‘Music is there to bring us together’

Fort Richmond

Royalwood

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This article was published 16/10/2024 (408 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The say that all roads lead to home.

The Winnipeg Jazz Orchestra is taking that to heart, kicking off its 2024-25 season with a made-in-Manitoba concert on Oct. 19 featuring the music of Cree artist, author, and playwright Tomson Highway.

“I’ve known Tomson for a very long time,” said Neil Watson, a saxophonist with the WJO who is also conducting the upcoming show on Oct. 19.

“A lot of his music is scored for piano, voice, tenor saxophone. His music always spoke to me in that it feels very honest. It’s a reflection of him, his upbringing in northern Manitoba, and all the places he’s seen. It’s full of wit, humour, and all those things, that bubbling enthusiasm bursts forth from his music.”

A member of the Order of Canada, Highway is well known for his plays, including the award-winning The Rez Sisters and Dry Lips Oughta Move to Kapuskasing, though he is also an accomplished musician, author of Kiss of the Fur Queen, and a Massey lecturer.

Watson and Highway worked together years ago, on a performance of The (Post) Mistress, a musical play of Highway’s, and reconnected when the Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre staged a virtual performance when COVID restrictions had shuttered much of the performing arts sector.

“When you fall into Tomson Highway’s orbit, you’re drawn in,” Watson said. “He’s such a positive person. He sees the world with this enthusiasm, and no matter how many years he’s been on this earth, he’s still so excited about the next performance, which ties into the way I feel about music. Music is there to bring us together the way no other medium can.”

After Watson caught a cabaret performance of some of Highway’s work, he started to think about how he could bring it to life with the WJO.

“We talked via email back and forth,” recalled Watson, who lives in Royalwood. “We were doing a northern tour with the WJO, and chatting with Tomson on this bus ride. He started sending me music of his other works, including Cree Country, a Nashville country record, but all the lyrics are in Cree. I started to hear it through the lens of big band.”

Featuring a set of nine tunes from Highway’s vast repertoire, the evening will also feature Highway acting as master of ceremonies. Patricia Cano, a Peruvian-Canadian singer, will be joining the WJO.

“I hope folks will come check it out,” Watson said. “They’ll hear that enthusiastic, honest Tomson Highway music played through a big band, with a full horn section, rhythm section, and Patricia singing. I want Winnipeg audiences to feel that warmth and enthusiasm and love for everything I get every time I talk to (Highway), so we’ll talk about each composition, what it means to him, where the influences came from, how it ties into his childhood and travelling the world since then. I want audiences to hear about this remarkable journey from living in the subarctic to being a classical concert pianist and playwright.”

Tomson Highway Meets the Winnipeg Jazz Orchestra will take place on Saturday, Oct. 19 in the brand new Desautels Concert Hall at the University of Manitoba. Tickets are $45 for adults. Show time is 7:30 p.m. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit winnipegjazzorchestra.com