Dave Schnitter, final appearance at the Cellar tonight
Tenor saxophonist Dave Schnitter is one of those undeservedly under-recognized major talents of jazz. It wasn’t always so. When he joined Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers in 1974 he, along with Wynton Marsalis who joined the band some time after, contributed to the revitalization of that illustrious organization. He stayed with Blakey till 1979, followed by a couple [...]
Winterruption 2010
Hard to believe but the mid-winter arts interjection Winterruption is celebrating its 5th year on Granville Island this year. And with the whole city in the midst of celebrations, the festival has expanded to 8 days of activities with lots of free and inexpensively ticketed events. The Club 2010 series at Performance Works takes the [...]
McCoy Tyner: Guitars
As McCoy Tyner approaches 70, it would have been very easy for him to rest on his considerable laurels. As the pianist in the John Coltrane ensemble that has become known simply as “The Classic Quartet”, as the progenitor of a rhythmic block-chord approach to the piano that has become widely adopted, his fame was [...]
Hadley Caliman & Thomas Marriott: Cross Border Jazz
OCTOBER 3rd & 4th marks the first concert in a 6 concert series called CROSS BORDER JAZZ. The series is co-production of THE CELLAR RESTAURANT / JAZZ CLUB and THE COASTAL JAZZ & BLUES SOCIETY. Originally scheduled for the opening concert were PHILADELPHIA SAXOPHONIST BOOTSIE BARNES and TRUMPTER JOHN SWANA. Due to some unfortunate health [...]
Oscar Peterson has died
Oscar Peterson, Canada’s most renowned and probably greatest jazz musician has died. For the last day or two I’ve received emails informing of Oscar’s death, followed by emails reporting that these were unconfirmed rumours. This morning CBC News confirmed the worst. Canadian jazz great Oscar Peterson dies Post comments in the Jazz Forum Oscar Peterson [...]
Vancouver Vintage: Kenny Colman
One of the most under-rated jazz singers has got to be Kenny Colman. Sure, he’s slick but the man can flat-out swing. In conjunction with Melody Diachun’s interview with Colman, Vancouver Vintage offers up a fine example of early KC (looking like a young Dave Barrett!). Here he is singing Bye Bye Blackbird along with [...]
Vancouver Vintage: Barney Kessel Trio with Chris Gage
Here’s a clip you’re all going to love. American guitarist Barney Kessel played with everyone from Lester Young to Charlie Parker to Billie Holiday to Art Tatum to Oscar Peterson to Chico Marx. Here he is with then-Vancouver musicians Don Thompson on bass, Terry Clarke on drums and special guest Chris Gage on piano. It’s [...]
Vancouver Vintage: Chris Gage Trio
Chris Gage is almost the Buddy Bolden of Canadian jazz – a jazz musician who lived on in memory, with fewer and fewer of his contemporaries around to verify his greatness. Until the release in May of Our Blues by the Fraser MacPherson Quintet from 1962-63 on the Just A Memory label, Gage hadn’t ever [...]
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 [...]
