2009 Edmonton International Jazz Festival - Yardbird Suite events

Festival official website:  Edmonton International Jazz Festival
 

Richard Underhill - saxophones, vocals
Perry White - saxophones
Kelly Jefferson - saxophones
George Koller - bass, vocals
Stich Wynston - drums, vocals

www.shuffledemons.com

What do you get when you cross three amazing saxophonists dressed in wacky clothes, a crazy dancing drummer, and a killer upright-bass player, and have them sing songs about buses, roaches, and hockey while they spend half their time playing in the audience? The Shuffle Demons! Led by head Demon Richard Underhill, Canada’s wackiest jazz band is back in top form with a greatest hits album, a DVD, and a whole lot of demonic attitude. In their 23-year career, they’ve released six albums and seven videos, and they still rock the house. Get ready to sway in your seat, jump to your feet, and dance to the Demon beat!

Amina Figarova - piano
Bart Platteau - flutes
Ernie Hammes - trumpet
Marc Mommaas - tenor saxophone
Roland Guerin - bass
Chris "Buckshot" Strik - drums

www.aminafigarova.com

Born in Baku, Azerbaijan, the Rotterdam-based jazz pianist/composer Amina Figarova is one of the most productive and talented new artists in Europe. Despite growing up on the Russian side of the Iron Curtain, Figarova’s early musical experiences included plenty of American jazz. She released her first CD, Attraction, an album of original tunes, in 1994. This was followed by Another Me (1998), Firewind (2000), and Night Train (2004), each demonstrating her developing voice as a composer. Figarova released two albums in 2005, Come Escape with Me and September Suite. She has performed with her own group at important festivals and clubs around the world, including the North Sea Jazz Festival, New Orleans Jazz Festival, Capetown International Jazz Festival, and many others.

The Toronto-based Ugly Beauties Trio is a new configuration of some of Canada's top improvisers. Taking their name from the famous Thelonious Monk composition Ugly Beauty, their sound dances between improvised music and modern jazz with strong elements of contemporary classical music. Replacing the traditional upright bass with a cello opens up new sonic possibilities. The group's musical 'trialogue' is abstractly lyrical, swinging, and spacious, mixing improvised material and compositions by all the members. This tour supports the release of their first recording on the wonderful Montreal-based Ambiance Magnetiques label.

P.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.

Two of Winnipeg's biggest musical forces - guitarist Larry Roy and bassist Steve Kirby - pull out all the stops in this cooking band. Having played together in a variety of groups for five years, the formation of this band was the logical next step, and their debut CD, Wicked Grin, showcases a wide range of styles, several distinct personalities, and a great deal of wit and subtlety. St. Louis, Illinois-based Terreon Gully is a formidably talented drummer who has mastered all styles - straight-ahead, funk, fusion, Afro-Cuban and more - which makes him a perfect fit in this eclectic group.

Bassist/composer/bandleader Roberto Occhipinti is a major force in the Toronto music scene, and his recent CD, A Bend In The River (Modica Music Productions), continues his passionate tradition of musical synthesis. At first glance, the musical components - chamber music, complicated rhythms, daring improvisation - seem disparate, but in Occhipinti's hands they form a seamless and exciting musical statement. While the instrumentation is that of a straight-ahead jazz quartet, the music is anything but predictable, revealing something fascinating and new at every turn.

Now based in Montreal, the Parisian-born saxophonist/composer Jean-Christophe Béney leads a classic sax/piano/bass/drums quartet. Béney plays with a strong tone, but also appreciates how dynamics can sometimes suggest greater power, occasionally blowing as softly as a whisper. His writing couches complex harmonic changes in simple melodies, making his music challenging to play but effortless to listen to. Béney understands the meaning of space, which makes the moments when he and his band really let loose and became collectively denser, all the more meaningful. He has three releases on the Canadian jazz label Effendi, the latest being Pop Up (2007). Dynamic, hard-hitting modern music.

Born in Switzerland and based in Montreal since 1998, pianist/composer Félix Stüssi calls his music 'post-retro world jazz' because, as he told the Montreal Hour, "I've been influenced by old greats Tatum, Monk, Ellington, Basie - and 'post' because I'm into the avant-garde scene - free and modal jazz - and 'world' because I'm an ethnomusicologist and like all kinds of music. So, in my compositions, all these influences come together." Whatever you call it, Stüssi's music was a huge hit at the 2007 Montreal Jazz Festival; his quintet walked away with the Grand Prix de Jazz Award. Last year, the group released its second CD, Baiji (Justin Time), with special guest Ray Anderson. Named five straight years as best trombonist in the Down Beat Critics Poll and declared "the most exciting slide brass player of his generation" by the Penguin Guide to Jazz on CD, Anderson has shown remarkable range. He has led or co-led a daunting assortment of tradition-minded and beyond-mainstream groups, big bands, blues and funk projects, and even a trombone quartet. In the spirit of Louis Armstrong, he is a colorful and exuberant performer and a gifted vocalist who induces smiles with his split tones and screech effects.

Trio M is a collectively led ensemble that brings together some of the greatest talent in the jazz world today. Pianist Myra Melford recasts the blues and boogie-woogie of her Chicago hometown, folds in elements of the music of Eastern Europe and India, and blends them with rangy percussive avant-garde stylings. This personal musical vocabulary is further enriched by a lush lyricism and organized by an architectural sense of composition informed by classical training. She works in many groups with luminaries including Marty Ehrlich, Jenny Scheinman, Cuong Vu, Chris Speed, and Satoko Fujii. The Boston Herald calls Mark Dresser "the most important bass player to emerge since 1980 in jazz or classical music." For 10 years he performed with the Anthony Braxton Quartet, as well as diverse groups led by Tim Berne, Dave Douglas, John Zorn, and Gerry Hemingway. He's made over 60 recordings, including The Banquet (Tzadik), a double concert for various flutes and contrabass with string quartet. His own projects include Force Green and the Mark Dresser Trio (Matthias Ziegler, Denman Maroney). One of the most versatile and accomplished drummers in jazz, multi-award winner Matt Wilson is known for stirring things up and infusing his music with intelligence, humour, and non-stop energy. Much in demand for his superlative skills, he's worked with a range of artists from Bill Mays, Denny Zeitlin, and Dewey Redman to Charlie Haden, Jane Ira Bloom, and Ben Allison. With his own band, Arts & Crafts, Matt has released numerous CDs on the Palmetto label.