Tenor saxophonist Seamus Blake is one of the big voices in contemporary jazz. He’s everywhere in New York, playing with everybody who’s somebody. I’m not exaggerating! As well as his own groups (including an electronic project where he plays the Electric Wind Instrument, or EWI), a shortlist includes John Scofield, Victor Lewis, Antonio Sanchez, Maria […]

It really makes a difference when I’m working with someone who’s passionate about what they do. They’re carrying a beautiful little secret that they just can’t wait to share. Even when I don’t care about this thing that they’re so passionate about, I can relate to the sheer enthusiasm. It’s instructive to me. It grabs […]

Michael Kaeshammer is no stranger to audiences here in Winnipeg. The German-born pianist, who settled on Canada’s west coast as a young adult, has been one of Canada’s busiest and most popular performers. With six Juno nominations to his credit, and several Western Canadian Music Awards, Kaeshammer is known for his energetic performances, his easy […]

On November 21, Winnipeggers packed the Park Theatre for Rent Party 6, a celebration of dig! magazine’s eleventh birthday! The lobby was alive with people getting their pictures taken, making strategic efforts to win prizes at the rainbow auction table, watching images from eleven years of dig! magazine on the big screen, and enjoying music […]

In 2009, pianist (and pilot!) Mike Manny was posted to Winnipeg as part of the Royal Canadian Air Force Band. He brings with him a terrific pedigree: he studied jazz piano at Humber College, then did a Master’s on scholarship at the Manhattan School of Music. This past summer, he was posted to the Regional […]

One of my favourite piano players is the brilliant jazz pianist, Benny Green. If you haven’t checked out Mr Green, go listen to him. Wait—maybe read this first! Born in 1963 in New York City, Benny Green grew up in Berkeley, California where he started taking piano lessons at seven years old. He moved back […]

The most effective way to learn how to play jazz is to start by learning how to do what a bass player does: play the root notes of all the chords in the right spots. The root notes are like fence posts that appear on a continuum or time line. They tell you the order […]

When I first heard Mark Murphy’s rendition of “You Go to My Head,” the lead track on Songs for the Geese, I remember being in absolute awe of his unique style and completely free rhythmic phrasing. His nimble voice jumps from low gravelly tones to soaring high falsetto with ease, leaving behind a trademark sound […]

Jimmy Smith playing his Hammond B3 organ was a remarkable sight. As he moved his feet over the bass pedals, hammered chords with his left hand, and hovered over the high notes with his right, he made a jubilant sound that blended jazz, blues, rhythm and blues, bebop, and even gospel into an exhilarating stew […]

I’m immersed in the audiobook version of Toni Morrison’s magnificent novel, Beloved, recorded by the Pulitzer Prize-winning writer herself. I read the book nearly thirty years ago, when it was new. I was a grad student then, and I remember being stunned by Morrison’s writing, by the richness of her characters, by the shimmering overlay […]