Former Winnipegger gets to jam with mentors

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Trombonist Christopher Butcher has been composing music for bands he plays with in Toronto. (HANDOUT)

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Israeli-born Anat Cohen is helping raise the visibility of the clarinet. (HANDOUT)

Christopher Butcher may not be living the high life in Toronto, but he is living the good life of a young jazz musician not long out of school.

And the former Winnipegger and his trombone will be home in a couple of weeks for that quintessential Winnipeg jazz gig, Mardi Jazz at Centre culturel franco-manitobain.

Butcher will team up with former mentors, Ron Paley on piano and Steve Kirby on bass, and a fellow young musician, drummer Curtis Nowosad, to play standards.

The trombonist says he has been composing music for bands he plays with in Toronto, but chose standards for the hometown gig in part because he'll only be here the day before the Aug. 3 performance, which limits rehearsal time. And, he adds, "These guys are great (music) readers, of course, but they're such great jazz musicians they make standards interesting."

The 24-year-old is a year out of school after five years of post-secondary education ("A year of freedom.") -- two at the University of Manitoba and three years at Humber College in Toronto, where he graduated with a bachelor of applied music degree. And he says he hasn't had to work at anything other than making music.

Butcher has been busy performing in Hilario Duran's Latin Jazz Big Band, with drummer Archie Alleyne's band Kollage and with the Heavyweights Brass Band, which includes fellow Winnipegger Paul Metcalfe on saxophone. He also sits in with a variety of bands performing everything from salsa to a tribute to great jazz trombonist J. J. Johnson.

Butcher is content in Toronto, although his goal remains the same as so many musicians, living and working in the jazz mecca of New York City.

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Quincy Davis will get a baptism by fire as the new drum instructor in the University of Manitoba music faculty's jazz studies program.

The New York drummer will join fellow professors Jimmy Greene (saxophone), George Colligan (piano) and director of jazz studies Steve Kirby (bass), Aug.16-21, teaching at the annual U of M Summer Jazz Camp.

The calibre of those teachers/musicians means this will be the first time in 16 years that the jazz camp won't be bringing in a special guest, says Warren Otto, program administrator of continuing education/summer session.

"Steve (Kirby) has done such a great job of building a strong faculty that it isn't required this year," Otto said.

The jazz camp is aimed at junior and senior high students, university players, music educators and jazz musicians. It offers instrumental and vocal instruction and also includes local teachers such as Will Bonness (piano), Janice Finlay (saxophone), Richard Gillis (trumpet), Ken Gold (saxophone), Steve Hamilton (bass), Anna-Lisa Kirby (vocals), Kristen Myers (piano), Keith Price (guitar) and Neil Watson (saxophone).

Jazz camp faculty perform at the Winnipeg Art Gallery's Jazz on the Rooftop, Aug. 19, and camp students hold finale concerts.

The Music Educators Jazz Immersion program will also run Aug. 17-19, lead by Brandon University professor and saxophonist Greg Gatien.

Details on the camp and registration are available at umanitoba.ca/summer, by calling Warren Otto at 474-6037, or 1-888-216-7011 (ext. 6037).

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Israeli-born Anat Cohen is a very good musician who is helping raise the visibility of the clarinet, once a mainstay of jazz bands but now seen more often as an anachronism.

Cohen, also a crack saxophonist, is the middle of three Cohen siblings who have become jazz musicians; brother Yuval plays soprano sax and brother Avishai plays trumpet. They have recorded a couple of CDs as 3 Cohens and the group will play Winnipeg in November backed by a rhythm section led by bassist Steve Kirby.

The 3 Cohens will appear as part of the Tarbut Festival of Jewish Culture, Saturday, Nov. 20, 8 p.m, and Sunday, Nov, 21, 2 p.m. at the Berney Theatre. Ticket information at 477-7534.

chris.smith@freepress.mb.ca

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition July 19, 2010 D3