History of The Merlin Factor

During the winter of 1985-'86, Merlin Factor leader/drummer/lyricist Jim Hillman spent three months in New York studying at the Drummers' Collective. Returning to Montreal with plenty of creative inspiration, he put together the first version of the group, which featured vocalist Geraldine Hunt, Joshua El on keys, bassist Kevin DeSouza, saxophonist Janis Steprans, and Andre Dupuis on percussion.

The group's style slowly evolved through performances at the city's storied nightclub L'Air Du Temps, and other spots like Kilometre/L'Heure that featured alternative jazz styles. The band played an eclectic mix of tunes, often using Hillman's arrangements. When Geraldine Hunt left for a stint in Europe, she was replaced by vocalist Kim Richardson; under similar circumstances James Gelfand later became the band's new pianist/keyboardist, replacing the absent Joshua El. In a final shuffle Rhonda Smith took over the bass chair vacated by DeSouza. The remaining unit - Richardson, Gelfand, Smith, Dupuis, Steprans and Hillman - remained together for a significant amount of time, effectively forming the first complete edition of the group.

In an effort to create a more original sound, Hillman wrote lyrics for Gelfand's composition "Sunsplash", thus stumbling onto a formula that became the group's signature: Hillman's skills as a lyricist in collaboration with various composers to create a unique repertoire. Over the years The Merlin Factor has thus become a vehicle for Jim Hillman's lyrics; it remains so today. The list of collaborating composers is long and includes internationally-known musicians such as John McLaughlin and Marcus Miller, as well as Canadians such as Gelfand, Dave Restivo and others.

In the early 90s the group was able to record two CBC "Jazzbeat" radio shows, which were eventually expanded upon to produce the first CD: "Jim Hillman/The Merlin Factor". The recording, released on the now-defunct Montreal label Amplitude, provided enough exposure to win the JAZZ REPORT magazine's "Electric Jazz Group of the Year" award for 1994; in the spring of 1995 the JUNO Award for "Best Contemporary Jazz Album" was awarded to the group as well. It was a fertile period of critical recognition for the group.

By this time, saxophonist Steprans had left the band, to be replaced by Andre Leroux; and Rhonda Smith became the bassist for Prince, to be replaced by Mathieu Cormier. Occasional performances continued at Montreal's L'Air Du Temps, The Clarendon Hotel in Quebec City and Toronto's Top O' The Senator jazz venues.

Their second CD, now solely under the name of The Merlin Factor, was entitled "Frontier Tunes" - also partly culled from CBC radio performances - and was released on Toronto's Radioland label in the fall of 1995. It went on to be nominated for a '95 JUNO, again in the 'Contemporary Jazz' category. At the same time, the band was twice more honoured by the JAZZ REPORT magazine for "Electric Jazz Group of the Year" awards, both in 1995 and 1996. Kim Richardson decided to leave the group in '96, and was replaced by Toronto vocalist Jacintha Tuku. A concert at Montreal's Lion D'Or nightclub, with Tuku now in the band, was recorded for BRAVO TV, and went into a long and continued rotation.

But unfortunately, outside of these sporadic but nonetheless prestigious events, the recognition the group received remained within the community of Canadian musicians and critics only, and never translated into more significant exposure or performing opportunities. For five years following their JUNO victory the group was virtually ignored by the powers-that-be in Canadian jazz festival circles, and nightclub work was restricted to clubs that were prepared to buck the jazz trend towards more traditionally-oriented repertoires. Whatever momentum the group had developed began to stall. In 1996, aware that Canadian opportunities had reached a ceiling, Hillman moved to New York, but was unable to get very far with American agencies who were looking for a stronger Canadian profile.

In 1997 the group recorded tracks in Montreal for their third CD, the second one on the Radioland label. Ron Seguin was added on electric bass to replace the unavailable Cormier. "Relationships" was released in 1998, at a time when Hillman moved from New York to Toronto. This began an era of fresh personnel for the group, featuring along with Hillman's drumming continued vocals by Tuku, piano/keyboards provided by Dave Restivo, Rich Brown on electric bass, and percussion by Rick Lazar, then later Alan Hetherington. Vocalists Betty Richardson and Yvette Tollar were added to create a three-piece vocal section. This group became the Toronto version of The Merlin Factor, staying together as a unit for several years. They performed at the Medellin Jazz festival in 1999.

Hillman eventually returned to Montreal. In 2003 "Choose", The Merlin Factor's fourth CD, was released on Hillman's own Tamatina label ; it was essentially the culmination of the Toronto group's repertoire, with extra vocal, percussion and synth tracks added by Montreal musicians and singers. In 2007, they released their fifth CD. The group has remained intact with a personnel base from the two Canadian cities, touring Western Canada in 2004. They continue to perform sporadically but always successfully at Quebec's 'Maisons de la Culture', for CBC radio, and most recently appearing at The Rex Hotel in Toronto. Many Canadian libraries stock Merlin Factor CDs, donated by the group.