12 7 2011
I was recently contacted by the Business Development Officer of the Jazz Sudbury Festival, who asked if I would allow some of the photographs I took at this year’s Jazz Sudbury Festival to be used on their website. Of course, I obliged.
It was a great festival and I had an amazing time. I am a community-minded person and love to tell as many people as I can what we, as a community, have to offer.
Many great festivals and events take place here in our beautiful city every year, which enrich our community and promote our arts culture ...
Read more
08 2 2011
Hello Jazz Sudburians! Welcome to my third blog of the Jazz Sudbury season.
Last time, I talked about my personal experience with the Online Talent Search, and why I and others found the submission process of the search to be so rewarding.
What came next for me, and my group, the Viking Five, made the Talent Search even more rewarding.
After the submission of our video, we found out we were one of four finalists in the Festival. Of course, we were nothing short of elated! For a beginner jazz group, with very little experience, we were surprised and excited ...
Read more
07 28 2011
Hello again Jazz Fans! Well, Summer keeps rolling along and preparations are in full swing for September. We have a number of entries for our Online Talent Contest but of course the more the merrier so please spread the word if you know any young musicians who might be interested. Deadline is July 31
I would like to focus on last years winning group Leïla
Leïla is a Franco Ontarian singer/songwriter from Sudbury. Raised in a very musical family she very quickly developed her musical talents. Her parents provided her with instruments and signed her up for ...
Read more
07 18 2011
Hey everyone, and welcome to my 2nd blog on the website of the Sudbury Jazz Festival! Last week, I talked about the importance of jazz, and particularly our Jazz Festival, to the development of young musicians and young people in general.
This week, I want to talk about my own experience with the Online Talent Search of the Sudbury Jazz Festival, and how I started with a submission of my own.
At the time, I was a student at Lockerby Composite School, going into Grade 12. I had heard about the Online Talent Search from my sax teacher, Al Walsh ...
Read more
07 11 2011
Welcome to the website of the Jazz Sudbury Festival!
The weather is warmer, jazz is hot around the city, and everyone is gearing up and excited about the 3rd annual Sudbury Jazz Festival!
It’s been a pleasure and a delight to watch jazz grow around the city over the last number of years. Small, intimate gigs have started and become fan favourites around the city, including at the 1500 Club, the SRO, Little Montreal, and elsewhere. One can see this as a natural extension of the success of Sudbury’s first two Jazz Festivals. Jazz is alive and ...
Read more
07 7 2011
Well hello again. It’s finally summer in Sudbury and we are gearing up for our 3rd annual Jazz Sudbury Festival after an amazingly successful second festival last September. This year’s artist roster boasts some really fine performers including saxophonists Jane Bunnett and Richard Underhill who have played here a number of times. Crooner Matt Dusk will also be headlining and fans will no doubt be pleased to see such an accomplished international artist on our festival stage.
I had the great pleasure to meet Jane Bunnett on a number of occasions when she performed for our concert ...
Read more
08 29 2010
Jazz Sudbury Blog #3 August 29, 2010
In the last blog I wrote about Swing music and its importance to jazz and popular music. The ‘Swing Era’ was when jazz was the popular music of the day. It was a great time for jazz musicians and the many big bands of the time. The incorporation of syncopated rhythms was nothing new to jazz as it was something that developed from Ragtime music at the turn of the century and syncopation abounded in early jazz music. Swinging eighth note lines became an important part of the jazz language just before and ...
Read more
08 24 2010
Blog #2 August 24, 2010
Hello Again;
So, to continue about the elements of jazz particularly ‘swing’ I want to talk about the Swing Era of the 1930’s & 1940’s when Big Bands reigned supreme. This era was just after the Great Depression when America was starting to recover from financial turmoil and people were looking to enjoy life again after extremely hard times. In the US as well as Canada the focus of entertainment was on dancing and many ballrooms and hotels featured big bands playing swing music. This was especially true in bigger cities that became more ...
Read more
08 20 2010
Hi Folks;
This is my first ever blog so I hope those of you passionately or mildly interested in jazz will read it and respond with your views and ideas about this fascinating genre of music that has become a big part of my life and now after many years is enjoying a prominent place in the cultural life of Sudbury. By writing about my musical experiences I hope to give some insight into the jazz world and how it has affected my career over the years. I will write about meeting and playing with various musicians over the years ...
Read more
