Humber Studio Jazz Ensemble performs at Sudbury Secondary School

SHERIDAN AUDITORIUM ON FRIDAY, OCTOBER 27

The Humber Studio Jazz Ensemble, a dynamic student ensemble directed by well-known Canadian jazz musician Denny Christianson, will perform in Sudbury on Friday, October 27, 2006. The concert will begin at 7:30 pm in the Sheridan Auditorium at Sudbury Secondary School.

Tickets are $15 for adults and $10 for students. Tickets may be reserved by calling Sudbury Secondary School at 705-674-7551. Tickets will also be available at the door the night of the concert.

“This is a wonderful opportunity for all jazz aficionados in the Greater Sudbury and North Bay areas to see and hear an amazing post-secondary student jazz ensemble,” says Ralph McIntosh, Arts Education Coordinator for the Rainbow District School Board. “We are delighted to be hosting this talented group of performers here in Sudbury.”

For the past three decades, the Humber Studio Jazz Ensemble has been the premier showcase group of the Humber College Music Program. As the top group among 44 student ensembles in Canada’s largest and most diverse jazz studies program, this group has a long history of excellence, including recordings, radio and television appearances, and concerts

featuring world-renowned guest artists, such as Phil Woods, Paquito D’Rivera, Dave Holland, Michael Brecker, and Steve Gadd. They have also been featured at some of the most prestigious music festivals in the world. Led by the Director of Humber’s music program, Denny Christianson, this band has helped develop some of Canada’s most elite professional musicians.

Humber College’s current Director of Music, Denny Christianson, has enjoyed a comprehensive career as a trumpeter, arranger, composer, conductor, bandleader and music educator. Born in Rockford, Illinois, he moved from Los Angeles to Montreal in 1980, and has been a Canadian citizen since 1991. During his twenty-plus years in Montreal, his 18 piece

big band toured extensively in Europe and Canada, appearing on numerous television and radio network specials, also performing and recording with Dianne Schurr, Pepper Adams, Michel Legrand, Oliver Jones, Ranee Lee, Marv Stamm, Guido Basso, and many others.

Denny Christianson’s small group efforts include his fusion project, “Sortie”, with Alain Caron, Paul Brochu, Michel Cyr, Jean St. Jacques, and Luc Boivin, as well as his newest group, co-led with pianist Jan Jarczyk, whose  first album, entitled “Goin’ Places”, features their original compositions.  His seven albums as a leader (Justin Time Records) have received eight Juno and Felix nominations, and high critical acclaim. During his studio career in Los Angeles, he appeared on over 150 albums with the likes of Stevie Wonder, Ray Charles, the Jackson 5, Smokey Robinson, etc., and played the Sammy Davis, Jr. television show. He has also worked with jazz greats Bill Holman, Carmen McRae, Ed Shaughnessy, Hubert Laws, J.J. Johnson, Kai Winding, Benny Carter, Jon Faddis, Steve Gadd, Sweets Edison, and played jazz festivals with Kenny Drew, Mose Allison, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Louis Bellson, Diana Krall, and Don Alias, to name but a few.

Prior to coming to Humber College, Denny Christianson taught at McGill University, Concordia University, Université de Montreal, John Abbott College, and spent eight years as Head of Music at the Centennial Academy in Montreal. He also led the CJAD All-City Big Band for 15 years, winning national titles at MusicFest Canada, with awards from Jazz Report Magazine, and several of his students winning Grand Prizes in festival competitions. Denny Christianson has also written numerous commissions across Canada, including a full-length musical, and has given workshops throughout North America. He and his Humber faculty have brought forth a groundbreaking new degree, a Bachelor of Applied Music (Contemporary Music). Denny Christianson is also a member of the Board of Directors and Chair of the Education and

Outreach Committee for Jazz FM 91.

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Media Contact:   

Ralph McIntosh, Arts Education Coordinator,

Rainbow District School Board, 705.674.7551, ext. 299

[email protected]