An artist-in-residence who was here last winter talked with me about moving to Winnipeg with his family. For me this was huge. In fact, he’s huge. At about 6’7” and 270 lbs, this guy can hunt bear with a switch. Fortunately he’s not likely to participate in such an action. He’s a warm and friendly […]

Have you had this conversation? You: Like jazz? Other Human: No, not really, but I love Kind of Blue. I’ve had it so many times that I’ll venture Miles Davis’ 1959 album is the one jazz record you know if you know no others. And for those who do know others, it’s the singularity just […]

New Orleans-born saxophonist Branford Marsalis has had one of the most enviable careers in modern music. In 1985, when he was only twenty-five, Branford had already held membership in Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers, Lionel Hampton’s big band, Herbie Hancock’s quartet, and his brother Wynton’s hugely successful quintet. With the latter group, he recorded such must-have […]

The Dirty Dozen Brass Band takes you back to New Orleans in the early heyday of jazz. You can hear the marching band sounds of John Phillip Sousa and the Spanish tinge from the streets at the turn of the century. They’re a rousing, smack-em-up, no-rhythm-section band—tuba, sousaphone, trombones, trumpets, saxophones. They march on out […]

Music knows no real boundaries, only those imposed by genre and convention. When you follow inspiration rather than expectation, you’re free to create in a genuine and unlimited way. At least that is how singer Dee Dee Bridgewater seems to approach it. From Broadway tunes to Mali’s folk songs, music is her idiom and the […]

If you are hesitating for even a second about grabbing a ticket for the Al Green concert at this year’s Groove-FM Jazz Winnipeg Festival, you’re crazy! This might be your only chance to catch somebody who’s right at the center of the soul-gospel-R&B movement. If there was a Mount Rushmore for soul, this guy’s face […]

Kurt Elling is a singer who commands your attention from the first note to the last. As well as fresh and compelling performances of the standard vocal repertoire, Elling is known for his imaginative reworking of instrumental standards. His original lyrics and virtuosic vocalizing have brought a whole new life to music that has never […]

Born in Brooklyn in 1951, pianist Kenny Werner has formed a niche for himself as a performer, a composer, and an important voice in the conversation about the spiritual underpinnings of music. Kenny was introduced to music at age 4 when he joined a children’s song-and-dance group. By 11, he had recorded with a 15-piece […]

The weeks preceding a festival the size of the Groove-FM Jazz Winnipeg Festival are intense—last confirmations for artists, tiny adjustments to the scheduling, fine-tuning promotion and ticketing and volunteers. Paul Nolin, the Executive Producer of Winnipeg’s annual big jazz bash, is pretty relaxed when I stop in to talk to him early in April. I’ve […]

The Bad Plus is one of those bands that’s hard to categorize. Their music ranges from straight-ahead jazz to rock to classical, sometimes in the span of a single song. They’ve gained a huge following over the past few years—audiences who are game for their playful but demanding performances are packing concert halls and clubs, […]

Jane Bunnett is one of the most notable Canadian musicians to emerge in the last ten years. She is an exceptional soprano saxophonist and flautist who has made huge inroads around the world with her Latin-inspired music. Her forays into Cuban music with a series of critically acclaimed recordings with Cuban musicians resulted in her […]