From Coast to Coast

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Recommended Fall gigs

Vancouver

For an Easterner, the Vancouver jazz scene always seems bursting with activity. This reviewer admits being a bit jealous of all the comings and goings in the city’s clubs and concert halls. In the past few weeks, for example, Vancouver jazz fans were able to see saxophonist George Garzone (on Sept. 23), the Bill Charlap Trio (Oct. 8), drummer Ches Smith’s new project Clone Row (with the twin guitars of Mary Halvorson and Liberty Ellman and the bass of Nick Dunston, Oct. 10), local legend PJ Perry (Oct. 17 & 18) and Indian-American saxophonist Rudresh Mahanthappa’s Hero Trio (Oct. 18). Two further shows are also worthy of attention: first, saxophonist Seamus Blake will play at the Rickshaw on Nov. 2 in a quartet including organist Sam Yahel. Then, guitarist Peter Bernstein will play three nights at Frankie’s Jazz Club backed by the Tilden Webb Trio (Dec. 12-14); in addition, on the 14th he will also accompany Toronto singer Ale Nuñez for a unique afternoon show.

Orchestre national de jazz de Montréal
Photo: Pierre Langlois ©2025

Montreal’s ONJ honours women composers

For more than a decade, Montreal’s Orchestre National de Jazz has been an essential institution of the highest calibre, capable of delivering intricate modern jazz charts but also willing to reach a wider public by backing the occasional pop singer. With its program Compositrices d’hier à aujourd’hui, the ONJ will be revisiting works by great women jazz composers such as Mary Lou Williams, Toshiko Akiyoshi, Maria Schneider and Satoko Fujii. True to the “national” part of its name, the orchestra will also feature works by Canadians Anna Webber and Marianne Trudel; the latter will also conduct the performance. The ONJ will be at Place des Arts’s Cinquième Salle on Oct. 30. For more information, visit www.onjm.ca

In “Flux”

For many years now, the Montreal OFF Jazz festival has been held in October; nothing, however, had been announced for their 26th season as we went to press. But since last year, a new festival, dedicated to creative music in all its forms, has also been taking place in the fall; for its second instalment, the Flux Festival has programmed a few interesting sets of free jazz and improvised music. Legendary drummer Andrew Cyrille (85) will give a rare solo performance at La Chapelle on Oct. 4; after the disappearance of his contemporaries Rashied Ali, Sunny Murray and Milford Graves, Cyrille now stands as the last great pioneer of free drumming. Cyrille is not new to solo performance, having released the groundbreaking album What About? back in 1969; more recently, he offered Music Delivery/Percussion on the Swiss label Intakt in 2023.

Fans of improvised music should also look for the performances of Argentina-born, Berlin-based saxophonist Camila Nebbia with a trio (Oct. 7 at Casa del Popolo) and that of local saxophonist Chloe Jackson-Reynolds with a sextet (Oct. 8 at Sala Rossa). Also in the field of improvised/creative musics, Dutch vocalist Jaap Blonk will appear in Quebec City at Le Lieu on Oct. 12 and in Montreal at Rocket Science Room (solo and in a duet with Lori Freedman) on Oct. 14.

For fans of straight-ahead jazz in Montreal, Upstairs never fails to deliver the goods. This month, guitarist Peter Bernstein will appear with his long-standing organ trio (with Larry Goldings and Bill Stewart) on Oct. 17, and legendary drummer Louis Hayes will appear with Montreal guitarist Mike Bruzzese’s quartet on Oct. 31 and Nov. 1.

In Brief: Oscar’s Centennial continues…

The Oscar Peterson Centennial Quartet (with Robi Botos, Jim Doxas, Mike Downes and either trumpeter Lex French or guitarist Ulf Wakenius) will continue to tour all through the fall season, celebrating Canada’s most famous jazzman. Dates are scheduled for many cities and towns in New Brunswick, Quebec and Ontario until Dec. 5, including stops in Burlington, Ottawa, Sherbrooke, Quebec City, Moncton, Saint John and Fredericton; see details at www.oscarpeterson.com/events

Archive of the Month

Happy Faces
The Dave Robbins Big Band; Dave Robbins, trombone, conductor; Don Clark and Bobby Hales, trumpets; Fraser MacPherson, tenor sax, flute; Chris Gage, piano; Don Thompson, bass. Recorded 1963 & 1965.
Reel To Real (RTRCD015), March 2025

From the good folks at Reel To Real/Cellar Music comes this very welcome issue of unreleased tapes from the CBC in Vancouver. Dave Robbins was an American-born trombonist, leading a big band packed with the most talented jazz musicians the city had to offer at that time. Taken from mid-1960s broadcasts, this is modern big-band music at its best. While some charts are simple swingers (the title track comes to mind), others are more intricate (sample Al MacMillan’s Minority for example). Fraser MacPherson is undoubtedly the most impressive soloist here, but there are also some notable appearances by Don Clark, Bobby Hales, and Robbins himself. Like the best big bands, however, ensemble playing is the key here, and the orchestra seems to be placed firmly in the West Coast tradition. The only question that lingers is the presence of pianist Chris Gage, who died tragically in December 1964 and, therefore, couldn’t be on the January 1965 sessions—unless these were broadcast at that date and recorded before? This minor mystery aside, this is a formidable addition to the Canadian jazz discography.

Listen and/or puchase the album (on digital format, CD or LP) at https://thedaverobbinsbigband.bandcamp.com/album/happy-faces