Performance Reviews

Review by Dave Harvey

On May 27 2007, Comox Valley jazz lovers were once again treated to a memorable performance by a regional vocal ensemble and a local combo. The Georgia Straight Jazz Society presented “The Mix” with special guests “16 Strings” at the Elks’ Home.

“The Mix” is the creation of musician, educator, composer and arranger Peter Taylor. For people unfamiliar with Mr. Taylor’s vast contributions to the world of vocal jazz, he was the very first public school teacher to have started a jazz Choir in Canada!

This male vocal quartet was completely self-sufficient on stage performing the majority of their beautifully arranged pieces a capella. The group did not require Peter to conduct, although Peter did accompany the vocalists on piano for a few tunes. Their varied, highly entertaining repertoire, included exceptional arrangements of jazz standards like Fly Me to the Moon, pop classic This Boy by Lennon and McCartney and even Franz Schubert’s Ave Maria.

“The Mix” singers are bassist Paul Cummings, baritone Gary Vanderhoeven, and tenors Roy Carson and Richard Olfert. Each singer demonstrated superb harmonizing as well as captivating solo work. Carson’s slightly raspy voice created an alluring Moon Dance, while Vanderhoeven thoroughly connected with audience members when delivering   George Michael’s hit song Faith.

While “The Mix” has only been in existence a short while they are receiving accolades.  They have been guest artists at The Pender Harbour Jazz Festival, Jazz on the Rocks, Vocal Summit XII and many other regional and local events.  They recently were honored to share the stage with Dee Daniels and were equally honored to share the stage with “Vocal Jazz I” from Central Washington University, under the direction of Vijay Singh. The Georgia Straight Jazz Society was also honored to have the Mix perform in the Valley.

Opening for “The Mix” was special guest “16 Strings” featuring the beautiful voices of Dale Graham and Charlotte Harvey accompanied by the superlative guitar work of Rick Husband and Doug Anderson. Charlotte performed a thought provoking rendition of a Nat King Cole lost standard A Blossom Fell while Graham hypnotized the audience with Blame It on My Youth.

Review by Rhonda Krabbe

Is there anything better to do on a rainy Sunday evening than go out and enjoy some live jazz? That is exactly what the jazz community of the Comox Valley did Sunday April 1st and it was no April fools joke, but rather a night to be remembered when Canadian saxophone legend P.J. Perry accompanied by the Jodi Proznick Trio, performed at the Elks’.

Mr. Perry has shared the stage with giants of jazz such as Dizzy Gillespie, Woody Shaw, Michel LeGrand, Pepper Adams, Kenny Wheeler, Tom Harrell and The Boss Brass. He has also played with countless Symphonies and has performed his own show ‘the Joy of Sax’ with Orchestras across Canada. In 1993 P.J. Perry won a Juno award for his album ‘My Ideal’ and was honored as the critics’ choice for Best Alto Saxophonist for 7 years straight by the Jazz Report magazine. After listening to his performance, the Elks’ audience heartily concurred with previous critics, musical colleagues and listeners that Perry is one of North America’s premier saxophonists.

This evening, P.J. Perry was supported by the Jodi Proznick Trio. Jodi Proznick is one of the finest female bassists in Canada. She won the General Motors Award of Excellence in 1993, was awarded a Performance Scholarship in 1997 as a member of the McGill Big Band and gained international recognition as a member of the IAJE Sisters in Jazz Quintet. Ever since, she has played with numerous jazz stars such as George Coleman, David Fathead Newman, Ed Thigpen and Charles McPherson. A highlight was opening for Oscar Peterson in the summer of 2004. And with concerts like these, she just keeps adding to that list.

Pianist Tilden Webb and drummer Jesse Cahill rounded out the trio, by perfectly complementing Jodi. Being a ‘family-affair’ (Tilden is Jodi’s husband and Jesse is her sister’s partner) the chemistry in this group is unique.

As soon as the trio was set and Perry walked on stage, the group took off transporting the audience, from Latin to swingers, from blues to waltzes and back again. On ‘Green Dolphin Street’, Perry demonstrated his chops at lightning speed, while his melodic approach still gave the song a laid-back feel. Every note issuing forth from his alto sax was crystal clear, displaying his incredible control over the instrument. In ‘Salute to the Bandbox’ (a song P.J. wrote to the chord changes of ‘I’ll Remember April’) sax and piano were challenging each other by trading 8’s. Tilden Webb clearly enjoyed playing the brand new Roland digital piano provided by Richard Thompson from Sound Advice. With only the energetic drum-fills of Jesse Cahill keeping them apart, they played around the melody and chords to end the first set leaving the audience anxious to hear more.

And more is not the only thing the audience was given in the next set. The second set started off with ‘It’s Like Old Times’, a song P.J. played for his friend Art Ellefson (another Canadian saxophone legend) who attended the concert. In this song, Jodi amazed not only the audience, but also her fellow musicians with a stunning bass solo. From that moment on the band played with renewed energy and it was all sparks. The saxophone and bass solos on ‘Nica’s Dream’ were out of this world and reminded us what jazz is all about - the freedom of expression. After a speedy Latin tune called ‘Tico Tico’, Perry ended the performance by going back to the roots of jazz and playing a 12 bar blues.

Set 1: Prince Albert (to chord changes of All the Things You Are); The Gypsy; Green Dolphin Street; What’ll I Do; Salute to the Bandbox (to chord changes of I’ll Remember April)
Set 2: It’s Like Old Times; Nica’s Dream; I Can’t Get Started; Tico Tico; Blues

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photo by Kornelis Kuiper www.kkuiper.com

Review by Dave Harvey

The Georgia Straight Jazz Society presented The Cure-All Dance Band on Thursday March 29th, 2007 at the Elks’ Jazz Club.

The 11 piece Cure-All Dance Band played original 1920's and early 30's stock arrangements from Tin Pan Alley plus some swing tunes from the 40's. They have over 2,000 original orchestrations to choose from and at the Jazz Club they delighted the enthusiastic audience with "Sweet and Hot" tunes of the era - not as Dixieland Jazz, but authentic dance music as played in hotels and roadhouses, on steamships and on "The Wireless." As per usual the band dressed in period attire, using many instruments from the era and recreated what would have been heard during that spiffy age. The repertoire included great standards like ‘Mood Indigo’, ‘Lulu is Back in Town’ and ‘Egyptian Ella’.

After the performance, vocalist, coronet, banjo player and founder Doc Sumner reflected, “I felt like Louie was in the room on ‘Wild Man’, Jimmy Cagney was wryly smiling on ‘Shanghai Lil’ and all the novelties were appreciated by the crowd.”

The highly entertaining show engaged the audience throughout, while the front men rapporrt between Doc Sumner and Dennis "Wrong-Way" Flint filled time between the beats with humour, history and anecdotes. Two performance sets completely held the audience till 9:45. A brief jam ensued for 7-8 songs with some of the usual jazz club members joining “Cure All” players Jim “Growler” Grinder and Mike “Ramses” Schwarz on saxophones and Brent “Hits Man” Hart tinkling the piano keys. All three expressed interest in jamming again and hopefully hosting in the near future.

We anticipate the return of the Cure-All Dance Band next fall to the Jazz Club, so keep your ears and eyes open for their encore performance. And remember the ambience at the Elks’ is all about playing and listening to jazz.

http://www.curealldanceband.com/

photo by Kornelis Kuiper www.kkuiper.com

Review by Rhonda Krabbe

On March 4th, 2007, Comox Valley jazz lovers were treated to an exceptional performance. The Georgia Straight Jazz Society presented the Phil Dwyer Quartet at the Elks Home.

The quartet, consisting of Phil Dwyer on tenor sax, Pat Coleman on guitar, Ken Lister on bass and Kelby MacNayr on drums, performed two vibrant acoustic sets. After kicking their first set off with ‘Almost Like Being In Love’, these men proved not only to be outstanding musicians, but delightful entertainers as well. The young MacNayr kept the tempo up while he looked into the audience with the biggest grin on his face, Coleman voiced his solos, Lister made playing bass look so easy and Dwyer bounced his sax around and connected with the audience in between songs. The laid-back attitude of the musicians and the intimate setting of the Elks Home made this performance feel like it took place in your own living room. It was a pleasure to see these four talented musicians interact, interpret, quote and play around in their improvisations.

The combo’s catalyst, Phil Dwyer, is a big fan of the great tenor saxophone player Sonny Rollins, who, like Dwyer, started his musical career off as a pianist. Rollins’ influence on Dwyer was not only manifested in Dwyer’s playing, but also in the way he spoke about the man and his choice of music (the band performed several tunes - ‘Where Are You?’, ‘The Bridge’ and ‘Without a Song’ - from Sonny Rollins’ album ‘The Bridge’).

For their second to last song, Dwyer gave people goose bumps playing some of his sweetest licks using his warmest sound at the end of Ellington’s ‘In A Sentimental Mood’. This multi-talented (saxophonist, pianist, composer and arranger) “monster of musicianship” (Winnipeg Free Press) and his three companions had everyone on the edge of their seats from start to end.

We are blessed to have incredible players like these live in such close proximity and even more fortunate to have them come out and play for us here in the Valley. Supporting the Georgia Straight Jazz Society will make having more events like these possible.!

Set 1: Like Someone in Love; The Night has a Thousand Eyes; Giant Steps; Where are You?; The Bridge
Set 2: That Ole Devil Moon; Without a Song; All the Things You Are; In a Sentimental Mood; Straight no Chaser

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photo by Kornelis Kuiper www.kkuiper.com

Review from the prestigious Global Jazz Express

As jazz generally struggles to find listening enthusiasts outside the die-hard audiences, my chance visit to Courtenay, BC was a delight. I was only in this small Vancouver Island middle class town a few hours when I chanced upon an open-air concert in a small park with a glorious timber structured bandstand being put to very good use.

A local band called Jazz Noir was on stage. I took my seat with anticipation as to what I might hear in a region where one is surprised to hear jazz at all. Was I indeed surprised? This band knew its stuff. The horn section comprised of two young people...very young impressed me greatly. Trumpeter Niall Harvey, just 16, and a dishy blond tenorist Rhonda Krabbe blew a mix of standards and bossas as if they had been hard at it for a dozen years.

The vocalist Charlotte Harvey has a voice to be reckoned with and sung an array of songs to suit every taste in at least four languages! The rhythm section of Dave Harvey on guitar, Don Mackay on bass and drummer, Bill Street, were consistently locked speaking with one voice while allowing each musician creative freedom. Even though there had been inclement weather, the night was now on fire with hard driving swing, sultry blues and passionate bossas. The evening clearly demonstrated that you do not have to go to New York to find great jazz. It is alive in the hinterland.

The band played for a good hour and a half while the audience grew. This outfit left no stone unturned and my conversations with a few locals only confirmed that these guys set the standards for swinging in the Comox Valley.

If you find yourself in the area, check out local listings....if you find where Jazz Noir is playing be sure to catch them........it is well worth it.

"The Bopster "

The recently formed Georgia Straight Jazz Society proudly presented the Marc Atkinson Trio in the intimate atmosphere of the Underground. The trio has some of Canada's finest JUNO nominated musicians including Marc on lead guitar, Chris Fry on rhythm and Joey Smith on Stand up bass. For their first ever concert in the Comox Valley , the trio demonstrated their captivating melodies and sensually charged and technically perfected rhythms, throughout a warm stunning concert.

The Trio treated the audience to many of Marc's original compositions, which are considered jewels in Canadian guitar repertoire. Stolen Blues completely captivated the audience with its driving energy, while the trio's cover of Rogers ' Where or When quietly delivered the classic melody with romantic anticipation. The concert concluded with two standing ovations - a jazz experience for all!

"They're outstanding for their vitality, exuberance, elegance & melodic strength, and for the joy these three fine musicians share... Atkinson is a daring & inventive acoustic guitarist and a powerful force in the new roots/jazz movement." - Toronto Star review

Georgia Straight Jazz Society proudly presented The Victoria High School R & B Band at the Edgewater Pub. Under the direction of Eric Emde, the Victoria School district music program has been running to great acclaim since its inception in 1992.

The group held a number of events in the valley including two mentoring performances at Highland and Isfeld Secondary Schools and an evening performance at the Edgewater.

May 25, 2006 - Niall Harvey and Noir at Jazz Jam

This Thursday, May 25th at 7:30, Niall Harvey joined Jazz Noir at the Underground Jazz Jam leading "Noir" into "the birth of the cool" and Bop repertoires for the devout jazz aficionados. A few of the classics offered included Yardbird Suite, Caravan, Naima, Flamingo and A Night in Tunisia.

The band was rounded out with Adler Gross providing tenor improvisations, Dave Harvey on guitar, Don McKay laying down the bottom end on bass and Bill "Swing" Street on drums. Benson McGlashan joined the ensemble during the jam.

St. James Gait, the host rhythm section consisting of James Lithgow on bass, pianist Sean Mooney and drummer Bill Street provided a supportive foundation for many of the student musicians from the Big Band All-Stars.

Highlights included a Night in Tunisia featuring Niall Harvey on trumpet and Adler Gross on Tenor.

Larry Hale Sextet were swinging at the Underground with Larry Hale sax and clarinet, Nebil Emrik on trumpet, Bonnie Mayo on piano, Don MacKay on Bass and Len Wilke on drums.

The band was joined by Joanna Finch singing many of her personal favorites offereing lovely performances of Weaver of Dreams and One Note Samba, while Finch and the band created a version of My Funny Valentine that pushed the rhythm in several exciting directions. Guest appearances were made by Naill Harvey and Adler Gross.

Johneric Quartet with John Ringstead on guitar, Eric Tanen on piano, Al West on Bass and Len Wilke on drums were at the Underground. Their three sets covered a wide variety of standards including excellent rendition of Four, Girl from Ipanema, Wave, and Satin Doll.

They were accompanied in the second set by guest singer Dave Harvey on God Bless the Child, It Don't Mean A Thing and Darn That Dream.