Take A Ride And Feel The Latin Rock Heat with Jeff Vidov

Jeff Vidov Takes Another Ride

Last time I checked in with Jeff Vidov, he had his sights set on a clear destination. New York, I’m Coming To You felt like a straight line drawn with purpose. Today, I find myself riding alongside the same multi-talented artist on a different stretch of road – one powered by Latin rock/pop energy, wide horizons, and real motion. This one goes by a simple name: Take A Ride.

A Toronto Engine With Global Reach

Jeff Vidov (pronounced Vee-daw-v) works from Toronto, recording at his own H. of C studio. He keeps this project proudly Canadian. CanCon MAPL, SOCAN/BMI, clean lyrical content, and a proeminent release run, feeding a larger rock/pop album project. He already set the pace with singles like LOVE, New York I’m coming to you, State of Innocence, All nite long, Running in Place, and Oh mi da dey di, so Take A Ride come as the next fast chapter.

Jeff has also music-directed choirs, cabaret shows, and full musicals, moving naturally between rehearsal rooms and live stages. As a jazz pianist, he’s performed and recorded with several Toronto big bands, including the GTA Big Band, Swing Shift, and the Sheraton Big Band, sharpening his sense of timing, swing, and control along the way.

A Hot Ride Through The Lyrics

The lyric world of Take A Ride runs on speed, smoke, and appetite: motor running, big wheels smoking, feel the fire now. I read this language as pure motion and pressure – romance with teeth, desire with torque. Then Jeff Vidov pivots into something darker and sharper: “target of obliteration,” “rush the heat surging through my core.”

Suddenly the ride turns into a test of endurance, and the heart turns into a machine with an “engine running through my heart.” I read it as attraction that excites on contact, then moves to control the situation.

Hands In A Rock Song Body

Jeff Vidov carries serious classical mileage. SOCAN Composer’s Award (1994) for the orchestral work AWAKEN, studies at Eastman and Manhattan School of Music, plus a career across film and TV scoring, choirs, theatre, jazz bands, and church organ work. That range shows up here through control and structure.

To sharpen the impact, Jeff Vidov brought in six-time Grammy-nominated mix engineer Nathan Yarborough (credits include Evanescence, Korn, Deftones, Los Lonely Boys, LeAnn Rimes). That discipline ties back to Vidov’s background in composition and orchestral writing.

Listen to Take A Ride, then rewind the tape on who Jeff is. He learned composition directly from Pulitzer Prize winners Christopher Rouse and Joseph Schwantner, and that training runs through the work. On top of that, he carries a serious piano repertoire, with twenty concerti under his fingers. From Tchaikovsky’s First to Rachmaninov’s Second and Third, he’s lived inside those works. As a result, even when Jeff leans into Latin rock/pop energy, the writing never loses its spine.

While We’re Waiting

Jeff built his writing life around long-form work. Over the years, he wrote and recorded complete scores for thirteen feature films, then followed with music for two Canadian TV shows and two theatre productions. At the same time, he kept writing beyond screens and stages, developing classical and concert pieces for orchestra, chamber ensembles, and a wide range of solo and duo formats.

2026 turns busy for Jeff Vidov, he already warned us. More singles, jazz piano improvisations, organ improvisations, a prog/metal opera, and a rock concept album with orchestra on the horizon. Track Jeff Vidov across Facebook, Instagram, Bandcamp or YouTube. There’s more coming. I’ll keep my ears open.

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