2020 Season
Our highly respected LEGENDS OF JAZZ workshops, master classes and associated outreach programmes continued to motivate, inspire and instruct another year of both emerging and graduating music students, highlighting the Trust’s dedication to the all-important field of jazz education.
In January 2020 the Ken Page Memorial Trust welcomed back students to their spring term line-up of weekly clinics held at the University of Toronto under the Faculty of Music’s Jazz Studies Programme, directed by Terry Promane and full-time tutors Mike Murley and Jim Lewis. With Chase Sanborn still on sabbatical, Jim Lewis continued to moderate the KPMT/U of T Master Class Series which offered a variety of in-depth topics relating to the expectations of today’s rising young jazz musicians and the music business in general. Ongoing collaboration with The Rex Jazz & Blues Bar frequently enabled a second performance opportunity for visiting clinicians, allowing them the benefit of additional Toronto exposure.
The opening session featured the Nomad Trio, with Gordon Girdina, oud/guitar, from Vancouver, and New York musicians Matt Mitchell on piano and Jim Black on drums. Additional clinics included drummer, composer, educator, Colin Hinton from Brooklyn; Canadian bassist Mark Godfrey and Israeli guitarist/oudist Amos Hoffman. The following week showcased a special event, when curator/jazz historian Ralph Coram gave a slide show and talk on the visual history of jazz nightclubs in Toronto since WW2. The presentation was based on research he conducted for his 2018 jazz clubs archival exhibit at the City of Toronto’s Market Gallery. Term ended February 28th on another high note with U of T alumnus, trumpeter Rebecca Hennessey and her Way North group.
... two weeks later
Covid-19 arrived and
changed our lives…
Faculty closed for the summer break, Jim Lewis went on sabbatical and when everyone reconvened for the fall season, we learned the academic schedule, including our Master Classes, would take place online with two new committees formed to focus on the increasingly aggressive topics of systemic
racism, discrimination and social injustice, and to broaden the direction of sessions beyond music to address such issues as sexism, physical and mental health.
This basically means a Faculty of Music Advisory Committee for Anti-Racism, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (AREDI), headed by Associate Dean Ryan McClelland and Area Jazz Chair Mike Murley, will act in co-ordination with a volunteer student Masterclass Committee, chaired by DMA candidate Sam Little to select clinicians with a mandate to prioritise BIPOC, Women and LGBTQ guests as the Faculty seeks to diversify its ranks and offerings. In addition to working on his doctorate, Sam Little will also take over the role of facilitating and hosting the Master Class Series, effectively replacing
Chase Sanborn who has been our moderator for the past two decades.
The Trust welcomes Sam to his new challenges and looks forward to working with him to preserve the long-standing KPMT/U of T partnership.
We also take this opportunity to thank our good friend Chase for his many years of dedication to the success of the series. The Trust has been the beneficiary of a close, rewarding relationship,
participating in a wealth of memorable clinics.
Transitioning into unfamiliar online territory the last week of September, Chase paved the way by occupying the host chair for the first two clinics as these had been pre-booked several months earlier. The debut session showcased the return of popular piano maestro Rossano Sportiello who was live-streamed in from his New York home. He had pre-recorded several pieces in-between which he conversed at ease with the students. The next event featured multifaceted Canadian jazz musician Brenda Earle Stokes. Renowned for her work as a pianist, singer, composer and educator, she conducted an in-depth clinic speaking honestly and from the heart.
The remaining 5 clinicians for the winter term were engaged by Sam and his student committee: First off was Rich Brown, electric bassist and composer, and an active member of Toronto’s culturally diverse music scene, moving between jazz and funk to traditional Arab and Asian influences – a very gentle thoughtful speaker who interacted insightfully with a number of student questions; then came Quincy Davis, currently assistant professor of drums at the University of North Texas, who played several songs and emphasized the importance of studying tradition, and when playing, listening for the blues, bebop, melody and rhythm in jazz; next was Jessica Ackerley, Canadian-born now living in New York, who has established herself on the rock and jazz scene as a guitarist, composer and band leader with a diverse music palette ranging from highly structured to free improvisation, no wave and avant garde soundscapes. This was an unusual clinic that moved into areas of creativity and telepathic communication, which nevertheless appeared to make a connection with the students; the following week Canadian trombonist, composer and bandleader Heather Saumer who has an impressive jazz education and performance record, was invited to share her experiences. Unfortunately she did not demonstrate any interest in playing during the session but dwelt instead on a lengthy slate of interests wandering from folk singing, writing, story telling, creativity and yoga into the more ethereal areas of physical space, body forces and tuning fork therapy, leaving the trustees feeling this one fell far short from being a “jazz” master class; the final clinic was presented by Joanna Majoko, who has been captivating audiences with her voice since her youth growing up in Germany, then Zimbabwe where she was exposed to a rich practice of music and dance. Toronto is now her home where she is also a
passionate composer and arranger, and while her greatest affinity is jazz, she is versatile within many musical genres, having worked with numerous accomplished Canadian and American recording artists. Joanna was a delightfully lively and thoroughly focused clinician who shared plenty of sound information with the very attentive students and answered their questions knowledgeably and enthusiastically.
This was an exemplary master class which left a very positive ending to the semester and while there were a couple of sessions that did not meet expectations, we believe the Trust’s continuing support should be primarily based on the values the students are deriving from the overall series. Feedback has been requested but since the spring 2021 term will continue to take place online, this information may not be gathered until the season year-end.
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