He had a deep commitment to education and was a founding instructor at the ambitious but short-lived Advanced School of Contemporary Music in Toronto, along with pianist Oscar Peterson and bassist Ray Brown
The Crime Writers of Canada announced the winners of their 2023 Awards of Excellence in an online ceremony on May 25. In addition to the 10 book prizes, Jack Batten received the Derrick Murdoch Award, given every two years in recognition of significant contributions to the crime, mystery, and thriller genres in Canada. The winners
His rich baritone and gift for melodies made him one of the most popular artists of the 1970s with songs like “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald” and “If You Could Read My Mind.”