Street Culture.

After graduation, Tobey still wanted to improve his performing skills, so he headed for New York City, to reinforce his craft with lessons from jazz pianist Kenny Barron.
"Kenny has a way of teaching that's not entrenched in harmonic specifics and a classical way of teaching," says Tobey. "When he gives you insights into jazz, it's more a synopsis of the scene. He told me not to worry about what I'm playing but how I feel when I'm playing it."

Tobey returned to Montreal after his stint in New York, where he weathered the difficult transition from Classical music to thinking like a jazz musician. "I'm such a perfectionist," he says. "I'm my own worst critic. That was the hardest thing, to get over that boundary of being a classically trained musician. I had to take all of that stuff I had learned, toss it out the window and be a jazz musician."

In 1995, Paul moved to Toronto, a jazz-rich city that he tags as the "New York of Canada." After settling there, Tobey self-produced his first two recordings, the trio session Orpheus (1994) and the quartet date A Little Rain Must Fall (1997). As part of his new eight-record deal, Arkadia Jazz picked up Tobey's heralded third album, Wayward (1998) and his fourth and latest recording, Street Culture.

Tobey's activities include television and radio appearances, and major festival performances with an array of jazz artists at the Festival International de Jazz de Montreal, the Toronto International Jazz Festival (Harbourfront), the Waterloo and Hamilton Jazz Festivals and the 1999 JVC Jazz Festival. He's been a repeat headliner at Canada's most prestigious venue, Top O' The Senator, as well as other clubs in Toronto and across the country.

Tobey has achieved his own strong musical voice in the past decade and has been hailed by critics for his "tunes full of imagery," "agility and bright touch at the keyboard," "absolute assurance," and for playing that is "inspired, artful and unfailingly interesting." His talents have been recognized by prestigious jazz establishments such as the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz, The International Association of Jazz Educators, the Festival Internationale de Jazz de Montreal, and other Canadian organizations and critics, yet Tobey has not yet achieved widespread fame in the United States or overseas. The release of Street Culture and his upcoming work with Arkadia Jazz is certain to change all of that.