Gettin' It Together

I had the opportunity to host the Malaspina Jazz Jam at the Queens last night. I was invited by drummer Adam Cormier (the jam host band leader) and we played with Ken Lister and Pat Coleman. A fellow by the name of Steve (last name Smith, I think) sat in on keyboards.

Ken and Pat are local heavies and I was very honored to have the opportunity to play with them. Adam is a young up and coming drummer who's music is very mature, energetic and interactive. Interestingly, he's studying with an old highschool classmate of mine, Jesse Cahill. I will be back to the venue to jam, and hope to perform with that band again in the near future.

One thing I noticed was that after years of playing only R&B, blues & rock, my jazz chops were a little dusty. Rather than get down on myself, I'm going to tackle this opportunity to improve my playing and expand on my song repertoire. I have a lot of time available to shed these days, and there is no shortage of great jazz players here in Nanaimo.

Video and update

Below is a short clip of a show I sat in on back in Edmonton in 2003. The video and audio quality are very poor, so turn up the volume and don't squint too hard.

Back in B.C. now, and I've been doing some playing. Had a great new years eve show on Gabriola Island with Dinah D on acoustic bass & lead vocals, Tina Jones on trumpet and vocals, Myron Makepeace on piano (Fender Rhodes... super nice sound), Tracy Myers on drums and Aaron from Vancouver on guitar.

There are a lot of great musicians on the Island and I'm finding myself inspired to practice again and to hunt down gigs.