Music

Ron Small, born and raised in Chicago, began his professional singing career in the US Air Force with the vocal group, The Fabulous Pearls. They performed their hit song, My Heart's Desire, on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1958. After discharge from the military, Ron first traveled north with The Fabulous Pearls for a Vancouver jazz gig. The rest of The Fabulous Pearls headed south but Ron stayed and soon established himself as a regular on the city’s club circuit. With his ownership of the jazz club, Ronnie’s Rivequeen on Davie Street, Ron became a producer as well as a performer of some of the best jazz Vancouver had to offer in the late 1960s and early 70s. What was intended to be a one-year Toronto visit turned into twenty years when Ron began to add stage, film and television acting to his singing career; Dramatic highlights include One More Stop on the Freedom Train (1984) with Leon Bibb and his first film, Fields of Endless Day, one of the first substantive films about Black History in Canada. Performing as an original cast member in Garth Drabinsky’s revival of Show Boat kept Ron on the road in Canada, the U.S.A, and Europe from 1993 to 1998 after which he returned to Vancouver to live. He received a 2001 GeminiAward nominationfor Best Performance by an Actor in a Guest Role, Dramatic Series, as a result of his work in the CBC Television series, These Arms of Mine. Aside from having several sold out performances at The Cellar Jazz club in Vancouver, Ron sings with The Sojourners. This awesome gospel trio backed Jim Byrnes on his Juno Award wining CD, House of Refuge. The group recently released its own CD, Hold On, and continues to sell out its performances wherever they go. Mr. Small is a member of and soloist with The Good Noise Vancouver Gospel Choir. March 7, 8 and 9 will see Ron at The Cellar Jazz club once again - this time he is recording a live CD and you’re all invited. Ron Small is part of Vancouver’s black history!