Jaymz Bee

Jaymz was born and raised in North Bay, Ontario. He is a graduate of Inglenook Community High School.[3]

Bee was the lead singer of the band Bee People, and was a founder of the Al Waxman Fan Club in the 1980s.

In 1985, Bee audition with members of the Swiss band Chinook, who planned to start a new band in Toronto and needed a lead singer. They selected him, as well as Bee's drummer friend Bob Scott, and within a few weeks had formed the alternative rock band Look People, and set off to play Switzerland summer festivals.[4][5] They released two EPs, three albums, one single, and several cassettes. Meanwhile, in 1988, Bee also performed on the Carlos Perón album Impersonator II.

Look People made a series of music videos, some with small budgets; the video for the song "Five" received high rotation on Much Music in 1992 and made their top ten list. When Look People became the house band for Friday Night with Ralph Benmergui in 1992, Bee became the show's musical director.[6] The band also backed up comedians such as Judy Tenuta, Harland Williams, Mark DeCarlo and Jim Carrey, performed on two Lollapalooza tours[7] and performed extensively in Europe for several years. Following the end of the show, the band broke up in April 1994.

Bee returned home to Toronto and began working on a jazz (lounge) arrangements with Jono Grant, a childhood friend and multi-instrumentalist. After recording a three-song demo they were asked to perform at Ontario Place as part of Molly Johnson's AIDS benefit "Kumbaya", which was broadcast across Canada on Much Music.

About this time, Bee and Melleny Melody formed an independent label called "Nepotism Records". Bee formed "Jaymz Bee and the Royal Jelly Orchestra" and recorded the group's first lounge music album in 1995.[8][9]

Bee worked at BMG Music Canada, running a boutique label called "Leisure Lab". He released a CD for Calgary crooner Tim Tamashiro, and three more albums for the Royal Jelly Orchestra.

In 1997, Bee published the book Cocktail Parties for Dummies,[10] and began hosting radio shows on Toronto's CFRB and CFMJ. In 2002, he released a new album, produced by Dave Howard, Sub Urban by Jaymz Bee and the Deep Lounge Coalition and followed that with another Royal Jelly Orchestra release entitled Seriously Happy for Wychwood Productions. His last recording with the RJO was Toronto Launch Pad, recorded in 2006 for his own label, Timely Manor.

In 2004 Bee began hosting radio programs on CJRT. In 2005 he produced a concert, "Jazz Lives", at Convocation Hall, to raise money for the not-for-profit radio station; this has become an annual event. Bee also hosted tours of Toronto clubs for donors, and organizes international excursions to jazz capitals, including New York, Havana, New Orleans, San Francisco, Chicago, London, Perugia, and Reykjavik.

[8][11] For over a decade Jaymz ran a PR firm called Bullhorn which turned into a personal monthly newsletter in 2016. Bee formed a pop group called Bonzai Suzuki with Dave Howard. Their self-titled debut was released in the summer of 2011 and their follow up recording called "Everything Leads To Everything Else". He also collaborated with Carlos Peron (ex member of the band Yello) on an electronic dance recording called "Tuk" and most recently (2017) began writing and recording The Tiki Collective - a surf jazz band led by guitarist Eric St-Laurent. In 2018 this group released their debut album Muse,[12] which reached #17 on the Canadian campus radio jazz chart in December.[13] His publishing company "Happy Fingers Music" continues to record for a number of jazz and pop artists.

In 2020 Bee released three albums (along with his partner Lorenzo Digianfelice) on his Vesuvius Music Inc. record label included John Finley's "Soul Singer" produced and arranged by Lou Pomanti - and The Tiki Collective albums "Anthology" and "Muse Re-Visited".

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