Talking Big Band with Casey Thomas-Burns: Conductor of the Leading Ladies
1. What's your favourite thing about leading a band? How can I pick just one thing?! Getting to work in-depth with great musicians who help me turn my vision into a reality has been wonderful. In addition to that, the support and enthusiasm that many members of the community have shown has been incredibly heartwarming, and continues to surprise me. 2. What's the most challenging thing about leading a band? Getting everybody in the same room at the same time! 3. Who is your gr
Practice Makes Perfect Series: SJO'S Ingrid Stitt
Ingrid and I had the pleasure of meeting previously at Jodi Proznick's Girls Jazz Day at the VSO School of Music this past summer, and I was really digging her solos and improvisation during the faculty concert. Ingrid has this tendency to play super tasty stuff all the time, and I have to admit that she is one of my favourite local saxophonists to listen to, the other being Karen Graves. Ingrid has this no-nonsense vibe to her, while also being stylish in her look and quick
Instruments of Change: Sister Jazz Orchestra makes its debut
Have you ever gone to see a big band show in Vancouver and counted how many women were on the stage? I do, every time, and the most I have ever seen was six. Six women in a band of eighteen - that’s one third of the band - might seem like a low number, but if you’re a regular jazz-goer, you’ll know that that number is unusually high. Christian Morrison, a long-time big band director and co-founder of the WestCoast Big Band Festival, felt that a change was overdue when she dec
Practice Makes Perfect Series: SJO's Geeta Das
As the Sister Jazz Orchestra is poised to make its debut November 17th, headlining the West Coast Big Band Festival, I had the chance to catch up with some of the amazing musicians who will be making up the ensemble to talk about practice routines, gear, and why they chose their instrument. The first musician I have the pleasure of speaking to in this series is Geeta Das. 1. How did you get into playing your instrument? How did you get into playing jazz? I started playing flu
Ayelet Gottlieb on Jay Clayton, Pneuma, and Bobby McFerrin
1. How did you get into music? a. I think I was born into music. Since I was a child I just was a musician. My son is like that now. He embodies music in every way, in every interaction he has with the world. I can’t imagine myself existing without music and I see that in him, too. 2. You are a composer, what are your greatest joys and challenges? a. One of my greatest joys as composer is collaboration. Aiming my writing towards the people I choose to work with on a specific
