Jaroslav "Jerry" Toth (15 November 1928 – 31 March 1999) was a Canadian saxophonist, clarinetist, flutist, arranger, composer, and record producer.

Life and career

Born in

Windsor, Ontario Windsor ( ) is a city in southwestern Ontario, Canada. It is situated on the south bank of the Detroit River directly across from the U.S city of Detroit, Detroit, Michigan. Geographically located within but administratively independent of Esse ...

, Toth was the son of Slovak violinist and

cimbalom The cimbalom, cimbal (; ) or concert cimbalom is a type of chordophone composed of a large, trapezoidal box on legs with metal strings stretched across its top and a damping pedal underneath. It was designed and created by József Schunda, V. ...

maker Carl Toth, the brother of musicians

Rudy Toth Rudy Toth (16 December 1925 – 9 July 2009) was a Canadian composer, arranger, conducting, conductor, pianist, and cimbalom player of Czechoslovakia, Slovak birth. As a composer he wrote works mainly for television and the radio, working ...

and Tony Toth, and the brother-in-law of violinist and lyricist Josephine Toth. He studied at

The Royal Conservatory of Music The Royal Conservatory of Music (RCM; ), branded as The Royal Conservatory, is a non-profit music education institution and performance venue headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded in 1886 by Edward Fisher as The Toronto C ...

in Toronto with Frank Hiron and Herbert Pye. In 1953, he pursued further woodwind studies with Dale Eisenhuth in Los Angeles. From 1945–1953 Toth played alto saxophone in numerous dance bands in Toronto, including those led by Stan Patton, Bobby Gimby, and Trump Davidson. From 1952–1957 he co-led a seventeen-piece jazz band with trombonist Ross Culley and saxophonist Roy Smith. From 1956–1974 he studied orchestration with

Phil Nimmons Phillip Rista Nimmons (June 3, 1923 – April 5, 2024) was a Canadian jazz clarinetist, composer, bandleader, and educator. Nimmons played "free jazz" and mainstream styles, and other genres including classical music. He composed more than 400 ...

and was a member of Nimmons' jazz bands. From 1970–1990 he was a member of

Rob McConnell Robert Murray Gordon McConnell (14 February 1935 – 1 May 2010) was a Canadian jazz trombonist, composer, and arranger.Jeff Sultanof. Experiencing Big Band Jazz: A Listener's Companion'. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers; 8 November 2017. . p ...

and the Boss Brass, a big band which often featured him on alto saxophone. He also performed with his own jazz quartet. In the latter part of his career, he was active as a studio musician and record producer. Toth worked for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation in a variety of roles. In 1954 he began playing in several CBC orchestras conducted by

Jack Kane John Thomas Kane (23 July 1908 – 27 October 1988) was an Australian politician. Born in Burraga, New South Wales, he was educated at Catholic schools in Lithgow, after which he became a coalminer. He was vice-president of the Transport Work ...

. From 1957–1960 he served as chief arranger and music director for the CBC program ''Parade''. In the mid-1960s he began writing jingles for CBC Radio and Television with his brother, Rudy. He orchestrated the theme music for ''Hockey Night in Canada'' and "A Place to Stand, A Place to Grow", the unofficial anthem of Ontario. He served as audio consultant for many TV productions and contributed music to Rich Little's Emmy Award-winning television production of ''A Christmas Carol''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Toth, Jerry 1928 births 1999 deaths Canadian clarinetists Canadian male composers Canadian male saxophonists Musicians from Windsor, Ontario The Royal Conservatory of Music alumni 20th-century Canadian composers 20th-century Canadian saxophonists 20th-century Canadian male musicians 20th-century Canadian flautists