50YEARSOFTHEYARDBIRD

SUITE• • Issue 2, March 2007

Edmonton Jazz Society’s Board of Directors

2006•2007Jasiek Poznanski • President

Adrian Albert • Vice-President Shelley Chebry • Secretary

Barry Hull • Treasurer

Board MembersDave Babcock • Chris Brown

Norma Davis • Pam Josey Craig Magill

Yardbird SuitePRogRAmming • Adrian Albert, Craig

Magill, Jasiek PoznanskiPRoDuction • Jasiek Poznanski,

Alan SpenceJAm SeSSionS • Don Berner,

Raymond BarilLittLebiRDS DiRectoR • Joel Gray

FinAnce • Suzanne MorterPReSS ReLeASeS • Paul Wilde

tRAnSPoRtAtion • Alan SpenceHouSe mAnAgeR & VoLunteeR

cooRDinAtoR • Pam Josey

The 50th Anniversary Committee

Craig Magill • ChairpersonWendy Magill • Secretary

Committee Members Dave Babcock • Monique Bielech

Glen Buick • Jean GreenoughBill Harper • Leslie Shragge

Phil Shragge

YARDBIRDSUITE11 Tommy Banks Way(Corner of 102 sT & 86 ave)edmonTon, alBerTaT6e 2m2 Canada

Phone • (780) 432-0428fax • (780) 433-3773

Our Volunteer House ManagerscooRDinAtoR • Pam Josey

Tracy Kolenchuk • Rhonda Netterfield

Mary Richards • Suzanne Slade

Collette Slevinsky • Gail Wozny

Rosalynn Ruptash • Karina Wrobel

Yardbird Suite NewsletterThe Yardbird Newsletter is published five times per year by the Edmonton Jazz Society.

eDitoR • Jasiek Poznanski

ADVeRtiSing • Shelley Chebry

gRAPHic DeSign • Vikki Wiercinski

DiStRibution • Monique Bielech, Shelley Chebry, Bill Harper

THE EJS BOARD6 Standing • Adrian Albert, Shelley Chebry, Chris Brown, Dave Babcock, Jasiek Poznanski, Craig Magill, Barry Hull. Sitting • Pam Josey, Norma Davis

THEYARDBiRDcRew

I am delighted to send greetings to all those celebrating the 50th an-

niversary of the Yardbird Suite.

An inspired beat, the resonance of a particular instrument, the new

twist on an old favourite, a piece of music that echoes in your soul, a willing-

ness to share, a gift of self, an unquenchable thirst for the undiscovered—that’s

jazz! Edmonton has been home to some of the world’s best jazz musicians,

with many of them choosing the Yardbird Suite to share their music with

their delighted fans. My husband Jean-Daniel Lafond and I were privileged to

spend an evening there last year and feel the atmosphere of the crowd. It was a

stimulating and exciting way to begin our first visit to Edmonton.

With an opportunity to sample some of the best of Edmonton’s lo-

cal talent in an informal setting, it is no wonder that Yardbird Suite is now

celebrating 50 years of bringing fresh and innovative jazz to the community. I

wish everyone a wonderful anniversary celebration.

MiCHAëllEJEANMarch 2007

MessAgefromtHe Governor

6geneRAl

THEhousetHAtBOPBuilTBY EJS Board member Craig Magill

IT IS HARD To BELIEVE that the Edmonton Jazz Society has owned our own not-for-profit jazz club, the Yardbird Suite, since 1984, which makes us unique on the North American jazz front, if not the world. Let’s take a short trip through our illustrious past so that we can celebrate not only our present location, but also the flourishing jazz scene that has existed in Edmon-ton since the first Yardbird Suite.

“At 11.00 P.M. on the night of March 23, 1957, the proverbial door swung open (the club will swing for-ever) on definitely the most seraphic happening that has occurred to jazz in this area.” - quoted from the September, 1957 issue of the Edmonton Jazz Society’s newsletter. (The society was then in its sixth year).

It was referring of course to the opening of the Yard-bird Suite in the basement rear at 10444 - 82 Avenue. The Suite was the inspiration of drummer Terry Hawkeye, and opened with the help of the new wave of young Edmonton musicians: saxophonists Ray and Zen Magus, bassist Garry Nelson, bassist Ron Repka and jazz enthusiast Neil Gunn. This was a dream come true - a place to play jazz the way you wanted after coming off the bandstand of a commercial gig. Heaven! Musicians like Tommy Banks, Bobby Cairns, Phil Shragge, Ken Chaney, and Dale Hillary were responsible for many wonderful evenings of jazz. The Sunday night concerts were always a sell-out. Tommy was as now, a human dynamo of energy and creativity. He had a large ensemble that included a frontline of five trumpet players, a jazz trio of piano, bass and gui-tar, a small Latin group and a group of singers called The Bank Notes.

I first heard trumpeter Don Cherry with the Dave Quarran Quintet at the Suite. Don went on to promi-nence with the now famous ornette Coleman Quartet. one of the most memorable musicians to play the Suite was bassist extraordinaire George Grant, who de-cided to put down roots in the city. He was to Edmon-ton and the bass what Clarence “Big” Miller became to Edmonton and jazz vocals. It was around this time too that this writer started hearing about a young prodigy (he still is to me) named P.J. Perry, who played alto sax in his father Paul’s orchestra at the Sylvan Lake Varsity Dance Hall.

The Yardbird Suite briefly moved to The Club Anton on 106th Ave. and 101st St. and then moved back to the original premises, before moving to 9810 Jasper Avenue (the old Steak Loft) at the beginning of the six-ties, thanks to Tommy and Phil. The space continued to be operated by musicians and their lady friends.

Here we were privileged to hear alto saxophonist Dale Hillary, who had returned from playing with “Philly Joe” Jones. That group included fellow Philly Joe sideman trumpeter Mike Downes, Ken Chaney on piano, Terry Hawkeye on drums and the unfor-gettable Lennie Breau, not on guitar, but on the first electric bass I had heard in a jazz context. The band played live to air on CKUA with CBC announcer Glenn Buick emceeing: two air shots still exist from these performances!

There were a number of fine evenings of music at this venue. Elmer Gill, a vibes player from Seattle, per-formed here as well as a great bass player also from Seattle, Freddie Schreiber. By that time Judy Singh, beautiful in both stature and voice, was singing pro-fessionally and knocking everybody out. P J. Perry was making regular appearances with drummer Jerry Fuller, who had taken up residence in town and was living up to the good things we had heard about him earlier when he too played as a member of the Paul Perry orchestra. He was in town playing Tommy and Phil’s night club, The Embers. Jerry went on to become one of Canada’s most sought-after drummers when he moved to Toronto.

In 1965, Leo Schotte and Bud Damur opened the next version of the Yardbird Suite in an old Volk-swagen garage on the corner of 102nd Street and 81st Avenue, across the tracks from the Southside train station. The building also housed Leo’s print-ing business. This performance space provided the opportunity for jazz musicians, poets and actors to apply their talents. Notables such as Zoot Sims and Phil Woods played there. As well we enjoyed evenings with Leonard Cohen and Wilfred Watson. It was here that Dale Hillary’s “The Vincent Van Gogh Suite” was first performed and subsequently recorded at the CKUA studios - Dale on alto, Bill Somers on trombone, Bernie Senensky on piano, Bill Fawcett on bass, and Terry Hawkeye on drums. 4

A BriEf History of tHE yArdBird suitE

5 George Grant on bass at the first Yardbird Suite location

3The doors closed on this version of the Suite in the spring of 1967, and ushered in the longest period Edmonton was to be without a Yardbird Suite.

As luck would have it, in the late 60’s a young trumpet player, Marc Vasey, arrived from the west coast. His passion for the music was unrivalled and fortunately for us, this passion was accompanied by vision. In 1973 Marc approached a few of us to invest $500.00 each to start The Edmonton Jazz Society (1973). For our very first concert we booked the Charles Tolliver Quartet into the Captain’s Cabin. I had never heard jazz played with such incred-ible intensity, swinging at even the most ferocious tempos. other gigs followed. At the Captain’s Cabin we heard Phil Woods, Julian Priester, Pepper Adams, Hadley Caliman, John Hicks and Steve Lacy. At the Museum Theatre we were entertained by the Wynton Marsalis Quintet and the John Scofield Trio. We remember The Hovel with groups led by Sonny Stitt, Gary Bartz, and Roland Kirk; Room at the Top on campus with Sam Rivers, Barry Altschul and Dave Holland; the Palms Café where the E.J.S. presented groups that included the likes of Al Cohn, Zoot Sims, Shelley Manne, Johnny Griffin, Betty Carter, Woody Shaw; and the Hot Box where Art Blakey’s Quintet performed for two nights. our history is a “Who’s Who” of jazz musicians, too many to list here. Marc can’t remember when exactly he decided to make jazz his life’s work, but we’re glad he did, because in 1980, under the auspices of the Edmonton Jazz Society, he staged the first Jazz City Festival, which continued for twenty-five years.

In 1984 we purchased the old Malone Warehouse, which houses the present-day Yardbird Suite. The club opened as a result of the efforts of Marc Vasey, Fraser Gibson, Barry Zalmanowitz, Leo Dunnigan, Marilyn Forrester and Denise Spitzer. The fact that we are still operating - flourishing even - is the result of many dedicated volunteers who have put in count-less hours.

We have survived poor attendance. This writer remembers one opening night with Red Holloway when there was just himself and the reviewer in the audience. on another minus 40 evening there were 15 people in attendance for Lew Tabackin, and 20 people for Pierre Jorge and the New Jungle orches-tra (a top band from Europe)!

Then there was the decision to hire staff, in particular a house manager. At one point we had a salary bud-get of almost $60,000 a year. This proved disastrous, as resentment from the volunteer contingent created much dissension. This, coupled with decreasing grant monies, necessitated a complete reorganization of the E.J.S. in 1992, back to an all-volunteer organiza-tion. The reorganization was successful thanks to the efforts of Paul Wilde, Fraser Gibson, Monique Bielech (Monique’s influence turns up throughout the history of the Suite, right down to the décor), and Craig Magill.

We continue to be amazed that we have survived the ups, downs, twists and turns of operating a jazz concert space and proud that we continue to provide top quality jazz to the citizens of Edmonton.

Society accomplishments of which we are most proud, besides our great programming, include the Tuesday night jam sessions, our Littlebirds’ Big Band, the inauguration of Jazz Works, (a non competitive jazz workshop for Jr. and Sr. High school students which has now been taken over by The Ed-monton Jazz Festival Society), and our involvement in the first four years of the Jazz City Festival. We were also pleased to be asked to present the Yardbird Jazz Festival for the 2005 and 2006 seasons, follow-ing the demise of the Jazz City International Music Festival Society.

on May 3, 2006 we were honoured by the presence of the Governor General of Canada Michaelle Jean and her husband Jean-Daniel Lafond, at a special evening arranged for her by the E.J.S. “An Eve-ning with the Senator: Tommy Banks and Friends” showcased a marvelous line up of talent that included P.J. Perry on saxophone, Chris Andrew on piano, Bob Tildesley on trumpet, Mike Lent on bass, Bobby Cairns on guitar and Sandro Dominelli on drums. What made the evening even more special was that we were able to make the performance much like any other evening at the Suite - little or no hype. The Governor General and her husband, obvious jazz fans, were very gracious, and took the opportunity to talk to musicians on the break and to provide photo opportunities with the board and the volunteers. It was a very successful event, enjoyed by everyone in attendance.

Spearheaded by our president, Jasiek Poznanski, the Suite is currently undergoing renovations that we hope to have completed next year. <

yaRDBIRDsuite50tHanniversary • tHeHousEThaTBoPBuiLt • yaRDBIRDsuite50tHanniversary

5 Terry Hawkeye, Ron Repka, Dale Hillary, Ken Chaney and Bill Sommers play The Yardbird in 1957

come AnD Join uS for 5 weekends of great jazz. we

will enjoy performances by many of edmonton’s finest

musicians who have provided our community with great

music over the past 50 years. As well, we will be joined by

some special guests. From new York, we have invited tenor

saxophonist Lew tabackin and the great jazz vocalist mark

murphy. From chicago, we have Ken chaney, who played

in the original Yardbird Suite and shared the piano duties

with the pride of edmonton, Senator tommy banks. From

Prince edward island, canada’s best Hammond b3 player,

Doug Riley, will be performing original music which he and

edmonton drummer, Sandro Dominelli, composed. this

music was commissioned especially for the 50th anniver-

sary by the cbc.

we are particularly proud to be presenting two performanc-

es by the edmonton Jazz orchestra, led by Kent Sangster.

the orchestra will be playing Dale Hillary’s Van gogh Suite,

which has been arranged for large orchestra by bill Jamie-

son, as a result of a grant from the edmonton community

Foundation.

ten nights of terrific music for your enjoyment - if there was

ever a time to become an edmonton Jazz Society member,

this is it!

See you at the Suite,

craig magill

chairperson, the 50th Anniversary committee

The Edmonton Jazz Society would like to invite you to help us celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the original Yardbird Suitewhich opened its doors on March 23, 1957.

ACKNOWlEDGEMENTSthe edmonton Jazz Society and the 50th Anniversary

committee would like to thank the following contributors for

their generous support:

• The City of Edmonton

• The Edmonton Community Foundation

• The Edmonton Arts Council

• The Alberta Foundation for the Arts

• C.B.C. Radio Canada

• Magic 99

• Cristall’s Wine Market

• Big Rock Breweries

Special thanks to Del Dilke of Del’s on 9th and cathryn

Heslep for their support in the memory of their husbands

cecil “cR” Dilke and Rick garn.

Cecil Robert Dilke (1926-1999)

Affectionately know as “cR”, his passion for his wife Del

of 47 years, only slightly rivaled that of his love of music.

He not only gave openly to support the community but also

privately to agencies that supported the youth of edmonton.

Rick Garn (1946-2004)

A truly gifted musician and educator, Rick will be remem-

bered by musicians for his talent and professionalism and

by his students for his dedication to the education of young

musicians through his years in the music program at grant

macewan college.

tHe YARDbiRD Suite FounDeRS, LeFt to RigHt 4teRRY HAwKeYe • RomAn (RAY) mAguS • Zen mAguS • gARY neLSon • Ron RePKA

FRIDAY•MARCH 2

Opening Act • Chris AndrewChris Andrew • piano

The Yardbird Suite AllstarsSenator Tommy Banks • pianoKen Chaney • pianoKent Sangster • alto, tenor saxophoneBob Tildesley • trumpetBobby Cairns • guitarMike Lent • bassBlaine Wikjord • drums

SATURDAY•MARCH 3Opening Act • George BlondheimGeorge Blondheim • piano

The Yardbird Suite AllstarsSenator Tommy Banks • pianoKen Chaney • pianoJudy Singh • vocalsMike Lent • bassBlaine Wikjord • drumsSpecial Guests from the Foggy Manor, Calgary (circa 1958) Eric Friedenberg • tenor saxophoneAl Muirhead • trumpet

THIS WEEKEND RETURNS US to our roots. Senator Tommy Banks has become a Canadian icon as a musi-cian, arranger, and band leader, a talk show host and for last few years, a member of the Senate. Tommy per-formed at the original Yardbird Suite as well as Calgary’s Foggy Manor, our sister venue in the late 50’s.Both pia-nist Ken Chaney from Chicago, and Edmonton’s premier guitarist and jazz educator Bobby Cairns, began their musical careers at the Suite. These gentlemen will be joined by some of Edmonton’s finest jazz musicians on the scene today: saxophonist Kent Sangster, trumpeter Bob Tildesley, and bassist Mike Lent. We have a special guest from Vancouver, drummer Blaine “Wacker” Wik-jord, who played in Tommy’s band in the 60’s.

on Saturday night, we will be joined by two of Calgary’s best known musicians, saxophonist Eric Friedenberg, and trumpeter Al Muirhead, representing the roots of jazz music in that city.

Friday night’s opening act features pianist Chris Andrew, and on Saturday night we welcome back to the Edmon-ton jazz scene pianist, George Blondheim.

FRIDAY•MARCH 9Opening Act • Big Ideas with Special Guest Doug OrganDoug organ • Hammond B3 organMo Lefever • guitarDon Bradshaw • bassDan Skakun • drums

Doug Riley/Sandro Dominelli Groupfeaturing P.J. Perry and Jim HeadDoug Riley • Hammond B3 organP.J. Perry • alto saxophoneJim Head • guitarSandro Dominelli • drums

SATURDAY•MARCH 10

Opening Act • Mike Gillespie QuintetJerrold Dubyk • tenor saxophoneMike Gillespie • drumsStewart Crosley • guitaJordan Mann • bassWayne Feschuk • piano

Doug Riley/Sandro Dominelli Groupfeaturing P.J. Perry and Jim HeadDoug Riley • Hammond B3 organP.J. Perry • alto saxophoneJim Head • guitarSandro Dominelli • drums

These performances will present original music commis-sioned by the C.B.C., composed by Doug Riley and Sandro Dominelli for the 50th Anniversary. This event will be

recorded by the C.B.C.

yaRDBIRDsuite50tHanniversary • EvEnTS • yaRDBIRDsuite50tHanniversary

AllsHoWs • doors 7PM SHow 8PMticKEtS • $20 (EJS MEMBERS)

$24 (GuESTS)

AdvANcEticKetS • ticketmaster.ca

• FOr mOre iNFO •YARDBIRDSUITe.com

FRIDAY•MARCH 30Opening Act • Dino Dominelli QuintetDino Dominelli • tenor, soprano saxophonesWayne Feschuk • pianoBen Bishop • guitarJoseph Lubinsky•Mast • bassDarryl Meyer • drums

Dave Babcock’s Jump Orchestra featuring guest singer Johanna Sillanpaa Dave Babcock • saxophonesBob Tildesley • trumpetChris Andrew • pianoJim Head • guitarJoseph Lubinsky•Mast • bassSandro Dominelli • drums

SATURDAY•MARCH 31Opening Act • The Brenan Brothers BandJim Brenan • tenor saxophoneCraig Brenan • tromboneTom King • piano

Tilo Paiz Latin Jazz PartyTilo Paiz • timbales, drums, vocalsSergio Gonzales • lead vocalsAdelfo Fito Cerezo • keyboards, vocalsJonny McCormack • tenor, fluteAudrey ochoa • tromboneDave Herrick • trumpetTroy Nowaselski • tromboneRene Abaunza • congas, bongos

FRIDAY•MARCH 23Opening Act • Rhonda Withnell

Rhonda Withnell • vocalsAndrew Glover • pianoDon Bradshaw • bassThom Bennett • drums

An Evening with Jazz Singer Extraordinaire Mark MurphyMark Murphy • vocalsMisha Piatigorsky • pianoMike Lent • bassSandro Dominelli • drums

SATURDAY•MARCH 24Opening Act • Anna Beaumont

Anna Beaumont • vocalsCharlie Austin • pianoGlenn Durksen • bassThom Bennett • drums

An Evening with Jazz Singer Extraordinaire Mark MurphyMark Murphy • vocalsMisha Piatigorsky • pianoMike Lent • bassSandro Dominelli • drums

FRIDAY & SATUR-DAY MARCH 16-17Opening Act • The Lew Tabackin TrioLew Tabackin • tenor saxophone, fluteMike Lent • bass

Sandro Dominelli • drums

The Edmonton Jazz Orchestra Special Guest • Lew TabackinLew Tabackin • tenor saxophone, fluteKent Sangster • musical directorDon Berner, Bill Jamieson, Kent Sangster, Jerrold Dubyk, David Babcock • saxophoneJoel Gray, Bob Tildesley, Dave Morgan, Ashley Clelland • trumpetMarty Majorawicz, Craig Brenan, Audrey ochoa, Dan Keels • tromboneWayne Feschuk • pianoJim Head • guitarMike Lent • bassSandro Dominelli • drums

THESE TWo EVENINGS will premiere an ex-

panded work for large jazz ensemble of the “Van

Gogh Suite” written for jazz quintet by the late

Edmonton musician Dale Hillary and arranged

by Bill Jamieson, thanks to a grant from The

Edmonton Community Foundation.

yaRDBIRDsuite50tHanniversary • EvEnTS • yaRDBIRDsuite50tHanniversary

TomJAmeS

ToM JAMES HAS BEEN A FIxTURE at the Yardbird Suite for many years - since 1957, to be exact - and has bought an annual membership for every one of those fifty years.

“I first heard about the Yardbird on CKUA,” he says. “Every Saturday they had a show ...thank God my mom liked jazz. She’d always have the radio on (while) doing the dishes and beating up the kids,” he jokes.

He heard a lot of different music, but was first impressed by Charlie Parker, the Modern Jazz Quartet, and The-lonious Monk. He says that when he first heard Charlie Parker, “I thought well, I should give him a chance -- he sounds like a good player. At that time he was hard to absorb ... I thought to myself you gotta keep listening and listening, and then you’ll catch on, and I did that with every player.”

Tom guesses that he started listening to jazz when he was ten or eleven. His friends would ask him to play baseball, and he’d give them some excuse why he couldn’t play until about 3 o’clock (after the jazz program ended).

He remembers his mother and father taking him to see Duke Ellington. “I wanted to talk to the trumpet players,” he says. “My dad told me to go ahead. I was kind of shy because they were so good, but no problem – I talked to all the trumpet players and they gave me their auto-graphs. I still have them here somewhere.”

Later, he tried inviting friends to jazz concerts. “It’s all mixed up,” they’d say. “They just play any old thing they want.” He says that in those days, his friends disowned him, “as far as music goes. I’d go to a party and bring my records, and they were all jazz ... a lot of people thought I was weird ...I thought I was weird. I said, you gotta listen.”

In the late 70s and early 80s, Tom started playing saxo-phone. After a couple of years of ‘messing with the sax,’ he was asked to play in a weekend band. They practiced three nights a week for about six months, and by then, he says, “I could play, good enough to that people who would hear, would be dancing.”

The band was called ‘The Evening Post.’ “All the songs (we) played, I’d heard before, so actually they were kind of boring,” Tom says. “After seven or eight years of this (stuff), it was too much for me, especially liking jazz and having to play that kind of music. I talked them into play-ing ‘Girl from Ipanema’ and that was as close as I got.” He recalls that one set featured country music, and says he “disappeared when it was played. I went out the back. I

mean, they played it as it was supposed to sound ... but it was terrible.”

Tom also tried playing trumpet for a while. “I heard Miles Davis and Chet Baker and Louis Armstrong, and Clifford Brown,” he says. “You can’t believe how nice (Brown) plays – nice and smooth, and a real nice tone. But he sounds real happy, he’s bursting with love. Maybe his girlfriend’s there or something.”

The first time Tom went to the Yardbird Suite, it was located on 82nd avenue, where ‘Divine Decadence’ is now. The entrance was in the alley. Tom says that “we had to go downstairs to the basement, and all the walls and the (ceiling) were painted black, but there was a small light on the stage. There was no liquor; at least that’s what the sign says,” he notes. over the years, Tom says that “as we walked down the steps I’d hear Tom Banks, Ray and Zen Magus, and there were also various caliber players. There was one guy about 15 years old ...he was always at the jams, and he sounded a little bit like Bird or Cannonball Ad-derley.”

While Tom has been to other places where jazz is played, he says that the Yardbird Suite is unique because “where the hell else are you gonna hear music like that, live?” He also says that “it was quiet when the players were playing, and it wasn’t that loud when they stopped either, unlike other clubs.” He figures that “just about every musician, the ones that played at all the big clubs – all the top musicians would pass through the (Yardbird’s) doors once in a while. Around midnight, when the paid players were finished, Tom says that a jam would start, “and then a drummer would walk in, and then a bass player, and then pretty soon it was three o’clock in the morning. I was in heaven. I couldn’t wait for another Friday or Saturday night.” <

<

yArdBird suitE MEMBEr for tHE PAst 50 yEArsBY KAREN HOWEll

5 Tom James stands beside a photograph of himself at the time he played with ‘The evening Post’.

yaRDBIRDsuite50tHanniversary • PerformerBios • yaRDBIRDsuite50tHanniversary

served as a guest conductor with symphony orchestras throughout Canada and the United States.

In 1979, Mr. Banks received an Honourary Diploma of Music from Grant MacEwan College. That same year, he received the Juno Award and the Grand Prix du Disque-Canada. In 1987, he received an Honourary Doctor of Laws from the University of Alberta. In 1990, he received the Sir Frederick Haultain Prize.In 1991, Mr. Banks was made an Officer of the Order of Canada, and in 1993 he was awarded the Alberta order of Excellence.

Anna BeaumontAnna has been performing for over two decades and has three CDs to her credit, along with three theme songs. She has per-formed widely in Canada and in such places such as China, Germany, Finland, the British Isles and the United States.

She was chosen to perform “Alberta Strong and Free” for the Alberta Centennial on September 1, 2005, sup-ported by the Calgary Symphony orchestra and the Calgary Philharmonic 100 voice choir.

George BlondheimGeorge Blondheim is an internationally recognized pianist, composer, conductor, music director, and pro-ducer. George’s honours include two Gemini awards, a Genie and three Leo Awards for such films as the Ca-

nadian classic “Bye Bye Blues” and “The War Between Us”; American blockbusters “The Jewel of the Nile” and “9 1/2 Weeks” and the hit Canadian television series “Da Vinci’s Inquest”.

George spent his teens studying and performing throughout Canada and the USA and by the age of twenty was a sought after studio musician and com-poser performing with hundreds of artists including Bob Hope, Nana Mouskouri, David Foster, Ronnie Hawkins, Chubby Checker, Freddie Hubbard, Cheech & Chong and Henry Mancini. He also represented Alberta as pianist for the late Clarence “Big” Miller’s Alberta Art and Cultural Tour of Japan”.

craig BrenanTrombonist, composer and educator Craig Brenan

has been an active performer throughout Canada. A graduate of the New England Con-servatory where he received his Master’s degree in Jazz Performance, Craig has had the opportunity to work and study with George Russell,

chris AndrewRecognized as a mainstay of the Alberta music scene and one of Canada’s finest pianists, Chris Andrew is an Edmonton-based performer, recording artist, composer, teacher and musical director. He’s admired

for his ingenuity, acclaimed for his technical abilities, and his fearless, passionate playing reso-nates with audiences.

He has performed across Canada and around the world with re-nowned artists such as Joshua Redman, Sonny Fortune, Bud

Shank, Pete Christlieb, P.J. Perry, Thomas Chapin, Hadley Caliman, Joe LaBarbera, Kirk MacDonald, Sandro Dominelli, Big Miller, Paquito D’Rivera, and Jim Brenan.

dave BabcockEdmonton’s Jump orchestra, a hard swinging seven-piece jazz group led by saxophonist Dave Babcock, was formed back in 1990 and went on to become the city’s

best loved jazz band of the ‘90s. With their big sound and an energetic performance style, it was easy to see why. Their unique blend of original and vintage jazz proved irresistible to both fan and musician alike, winning them the 1992 ARIA award for “best jazz artist”.

Dave Babcock, the driving force behind The Jump orchestra from itsinception, has brought the group back together once more. Joining him are former band mates Bob Tildesley on trumpet, Chris Andrew on keyboards and Rubim deToledo on bass. Guitarist Jim Head and drummer Sandro Dominelli round out this new lineup.

tommy BanksTommy Banks is well-known to Canadians as one of our most accomplished and versatile entertainers, and an international standard-bearer for Canadian culture.

From 1968-83, he was the host of The Tommy Banks Show. A Gemini Award-winning variety television performer, he is today the owner of Tommy Banks Music Ltd.

A Juno Award-winning musi-cian, Mr. Banks has achieved national and international renown as Conductor or Music Director for such signature events as The Royal Command Performance (1978), The Com-monwealth Games (1978), the World University Games (1983),

and the opening Ceremonies for ExPo ‘86 and the xVth olympic Winter Games (1988). He has also

yaRDBIRDsuite50tHanniversary • PerformerBios • yaRDBIRDsuite50tHanniversary

3In Canada he has performed with Don Thompson, P.J Perry, Bernie Senenski, Jake Langley, Greg Pilo, Earl Seymour, and Bob Mover. Dino also performs regularly with many prominent Alberta artists.

sandro dominelliSandro has toured, performed, and recorded with many prominent members of the Canadian jazz scene, including Mike Murley, Rob McConnell, Guido Basso, Dave Restivo, Kirk MacDonald, Mike Rudd, Phil Dwyer, Hugh Fraser, Ian McDougall, Campbell Ryga, Doug Riley, Don Thompson, Ranee Lee, D. D. Jackson, Chris Tarry, Bill Coon, Jack de Keyzer, Brad Turner,

and Jake Langley. He’s also performed and recorded with local luminaries Tommy Banks, P.J. Perry and Kent Sangster. He’s shared the stage south of the border with Mose Allison, Joe Lovano, Ben Monder, Ernie Watts, Dave Stryker, Sonny Fortune, Kenny Werner, Tim

Hagans, Roswell Rudd, Steve Slagle, Mark Murphy, Julian Priester and Pete Christlieb.

Edmonton Jazz orchestraThe EJo is Edmonton’s newly formed profession-ally structured jazz ensemble consisting of many of the city’s finest jazz musicians, several of whom are nationally recognized recording artists. This premier ensemble will explore the traditions of the jazz reper-toire while also presenting existing and new works by

leading Canadian jazz composers. The mandate of the EJo is to cre-ate a professional environment and structure where

jazz musicians can conceive, compose, arrange, re-hearse and perform the art form of large ensemble jazz in a concert setting.

Eric friedenbergAn arranger, composer, conductor, and musical

director, Eric Friedenberg has appeared with Bob Brookmeyer, Dizzy Gillespie , Pepper Adams, Jann Arden, Paul Horn and the Prime Time Big Band. He has worked on industrial films and commercials, and was a member of the writing and music team for the 1988 olympics.

Mike GillespieMike began playing in 1978 with Andrew Glover and

Mark Andrews. In 1981 he played in a trio with Brian Sim and Cliff Minchau, and in Judy Singh’s Quartet with Bill Emes and George Koller. The highlight of his career is the 2005 album with 4

Jim BrenanWhile studying in the tri-state area of New York,

Philadelphia and New Jersey, Jim performed with Ralph Bowen, Kenny Barron, Slide Hampton, Kenny Wheeler, Ravi Coltrane, and Kenny Drew Jr. Jim also performed with Phil Woods, Illinois Jacquet and Flip Philips for the New Jersey Jazz Hall of Fame concerts, and

was a member of Maynard Ferguson’s now legendary touring big band.

Currently on faculty at Mount Royal College, Jim continues to be an active Canadian performer, and has a current CD under his name called The Spectre”. Kenny Barron describes Jim Brenan as “a thoroughly modern tenor saxophonist with a deep understanding of jazz tradition.

Bobby cairnsFor more than forty years, Bobby Cairns has been busy teaching, performing and adjudicating music. Bobby began his professional career as the guitarist for Tommy Banks at the age of sixteen. This opportunity and long associa-tion enabled Bobby to develop

skills as an arranger and composer, and molded his capabilities as a musician. He also studied with Jim Hall, Barney Kessel and Joe Pass.

Ken chaneyKen Chaney began his music career in his teens, play-ing with bands in his hometown of Edmonton. After

a short stay in Detroit where he met and played with many fine musicians, Ken moved to Chicago where he studied composition at Roosevelt Uni-versity and worked with jazz greats such as Milt Jackson, Donald Byrd, Slide Hampton, Harold Land, Bobby Hutchi-

son, Max Roach, Randy Crawford Chet Baker, Clark Terry and many others. While touring with Young-Holt Unlimited, “Soulful Strut” became a hit which led to performances at Carnegie Hall, Madison Square Gardens, Apollo Theatre, Montreaux Jazz Festival in Switzerland and major clubs and concerts throughout USA and Canada.

dino dominelliDino holds a Bachelor of Music from Humber College/ BCoU, where he studied with Pat La-Barbera and Don Thompson.His international performance credits include Piano Seven of Switzerland, Charles Blenzig Trio of New York City, Roberto Zayas, Lito Gonzales, xiao Bai

of Taiwan, and Robbin Harris of Hong Kong. 4

3nonet format. As a result of those efforts, he formed the Ubiquitous orchestra.

Mike LentMichael is an exceptionally talented bassist who has played professionally for over 20 years. From touring with jazz greats like Lee Konitz and Sheila Jordan, to recording with kd lang and Jann Arden, Michael’s versatility has kept him in high demand.

Al MuirheadAl has been a fixture of Calgary’s musical scene since 1966. In the 70’s Al was Music Director for the CBC

television show “on Stage” and he toured Japan with the Frank Mills orchestra. He per-formed with the 1988 olympic orchestra under Tommy Banks and toured Hungary, Germany, and Switzerland with the “New orleans Connection” Dixieland Band. He has also performed in

many orchestras backing such touring celebrities as Manhattan Transfer, Dizzie Gillespie, Pattie Page, Red Skelton, Paul Anka and Cleo Laine.

He remains active as a performer, clinician and adju-dicator. Al has been the Music Director for the Calgary Stampede Youth Talent Show since it began in 1980.

Mark Murphy“Mark has devoted a long career to singing the hippest music with the best musicians,” states Leonard Feath-er. “Consider the company he has kept on records.

In the ‘60s, Clark Terry, Dick Hyman, Roger Kellaway. In the ‘70s, David Sanborn and the Brecker Brothers. In the ‘80s, Frank Morgan, Richie Cole and the Azymuth Trio. Consider the jazzmen to whose instrumental works he has composed and sung lyrics: Miles Davis, Sonny

Rollins, Pat Metheny, Charlie Parker, McCoy Tyner, Charles Mingus, Herbie Hancock and Wayne Shorter.”

It was Sammy Davis, Jr. who first discovered the young Mark Murphy in 1953 at a jam session in Mur-phy’s hometown of Syracuse, New York. Impressed with Murphy’s talent, Davis invited him to his show that night, where he asked Mark to join him on stage.

In the early ‘60s Mark worked on the now classic jazz recording Rah on the Riverside label, featuring legendary jazz players Bill Evans, Clark Terry, Urbie Green, Blue Mitchell and Wynton Kelly.

Mark Murphy’s coterie of fans also includes tap dancer Gregory Hines, who jumped up on stage at Mark’s 4

3the trio nuSteps. It includes Stuart Crosley on guitar, John Taylor on bass. All but one of the compositions are originals, with Stuart and Mike sharing the writing.

dale Hillary (b. March 17, 1940 - d. July 3, 1992)(composer of Van Gogh Suite performed by the Edmonton Jazz orchestra)Having developed an interest in jazz during high school,

Dale Hillary honed his consider-able jazz/blues chops jamming and performing at the Yardbird Suite in the company of musical stalwarts Terry Hawkeye drums, Ron Repka bass and Ken Chaney piano.During the late 50’s, Dale won two scholarships to study at the

Lennox School of Jazz in the U.S. under the tutelage of such giants as oscar Peterson and Dizzy Gillespie. He went on to perform with the Philly Joe Jones Band and with otis Redding, returning to Edmonton on occasion to play concerts.

In the mid sixties Dale returned to Edmonton for an ex-tended stay, and at this time he formed a band with Bill Summers on valve trombone, Bernie Senensky on piano, Bill Fawcett on bass and Terry Hawkeye on drums. It was during this time that Dale composed an ambitious tribute to Vincent Van Gogh for jazz quintet. The Van Gogh Suite was recorded in March 1965 by CKUA and was broadcast by the station, with a public performance at the Yardbird Suite.

Dale went on to join the famous Canadian rock group Lighthouse and then returned to Edmonton where he continued to perform with Big Miller and his own groups through the early eighties.

Edmonton saxophonist/arranger Bill Jamieson tran-scribed the original recording and expanded the original score for performance by a 16 piece band, to be presented as part of the 50th Anniversary of the Yardbird Suite. How fortuitous that the last performance falls on his birthday.

Bill Jamieson(arranger of Van Gogh Suite performed by

the Edmonton Jazz orchestra)

Bill started out in garage bands playing guitar and bass in the mid-sixties. By 1970 he was fully immersed in mastering saxo-phone, flute and clarinet. New York City beckoned and in 1975 he

moved there to study with such notables as Jack Dejoh-nette, Dave Holland, Lee Konitz, Karl Berger, Anthony Braxton and others.

Bill’s earliest attempts at writing for larger ensembles were arrangements of standards for various perform-ers. Later his interests led him to the immense challenge of reducing a standard big band arrangement to a 4

yaRDBIRDsuite50tHanniversary • PerformerBios • yaRDBIRDsuite50tHanniversary

3 has worked on recordings with Ray Charles, Natalie McMaster, David Clayton Thomas, The Brecker Broth-ers, Bob Seger, Ringo Starr, Gordon Lightfoot, Anne Murray, Moe Koffman, and many more including nu-merous solo and group recordings under his own name. Doug Riley has served as music director for many tele-vision and radio shows, appeared at many jazz festivals, and collaborated with symphonies around the world that performed his compositions with Placido Domingo, ofra Harnoy, the National Ballet, and Michael Burgess.

Kent sangsterKent Sangster, one of Canada’s top jazz saxophonists, is truly a multi-faceted musician of the highest regard. An accomplished composer and arranger that is involved in a broad range of the music industry; locally, nation-

ally and in Europe.

Kent’s latest CD release obses-sion(2006) with a new ensemble The obsessions octet, received a 2007 JUNo Award nomina-tion in the Contemporary Jazz Category. In addition to his new CD, Kent also has three other

releases, A Matter of Time ( 2003 ), Keeping the Spirit (1998) and Adventures (1995).

Judi singhJudi Singh started singing when she was 17 at the Yardbird Suite in its original location on Whyte Avenue and 104 Street. She went on to perform on many locally

produced radio and television. Through almost 40 years of association with Senator Tom Banks, Judi has recorded and performed in most of the concert halls in Alberta. She is currently involved in various projects with the Black Heritage Singers of Alberta, who were

part of the Command Performance for Queen Elizabeth and Prince Phillip celebrating Alberta’a 100th birthday. Returning to the Yardbird Suite for the annual reunion celebration is a special event for Judi as she looks forward to performing with pianist Ken Chaney (who is also her first cousin). In Judi’s words, “singing at the Suite is like coming home, and it is an honor to be part of its history”.

Lew tabackinLew Tabackin is an artist of astonishing vision. His electrifying flute playing is at once virtuosic, primordial, cross-cultural and passionate. His distinctive tenor sax

style includes the use of wide intervals, abrupt changes of mood and tempo and purposeful fervor, all in the service of his instrument - melodically, rhyth-mically and dynamically. 4

3 Las Vegas engagement in 1995 to join him for an im-promptu duet. Vocal greats Betty Carter, Peggy Lee, Cleo Laine and Shirley Horn all sing or sang Murphy’s praises as one of the best in he business.

doug organDoug organ is a producer, engi-neer and freelance musician who runs a downtown project studio, Rancho Relaxo. He plays keys, drums and other instruments, in the bands Roger, The SuperBand, Toque, and reClaim.

tilo PaizThis percussion dynamo started playing marimbas in the family band at the age of seven. By the age of fourteen

he was already a full-fledged professional drummer in the big band scene in San Salvador, and went on to become one of Central America’s premier musicians, not only as a performer but as a bandleader, recording artist, com-poser/arranger and teacher.

Since coming to Edmonton in 1990, he has established himself as a major force in the Alberta music scene, playing with such musicians as Tommy Banks, P.J. Perry, Bob Stroup, Sandro Dominelli, Gaye Delorme, Tacoy Ryde, and Toronto recording artist Pavlo.

P.J. PerryP.J. Perry has become recognized by critics, colleagues and listeners as being one of North America’s premier saxophonists. P.J. has shared the stage with countless jazz greats such

as Dizzy Gillespie, Woody Shaw, Michel LeGrand, Pepper Adams, Kenny Wheeler, Tom Harrell, and The Boss Brass among others.

P.J. has recently been performing his own show “The Joy of Sax” with orchestras across the country. He has also performed with the

Edmonton Symphony, Winnipeg Symphony, Saskatoon Symphony, Kamloops Symphony, Hamilton Philhar-monic, Montreal Symphony, Kitchener-Waterloo, and the Vancouver Island Symphony.

doug rileyDoug Riley has been a pillar of the Canadian musical community since the early 1960’s. He is universally rec-

ognized for composing, arranging and performing with some of the most prolific artists in the classical, jazz and commercial genres.

Doug has received international awards for recording, performing and commercial endeavours. He 4

yaRDBIRDsuite50tHanniversary • PerformerBios • yaRDBIRDsuite50tHanniversary

FRIDAY•MARCH 23

Opening Act • Rhonda WithnellRhonda Withnell • vocalsAndrew Glover • pianoDon Bradshaw • bassThom Bennett • drums

An Evening with Jazz Singer

Extraordinaire Mark MurphyMark Murphy • vocalsMisha Piatigorsky • pianoMike Lent • bassSandro Dominelli • drums

SATURDAY•MARCH 24Opening Act • Anna BeaumontAnna Beaumont • vocalsCharlie Austin • pianoGlenn Durksen • bassThom Bennett • drums

An Evening with Jazz Singer

Extraordinaire Mark MurphyMark Murphy • vocalsMisha Piatigorsky • pianoMike Lent • bassSandro Dominelli • drums

yaRDBIRDsuite50tHanniversary • PerformerBios • yaRDBIRDsuite50tHanniversary

Bob tildesleyBob Tildesley is a masterful muted trumpet and flugelhorn player. He has performed with Eddie Har-

ris, Kenny Wheeler, P.J. Perry, Tommy Banks, Duke Robillard and others. His musical inter-ests span a broad range. He has played on recordings with Lester Quitzau, Lin Elder, Jay McShann, Jann Arden and many others. Bob leads his own adventurous group, “Indigenous Aliens”.

Blaine WikjordA leading Canadian exponent of jazz drumming, Blaine Wikjord has accumulated an impressive list of credits over his notable professional career. He has performed

with many internationally re-nowned artists includingFreddy Hubbard, Carl Fontana, Lockjaw Davis, Barney Kessel, Tommy Banks, Shorty Rogers, Kenny Wheeler, Scott Hamilton, oliver Gannon, P.J. Perry, Fraser MacPherson and Benny Golson.

In 1998 he was a recipient of Canada’s prestigious Juno Award for Best mainstream Jazz Recording on the High Fraser Quintet Album entitled “In the Meantime”. Blaine has also recorded with oliver Gannon, Camp-bell Ryga, Ross Taggart, Dee Daniels and Charles MacPherson.

rhonda WithnellA Grant MacEwan College graduate, Rhonda joined the popular band Better Days and began performing a wide variety of music from jazz and rock to country

and traditional music, but jazz music is Rhonda’s first love. She has appeared at Edmonton’s Winspear Centre, accompanied by the Tommy Banks orchestra and P.J. Perry.

While jazz remains close to her heart, Rhonda has always strived

to expand her musical horizons and, as lead vocalist and vocal arranger for the ten piece funk band “The Craft”, she found new inspiration in funk and rhythm and blues. <

soME of tHEPASTPERFORMERS At tHE

YARDBIRDSUITeanDEDMonTonJazzsociEty 6

CAnADIAn PeRFoRmeRS 6

Ken AldcroftLina AllemanoMike AllenSteve AmiraultChris AndrewLane ArndtBeth ArrisonCharlie AustinDave BabcockRandy BachmanTommy BanksMichael BatesJean BeaudetMarc BeaudinDon BernerEd BickertRemi BolducFrancois BourassaGail BowenDavid BraidCraig BrenanJim BrenanJeri BrownBrian BuchananRalf BuschmeyerGlenn BuhrVivianne Cardinal

Alain CaronFrancois CarrierEugene ChadbourneBobby CairnsKen ChaneyDawn ChubaiCindy ChurchBill CoonPaul CramLaura CremaStuart CrosleyJeari CzaplaTara DavidsonKevin DeanRubim deToledoMelody DiachunDino DominelliSandro DominelliMichel DonatoDianne DonovanWrey DownsChet DoxasJim DoxasJerrold DubykKevin ElaschukBarry ElmesBill EmesJane FairBernard FalaiseWayne FeschukCheryl Fisher 4

soME of tHEPASTPERFORMERSAt tHE

YARDBIRDSUITeanDEDMonTonJazzsociEty 6

3Simon FiskTom FosterHugh FraserRosemary GallowayJames GelfandMike GillespieTom GilroyAndrew GloverThom GolubJohn GrayMichelle GregoireGary GuthmanBobby HalesGlen HallsKate Hammet-VaughanBartha HartmanKnut HaugsoenJoel HaynesJim HeadMike HerriottKen HoffmanTyler HornbyD.D. JacksonBill JamiesonChristine JensenMichael KaeshammerEyvind KangAaron KeyesGeorge KollerDiana KrallJake LangleyRanee LeeRollanda LeeMo LefeverPeter LeitchMarilyn LernerLorne LofskyMathias LupriEarl MacDonaldKirk MacDonaldZen MagusJulie MahendranPeter ManleyMarty MajorowiczJon McCaslinJeremiah McDadeGeorge McFetridgeCindy McLeodDean McNeillBrett MilesJoel MillerMike MurleyBruce NielsenDavid occhipintiMichael occhipintiRoberto occhipintiMaxwell RoachAudrey ochoaElsie osborneTilo PaizDavid Parker

P.J. PerryJim PinchinKarin PlatoBernard PrimeauBill ProutenJoshua RagerMin RagerClaude RangerDave RestivoBill RichardsDoug RileyChandelle RimmerBryn RobertsBarry RombergRenee RosnesMike RudCampbell RygaIan SadlerRon SamsomRon SamworthKent SangsterDaniel SchneeJoe SealyBernie SenenskyEarl SeymourDarren SigesmundJudy SinghJohanna SillanpaaBill SmithJohn StetchBen SuresHarley SymingtonPierre TanguayRick TaitChris TarryDon ThompsonRob ThompsonBob TildesleyPaul TobeyBrad TurnerRoss UlmerRichard UnderhillDylan van der SchyffBrodie WestNancy WalkerMartin WaltersFlora WareKenny WheelerTony WilsonRhonda WithnellBrent WrightDave YoungMike Zilber

CAnADIAn gRouPS 6Actual JazzQuartetAlberta Jazz Ensemble

Alberta Jazz Repertory orchestraBombaCanadian Hot StarsCarn-Allemano QuintetChamber GraffitiDixieland ExpressDouble DuoEdmonton Big BandFernGMCC outreach Big BandJazz BirdsJefferson-Grant QuintetJunctionMad Satie TrioManic Thematic TrioMerlin FactorMobius QuartetModo TrioNext Day HillNoJonuStepsPacific SaltPeters Drury TrioPrimal orbitRiver City Big BandSaturday Pro BandShuckerStrangeness BeautyTerrainTime WarpTIN Naked BandToqueU.R.J.E.VEJIVibreWine, Women and SongWorkshop SixZebradonk

InTERnATIOnAL PeRFoRmeRS 6John AbercrombiePepper AdamsNat AdderleyToshiko AkiyoshiKarrin AllysonErnestine AndersonRay AndersonPeter AppleyardAb BaarsDerek BaileyChet BakerJoey BaronGary BartzHan BenninkBob BergGene BertonciniJim BlackArt BlakeyCarla BleyAnthony BraxtonRandy BreckerRay BrownGary BurtonDon ByronHadley CalimanBetty CarterDon CherryPete ChristliebRichie Coleornette ColemanSteve ColemanChick Corea

Stanley CowellFernanda CunhaAndrew CyrilleFranco D’AndreaPalle DaniellsonEddie ‘Lockjaw’ DavisBlossom DearieTobias DeliusJack DeJohnetteLoek DikkerBarbara DonaldChristy DoranDave DouglasHamid DrakeMark DresserMarty EhrlichHerb EllisWeimar EscobarRobin EubanksArt FarmerJoe FarrellSonny FortuneCurtis FowlkesErik FriedlanderDave FriesenBill FrisellSatoko FujiiCurtis FullerHal GalperJan GarbarekStan GetzDizzy GillespieFrode GjerstadDexter GordonBenny GreenJohnny GriffinDavid GrismanMaciej GrzywaczCharlie HadenTim HagansJohn HandyRoland HannaJim HallBilly HarperBilly HartRoy HaynesJimmy HeathPercy HeathJoe HendersonBilly HigginsDave HollandPaul HornWayne HorvitzFreddie HubbardSteve HudsonBobby HutchersonSusi HyldgaardMilt JacksonEtta JamesJan JarczykAl JarreauKeith JarrettAlphonso JohnsonJ.J. JohnsonMarc JohnsonElvin JonesClifford JordanSheila JordanTheo JorgensmannBarney KesselBilly KilsonPeter KnightLee KonitzSteve KuhnJoe LaBarberaPat LaBarberaKatia & Marielle Labeque

Steve Lacyoliver LakePui Ming LeePiotr LemanczykVictor LewisDave LiebmanJeanette LinstromCharles LloydJoe LovanoAdam MakowiczRussell MaloneCharlie MarianoWynton MarsalisPaul McCandlessJohn McLaughlinJay McShannMyra MelfordPat MethenyHendrik MeurkensClarence ‘Big’ MillerRoscoe MitchellBen MonderJemeel MoondocEddie MooreGlen MooreAirto MoreiraGeorge MrazMark MurphyMichael MusillamiRandy NewmanMike NockFredrik NordstromAdam NussbaumDarek ‘oles’ oleszkiewiczMakoto ozoneEvan ParkerKim ParkerWilliam ParkerJoe PassJaco PastoriusGary PeacockMichel PetruccianiAlberto PintonJean-Luc PontyChris PotterPrasannaBobby PreviteJulian PriesterDewey RedmanRufus ReidSteve ReidSam RiversMax RoachRed RodneyWallace RoneySonny RollinsLouise RoseRoswell RuddHakan RydinMarit SandvikJohn ScofieldBud ShankWoody ShawBobby ShewMaciej SikalaSteve SlagleJarek SmietanaWadada Leo SmithDr. Lonnie SmithMarvin “Smitty” SmithSteve SmithChris SpeedTomasz StankoBobo StensonSonny StittJohn Stowell 4

3Dave StrykerIra SullivanSteve SwallowHarvie SwartzSteve SwellLew TabackinBuddy TateJohn TaylorCharles TolliverRalph TownerSigurd UlvesethNana VasconcelosEddie ‘Cleanhead’ VinsonDavid VirellesMiroslav VitousCuong VuCollin WalcottMal WaldronMelissa WalkerCedar WaltonMitch Watkins

Ernie WattsTrevor WattsEberhard WeberWolter WierbosBuster WilliamsJessica WilliamsPhil WoodsReggie WorkmanLeszek Zadlo

InTERnATIOnAL

gRouPS 6

A.D.D. TrioAkiyoshi/Tabackin BBArosAlive!Art Ensemble of Chi-cagoAvailable JellyBechet-LegacyClaudia QuintetCodona

Concord Super Bande.s.t.Heath BrothersICP orchestraJazz MessengersJazz Band Ball orchestraKamosc TrioMagic MalikMingus Dynasty BandNanaNew DeltaAkhrioregonQuantumSackville AllstarsSex MobTimeless AllstarsTrio 3United FrontUrban Connection TrioWho TrioZony Mash

soME of tHE PAST PERFORMERSAt tHEYARDBIRDSUITeanDEDMonTonJazzsociEty 6

MON

TuESDAY

WED

THuRS

FRiDAYSATu

RDAYSu

N

ya

RD

BIR

Dsuite50tHa

nn

iver

sa

ry

Ma

RC

H2007

1T

he Y

ar

dB

Ird

S

UIT

e

allS

Ta

rS

Opening Act • Chris A

ndrew

Th

e Y

ar

dB

Ird

S

UIT

e

allS

Ta

rS

Opening Act • George Blondheim

4

5

Tu

esday Jam

Sessions

WIT

hK

en

T S

an

GS

Ter

78

do

UG

rIl

eY

Sa

nd

ro

d

om

InellI G

ro

UP

fea

TU

rIn

G P.J

. Per

rY

an

d J

Im h

ea

d• Opening A

ct • Big ideas

with Special Guest D

oug Organ

do

UG

rIl

eY

Sa

nd

ro

d

om

InellI G

ro

UP

fea

TU

rIn

G P.J

. Per

rY

an

d J

Im h

ea

d• Opening A

ct •M

ike Gillespie Quintet

11

12T

uesd

ay Jam Session

s

WIT

hW

aG

ner

Co

mB

o

1415

Th

e

ed

mo

nT

on

Ja

zz

o

rC

heS

Tr

a

Special Guest • lew Tabackin

Th

e

ed

mo

nT

on

Ja

zz

o

rC

heS

Tr

a

Special Guest • lew Tabackin

18

19T

uesd

ay Jam Session

s

WIT

hG

mC

C/U

ofa

BIG

Ba

nd

2122

an

ev

en

InG

WIT

h

Ja

zz

SIn

Ger

ex

Tr

ao

rd

Ina

Ire

ma

rK

mU

rP

hY

Opening Act • Rhonda W

ithnell

an

ev

en

InG

WIT

h

Ja

zz

SIn

Ger

ex

Tr

ao

rd

Ina

Ire

ma

rK

mU

rP

hY

Opening Act • A

nna Beaumont

25

26

Tu

esday Jam

Sessions

WIT

hr

ho

nd

a W

ITh

nell

2829

da

ve B

aB

Co

CK

’S

JU

mP

or

Ch

eS

Tr

a

fea

TU

rIn

G G

UeS

T

SIn

Ger

Jo

ha

nn

a

SIl

la

nPa

a

Opening Act • D

ino Dom

inelli Quintet

TIl

o P

aIz

la

TIn

Ja

zz

Pa

rT

Y

Opening Act • The Brenan

Brothers Band

FR

IDA

Y •

MA

RC

H 1

6T

HS

AT

UR

DA

Y •

MA

RC

H 1

7T

H

FR

IDA

Y •

MA

RC

H 9

TH

SA

TU

RD

AY •

MA

RC

H 1

0T

H

FR

IDA

Y •

MA

RC

H 2

nD

SA

TU

RD

AY •

MA

RC

H 3

RD

FR

IDA

Y •

MA

RC

H 2

3R

DS

AT

UR

DA

Y •

MA

RC

H 2

4T

H

FR

IDA

Y •

MA

RC

H 3

0T

HS

AT

UR

DA

Y •

MA

RC

H 3

1S

T

TU

ES

DA

Y •

MA

RC

H 6

TH

TU

ES

DA

Y •

MA

RC

H 1

3T

H

TU

ES

DA

Y •

MA

RC

H 2

0T

H

TU

ES

DA

Y •

MA

RC

H 2

7T

H

PuBliCATiON MAil # 40047729

• EdMoNtoN JAZZ sociEty • yArdBird suitE• 11 TOMMY BANKS WAY (CORNER Of 102 STREET & 86 AvENuE) EDMONTON, AlBERTA T6E 2M2 CANADA

THANK YOu TO OuR SPONSORS4