LOOKING AHEAD
Special Events on the Vancouver Music Scene

January/February • 1990

HUGH
FRASER
QUINIEI
January 9

GEORGE
ADAMS
QUARTET
January 21

Vancouver East
Cultural Centre
8 PM• $12
FRASER'S HIGH TIDE
"... bop at its fastest and most
furious. The Fraser gang may
just be the hottest band in the
country."-Mark Miller, Glohl'
and Mail

Over the years, Canada has
produced its share of world-class
jazz talent. The Hugh Fraser
Quintet, though barely four
years old, has established an en­
viable reputation as one of this
country's finest jazz ensembles.
Led by pianist/trombonist Hugh
Fraser, and featuring
saxophonists Phil Dwyer and
Campbell Ryga along with

Inside:
Dirty Dozen
Brass Band
Imagine
The Sound
Lorraine
Desmarais
Trio/
Denny
Christianson
Big Band

Arts Club Theatre
Granville Island
8 PM• $15

.Jazzphotu:

Larry f;v1rchev

bassist Chris Nelson and
drummer Blaine Wikjord, the
fivesome handily won the 1987
Alcan Jazz Competition at the
Montreal Jazz Festival.
Since 1987, when an
international panel led by world
renowned bassist Miroslav
Vitous voted them the most
outstanding young Canadian
jazz artists} the Fraser Five has
captured hearts and minds with
performances across Canada and
in London, Dublin, Glasgow and
Holland. In addition to live
appearances, the unit has been
heard on French National Radio
from the Paris Jazz Festival,
CBC Radio and Television from
the Montreal Jazz Festival and
on BBC Radio in London,
England.
The group began 1989 with
an extensive tour celebrating
their first Jazzimage release,
"Looking Up", which eventually
went on to win the 1988 Juno
Award for Best Canadian Jazz
Albµm. The band's second
Jazzimage recording, "Pas de
Problemes", has just been issued
and a subsequent cross-country
tour will take place. Shortly
thereafter, the group plans to
return to Europe.
Leader Hugh A. Fraser is
the group's primary composer.
He started jazz studies as a
drummer with coaching from his
father in his hometown of
Victoria, B.C.. After two years

of college in Vancouver, Hugh
formed the I 2- piece Vancouver
Ensemble of Jazz Improvisation
(VEJI). He has produced and
recorded two albums with VEJI,
toured Canada yearly, and
performed with such jazz greats
as Dave Holland, Dave
Liebman, Slide Hampton, Kenny
Wheeler, Sheila Jordan, Don
Thompson, Joe Henderson and
others.
Fraser has received many
awards and scholarships
including Most Outstanding
Band 1981 in the Canadian
Stage Band Festival, four
scholarships to the Banff School
of Fine Arts jazz programmes,
and two Canada Council Arts
Grants for private study in New
York City and London, England.
He is currently on the faculty of
the Banff School of Fine Arts
Summer Jazz Workshop and the
Royal Academy of Music in
London.
The Hugh Fraser Quintet's
performance during the 1989
du Maurier International Jazz
Festival in Vancouver was a
highly-charged affair which left
the audience screaming for
more. We welcome you to a
special evening at the Vancou­
ver East Cultural Centre where
this group's hot, modern bebop
sounds. will be a significant
opening to the New Year.

UNSAFE SAX
"When you hear George
Adams uncoil into a solo, like
watching Wade Boggs step into
a fastball, spraying out a line
drive of biting sixteenth notes
with a brawny follow-through,
it's easy to understand when
the tenorman states,"l like to
play uncompromisingly"
Gene Kalbacher, Hot House
Magazine

Uncompromising. Fiery. A
soulful balladeer. A combination
of musical virtues and ideals
fused during a brilliant career
have made George Adams one
of the greatest saxophonists in
jazz.
His story began in
Covington, Georgia in the early
'50s. His first instrument was the
piano, followed by the alto sax in
the high school band. Soon he
was doubling and tripling on the
clarinet and bassoon. On
Sundays, he played piano in
church during the day, but by
night he was wailing on tenor as
a member of the house band at
the Royal Peacock. There,
absorbed in the "emotional
directness" of the blues, he
backed such illustrious
performers as Howling Wolf,
Muddy Waters, Elmore James
and Sam Cooke.
In the early '60s, having
moved to Ohio, Adams played in
several organ groups, that
peculiar wasteland for tenor
players in the '60s. These turned

Coastal Jazz and Blues Society • 435 West Hastings St.• Vancouver, B.C.• V6B 1L4 • (604) nR?-0706

out to be fine experiences for the
players who survived the night to
night competition with that loud,
heaving monster. In order for the
tenor players to be heard, they
had to learn to blow - which they
were frequently made to do while
strolling over glasses and tJeef
bottles on the bar top. According
to Adams, "I had to find a way to
be heard, and I began to use my
horn as a weapon."
Since his arrival in New
York City in 1968, Adams has
built a reputation as a dramatic
saxophonist who can growl,
grunt and howl in the most
harmonically complex fashion.
But no matter how far Adams'
stratospheric forays push the
outer limits of sound, they never
lose their highly vocal, blues­
drenched feel.
While in New York City,
Adams worked with Roy
Haynes, Art Blakey and Gil
Evans. The gig with Haynes
lasted, on and off, from 1969-73.
Then George put in a short time
with Art Blakey and the Jazz
Messengers. Charles Mingus was
forming a new group in 1973
when he asked Adams to join
him. Anybody who saw Mingus
in performance during the mid
'70s was struck by the unassum­
ing tenor player in the knit cap.
Many times George Adams
would play a solo that would
leave listeners in awe of his
ability to conjure strength,
imagination and sheer beauty.
Adams left Charles Mingus
in 1976 to begin playing a little
more on his own. After a short
time freelancing, he joined
McCoy Tyner's band. Then came
the creation of the Don Pullen George Adams Quartet, a highly
acclaimed unit whose most
recent albums, "Breakthrough"
and "Song Everlasting", on Blue
Note bear witness to Adams'
burgeoning talent. In addition to
guest spots with the Mingus
Dynasty band, Adams
participates in Phalanx - a free­
bop metal band that includes
Sirone (bass), drummer Rashied
Ali and guitarist James.Blood
Ulmer.

January/February

1J

The George Adams
Quartet is the saxophonist's
current group. It includes Hugh
Lawson on piano, Greg
Hutchison on drums and bassist
Cameron Brown. Their latest
recording, "Nightingale" (Blue
Note), is a spiritual statement
expressing Adams' gratitude to
the late drummer Dannie
Richmond and arranger/
composer Gil Evans.
George Adams lists his
influences as Charlie Parker, Ben
Webster and Coleman Hawkins.
He, no doubt, has used their vast
contributions to' advance his own
musical agenda. But when it
comes to sheer energy, few
musicians can match the power
and intensity generated by tenor
saxophonist George Adams.

THE
DIRTY
DOZEN
BRASS
BAND

Plus Brass Roots!
February 4
The Commodore
8 PM • $20
MARDI GRAS
MAYHEM
"The band's repertoire starts
with traditional tunes, but they
are played with an untradi­
tional rhythmic intensity,
based on African drumming,
kicked along by rapid-fire,
insistent riffs and expanded to
include bop, rhythm and
blues, avant-garde and the
band's own original tunes. It
draws on such sources as

Charlie Parker, Duke Elling­
ton, Thelonious Monk, Miles
Davis and even Michael
Jackson." - John S. Wilson,
New York Times
With a unique blend of
raucous funk and disciplined
finesse, the Dirty Dozen have
stimulated New Orleans'
musical traditons with distinctly
modem accents. As a result
they've become an in-demand
horn section for the likes of
Elvis Costello, Daniel Lanois,
Buckwheat Zydeco and The
Neville Brothers. David Byrne
credited the Dirty Dozen's
approach with inspiring his solo
effort,"Music from the Knee
Plays". More recently, the band
released its major label debut
LP, "Voodoo", for CBS Records
with cameo appearances by
Dizzy Gillespie, Dr. John and
Branford Marsalis.
Back in New Orleans, the
music community is happy to
see some of their own make
good in the world, though not
with out some purist grumblings.
This is a town that reveres its
heritage, after all, and when it
comes to traditional jazz, the
Dirty Dozen Brass Band is
definitely a hybrid. Their
innovations include faster
tempos, intricate and daring
arrangements, a broad repertoire
(from bebop to R&B to the
theme from "The Flintstones'')
and a liberated attitude about
horn solos. Trumpeters Gregory
Davis and Efrem Towns,
Saxophonists Kevin Harris and
Roger Lewis and trombonist
Charles Joseph are free to play
sweet, raunchy or completely
"out", as the mood dictates.
They're anchored by Kirk
Joseph's agile sousaphone,
which he plays more like an
electric bass, and the one-two
punch of drummer Lionel
Batiste and snare drummer
Jenell "Chi-Lite" Marshall.
The results offer ample
stimulation for serious listeners,
but, this being New Orleans,
they're presented by the Dozen
as street-wise dance and party
music, with the wildest possible
reactions encouraged. Trumpeter
Davis says, "If we play a supper
club like Sweet Basil, I don't

want to be just the dinner music
side show. I don't feel that I've
done my job till I've disrupted the
customer's meal."
The Dirty Dozen Brass Band
got started working in a format
that is exclusively steeped in New
Orleans tradition. The brass band
played the funerals and parades
and it was their job, as Davis says,
to get the people dancing, to create
a "second line" of people
marching after the parade. While
there were once dozens of such
bands, by the 1970s they were a
dying breed. When the Dirty
Dozen started playing together,
they were hoping to fiII the gap
left by the aging, disappearing
brass bands.
They started playing the
occasional jazz funeral, parades
and of course Dirty Dozen get­
togethers. Then came the calls
from caterers to play conventions
and other tourist soirees. They
became a Monday night fixture at
a club called the Glass House, a
gig they held for six years straight
and continue to do when they're in
town.
Their "extended traditional­
ism" has kept the Dirty Dozen
Brass Band busy for well over a
decade, first as local faves in New
Orleans, then as a group recog­
nized world-wide for musical
excellence. As the Executive
Director of the New Orleans Jazz
and Heritage Foundation put
it,"The Dirty Dozen represents a
major development in traditional
brass band music."
As such, the Dirty Dozen
have fit comfortably on bills with
artists as diverse as Wynton
Marsalis, Al Green and Grand­
master Flash, in addition to
playing on three songs on the
latest Elvis Costello album.
You'll wanna be in that
number... when the Dirty Dozen
Brass Band comes marching in.
The great Sarah Vaughan
appears with the VSO at the
Orpheum, Sunday, February
4th at 7 PM. After the show,
the music and festivities
continue with the
Dirty Dozen Brass Band at
the Commodore.

LORRAINE
DESMARAIS
TRIO/
DENNY
CHRISTIANSON
BIG BAND

February 17
Vancouver East
Cultural Centre
8 PM • $15
MONTREAL
MAINSTREAM

"Lorraine Desmarais really
knocked me out. She sounds like
she's listened to a lot of Bill
Evans, but plays with more
power, more strength. She's also
lyrical...a very fine musician."
Leonard Feather, Los Anietes
Times
Lorraine Desmarais has
garnered a lion's share of piano
awards; in 1986, from the Great
American Piano Competition; two
years before that, from the
Montreal International Jazz
Festival; in 1979, first prize for
interpretation in a competition at
the University of Sherbrooke,
where she earned a master's
degree. It's easy to hear why. Her
crisp touch, developed from years
of playing the classics, surpasses
mechanical precision by swinging
hard. Convoluted horn-like lines in
her right hand skitter over her sure,
dense left-hand voicings. Her post­
bop melodies subtly recall the
mathematical precision of Bach
and the pan-tonal harmonies of
Ginastra and other modernists.
Through it all, she maintains a
robust style.

More on Sarah, p.4

Looking Ahead

Looking Ahead

In her trio work, Desma­
rais evokes the piano stylings of
McCoy Tyner and Chick Corea.
She has released two trio
albums under her name on the
Canadian Jazzimage label. She
won a Felix Award (1985) for
the LP entitled "Trio Lorraine
Desmarais". Her third album,
"Pianissimo", and first solo
outing was recorded live at the
Montreal Jazz festival in 1986.
Her approach in these solo
improvisations resembles Keith
Jarrett's free soloing of the
l 970's, although she likes to
sprinkle in a few standards.
Desmarais' long awaited
Vancouver performance will
feature Cami! Belisle (drums)
and Michel Donato (bass).
"Without doubt one of the
best jazz orchestras heard in
some thirty-odd years of
concertgoing...the band has to
be heard live to be believed."
- Crescendo Magazine, London,
England
Montreal's Denny
Christianson Big Band ( 19piece), in the words of an
English critic, "is more than the
equal of the bands of Kenton,
Herman and Rich." As most big
bands fade into obscurity, along
comes a group of talented
composers, arrangers and
instrumentalists, led by
flugelhomist Christianson, who
make the genre vital and
exciting. Most large jazz groups
favour the nostalgia sounds of
swing. But this band plays in a
thoroughly modem, tough­
minded style. As a result, it is
not surprising that Christianson
has recorded two albums,
"Doomsday Machine" and
"Suite Mingus" (both on Justin
Time Records), noted for their
sleek orchestrations and big-city
intensity. This is urbane music
noted both for its fiery spirit as
well as its poignant, tender
moments,
The band recently
completed its second European
tour, playing in Finland,
England, and at the Stockholm
Jazz Festival, a concert which
was recorded and recently aired
on CBC FM's Jazzbeat.

The band's most recent
Justin Time release, "More
Pepper" with the late baritone sax
legend Pepper Adams, was
recently honored with a nomina­
tion for a Felix Award for Jazz
Album of the Year and has
received critical praise in several
leading jazz magazines. After their
Canadian tour, the band will return
home to tape a special with CFCF
Television in Montreal.

IMAGINE
THE SOUND

February 15
Pacific Cinematheque
7:30 PM• $5
"Imagine the Sound captures the
spirit of adventure that irrevoca­
bly changed the face of jazz.
Intelligence, subdued craftsman­
ship and love of jazz permeate
every frame and result in a film
that is essential viewing..."-John
Griffin, Montreal Gazette
Imagine the Sound is a
Canadian feature-length
documentary co-produced by Ron
Mann and Bill Smith (musician
and publisher of Coda Magazine)
in Toronto over four days in
February, 1981. It's subject is the
music of the "October Revolution
in Jazz" which occurred at the
beginning of the I 960's in New
York City.
Four figures associated with
the jazz vanguard of the 60's Cecil Taylor, Archie Shepp, Paul
Bley and Bill Dixon were invited
to McClear Place Recording
Studio. Each musician played at
length and talked about his music;
the filmmakers were content to
record them and stay out of the
way.

Imagine the Sound is
· probably the best place to be
introduced to this groundbreaking
music. The album-quality sound
and the fluidity of the camera
work make this film a 16-mm
equivalent of Martin Scorsese's
"The Last Waltz".
Paul Bley - The Canadian
pianist, whose work has appeared
on over fifty record albums, has
played and recorded with such
artists as Charlie Parker, Charles
Mingus, Omette Coleman, Don
Cherry, Sonny Rollins, and as a
member of the Jazz Composers
Orchestra.
Cecil Taylor - The pianist and
composer whose work over the
last twenty-five years - as a
soloist and in his various '!Units",
as poet, educator and eloquent
spokesman for his art - has
elevated him to legendary status
in his own lifetime.
Archie Shepp - Saxophonist,
composer, actor and playwright,
leader, poet and teacher, has been
in residence at the University of
Massachusetts, Amherst, since
1975. In recent years he has been
recognized as taking his place
alongside Coleman Hawkins,
Lester Young and John Coltrane
as a major tenor saxophonist.
Bill Dixon - Trumpeter and
composer, since 1961 has
concentrated on the performance
of his original compositions. In
the early 1960's he was
instrumental in forming the Jazz
Composer's Guild in New York
City - a cooperative of avant­
garde musicians which included,
among others, Paul Bley, Archie
Shepp and Cecil Taylor. Bill
Dixon is a professor of Black
Music at Bennington College in
Vertnont.

_

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January/February [i]

The View
From Here
READY FOR THE NINETIES ...
Coastal Jazz and Blues bids the
eighties farewell with many fond
memories, a few shivers over the
close scrapes of our first four
years, but with an overall sense
of joy from generating all the
remarkable music we have heard
since 1986. We launch ourselves
into the nineties on the strength
of our most active and successful
year to date with optimism and
an ever-growing sense of
adventure.
To the many individuals and
organizations who have helped
us get this far we offer our
sincere gratitude.We especially
thank two groups of people - the
artists and the audiences. It is our
privilege as a non-profit arts
society to work to bring together
creative artists and creative
listeners to share this remarkable
music. Furthermore. our
unending praise to the hundreds
of volunteers who contribute so
generously of their time and
energies. Thank you!
The struggle continues to
present the arts in our society and
no doubt always will. We are
very pleased, therefore. with the
initial results of our Jazz Friend
campaign. To date we have
generated $2.500 to assist
presentation of the music. Our
sincere appreciation to all those
who became Jazz Friends in
1989. We encourage you to
renew your support in 1990 and
suggest more people take advant­
age of the concert discounts
available to Jazz Friends. More
incentives to be announced in the
next Looking Ahead..
Congratulations are due to
Jane Martin who became a Jazz
Friend this year and won our
first special incentive; a $500
CD/LP/cassette buying binge at
Black Swan Records. Happy
listening Jane.
Best Wishes to everyone for
a cookin' New Decade. See you
at the gigs! - Bob Kerr

Women
in View
Festival

TICKETS Sassy

Hugh Fraser Quintet

is pleased to welcome the
Montreal group Wondeur Brass
and Vancouver bass clarinetist
Lori Freedman.
Wondeur Brass
Feb.2 •IO AM, Feb.3 •5 PM
Pitt Gallery, 36 Powell Street
Feb.4 •I 0:30 PM
Firehall Arts Centre Theatre
Lori Freedman
Feb.3 •2:45 PM
St. James Church. 303 East
Cordova
Feb.4 • 8:30 PM
Firehall Arts Centre Studio
Ticket Information: Contact
Women In View at 875-6210.

!Qr��! �h�!!ery
/

January

!

Video Bar-B-Que
• 17•
Babayaga String Quartet
• 24•
Roger Baird Group
• 31•
Garbo's Hat

I

• 10.

February

• 7.
Fort-Worth Travelogue
• 14•
Bill Smith
• 21•
Patric Caird Group
• 28•
Joseph Danza

Jan. 9 • $I 2 General
$IO Jazz Friend and Student

George Adams Quartet
Jan. 21 • $15 General
$I3 Jazz Friend and Student

Dirty Dozen
Brass Band

Feb. 4 • $20 General
$18 Jazz Friend and Student

Imagine The Sound

(film)Feb. 15 • $5 General
$4 Jazz Friend and Student
(On sale at Cinemathe4ue only)

Lorraine Desmarais
Trio/ Denny
Christianson
Big Band
Feb. 17 • $15 General
$13 Jazz Friend and Student

General admission tickets are
on sale for all concerts at all
Ticketmaster location including
Eatons and lnfocentres in major
malls: Black Swan Records
2936 West 4th Ave.: Highlife
Records 1317 Commercial Dr.
Charge by Phone: 280-4444
.... .Ill.RRCT DISCOUNTS
Jazz Friend and student discount
tickets are available only
through the CJBS office.
Generatadmission tickets can
now also be purchased in this
way. Send your order by mail
with cheque payable to Coastal
Jazz and Blues Society or
Charge it on the
Hotline: 682-0706.

The great Sarah Vaughan
is coming to Vancouver on
Sunday, February 4th. The
Coastal Jazz and Blues Society is
proud to be involved with this
benefit concert for the VSO at
the Orpheum.
The evening begins with a
pre-concert party in the
Vancouver Law Courts' Great
Hall. Cocktails and cajun hors
d'oeuvres will be served up to
complement the hot sounds of
the popular Brass Roots jazz
band. Then the entire ensemble
parades. "Mardi Gras" style.
down Smithe Street to the
Orpheurn Theatre.
It's Classical. It's Jazz.
Enjoy an evening with Sarah
performing with the VSO. led by
well-known conductor Erich
Kunzel.
After Sarah ·s concert with
the YSO. it's time to party1 Make
a move to the Commodore for a
Mardi Gras Party that'll have
you dancing the night away to
the hot jazz sounds of the Dirty
Dozen Brass Band direct from
New Orleans.
All this jazz only $95 per
person Call 876-3434 for
reservations

SAlt

BLUES

Blues Alive r---�----------------,
Joe Louis Walker
& The Boss Talkers
plus The Belairs
Commodore• Jan. 13

Little Charlie & The
Nighcats
plus Wailin' Walker's House
Party & the Vaqueros
Commodore• Jan. 20
Clarence "Gatemouth"
Brown
The Yale• Jan. 31

SOCIETY

:1 '----_--------------1
JAZZ FRIEND 1:

become a Jazz Friend, send your donation by personal
II To
cheque or money order payable to Coastal Jazz and Blues Society II
435 West Hastings Street, 2nd Floor, Vancouver, B.C. V6B 1L4.
II
�--------------. II
Donation Enclosed:
Name
I D $50 Contributor
I
Address ---------1 D $100 Sponsor
Phone ________
I
_
I 0$1000 Lifetime
I

-------------------L____________

LJazz Friends recieve a tax receipt and discounts on our concerts! .J

JAZZ HOTLINE • 682-0706
January/February 4

Looking Ahead