Now that I have lived in Canada for 13 years, I can look back on my experience as an American with a bit of perspective. In the past four years, it has slowly occurred to me that I grew up in a war zone, learning to survive as part of the “at risk” society. When […]

What can I say about my good friend, Aaron Diehl? Well…I could mention that he’s been the recipient of numerous awards including the 2013 Jazz Journalists Association Award for Up-And-Coming Artist, the 2012 Prix du jazz Classique recipient for one of his first albums Live at the Players Club, and the 2011 Cole Porter Fellowship […]

Winnipeg’s good musical fortune continues in March when the Winnipeg Jazz Orchestra hosts one of Canada’s foremost jazz musicians, jazz trumpet player Brad Turner. Brad has shared the bandstand or recorded with the musical likes of Joe Lovano, Kenny Wheeler, John Scofield, Michael Moore, Renee Rosnes, Jimmy Greene, Ingrid Jensen, Dylan van der Schyff, Mike […]

A new Will Bonness CD is cause for celebration in this town—it’s a pretty fair guess that the West End Cultural Centre will be bursting at the seams on May 11 to witness the arrival of Halcyon, Will’s second CD as a leader, a follow-up to his 2009 recording, Subtle Fire. (As Will admits in […]

Guitarist Victor Hugo Lopez Bustamente is a staple on the Latin scene here in Winnipeg—you’ve probably seen him perform with Trio Bembe or Papa Mambo. A recent graduate of the Jazz Studies program, Victor’s tastes are eclectic, running the gamut of jazz stylings, and out into funk, fusion, and hip hop. He’s just back from […]

Play more than you practice. What an odd phrase to come from a music teacher! This advice from Victor Wooten’s TED Talk video, “Music as a Language,” doesn’t capture the totality of becoming fluent in music, but it points to an idea that perhaps needs a bit more attention. Many young musicians find daily practice […]

Although already known in Canada, the name Oscar Peterson wasn’t widely recognized elsewhere until Norman Granz presented him to the rest of the world in a Jazz at the Philharmonic concert at Carnegie Hall in 1949. That dazzling performance launched his stunning soar to the top, where he has remained unchallenged ever since. In Gene […]

Cuban-born percussionist Pedrito Martinez is no stranger to high levels of musicianship and diversity, whether performing as a sideman or bandleader. He began performing in the mid-80s, at the age of 11, with legendary Cuban rumba groups such as Los Muñequitos de Matanzas from the age of 11. In 1998, he came to Canada to […]

When I was little my mother would play all types of music in our home, but what they all had in common was that they were, in her words, “feel-good music”—music that spoke to the soul, music that felt comfortable but also energizing. Natalie Cole, along with Frank Sinatra and Marvin Gaye and many other […]