The Toronto Jazz Community is in shock and dismay over the sudden loss of beloved musician, drummer and composer Julia Cleveland, who tragically passed away in a fatal collision in the city’s west end on Monday night.
Julia was a talented percussionist, composer and advocate for Toronto’s music community. She worked as the Finance Manager for the Toronto Musicians Association and even ran her own music school for a few years called The Julia Cleveland Music Learning and Exploration School prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to her Instagram account.
Tributes have been pouring out on social media from friends and fellow musicians since Julia was confirmed as the victim in Monday’s night fatality. Wake Up! host and musician Heather Bambrick was classmates with Julian while attending the University of Toronto’s music program in the 1990s. “Julia was a talented, determined, kind, supportive, and overall wonderful soul,” Bambrick expressed in a statement today. “She gave some much to the world around her, whether as a friend or as a musician, and the number of people who are heartbroken today after hearing the news of her untimely death speaks to the love and respect she had from her colleagues, peers, and friends.”
Tara Cleveland, Julia’s sister, remembered her as a “wonderful and talented musician and composer,” in various statements to the media. “The family would like to ask all Torontonians to slow down and be careful on the roads. Just a little bit of speeding and a moment of inattention can mean that a beautiful, loved, person like Julia has their life extinguished in the blink of an eye,” she said in a statement to Global News.
Cleveland was also a bandleader who led her own quartet, the Julia Cleveland Quartet, that performed as various venues and festivals such as the Montreal Jazz Festival.
Award-winning vocalist and artistic director of Jazz in Toronto Ori Dagan remembers her as a “wonderful talent and a beautiful person who was great to be around and lit up any room she was in.”
One of Julia’s final shows was at the Bluebird Bar with her trio, The Julia Cleveland Trio, on September 19 in her beloved community of the Junction where she lived with her partner who was also injured in the collision. According to Tara, Julia was working on some new compositions and was preparing to perform them next month.
We were fortunate to feature Julia in an episode of Jazzology back in 2007 as well as a featured performer at various Jazz Safaris over the years. We can attest to the immense talent she possessed. Julia leaves behind her partner John, her immediate family, friends and fellow musicians. The fatal collision is still under investigation and no funeral arrangements have been announced at this time.