14 Facts About Moe Koffman

Moe Koffman was a long-time member of Rob McConnell's Boss Brass.

Moe Koffman was born in Toronto to Jewish immigrants from Poland.

Moe Koffman studied with Gordon Delamont, and later attended the Toronto Conservatory of Music, now the Royal Conservatory of Music of Toronto, where he was a student of Samuel Dolin.

Moe Koffman dropped out of school when he found work performing in dance bands.

Moe Koffman recorded Swinging Shepherd Blues in 1957 which helped establish his reputation as a flautist.

Moe Koffman was inspired by Rahsaan Roland Kirk to play multiple instruments at once; and had a modified set of straps to hold a tenor and an alto saxophone so that he could put forward incredible chords and improvise at the same time.

Moe Koffman was a guest performer with a number of symphony orchestras across Canada.

Moe Koffman performed with Dizzy Gillespie and Peter Appleyard during the 1980s, as well as continuing to front the Moe Koffman Quintet.

From 1956 to 1990, Moe Koffman booked performers for George's Spaghetti House in Toronto, where he performed weekly.

Moe Koffman's compositions "Curried Soul" and "Koff Drops" have been used as the opening and closing themes respectively for the CBC radio show As It Happens since 1972.

Moe Koffman was appointed to the Order of Canada in 1993 and inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame in 1997.

Moe Koffman recorded the single "City Motions" with The Longo Brothers.

Moe Koffman was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in 2000, and died of cancer in Orangeville, Ontario in 2001 at the age of 72.

In 2002, Moe Koffman was a MasterWorks honouree by the Audio-Visual Preservation Trust of Canada.