I want to dedicate this letter to the oddball in the crowd, the fifth wheel, the person heading due south when everybody else is going north. This is for the black sheep in the herd. In Winnipeg the main arteries mostly consist of two-lane roads. Curiously, an often occurring phenomenon in those two lanes is that […]

The Hungarian-born Canadian pianist Robi Botos is a force to be reckoned with. In recent years he has won numerous awards and accolades, including first prize at the Great American Jazz Piano Competition in Jacksonville Florida, first prize at the International Montreux Jazz Festival’s solo piano competition, and most recently a Juno award for Solo […]

Singer Cyrille Aimée is taking over the jazz scene with her unique sounds, fresh ideas, exceptional precision, and incredible rhythm, and Winnipeggers are in for a treat when she returns to our city at the end of October. Born to a French father and a Dominican mother in the village of Samois-sur-Seine, France, Cyrille connected […]

When Jimmy Greene came to the University of Manitoba in 2009, a certain sound, a certain feel, a certain musical language came with him. It wasn’t here before he got here, and it left when he left a few years later. As his many fans in Winnipeg know, when Jimmy plays, he has a wonderful […]

Things are warming up in the band room at Hugh John Macdonald School down on Bannatyne as the Bridge Program gets started for another year. Director Neil Watson has been presiding over a growing band program in this inner city junior high school. Last year saw a lively group of young musicians connect across languages […]

Kevin Waters is one of the busiest young drummers in the city. Both musicians and audiences are drawn to his creativity, skill, and energy. He grew up in Dayton Ohio, attended an arts high school, and eventually came to Winnipeg a few years back to study. One of the things I love about Kevin’s playing […]

There is a lot of talk in education these days about building a sense of community within our music ensembles and programs. Is there a flip side to a strong sense of community? As a teacher I often think back to my students who had a passionate love of music but not necessarily the music […]

Pianist Lennie Tristano was born in Chicago in 1919 at the peak of the influenza pandemic that infected much of the world. The ‘flu came close to killing Tristano in his first year but instead it left him blind. His mother, a pianist and opera singer, taught him to play piano, and at a school […]

I love The Internet, a neo-soul group full of young black talent. The band started out as Syd the Kyd and Matt Martians. They created the album Feel Good after Syd helped Odd Future produce a few records. When it was time to take Feel Good on tour, Syd and Matt put The Internet together. […]

Pianist George Reznik, a pillar of the Winnipeg jazz community, died this August at the age of 86. He is perhaps best known amongst today’s listeners for his trio’s extended run at The Pemby Hotel. He and long-time friends Bob “Moose” Jackson and Bill McMahon played there every Saturday afternoon for over twenty years. He […]

I learned a lot about life when I was parenting toddlers. They have no filters—they laugh when they’re delighted, they spit out food they don’t like, they whine when they’re tired. They’re noisy, bossy, fearful, playful, sensitive, arrogant, curious, affectionate, impatient, kind. Their lives are on sensory overload. It’s not easy being a kid. When […]