Whitney Ross-Barris

From the stage to the clubs, Prairie-born, Toronto-based singer, songwriter and actor Whitney Ross-Barris has built a respected name for herself among colleagues and audiences alike. As a solo jazz artist, Whitney has been featured in music festivals such as the TD Toronto Jazz Festival, the Kensington Market Jazz Festival, the Springtide Music Festival, the Port Hope Jazz Festival and the Markham Jazz Festival. She has appeared recurrently in JAZZ.FM91’s One Stop Vocal Jazz Safari and performs regularly in clubs, restaurants and concert halls across South Western Ontario. Her recordings can be heard on JAZZ.FM91 and CBC radio.

“There is only the deepest of merit in the professed respect for the roots of an artform. Respect for a sound, style, and the practice of an art. Throw into this mix an influencers’ list as rounded and iconic as these names, Chet Baker, Tom Waits, Louis Armstrong, Anita O’Day, Mel Tormé, Marvin Gaye, Oscar Peterson; then further stir up the ante with a background in theater and you’re in for the spirited original artistry of Whitney Ross-Barris”. – John Devenish, JazzFM91

Following her self-produced debut EP in 2009, Whitney released her full-length jazz album Everybody's Here, featuring a number of not-so-standard standards, originals and even a few long-lost compositions by her late grandfather, writer-broadcaster, Alex Barris. In 2017, Whitney released The Bright Lunch Trio – a jazz trio album made up entirely of original, jazz-based songs she co-wrote with guitarist Nathan Hiltz.

Since self-admittedly bluffing her way into songwriting, Whitney’s compositions and lyrics have appeared on stage (Woyzeck, Red Light District), on film (Prodigals, Whiskaye, Sociable Films) and in collaboration with other artists (The Art of Breath, Volume One, John MacMurchy, Christmas on Seaton Street, Number 9 Audio.)

In addition to a career in music, Whitney has performed across Canada, in the United States and Europe for almost 27 years as a professional theatre actor (most notably - Assassins, Manitoba Theatre Centre; Gorey Story, The Thistle Project; and Stormen, Follo Folkehøgskole – Vestby Norway). This extensive background in theatre brings an engaging and fearless approach to every club performance.

“Whitney tends to make one roar with laughter and shed a tear in the same set. Always in the moment and hotly swinging, she is one of my very favourite jazz singers in this town!” – Ori Dagan, Wholenote Magazine

During the pandemic, with clubs and theatres either shuttering down temporarily or closing altogether, while isolating with her three young children and one obstinate cat, Whitney maintained her sanity through songwriting at her 117-year-old piano. With the support of the Ontario Arts Council and her community of fans, her new record of entirely original compositions, Curtains of Light will be out November 21^st, 2025.

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