ALI BERKOK (Piano) After receiving a Bachelor’s degree in music from Queen’s University in Kingston, Ali relocated to Toronto and completed his Master’s degree from the University of Toronto, where he is currently pursuing a Doctor of Musical Arts degree under the instruction of David Braid.

His musical mentors have included Dave Barton, Greg Runions, Mark Eisenman, and Don Thompson, and he has shared the stage with David Buchbinder, Jane Bunnett, Alex Dean, Andrew Downing, Kurt Elling, Nick Fraser, Mike Murley, Don Palmer, and the Toronto Jazz Orchestra.

Berkok is a founding member of Aurochs which, along with bassist Pete Johnston and drummer Jake Oelrichs, recently released their debut album Rational Animals. He also leads Arkana, a five piece modern jazz outfit that has released two recordings: Hyprovisation (2007) and Kaleidoscope (2009). Ali has collaborated with musician Mike Smith as a member of the group Muskox and as part of the Wildlife Movies project, which was featured in the 2014 Somewhere There Festival.

His latest project is solo piano music, which ranges from originals to interpretations of PJ Harvery to interventions on Cole Porter.