According to CBC News, DEEP PURPLE singer Ian Gillan is among the artists who will participate in a pair of Toronto tribute concerts to honor Canadian guitar great Jeff Healey, who died March 2 of cancer.

Jeff Healey's backup band JAZZ WIZARDS will open the first tribute concert May 3.

CREAM vocalist and bass player Jack Bruce and Gillan will also appear during an evening that will focus on Healey's contribution to rock.

The second event, to be held May 4, will be for lovers of Healey's jazz career and include artists such as Marty Grosz, Brad Kay and Vince Giordano.

Proceeds from the shows will go to the Healey Family Trust and to Daisy's Eye Cancer Fund, a charity that assists the families of children with retinoblastoma, the rare cancer that claimed Healey's sight when he was one year old.

Tickets for both events go on sale Friday in Toronto.