Kelby MacNayr Quintet
The Georgia Straight Jazz Society is proud to host the
Kelby MacNayr Quintet
Sunday November 21, 2010, 7:30 pm
Elks Home, 6th Street, Coutenay
The Show begins at 7:30 and the seating is limited in this intimate comfortable setting.
Tickets:
$12 GSJS members
$16 non-members
available at:
Bop City, Courtenay;
Play It Again, Comox;
Thursday Jazz Club at the Elks; and at the door
Hugh Fraser. Don Thompson. Phil Dwyer. Storm Nilson. Ian McDougall. Neil Swainson. They are all incredible jazz musicians. What else do they have in common? They all use the drumming talents of Victoria's Kelby MacNayr.
On Sunday, November 21, the Georgia Straight Jazz Society is proud to present the Kelby MacNayr Quintet in concert. Featuring some of the West Coast's finest jazz musicians, the quintet performs ground-breaking original music that, while rooted in tradition, presents a beautifully crafted blend of innovation and imagination. The musicians are: Kelby MacNayr, drums; Roy Styffe, sax; Alfons Fear, trumpet; George McFetridge, piano; and Sean Drabitt, bass.
Drummer MacNayr is in demand in Canada and abroad. Performing with leading musicians from New York to Vancouver, his busy schedule keeps his music fresh and exhilarating. A faculty member of the world- reknowned Jazz Port Townsend Festival under director John Clayton, Kelby is continually reinventing himself as a performer, composer and educator. Kelby is a regular member of the Misha Piatigorsky Trio (New York), the Storm Nilson Trio (Los Angeles), The Anne Schaefer Band, the Marianne Tudel Quintet, and the Phil Dwyer Quartet. He is also artistic director of Victoria's highly successful Art of the Trio Series.
Regarded by many as one of the finest improvisers in Canada, saxophonist Roy Styffe has been wowing audiences for over 30 years. He has played with the greatest names in Canadian jazz and continues to push the envelope of excellence in the world of improvisation. Roy has a Bachelor of Music degree in Jazz Studies from Humber College in Toronto. In 1992 Roy was awarded a Canada Council grant to study in New York with Dick Oatts from the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Big Band, and the great 
saxophonist David Liebman.
Alfons Fear is an honours graduate in musical performance from Humber College. After seven years honing his skills on stage and in the studios of Toronto he moved to Victoria to become one of the busiest trumpet players in the city.
George McFetridge was a longtime mainstay of the Edmonton Jazz Scene. He went from the University of Alberta to Berklee School of Music in Boston and then a stint with the Buddy Rich Big Band touring the USA. He settled in Toronto for a time with TV gigs and a teaching position at Humber College (1985-92). He has performed with many well known artists such as Fraser MacPherson, Woody Herman, Benny Golson, Lee Konitz , Kenny Wheeler, Woody Shaw, Phil Woods and many more, and has toured Europe with Jacek Kochon and Mariusz Kwiatowski.
Bassist Sean Drabitt has been a fixture on Victoria's vibrant jazz scene for over 20 years. Chosen as Victoria's 2007 Jazz Musician of the Year by the readers of Monday Magazine, Drabitt has played professionally in over 40 countries and recorded with jazz stars Jason Marsalis and Hugh Fraser, hip-hop diva Kia Kadiri, and fado songbird Sara Marreiros. He has had two-decade musical relationship with drummer Josh Dixon, who appeared in Courtenay recently with the Daniel Lapp Quartet.
Having recently release their CD Living Pictures, the Kelby MacNayr Quintet is sure to delight and surprise.