July 10, 2010 - Demon Rich

Rich Underhill is a very interesting cat! Founding member and stalwart keeper of the flame that is the Shuffle Demons, he's had dalliances with harder-edged acid jazz, larger ensemble work on his album "Tales from the Blue Lounge", and some unique introspections on "Moment in Time" and "Kensington Suite". He's been touring the jazz festival circuit this summer, most recently in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Rich is a talented composer and arranger, and a lot of fun to hang with! MC Mic Control and I had the good fortune to sit in with Demon Rich and the rest of the Shuffle Demons on "Spadina Bus" during their last stop here in Nanaimo about 5-6 years ago. More baritone saxes on stage than you can shake a stick at, and it is still one of the musical highlights of my life.


CHARLES MINGUS - MINGUS AH UM - BETTER GET IT IN YOUR SOUL
ALICE COLTRANE FEATURING PHAROAH SANDERS - JOURNEY IN SATCHIDANANDA - JOURNEY IN SATCHIDANANDA
GONZALO RUBALCABA - IMAGINE: LIVE IN AMERICA - IMAGINE
MICHAEL OCCHIPINTI - CREATION DREAM - RUMOURS OF GLORY
JOEL MILLER - TANTRAMAR - CHICKADEE'S OTHER SONG
PAT LABARBERA - FROM THE HEART - FROM THE HEART
INGRID JENSEN - AT SEA - TEA AND WATERCOLORS
RICHARD UNDERHILL - KENSINGTON SUITE - MEET ME IN THE MARKET
ELASHUK/RIGA QUARTET - ANY ANSWERS - ZOOT SUITE
SONNY ROLLINS - SAXOPHONE COLOSSUS - ST. THOMAS
BARRETT DEEMS BIG BAND - GROOVIN' HARD - GROOVIN' HARD
THE BUDDY RICH BIG BAND - BURNING FOR BUDDY VOL. II - IN A MELLOW TONE
GORDON GOODWIN'S BIG PHAT BAND - ACT YOUR AGE - GUMBO STREET
THE HUGH FRASER QUINTET - RED & BLUE - THANK YOU VERY MUCH
UZEB - BEST OF UZEB - 60 RUE DES LOMBARDS

July 3, 2010 - Government Debates

An odd subject, but then who would have thought that Vitamin J would get political? Towards the end of the show I played Gordon Goodwin's Big Phat Band and "Backrow Politics", followed by the Fred Stride Jazz Orchestra and "Opposition Party". It is interesting to hear how each of these composer/arranger/bandleaders verbalizes the notion of politics in a big band score. Lots of chatter, and some very interesting debates!

Keeping with the theme, make sure you get out in your community and support live arts and culture...and do what you can to fight against government funding cuts for the arts and cultural organizations. Arts and culture contribute to the livability of our communities, and give us life!

Bright Moments!


CHARLES MINGUS - MINGUS AH UM - BETTER GET IT IN YOUR SOUL
MIKE MURLEY & DAVID OCCHIPINTI - DUOLOGUE - NEST OF THE LOON
BILL COON & OLIVER GANNON - TWO MUCH GUITAR - HAVE YOU MET MISS JONES
CHET DOXAS - BIG SKY - L'ACADIE
ALEX CLEMENTS - WAITING FOR YOU - WAITING FOR YOU
PHAROAH SANDERS - KARMA - THE CREATOR HAS A MASTER PLAN (EDIT)
FREDDIE HUBBARD - NEW COLORS - RED CLAY
NIKKI YANOFSKY - ELLA…OF THEE I SWING - OLD MACDONALD
LEE MORGAN - THE SIDEWINDER - THE SIDEWINDER
THE IAN MCDOUGALL SEXTET - NIGHTS IN VANCOUVER - A NIGHT IN TUNISIA
GORDON GOODWIN'S BIG PHAT BAND - ACT YOUR AGE - BACKROW POLITICS
FRED STRIDE JAZZ ORCHESTRA - FORWARD MOTION - OPPOSITION PARTY
THE HUGH FRASER QUINTET - RED & BLUE - THANK YOU VERY MUCH

June 26, 2010 - Louise Gibbs

I've had the good fortune to meet Louise Gibbs on a couple of occasions, both times at the Leeds International Jazz Conference, put on by the Leeds College of Music (LCM) in England. Louise is a Senior Lecturer at the LCM, where she heads up the Post-Graduate Programmes and teaches vocal performance, ensembles, and musicology. Her research interests lay in the areas of improvisation, jazz voice, and professional development.

On top of all this, Louise is also one heck of a vocalist! Her most recent album (with the wonderful Kirk Lightsey) "Everybody's Song But Our Own" gives the listener a strong taste of the unique musical communication between these two. They performed at The Venue at LCM back in late March of 2009 (a show I had the good fortune to see)...of the collaboration between Louise and Kirk, the noted British jazz writer Brian Paisley had this to say:

"... the mutual confidence in each other's ear has led, on both the album and the concert, to a high-wire act that takes more chances than anything I've heard outside the strictly avante-garde."

Keep an eye out for Louise Gibbs...in your favourite CD store and the finest jazz research journals!

Bright moments...


CHARLES MINGUS - MINGUS AH UM - BETTER GET IT IN YOUR SOUL
THE PAT COLEMAN - BOB MURPHY QUARTET - COME RAIN OR COME SHINE - COME RAIN OR COME SHINE
CHRIS DAVIS - BAILE BONITA - KING OF HEARTS
CARON - ECAY - LOCKWOOD - CARON - ECAY - LOCKWOOD - OPTIONS
LOUISE GIBBS AND KIRK LIGHTSEY - EVERYBODY'S SONG BUT OUR OWN - FOOTPRINTS
D.D. JACKSON - JUSTIN TIME RECORDS 25TH ANNIVERSARY COLLECTION - LE SHUFFLE
UGETSU - LIVE @ THE CELLAR - MAYBE YES, MAYBE NO
MARIA SCHNEIDER ORCH. - ALLEGRESSE - ALLEGRESSE
CHRISTINE JENSEN JAZZ ORCHESTRA - TREELINES - DANCING SUNLIGHT
MAYNARD FERGUSON - THE LOST TAPES VOLUME 1 - ELEANOR RIGBY
ROB MCCONNELL AND THE BOSS BRASS - LIVE IN DIGITAL - SQUIB CAKES
THE HUGH FRASER QUINTET - RED & BLUE - THANK YOU VERY MUCH
JACO PASTORIUS BIG BAND - WORD OF MOUTH REVISITED - TEEN TOWN

June 19, 2010 - The Phil Collins Big Band

Yes, some jazz purists must be quivering right about now, but this adventure has a rather interesting feel to it! Some of you know Phil Collins through his work with Genesis and his solo activity over the years, but the man does possess some rather serious jazz chops. His work with the fusion group "Brand X" in the latter half of the '70's is very tasty, and like many drummers he has a strong appreciation of the roots and heritage of the greats on his instrument. The Big Band album "A Hot Night in Paris" comprises mostly reworkings of Genesis and Collins' solo tunes, but there are also arrangements of standards such as "Milestones", and funk/rock tunes such as "Pick Up the Pieces". It is a fun listen...check it out!

Bright moments...


CHARLES MINGUS - THIS IS JAZZ 6 - BETTER GET IT IN YOUR SOUL
SHARON MINEMOTO QUINTET - SIDE A - SLEEPING PEACEFULLY
TILDEN WEBB TRIO - CELLAR GROOVE - LADY J
BRUNO HUBERT TRIO - LIVE @ THE CELLAR - MY ONE AND ONLY LOVE
MILES DAVIS - KIND OF BLUE (LEGACY EDITION) - ON GREEN DOLPHIN STREET
CAROL WELSMAN - INCLINED - LA FIESTA
CORY WEEDS QUINTET - EVERYTHING'S COMING UP WEEDS - THE POUR
PJ PERRY - NOTA BENE - NICA'S DREAM
STEVE JONES - CHESTER'S WALTZ - SERENADE FOR SILVER
KIRK MACDONALD QUARTET - SONGBOOK VOL. 1 - MANHATTAN GETAWAY
THE HUGH FRASER QUINTET - RED & BLUE - THANK YOU VERY MUCH
PHIL COLLINS BIG BAND - A HOT NIGHT IN PARIS - IN THE AIR TONIGHT
PHIL COLLINS BIG BAND - A HOT NIGHT IN PARIS - INVISIBLE TOUCH
PHIL COLLINS BIG BAND - A HOT NIGHT IN PARIS - LOS ENDOS SUITE