Thursday April 11th 2019 at 7:30pm

Next Generation Jazz Collective

Featuring John Lee

Members $10, non-members $12

The Next Generation Jazz Collective is a group consisting of some of the finest young jazz musicians from Vancouver Island. Led by multi-instrumentalist John Lee, this group makes its debut at Georgia Straight Jazz Society for a night of homage to some of the most important music arranged for sextet in jazz history.

The sextet comprises John Lee, keyboard; Lachlan Craven, trumpet; Steve Carson, tenor saxophone; Mateo Jaekel, trombone; Brock Meades, bass, and Ethan Olynyk, drums. This line-up richly illustrates the depth of upcoming jazz musicians in mid-Vancouver Island, and our good fortune to experience their talents.

Raised in Nanaimo BC, John Lee is one of the most respected and acclaimed young jazz musicians nationwide. After showing great interest in music at a young age, Lee developed into a virtuoso by his late teens and by the time Lee completed his high school studies he had received a remarkable amount of recognition by prominent jazz musicians in Canada and earned an impressive array of awards, scholarships and honors from Envision Jazz Festival, MusicFest Canada and Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival.

Lee attended the prestigious Berklee College of Music and received a full tuition and housing scholarship. He completed his undergraduate studies in May 2016 and received a Bachelor of Music in Performance. In addition to his academic training in Boston, Lee was mentored by world-renowned jazz educators Dave Santoro, Terri Lyne Carrington, Ralph Peterson Jr., and John Clayton. After relocating back to Canada and residing in Victoria BC, Lee has become an in-demand musician for accompanying visiting artists and has had opportunities to perform with artists, including Buster Williams, Rudy Royston, George Colligan and Misha Piatigorsky.

As an artist, John Lee is widely known for his immense proficiency as a multi-instrumentalist as well as his ability to connect audience to his music with a charming and positive charisma. Lee has done an extensive amount of performing in cities located in North America including New York City (Dizzy's Club Coca Cola, SOMETHIN' Jazz Club), Boston (Wally's Jazz Café, The Beehive), Washington (Kennedy Center Millennium Stage, Hamilton Live), Toronto (The Rex), Edmonton (Yardbird Suite), Vancouver (Cellar Jazz Club, Frankie's Jazz Club), and Victoria (Hermann's Jazz Club). Lee has performed numerous times as a sideman and leader at international jazz festivals including TD Prince Edward County Jazz Festival, DC Jazz Festival and TD Victoria and Vancouver International Jazz Festival.

John has shared the stage with international jazz artists, including Cyrus Chestnut, Larry Fuller, Seamus Blake, Terell Stafford, Ingrid Jensen as well as prominent Canadian jazz artists and educators Phil Dwyer, Christine Jensen, Ryan Oliver, Brad Turner, Neil Swainson and David Restivo.

Lee is also in early concept development stages for his debut album which he's planning to release under the Cellar Live label.

It is all rush seating, there are no reservations.

Browse the Calendar page of our website for information about the remaining 7 shows scheduled this season. You will quickly realize why Courtenay has become a significant performance destination on the Canadian jazz scene.

GSJS showcases jazz live in the Comox Valley, giving music lovers an opportunity to enjoys local, regional and internationally-known jazz musicians.