old soul, new sound

I grew up listening to my dad play his versions of Erroll Garner on our piano, every night after work.  And when my uncle came to visit, they turned into a duo — bass and piano — and they played until the early hours. It was incredible. 

They have been doing this since they were children, and my uncle had to stand on a phone book on a chair to play his stand up bass. They played for my grandparents when they had bridge parties, and it has always been their language. It's completely intuitive. Completely natural. No words, just music. 

When I was a teenager, I realized all those songs had lyrics. When my grandmother would ask for a song, we'd play it. It became a family tradition, a way for three introverts to connect and communicate. Those are special memories for me. Our Love Is Here to Stay.

In my 20s we recorded our jazz trio, and I branched out to play jazz with other musicians. And here I am, many years later, still in love with this genre, and the atmosphere it creates.

I play classic jazz standards, with a nod to Ella, Louis, Etta, Dinah, George and Ira. 

Currently, I play with Erik Vandeweerdhof, a local bassist/guitarist who shares my passion for this music. I have also had the pleasure of locally playing with Alan Small and a select group of musicians who appear seemingly out of nowhere. Once you open the door to jazz, you never close it.

Mad River Jazz is named for the river that runs through Creemore, one of my favourite places. It is gentle, turbulent, discordant, synthesized and all things in between. An improvisation at every turn. A perfect metaphor for this music.