Fred Mollin - Producer
Grammy-nominated, best-selling producer and composer Fred Mollin has been a huge part of Annie’s musical life in 2017 / 2018.
Fred Mollin has been working in the top ranks of the music industry for over 4 decades, having produced hundreds of records, and worked with the likes of Billy Joel, BB King, Carole King, Dan Hill, and more. He maintains a busy international schedule of performing, music directing, producing, and composing, and currently divides his time between Los Angeles and Nashville.
Annie approached Fred Mollin in 2017 about the possibility of working with him on her upcoming album, and the two agreed to team up. The result is “Durban Girl”, a 10 track collection of Toronto and Nashville-produced tracks that brings together the best of Annie’s compositional style, and Fred’s mastery of the modern recording studio.
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Ross MacIntyre - Bass
ROSS HAS BEEN A TRUSTED MUSICIAN ON DOZENS OF ANNIE’S SHOWS, AS WELL AS AN ALBUM CONTRIBUTOR
Ross is one of Canada’s most requested and sought-after bass players, having notched well over a hundred studio recordings in his belt. In addition to dozens of international tours with Grammy and Juno-winning artists, Ross also maintains a busy schedule of performing in Toronto and throughout the world. He’s a graduate of the University of Toronto, and is considered a top master of the upright bass in Canada.
Ross’s collaboration with Annie stretches back to 2015, when he began performing and recording with her. He also takes rightful credit for introducing Annie to her partner, Stu Harrison, himself a mutual friend of both.
Stu Harrison - Piano/Management
STU AND ANNIE, BOTH PARTNERS IN MUSIC AND IN LIFE, HAVE BEEN COLLABORATING EXTENSIVELY SINCE 2017 ON ALL ASPECTS OF ANNIE’S WORK.
Stu began piano at the age of 3, and quickly began performing, gigging, and composing by his early teens. He achieved his ARCT in Classical Performance by 16, and later attended the University of Toronto in the Jazz Performance program, graduating in 2003.
He has been a regular fixture of the Toronto music scene since, having performed well over 2000 times throughout Canada and the US. He can be found at jazz festivals, clubs, private events, and the recording studio. Part musician, part entrepreneur, he is also heavily involved with Merriam Music, where he manages its sales and marketing departments and leads its business development initiatives.
Stu has assisted Annie in the production of her latest album “DURBAN GIRL”, along with assisting in production of all aspects of Annie’s promotional materials and online presence. He is also featured on 3 tracks from “DURBAN GIRL”.
Scott Neary - Guitar
SCOTT IS A REGULAR COLLABORATOR OF ANNIE – BOTH IN LIVE SETTINGS AS WELL AS THE STUDIO. HE’S ALSO A MASTER GUITARIST, CLINICIAN, SESSION PLAYER, AND COMPOSER.
Scott Neary is an award winning guitarist/composer/arranger. He is a graduate of the University of North Texas Master’s of Music program, where he was a member of the Grammy Nominated One O’Clock Lab Band, and can be heard on their recording Lab 2013. He was a faculty member of UDLA (Universidad de las Americas) in Quito, Ecuador, from 2013-2014, where he taught theory, arranging, ear training, ensembles, and guitar performance. Now living in Toronto, Scott maintains a busy schedule as a freelance guitarist/pianist/vocalist, songwriter, arranger, producer, and music director. You can hear him on Ilios Steryannis’s The Bethany Project (2018), and Leslie Huyler’s Thank You (2017).
Natalie Wong - Violin
NATALIE WONG IS A LONG-TIME AND IMPORTANT COLLABORATOR FOR ANNIE, BOTH LIVE AND IN THE STUDIO
Natalie has been making music almost as long as she could speak. She started taking lessons at 3, and was playing violin by the age of 7. She had achieved the Royal Conservatory’s ARCT designation by 16, and went on to major in violin performance at U of T. She’s a regular performer with a multitude of orchestras, chamber ensembles, and jazz & pop groups. She’s also a core member of the Niagara Symphony Orchestra. She also leads her own group specializing in Spanish fusion, called “The Urban Gypsy Trio”.
Natalie’s involvement with Annie goes back several years, and now includes over 50 public performances, as well as major contributions to all three of Annie’s albums, Shades of Red, Be Careful What You Wish For, and Durban Girl.
The musical and personal friendship continues to shape Annie’s creative output – something she’s eternally grateful for!
Jamie Bird - Percussion
JAMIE IS A RECENT ADDITION TO ANNIE’S CIRCLE OF COLLABORATORS, HELPING TO CREATE A TOTALLY UNIQUE PERCUSSIVE TEXTURE IN HER LATEST ALBUM.
Jamie Bird is a graduate from the University of Western Ontario, Bachelor of Musical Arts program with a focus in Percussion performance. During his five years at UWO he was an active participant in the UWO Percussion Ensemble, Wind Ensemble, Symphonic Band, Jazz Ensemble, and held the post of Musical Director for the award winning Western Mustang Band for three seasons (2006-2009).
Jamie is an active member of the vibrant musical scene in Toronto, Ontario. He can be seen around town playing in cover bands, on stage with a cabaret performer, or in the pit orchestra for a musical theatre production.
For the final track of “DURBAN GIRL”, Annie and Jamie collaborated on a unique acoustic / electric drum track that simply has to be heard to be appreciated. Look for Jamie to be working with Annie in upcoming shows and recordings in the future.
John Hemingway - Cowriter
JOHN HEMINGWAY IS A RESPECTED NASHVILLE-BASED SONGWRITER WHO ANNIE HAS COLLABORATED SEVERAL TIMES WITH, INCLUDING “LET ME GO” OFF THE MOST RECENT ALBUM ‘DURBAN GIRL’.
John Robert Hemingway is a fulltime songwriter living near Nashville, Tennessee who writes image-rich Country, Pop, and Americana songs. Prior to moving to Nashville, John served as a Chicago Coordinator for the Nashville Songwriters Association, International where he led and participated in monthly workshops for aspiring songwriters. He has written and co-written hundreds of songs with more than four dozen songwriters and performing artists from four different continents.
John grew up in a musical family with two brothers on a grain and livestock farm in eastern Iowa. His father played fiddle and accordion. His mother played the piano and clarinet, sang in choirs and was a high school marching band drum major. Both of John’s brothers became professional musicians. John learned to play piano and trumpet at an early age, and began playing in a six-piece country, western, and standards band as a senior in high school. He continued to perform and earn his way through college and grad school with weekend gigs, waiting tables, a graduate teaching assistantship, and various part time jobs. He wrote his first song while in the 8th grade.
John’s songwriting influences are too numerous to mention but include such greats as Steve Allen, Burt Bacharach, The Beatles, Mariah Carey, Johnny Cash, Chicago, David Alan Coe, Floyd Cramer, Hal David, Tom Douglas, Ronnie Dunn, Duke Ellington, Merle Haggard, Alan Jackson, Billie Joel, Tom Johnson, Toby Keith, Kris Kristofferson, Barry Manilow, Roger Miller, Willie Nelson, Jennifer Nettles, Jerry Reed, Kenny Rogers, Keith Richards, Don Schlitz, Steve Seskin, Ray Stevens, James Taylor, Phil Vassar, Brian Wilson and Craig Wiseman.
