CMC Presents : The Next Set with Ernesto Cervini

The Canadian Music Centre opens its doors to the future of Canadian jazz. The Next Set, the mentorship series led by JUNO Award-winning drummer, composer and bandleader Ernesto Cervini, arrives at the CMC for an evening where seasoned professionals and rising young talent share the stage as equals.

Launched in fall 2025 at Toronto's The Emmet Ray, The Next Set was built on a simple idea that runs through the whole history of jazz: the music is passed on at the bandstand. The series brings established players together with exceptional emerging artists in a rotating ensemble that captures both the depth of the Toronto scene today and the voices that will shape it tomorrow.

For this edition, Cervini is joined by two of Toronto's most respected players: JUNO-nominated bassist and composer Michael Herring, 2026 Louis Applebaum Composers Award nominee, and international award-winning saxophonist and composer James Griffith. Sharing the stage with them are two of the city's rising voices: trumpeter Jake Burke-Kleinman, a graduate of the University of Toronto Jazz Program who performs across the city as a bandleader and sideman, and in-demand guitarist Jesse White, a 2024 graduate of Humber Polytechnic's jazz program.

Jake Burke-Kleinman

Jake Burke-Kleinman is an emerging Toronto-based trumpet player and bandleader making a name for himself with his bold sound, lyrical phrasing, and hard-swinging approach. Rooted in the tradition while bringing a fresh, youthful energy to the bandstand, he delivers dynamic performances shaped by expressive improvisation, strong melodic ideas, and deep musical interplay.

A graduate of the University of Toronto’s Jazz Program, Jake studied with respected Toronto trumpeters Jim Lewis and Chase Sanborn, whose mentorship helped shape his sound, phrasing, and artistic voice. He is also an alumnus of JazzFM’s Youth Big Band, an experience that helped further develop his ensemble playing and deepened his connection to Toronto’s jazz community.

As both a bandleader and sideman, Jake has performed across the city, bringing a distinct voice and a deep commitment to straight-ahead playing to every performance.

James Griffith

James Griffith is an international-award winning Toronto-based jazz saxophonist, bandleader and composer. Born and raised in Lloydminster, Alberta, Griffith aims to push the envelope of contemporary jazz while staying grounded within the swinging tradition of bebop and beyond.

Winner of the 2024 International Saxophone Symposium Jazz Saxophone Competition, Griffith has had the pleasure of working and performing with international jazz icons such as Joe Farnsworth, Larnell Lewis, Terri Lyne Carrington, Dayna Stephens, David Virelles, The U.S. Navy Commodores Big Band, Lucas Pino, Ernesto Cervini, Jacob Chung, Mike Downes and more.

Additionally, Griffith has toured throughout Canada and internationally, performing at historic venues such as Jamboree (Barcelona), Storyville Jazz Club (Norway), Jazz Chaeli (Switzerland), The Yardbird Suite, The Jazz Bistro, The Rex and more. Griffith is also a highly in-demand sideman, and has performed with notable groups including The Shuffle Demons, The Joe Farnsworth Quartet, The Joy Lapps Project, The Toronto Jazz Orchestra, The Live Video Game Jazz Orchestra and The Listening Room Collective.

Jesse White

Jesse White is a versatile, sought after jazz guitarist currently based in Toronto, Canada. He completed his Bachelor of Jazz Guitar Degree at Humber Polytechnic in 2024 and has since been busy gigging and recording music with some of Canada’s finest artists. Jesse has had the privilege of sharing the stage with: Virginia Macdonald, Ale Nunez, Dave Young, Russell Hall, Lorne Lofsky, Jacob Chung, Neil Swainson, Terry Clarke, Roberto Occhipinti, Sanah Kadoura, among others. Jesse has been fortunate to study with some of the world’s best musicians, including: Pedro Martins, Tim Miller, Lucian Gray, Andrew Marzotto, Neil Swainson, Trevor Giancola, and Johan Borge. Jesse continues to strive for excellence and test his musical boundaries relentlessly.

Michael Herring

Michael Herring is a Toronto-based composer and double bassist whose writing and playing have shaped some of Canada's most distinctive jazz voices over the past two decades. A JUNO nominee and 2026 Louis Applebaum Composers Award nominee, Herring brings a deep, searching compositional intelligence to an unusually wide range of contexts across the eight working bands he leads or co-leads. They span jazz, roots, Americana and indie rock — from the chord-less 1960s architecture of the Michael Herring Quintet to the folk-inflected improvisation of Way North to the explosive modern jazz of JUNO-nominated Peripheral Vision, co-led with guitarist Don Scott. They released 918 Bathurst Videos in 2026 following their sixth album, We've Got Nothing. His latest releases are singles Front of Mind and Oh, Vulnerable Voice, co-written with Harley Card.

His bass has been called "soaring and swooping" by the Toronto Star; the Ottawa Citizen noted his "cutting-edge but accessible sounds inspired by New York's downtown jazz innovators," and the Times-Colonist named him one of the most creative musicians on the Canadian scene. Herring has performed and recorded alongside Rebecca Hennessy, Joel Frahm, David Binney, Ken Vandermark, Bucky Pizzarelli, Percy Sledge, Ernest Ranglin, and former Herbie Hancock drummer Richie Barshay, among many others. He was awarded a Chalmers Arts Fellowship to support an extended residency in New York City. He studied jazz at the University of Toronto, where he now teaches, having grown up in Victoria, BC.

Ernesto Cervini

JUNO Award winner Ernesto Cervini is a sought-after drummer, composer, and bandleader and an influential presence on Canada’s modern jazz scene and beyond. He has documented his vision with the Ernesto Cervini Quartet, the innovative sextet Turboprop, numerous co-led trio projects including MEM3, Myriad3, and TuneTown, and the quartet Tetrahedron, featuring acclaimed guitarist Nir Felder. Cervini’s album Abundance won the 2020 JUNO Award for Jazz Album of the Year: Group. He is also the drummer in the Joel Frahm Trio, one of today’s leading tenor saxophonists, with whom he tours extensively throughout Europe and the United States. In addition to his performing career, Cervini founded Orange Grove Publicity in 2014 and has become one of Canada’s most sought-after jazz publicists. He is also co-founder of TPR Records, artistic director of the Markham Jazz Festival, and is on faculty at the University of Toronto.

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