Ruby Freedman, Milarepa
In May of last year, during a break at the Cellar Jazz Club where his trio was playing that night, saxophonist Bruce Freedman played some music for me that he happened to have with him on his iPod – a recording of his seven-year-old daughter, Ruby, singing a Buddhist song which I later learned was [...]
Midem
Midem stands for Marché international de l’édition musicale. It’s the world’s largest music industry trade fair, held annually in Cannes, France since 1966. From the Midem web site: Each January, the global music industry’s key players meet in Cannes to do deals, network, learn about the sector’s future, and check out hot new talent. Today, [...]
Hello from Jill Townsend in NY
As reported earlier, The Jill Townsend Big Band is in New York for the annual IAJE Conference. Jill writes, “It has been smooth sailing so far with regard to getting here.We’re staying onsite at the Sheraton Hotel and there are tons of musicians hanging out, which has created a pretty cool and friendly vibe. We [...]
Save the Raja Theatre
Jhayne Holmes is scrambling to raise enough money to save the Raja Theatre on Commercial Drive from the wrecking ball with an innovative campaign that involves selling shares to the theatre. Her goal of turning the 475-seat theatre into a multidisciplinary arts centre she calls “Heart of the World”, will help satisfy Vancouver’s need for [...]
IAJE conference
Jill Townsend heads to New York with her 17-piece big band to perform at the annual International Association for Jazz Education conference. I meant to get in touch with Jill long ago to learn more about how all this came about but one thing or another got in the way and, basically, I just blew [...]
Fraser MacPherson: Diary of a Musician (Video)
When Fraser MacPherson passed away a little over thirteen years ago, he left behind a fantastic archive of material from his years as one of Canada’s premier jazz players – both as bandleader and sideman. Photos, documents, and a large number of audio and a few video recordings from Vancouver’s golden age of jazz, many [...]
