A friend of mine asked me, “Which is more important, talent or hard work?” I say talent is hard work. I believe talent is the ability to focus and work hard at something. Some people do this at an early age and others never do it. Extraordinary people like Tiger Woods, Venus Williams, Wynton Marsalis, […]

From 1993 to 2001, Ross Porter was the voice of jazz in Canada every weekday evening on CBC’s “After Hours,” a highly popular radio show broadcast out of Winnipeg. After a brief stint at CoolTV, Ross moved to Toronto in 2004 where he has built a highly successful station, Jazz.FM91. In 2006, he published the […]

I was surprised to see a lone mic stand and guitar on the stage at Joe’s Pub. Where were the drums, the piano, the saxophones? I was only in NYC for five days, and wanted to make sure I spent my nights wisely. Wise is an understatement! Gretchen Parlato’s performance that evening was one of […]

One of the most beautiful characteristics of jazz is that it is open to the influence of all cultures and musics. Jazz music itself is the result of a marriage between African rhythm language and European musical traditions. It has evolved to encompass a wide variety of styles, all of which seek to express the […]

Oscar Peterson was not only one of the greatest Canadian jazz musicians, he was one of the greatest musicians in the history of this music. He epitomized a whole style—he was the hard bop pianist! He had the technical proficiency of Art Tatum, the melodic skills of Bud Powell, he swung like Wynton Kelly. He […]

Home is an idea that most of us are familiar with. I call it an idea because that’s what it is—something intangible, a place we hold in our hearts and our minds. Home defines us, finds us, gives us refuge, solace, and comfort. Home can be made of bricks and mortar, a house or a […]

The U of M Jazz Studies program is taking full advantage of several artists-in-residence in the 2008-2009 academic year. Saxophonist Jimmy Green has been coaching and teaching students in October, and fellow saxophonist Steve Wilson picks up the torch in November. Steve Wilson is no stranger to the U of M, or to Winnipeg audiences […]

Ron Paley offers a lot to the city he loves—he’s a busy jazz pianist, composer, arranger, and teacher, and a mentor to a lot of emerging players. November is a big month for Ron. On November 16, he’ll team up with bassist Dave Young and drummer Terry Clarke, to pay tribute to the late, great […]

One of my discoveries on the run-up to this year’s THIN AIR writers festival was a quirky little book called A Voweller’s Bestiary by Toronto poet JonArno Lawson. The premise is a bit like a kids’ A-is-for-aardvaark, B-is-for-bumblebee book, but Lawson turns things inside out and trips on vowels instead of initial consonants. Initially, the […]