May 29, 2010 - A Jazz Affair

Last night in Nanaimo was a very special evening...the 5th "Jazz Affair", this year following a "Chicago" (the city, not the band) theme. Starting off five years ago as the brainchild of Cynthia Cormier, this event brings professional musicians, high school bands, and an appreciative audience together to raise funds to support...well, here is the Mission Statement of the Friends of Nanaimo Jazz Society:

"Our mission is to promote arts and culture through music and to provide a nurturing environment for young jazz musicians to reach their full potential."

That says a lot, doesn't it? I had the honour and privilege of once again hosting the evening's proceedings, working with amazing volunteer organizers (thank you Tanya and Heather), sublime student musicians from the Jazz Academy at Wellington Secondary School (thank you Carmella Luvisotto and Steve Jones for the time and energy you share with the students), and stunning pros (Corey Christiansen, Christian Fabian, Ed Littlefield, and Ross Taggart...oh yes, Decadence too). It was a great night and very well-attended...thank you to all who support student musicians wherever you live!

Bright moments!


CHARLES MINGUS - MINGUS AH UM - BETTER GET IT IN YOUR SOUL
FABIAN ZONE TRIO - ACROSS THE TRACKS - MIGHT AS WELL BE SPRING
PJ PERRY CAMPBELL RYGA - JOINED AT THE HIP - I CAN'T GET STARTED
GUIDO BASSO QUARTET - SOUND OF JAZZ SERIES - IN A MELLOW TONE
STEVE JONES - CHESTER'S WALTZ - CHESTER'S WALTZ
GEORGE ROBERT QUARTET FEAT. MR. CLARK TERRY - LIVE AT THE Q-4 RHEINFELDEN - ON GREEN DOLPHIN STREET
FIVE PEACE BAND - FIVE PEACE BAND LIVE - SOMEDAY MY PRINCE WILL COME
HERBIE HANCOCK - HEAD HUNTERS - WATERMELON MAN
THE CLAYTON-HAMILTON JAZZ ORCHESTRA - LIVE AT MCG - SQUATTY ROO
GRP ALL-STAR BIG BAND - LIVE! - MANTECA
GORDON GOODWIN'S BIG PHAT BAND - ACT YOUR AGE - ACT YOUR AGE
THE HUGH FRASER QUINTET - RED & BLUE - THANK YOU VERY MUCH
NOJO - NOJO EXPLORES THE DARK SIDE OF THE MOON - US AND THEM

May 22, 2010 - Brad Turner, Esq.

BT has been here on campus at Vancouver Island University, working with the Fourth Year Bachelor of Music - Jazz Studies students in their final term before graduation. The students are gaining some valuable insights from Brad, both musically and professionally before they all head out on the next stage of their life adventures. Brad has performed in so many different settings (Trio, Quartet, Quintet, Metalwood, leader, sideman) and on so many different instruments (trumpet, piano, drums) tha tthe students cannot help but gain from those experiences.

Congratulations to the great group of music students at VIU, who are winding up their studies! Dates are TBA on the Graduating Recitals...

Bright moments!


CHARLES MINGUS - MINGUS AH UM - BETTER GET IT IN YOUR SOUL
BRAD TURNER QUARTET - SMALL WONDER - 70 MILE
DON THOMPSON QUARTET - FOR KENNY WHEELER - ANOTHER TIME, ANOTHER PLACE
JAMES CARTER - PRESENT TENSE - TENDERLY
ART ELLEFSON SEXTET - TIME TO WAIT - BEST UNSAID
MIKE ALLEN QUARTET - VANCOUVER - GROUSE GRIND
DOUG RILEY'S B3 QUARTET - CON ALMA - FILTHY MCNASTY
ROSS TAGGART QUARTET - THANKFULLY - DON'T CALL BEFORE TEN
DECADENCE - DEMO - MARCHING HOME…
JOHN COLTRANE - DAKAR - CATWALK
DIRTH DOZEN BRASS BAND - VOODOO - MOOSE THE MOOCHE
THE HUGH FRASER QUINTET - RED & BLUE - THANK YOU VERY MUCH
MAYNARD FERGUSON - LIVE FROM LONDON - GLENN'S DEN

May 15, 2010 - A la basse, Monsieur Alain Caron

I have had the good fortune to see Alain Caron in a number of different settings over the years. My first encounter with him and his music was many many years ago at the Forum at Ontario Place, back in the summer of 1983. They used to run a three day jazz festival there, and one of my most vivid memories was seeing Jaco Pastorius, UZEB, and Miles Davis on the same Friday night. UZEB, with Alain Caron on bass, was the real revelation for me that night. Of course, that started me collecting everything UZEB (and later Alain Caron et Le Band) ever recorded. I think I saw UZEB live on at least two more occasions after that Ontario Place encounter, and I've seen Le Band at least three times as well.

Caron is right up there in the pantheon of great electric bassists, and he's no slouch on the acoustic bass either! I encourage you to have a listen to the breadth of his work from his days with UZEB, his ongoing work with Le Band, and an intriguing release titled "Conversation", where he engages in a series of musical dialogues with various keyboardists. Very tasty stuff, and a great diversity of sounds!

Bright moments!


CHARLES MINGUS - MINGUS AH UM - BETTER GET IT IN YOUR SOUL
ALAIN CARON - CONVERSATIONS - QUESTIONS
MILES DAVIS - KIND OF BLUE - FREDDIE FREELOADER
PAT METHENY - ORCHESTRION - SOUL SEARCH
THE ROSS TAGGART TRIO - PRESENTING THE ROSS TAGGART TRIO - TANARA
CHET DOXAS - BIG SKY - FOR JIM
MCCOY TYNER QUARTET - MCCOY TYNER QUARTET - WALK SPIRIT, TALK SPIRIT
MICHAEL BRECKER - PILGRIMAGE - THE MEAN TIME
DIZZY GILLESPIE - SWING LOW, SWEET CADILLAC - SWING LOW, SWEET CADILLAC
STAN KENTON - KENTON '76 - TIME FOR A CHANGE
THE TAYLOR - FIDYK BIG BAND - LIVE AT BLUES ALLEY - ANTHROPOLOGY
PRIME TIME BIG BAND - FOR OUR FRIENDS - EVIE
FRED STRIDE JAZZ ORCHESTRA - FORWARD MOTION - ODDLY ENOUGH
THE HUGH FRASER QUINTET - RED & BLUE - THANK YOU VERY MUCH
BLUIETT BARITONE NATION - LIBATION FOR THE BARITONE SAXOPHONE NATION - LIBATION FOR THE BARITONE SAXOPHONE NATION

May 8, 2010 - MC Mic Control Reigns Supreme

Doc was away this weekend, and as you know when the Doctor is away, the MC will play! He's got such great taste and jazz sensibility that the show never skips a beat with MC Mic Control at the helm.


RAY BROWN - SOME OF MY BEST FRIENDS ARE…THE TRUMPET PLAYERS - ORIGINAL JONES
KENNY BARRON - LEMURIA-SEASCAPE - FUNGI MAMA
CHRIS DAVIS - BAILE BONITA - YOU DIG?
BILL COON & OLIVER GANNON - TWO MUCH GUITAR - HAVE YOU MET MISS JONES
BRIANNE DE VERTEUIL & HER SAVVY 6 - DO YOU SAVVY? - ST. LOUIS BLUES
THE IAN MCDOUGALL SEXTET - NIGHTS IN VANCOUVER - POLKA DOTS AND MOONBEAMS
BRUNO HEBERT - ROCKY MOUNTAIN JAZZ COMPLIATION - SWEET AND SOUR
HUGH MASEKELA - INTRODUCING HEDZOLEH SOUNDZ - KA YE OYA
MAYNARD FERGUSO - CHAMELEON - SUPERBONE MEETS THE BADMAN
ARTURO SANDOVAL - HOT HOUSE - FUNKY CHA-CHA
STAN GETZ AND GERRY MULLIGAN - GETZ MEETS MULLIGAN IN HI-FI - SCRAPPLE FROM THE APPLE
CHRISTINE JENSEN JAZZ ORCHESTRA - TREELINES - DANCING SUNLIGHT
ERNESTO CERVINI QUARTET - LITTLE BLACK BIRD - COCONUT BILL
MICHAEL BLAKE SEXTET - AMOR DE COSMOS - TEMPORARY CONSTELLATION
CHET BAKER - JAZZ 'ROUND MIDNIGHT - YOU GO TO MY HEAD

May 1, 2010 - FunDrive

We just held our semi-annual FunDrive...ol' Doc like the emphasis on "fun", because that's what it is! We rely on community listener support, otherwise our sounds will never make the airwaves. Boy, did our listeners ever step up...we not only met, but we exceeded our $20,000 goal! It was a fun day on Vitamin J as well...MC Mic Control came in to work the phones and also brought in his keyboard. Doc had his Yamaha midi sax with him, and when you phoned in with a pledge, you also got to request a jazz standard. You ask for it, and we play it!

Thanks again for supporting community-based and campus-based radio where you live...it really is the lifeblood of many communities!

April 24, 2010 - Gordon Goodwin's Big Phat Band

One of the more exciting big bands on the scene today is Gordon Goodwin's Big Phat Band. Goodwin himself is an accomplished composer/arranger with a rather prodigous output, and community big bands across the world are thankful for that! Many of the charts played by the GGBPB have been published and are being played by high school, college, and community bands...it is good to see such great music being produced, and keeping big bands alive! Don't ever act your age...but do have a listen to the album of the same name...


CHARLES MINGUS - MINGUS AH UM - BETTER GET IT IN YOUR SOUL
GREAT UNCLES OF THE REVOLUTION - STAND UP - STOMPIN' AT THE SAVOY
FREDERIC ALARIE - TAP BASS - WATER IS WIDE
MICHAEL BLAKE SEXTET - AMOR DE COSMOS - INFIRMARY
DIZZY GILLESPIE - NEW FACES - BIRKS WORKS
GREG BUSH QUINTET - CAUSE AND EFFECT - PUSHIN' AND PULLIN'
ROSS TAGGART QUARTET - THANKFULLY - LAURIER LUXURY WALK
THE CHAD MAKELA QUINTET - FLICKER - FLICKER
DAVE FRISHBERG - CLASSICS - MY ATTORNEY BERNIE
DAVID CLAYTON-THOMAS - JUSTIN TIME RECORDS 25TH ANNIVERSARY COLLECTION - SPINNING WHEEL
MAYNARD FERGUSON - THE LOST TAPES VOLUME ONE - DON'T LET THE SUN GO DOWN ON ME
GORDON GOODWIN'S BIG PHAT BAND - ACT YOUR AGE - WATERMELON MAN
GORDON GOODWIN'S BIG PHAT BAND - ACT YOUR AGE - HIT THE GROUND RUNNING
VEJI - V - SCREEAB-BOP!
WOODY HERMAN HERD AT MONTREUX CROSSWIND
PETER HERBOLZHEIMER RHYTHM CONNECTION - MOJO CLUB PRESENTS DANCEFLOOR - MR. CLEAN
THE HUGH FRASER QUINTET - RED & BLUE - THANK YOU VERY MUCH
JACO PASTORIUS - PUNK JAZZ - THE CHICKEN

April 17, 2010 - M.F. Horn 4 & 5 Live at Jimmy's

M.F., of course, stands for Maynard Ferguson...though on this album he plays like the other connotation of M.F.! "Live at Jimmy's", a wonderful double album, is arguably Maynard's best live recording. It was a bit of a transitional band...up to this point in the mid-'70's he'd been fronting a group of primarily British musicians but this band was a blend of British and American musicians, with the odd (some might say very odd, since he played baritone sax) New Zealander tossed in. The band is on fire, responding well to the assembled audience, with Maynard soaring above the fray. Check out the work on the bari by Bruce Johnstone on both "MacArthur Park" and "Stay Loose With Bruce".


CHARLES MINGUS - MINGUS AH UM - BETTER GET IT IN YOUR SOUL
CHARLES MCPHERSON - LIVE AT THE CELLAR - SPRING IS HERE
STEVE JONES - CHESTER'S WALTZ - LAMENT FOR HUNTER S. THOMPSON
STEVE KALDESTAD - BLOW-UP - SIESTA
SANDRO DOMINELLI - THE ALVO SESSIONS - WICKED GAME
THE AMANDA TOSOFF QUARTET - STILL LIFE - WANDERING
P.J. PERRY - NOTA BENE - GEORGIA ON MY MIND
JOHN COLTRANE - ONE DOWN, ONE UP: LIVE AT THE HALF NOTE - AFRO BLUE
SONNY ROLLINS AND JOHN COLTRANE - THE VERY BEST OF PRESTIGE RECORDS - TENOR MADNESS
THE CANNONBALL ADDERLEY QUINTET - MERCY, MERCY, MERCY - STICKS
THE HUGH FRASER QUINTET - RED & BLUE - THANK YOU VERY MUCH
MAYNARD FERGUSON - M.F. HORN 4 & 5 LIVE AT JIMMY'S - GOT THE SPIRIT
MAYNARD FERGUSON - M.F. HORN 4 & 5 LIVE AT JIMMY'S - MACARTHUR PARK