Jazz is art imitating life. In the jazz culture what we value can be directly reflected in how we sound when we perform. In truth, there are two disparate ways that we sound: the way we think we sound and the way we actually sound. The way we think we sound exists only inside our […]

Back in 1993, when I first arrived in New York, the musicians I met were like trees in a very dense forest. Everyone I encountered ranged from highly proficient to virtuosic, and they all had a great story to tell about their arrival. In this environment it was impossible to truly stand out unless you […]

The Winnipeg Jazz Orchestra has big band pleasure in store for Winnipeg listeners. In mid-November, they’ll share the sweet swing of Count Basie, and in time for Christmas, they bring out Ellington’s Nutcracker. William James Basie—Count Basie—grew up more interested in playing piano for silent films than going to school in his hometown of Red […]

When you listen to David Occhipinti’s chamber ensemble, Camera, you’re in a landscape that’s unfamiliar but refreshing. The Toronto-based guitarist and composer folds together jazz and classical idioms to create music that’s both virtuosic and evocative. Occhipinti brings his touring ensemble to Eva Clare Hall at the U of M for a noon-hour concert on […]

Guitarist Mike Swickis started listening to 8-tracks in his big brother’s bedroom when he was just a little kid. He graduated to his own record player at 8, and began to play guitar as a young teen. At first he wanted to be Ace Frehley from Kiss, then got interested in blues, classic rock, jazz, […]

Every musician fantasizes about recording an album. Here are a few things to think about before jumping into the recording process. 1. Why are you making an album? What’s unique about you and what you have to say? 2. Who will play on it? Who are you already comfortable playing with? Line up some gigs […]

Pat Metheny is one of the most popular musicians in modern jazz. He’s recorded highly regarded trio albums, Grammy Award-winning solo albums, scores for motion pictures, collaborations with the composers Steve Reich and Ornette Coleman, and duets with fellow guitarists John Scofield and Charlie Haden. His most successful work has been with the band he […]

Butch Warren was one of the most ubiquitous and irreplaceable voices of the hard bop era, yet not many people can quite place the name. He was the house bassist for Blue Note records in the late 50s and early 60s. His deep and thumping bounce helped catapult Herbie Hancock into stardom on his 60s […]

I was rather surprised while checking out the TV drama Homeland on Netflix one recent night. As the opening credits rolled, I heard the unmistakable sound of Polish trumpet player and composer Tomasz Stanko playing the theme music. A master of mood, Stanko’s sound is dark, grainy, and intense—a perfect fit for the show. What […]

In mid-October, I had the opportunity to host the acclaimed aboriginal writer Joseph Boyden with his new novel, The Orenda. A blistering saga set in the 1600s, the novel tracks three intersecting lives: a Huron warrior and community leader, a gifted Iroquois girl captured in a revenge raid, and a newly-arrived Jesuit priest determined to […]