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.
