The Jazz Singer - John Neudorf

Tom Szczesniak: composer, arranger, conductor, pianist, electric bassist and accordionist

Tom first arrived in Toronto in 1973, following a stint with the U.S. Air Force Band in Washington, D.C. Since that time, he has performed as a musician on the scores of over 100 feature films, numerous television shows (such as “Earth: Final Conflict”, “Street Legal”, “The Road to Avonlea”, “Side Effects”, “SCTV”, “The Woflman Jack Show and “The Jim Henson Hour”) and over 1,000 commercials. As a player, he has also been much in demand by some of the finest international performing artists, such as Gordon Lightfoot, Anne Murray, Esthero (arrangements – Gold Album), Brian Adams, Little Richard, K.D. Lang, Lenny Breau, Joe Williams, Marc Jordan, Marvin Hamlisch, Dan Hill, The Rankin Family, Dionne Warwick, Bruce Guthrow, Smokey Robinson, Bobby McFerrin, Diahann Carole and Susan Aglukark, as well as jazz greats “The Boss Brass”, Gil Evans, Thad Jones, The Cape Breton Symphony, Nimmons and 9, Bruce Cassidy’s Hotfoot Band, The Canadian Pops Orchestra as well as performances for former U.S. Presidents Richard M. Nixon and Lyndon B. Johnson.

As a composer and arranger, Tom has used his writing skills to enhance a wide variety of cinematic, televised, commercial and theatrical productions, and has been an integral part of several highly-regarded music production houses, including Acrobat Music, Pursuit Communications and Trudel Productions. Music is an essential element of any “visual” art form, and Tom’s compositions have enhanced and illuminated over 100 feature films, as well as animated and “live action” productions such as “Ruby Gloom”, “Franklin the Turtle” (syndicated series and four full-length features), “Gerald McBoing Boing”, “Fraggle Rock”, “Sesame Street”, “Beetlejuice” (the ABC/Fox animated series), “The Care Bears”, “The Adventures of Tin-Tin”, “An American Tale”, “Alfred Hitchcock Presents” and the animated CBS series, “Ace Ventura”. In 1993, Tom formed a company (along with the formidable musical multi-threat, Ray Parker), “ParkerSzczmith Music Inc”, and since that time, has been composing, conducting, playing and arranging under the auspices of this successful and award-winning company.

Tom has been honoured to be a multiple recipient of the Socan Award for “Film and Television Music” (1994/95/97/98/99 and 2000-2006), the Emmy Award for “Beetlejuice” 1991. In 1986, The International Film Festival of New York presented him with an award for his work on Ontario Lottery Commercials (“Together”).