shannon butcher sings

Inside the Jazzers Studio - Ben Riley

Ben Riley has had the great fortune of having been brought up in an intensely jazz/classical family. From the age of 3 he was jamming in the basement with the late great pianist, Bill Evans (a regular family guest at the time), who had already taught him how to play brushes and keep time.  You know, the typical life of a toddler.  When we were teenagers I remember going to see Ben perform in a quartet with another child of a musical family, Emilie-Claire Barlow.  It is pretty impressive how every member of that quartet has gone on to an outstanding career in music.  The pianist, Mark Camilleri, can now be found music directing Toronto's best musicals or recording the country's top talents at his studio Imagine Sound.   The bass player was Ross MacIntyre and if you read this blog you already know how great Ross is.  Do I really need to brag about him again?

Over the past two decades, Ben has recorded and performed alongside many luminaries such as Bruce Cockburn, Holly Cole, Michael Burgess, Molly Johnson, Joe Sealy, Jackie Richardson, Doug Riley (Ben's dad, aka Dr. Music), Adele Armin (his mom, violinist with the TSO), Marc Jordan, Amy Sky, Moe Koffman, Michael Kaeshammer and Bowfire among others. If you check out Bowfire's website you can see Ben playing with them on NBC's Today Show.  I wonder if Ben got to meet Al Roker?  On top of all those sidemen gigs, Ben co-leads an original soul/R&B project in Toronto, Planet Earth.

Having played on dozens of albums and hundreds of commercials, Ben also composes in many genres including classical, jazz, singer/songwriter and R&B.  That's What Happens, a song co-written by Ben with Courtney Farquhar, was included on Warner's platinum selling 'Women and Songs 7' compilation CD.  Courtney also happens to be Ben's beautiful wife. Seriously, they make such a handsome couple that they are giving Brad and Angelina a run for their money.  Ben and Courtney have been working on her new album which should be released this fall.  I hear there are some amazing special guests on the CD including Ron Sexsmith!

Okay, now to my insider info about Ben:

1. What is your favorite word? funk & poignant
2. What is your least favorite word? ya da ya da
3. What turns you on [creatively, spiritually or emotionally]? spontaneity
4. What turns you off?  insecurity
5. What sound or noise do you love? hollow wood being struck, like a woodpecker on a tree 
6. What sound or noise do you hate? scraping of cutlery on a plate
7. What is your favorite curse word? Jesus H Fucking Christ
8. What profession other than your own would you like to attempt? poet
9. What profession would you not like to do? surgeon
10. If Heaven exists, who's the first person you want to see in concert when you arrive? Doug Riley, my dad

Ben will be joining my quartet for the last two Sundays at the Rex this month.   Come on down to 194 Queen Street West August 23rd or 30th from 7-9 to hear Ben in person!  (And remind me to ask Ben about Al.)

Inside the Jazzers Studio - Lisa Particelli

Lisa Particelli is a talented musician - she sings, she plays flute.  She's incredibly supportive of other artists.  And I just found out last week that she's also an incredible visual artist. I don't know how I missed knowing that all this time.  She told me that she was a visual artist before she became a musician.  How is it possible that one woman is so talented?? 

Lisa's list of accomplishments is lengthy but I'd like to focus on one called Girls Night Out - Toronto's vocalist friendly JAZZ JAM (where gentlemen are welcome too!)

Four years ago Lisa saw a need in Toronto and decided that she should create the solution.  Here was the issue: our city was brimming with jazz singers who were looking for a place to cut their teeth on live performance.  If you were beyond school age then the best place to do this was at "The Jazz Jam".  Most vocalists were intimidate by the traditional jazz jam as the instrumentalists were not always, shall we say, "welcoming".  It's true that the songs that most singers want to try out on stage are not necessarily from the same pool of repertoire that instrumentalists first want to explore so there can be a bit of conflict of interest.  So, Lisa thought, why not create a jazz jam that is first and foremost for singers?  And so Girls Night Out was born out of Lisa's determination to create a safe and supportive space for all singers, no matter the level of performance experience or formal training.  GNO has moved venues a couple times but for over a year now GNO has found a home on Thursday nights at Chalkers on Marlee. Next week the jam moves to a new night - Wednesday!  Whether you're a singer or a music fan mark it in your calendar and get over humpday with some live jazz on February 18th!

I gotta say, Lisa Particelli is one of the sweetest gals in the Toronto jazz world, no doubt about it. Read her responses to the Pivot questionnaire and you'll see what I mean.

1. What is your favorite word? Mom. Makes me smile all over when my sons say it.
2. What is your least favorite word? Stupid. Had my sons convinced it was a swear when they were young.
   
3. What turns you on [creatively, spiritually or emotionally]? The human condition never ceases to inspire me. Making art and music that reflects discoveries of joy in sorrow, hope in despair, and beauty in pain.
4. What turns you off? Prejudgement of any kind.
   
5. What sound or noise do you love?  The happy chaos of my children's voices and Norman Marshall Villeneuve's laughter.
6. What sound or noise do you hate? The noise of chatter over a good bass solo, or over any good solo.
   
7. What is your favorite curse word?  Current favs are "shut the front door" and "motherfather".
8. What profession other than your own would you like to attempt? None. I love hosting my jazz jam, singing, playing and painting.
   
9. What profession would you not like to do?  Auto mechanic - hard on the hands. At 17, I worked in a junk yard taking cars apart for a living in Sault Ste Marie, c-c-c-cold.
10. If Heaven exists, who's the first person you want to see in concert when you arrive? Bach, Donny Hathaway, Oscar Peterson, Carmen McRae, and Nina Simone in that order. 

I forgot to mention that Lisa can also list concert producer on her resume. This week she has brought the incredible Shelia Jordan to town for two shows at Chalkers Pub.  I think the tickets are almost gone but visit ticketweb.ca and you just might be able to snag one last minute!  Ms. Jordan is a jazz legend and the opportunity to see her live is one you should not miss!

 I'll leave you with this quote from Lisa:
“LIVE MUSIC improves the quality of our lives. Whether we choose to simply listen or to participate in the creation of live music, we wire our brains to PAY ATTENTION, we create social connections and we truly experience the full range of human emotion.”

Isn't that beautiful?  So true. Lisa keeps up a website that has bit of a lengthy url so I've made a little Lisa's website link for you.  Click on over to discover some more pearls of wisdom!

Inside the Jazzers Studio - David Occhipinti

Back in August when I spent my first week at band camp I was comforted by the fact that I wasn't the only newbie on staff.  Sharing first timer status with me was David Occhipinti - the renowned guitarist and composer from the esteemed Toronto Occhipinti clan.  I'm not sure it should be legal for Mother Nature to provide one lineage with so much talent. Trust me they totally kick the Jonas Brothers musical a$$. (Now I'm just waiting for my cousins to join me in creating the Butcher Band - Adam, Sean? What do you think?) 
Camp with David was such good times - Beatles tunes by the fire thanks to Chris Donnelly's new iPhone's ability to download lyrics and tabs, dancing back stage to string quartets, watching informative documentaries David had directed. I also totally enjoyed eavesdropping in on David speaking Italian to his wife and daughter over his laptop camera while we were both working in the camp WiFi zone.  Since I don't speak Italian I didn't think I was being too rude.  David lived in Italy for two years following his studies in New York and now makes his home in Toronto.  His list of accomplishments is long and includes Juno and National Jazz Award nominations as well as winning a "Guitars on Fire" contest - I'm going to have to ask him about that one.

1. What is your favorite word? idraulico liquido (translation: liquid plumber) 
2. What is your least favorite word? hate
3. What turns you on [creatively, spiritually or emotionally]? connecting with another being or musician
4. What turns you off?  close mindedness
5. What sound or noise do you love? my daughter's laugh and the sound of waves
6. What sound or noise do you hate? muzak, background music being forced upon the listener
7. What is your favorite curse word? Mother Fucker 
8. What profession other than your own would you like to attempt? writer
9. What profession would you not like to do? anything where anyone has to tell me what to do 
10. If Heaven exists, who's the first person you want to see in concert when you arrive? Bach

Monday, December 8th the David Occhipinti Trio plays The Rex Hotel.  Come on down and I'll see you there! We can get the lowdown in the Guitars on Fire!

Inside the Jazzers Studio - Chase Sanborn

While up at National Music Camp I had the pleasure of spending time with the fabulous trumpet player, dedicated educator and stellar self-promoter, Chase Sanborn.  All week I watched Chase use his positive and powerful personality to engage and inspire the campers whether he was addressing an audience of 100 during his faculty concert or chatting with a circle of 12 young musicians sitting in the grass.   Chase strikes me as someone who believes in the power of information and self-motivation and I'm sure that was part of his reason for writing a series of instructional books, CDs and DVDs.  The "Tactics" series has four installments: Jazz, Brass, Tuning & Music Business. The books are ideal for helping a young musician develop good habits but of course it never hurts for an older musician to check in and get some advice from Chase's wealth of experience.  Plus, there are these cute caricatures of Chase throughout the books. It makes me want to get my own cartoon.

Beyond education, Chase, who is originally from the States, has become a mainstay in the Toronto music scene as both a live and session musician. Chase has played on hundreds of commercial recording dates and logged many hours in the orchestra pit for Broadway musicals. He has toured with Ray Charles, and appeared with Aretha Franklin, Diana Krall and many other jazz and pop artists.  And if I remember correctly he filled in for William Sperandei as Swing Rosie's Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy when we played the City of Toronto's Yonge Street Music festival.  I'm going to have to ask him why that's not listed in his official bio...

When I asked Chase if he would participate in my IJS series he informed me that he often uses the Pivot questionnaire for an interview series he does at the University of Toronto.  His own interview series??  Is there anything this man can't do?

1. What is your favorite word? Baloney!
2. What is your least favorite word? Oops.
3. What turns you on [creatively, spiritually or emotionally]? Intelligence and humor.
4. What turns you off?  Ignorance and bigotry.
5. What sound or noise do you love? Water lapping.
6. What sound or noise do you hate? Snoring. (Except my own.)
7. What is your favorite curse word? Fuck!
8. What profession other than your own would you like to attempt? Dolphin trainer.
9. What profession would you not like to do? Roofing.
10. If Heaven exists, who's the first person you want to see in concert when you arrive? Clifford Brown.

 

Inside the Jazzers Studio - Mark Kieswetter

Almost two years ago Mark arrived in Toronto from Toledo. Mark came in to my life by agreeing to play with me pro bono - sight unseen/voice unheard - at the Oscar Peterson School fundraiser.  Boy was I impressed.  I didn't get a chance to take a picture of my reaction when I first heard Mark play that night but I'm sure I've seen it time and time on the faces of musicians around the city when they hear Mark tear up the piano.  Man...he's good.  

A few weeks ago, Mark Kieswetter and I had five duo gigs in the course of seven days.  They ranged from playing at Gate 403 and Statler's for three sets to providing entertainment for the Gilda's Club volunteers at their recognition event to crooning standards with senior citizens at a retirement home.  Mark is so talented and personable that he was clearly the right partner for all of those venues and situations.  Although Mark and I are both very interested in arranging "new standards" for our public sets, playing the classic swing jazz hits for seniors brings some real feel good vibes.  There's just something sweet and humbling about having a room full of voices sing along to Blue Skies with years of memories shining out of their eyes.

Time for you to learn a bit more about Mark:

1. What is your favorite word? book
2. What is your least favorite word? should
3. What turns you on [creatively, spiritually or emotionally]? honesty
4. What turns you off?  reality television
5. What sound or noise do you love? an in-tune pre-Depression Steinway "B"
6. What sound or noise do you hate? balloons popping
7. What is your favorite curse word? mostly "dammit", but there are others
8. What profession other than your own would you like to attempt? photo-journalist
9. What profession would you not like to do? play bass in a be-bop band. WTF?!
10. If Heaven exists, who's the first person you want to see in concert when you arrive? Tom Jobim, maybe Dexter Gordon, or Bill Evans, or Irene Kral. Maybe.

Mark recently shared with me Irene Kral's album Better Than Anything.  Now I know why she's up there with Dexter, Bill and Tom.

Inside the Jazzers Studio - Richard Underhill

Earlier this year at the IAJE conference I found myself sitting beside Richard Underhill at the self management seminar.  I was a bit surprised to see him there with pen in hand ready to take notes as I imagine Richard could easily be the speaker at such a seminar.  But the lesson I learned is that there are always lessons to learn in the rapidly changing landscape of the music business. 

In my opinion, Richard is a shining example of all that a Canadian artist should be.  He's an extremely talented player, he actively promotes his art, he showcases his community through his compositions (his latest Juno nominated album, Kensington Suite is an homage to his eclectic neighborhood, Kensington Market) and he is as comfortable playing the Hockey Night in Canada theme song solo on CBC news at 7 in the morning as he is leading a square full of 900 saxophonists through our other national anthem.  (Check out the Shuffle Demons website to learn more about their World Record breaking saxophone event.)  Richard is a towering presence in Canada's music scene and it's not just because he's almost seven feet tall.

1. What is your favorite word?  Bicycle
2. What is your least favorite word? Car
3. What turns you on [creatively, spiritually or emotionally]?  playing jazz, improvised music, almost any kind of music, cats, farmers markets, buying local, organic food, taking the train, girls on bikes, guys on bikes, kids on bikes, transport bikes, playing hockey, buying local, getting juiced and writing songs, recording, playing bass sax, jamming round a campfire, seeing the stars in the city.
4. What turns you off?  Wow....cars, pollution, free trade, first past the post electoral 'democracy', war for profit, privatized healthcare, any privatized government service, government sell off of public assets to corporate bidders, rampant consumerism, private ownership of public space, billboards, styrofoam!! cars in the bike lane, the 100,000 mile diet,  major brands, the war on terror, the war on drugs, the war on you and me, light pollution, the oil industry, car addiction, consumeritis, being labeled a 'consumer' instead of a 'human being,' don't get me started here!
5. What sound or noise do you love? The sound of bike bells
6. What sound or noise do you hate? Car horns
7. What is your favorite curse word? Fark
8. What profession other than your own would you like to attempt? writer  (novels, memoir, etc)
9. What profession would you not like to do?  banker (screwing people for pennies just seems so classless)
10. If Heaven exists, who's the first person you want to see in concert when you arrive?  Arnette Cobb (tenor sax player from Texas)

 Underhill is hosting Toronto's coolest Late Night Jazz Jam during the Jazz Festival at Kensington's hippest venue Supermarket (268 Augusta Ave.) Underhill's band will feature local guitar heroes Wayne Cass, Eric St-Laurent and Tim Posgate along with drummer Great Bob Scott, bassist Brandi Disterheft and many more. The action gets under way at midnight and goes to 4am every night during the jazz festival in the front room of Supermarket. There's no cover during the week and a nominal cover on the weekends.

Inside the Jazzers Studio - William Carn

Our lovely little big city, Toronto, boasts some world class musicians.  Not only am I consistently blown away by the talent in our city, I'm also repeatedly impressed by the way so many of our musicians are cleverly navigating the rapidly changing music industry and getting their music out to the world.  William Carn is a perfect example of a musician who has grabbed his career by the horns. (Pun intended.)  William has managed to bring the William Carn Quintet to the forefront of the Canadian jazz scene, not only here at home but throughout Europe and Japan.  A good deal of this success is due to his outstanding talent as a trombone player and composer but it can't be denied that his determination and business savy have also played their part.  William has released two albums as a band leader, the most recent entitled "Lessons Learned", and as a sideman his rich tones can be heard the albums of Hawksley Workman, Lori Cullen, Kathleen Edwards, Esthero, Hilario Duran and more.  A couple of years ago I had the pleasure of including William in my own quintet's debut concert at the late, great Montreal Bistro.  Here's hoping another opportunity will soon come my way to play with him again.

1. What is your favorite word? Wurlitzer
2. What is your least favorite word?  Deadline
3. What turns you on [creatively, spiritually or emotionally]?  Watching someone do something to the utmost of there abilities. 
4. What turns you off? Business
5. What sound or noise do you love?  Laughter
6. What sound or noise do you hate?  Techno bass coming from a car at a stop light.
7. What is your favorite curse word?  You asked for it.  Fucking cock!
8. What profession other than your own would you like to attempt?  Actor
9. What profession would you not like to do?  Any job in an office.
10. If Heaven exists, who's the first person you want to see in concert when you arrive?  Bill Evans

Next Friday night, May 23rd, the William Carn Quintet will be playing at the Peninsula Ridge Winnery in Niagara-on-Lake.  Good wine, good music - could there be a better combination?

Inside the Jazzers Studio - Alexis Cole

I met Alexis Cole in February of this year at the Brenda Carol Renaissance Jazz Festival.  Originally from New York City, Alexis had been performing that week at Opal Jazz Lounge and extended her Toronto performing scheduled by appearing on the Sunday night of the festival.  She completely captivated me with her musicality, stage presence, repertoire choices and flawless voice.  Truly a beautiful singer and generous spirit (as you'll remember from my Jitterbug Waltz story.)  For about a month now Alexis has been in residence at the Tableaux Lounge in Tokyo where she sings and plays six nights a week. Thanks to the communication friendly internet, Alexis and I have kept in contact while she's been over in Japan. I asked her to give us a feel for being a musician overseas:
 

1. What is your favorite word? Ne, it's a question word at the end of a sentence.  it means like...don't you agree?   It's a gorgeous day, ne?
2. What is your least favorite word?   It's a gesture.  They cross their hands, making an X.  It means no, or not possible, but somehow it always feels like 'screw you and your countrymen.'
3. What turns you on [creatively, spiritually or emotionally]?   Learning gives me hope in life. When i get depressed it's often because I'm bored.  Learning something, new Japanese vocabulary, changes to a new tune, Portuguese lyrics to a Jobim tune...these things change my headspace.
4. What turns you off?  When I go table to table with my post cards and CD's and people at the table I'm at start talking about me in Japanese and laughing.  What am I to do?   What are they saying!?!
5. What sound or noise do you love?   The outlook version of 'You've got Mail' I love getting emails from people.  I don't have a phone, so that's my main way of staying in touch.  I hate when it's just junk or someone's gig announcement that I can't go to.  I'm really social and being alone out here is a little difficult for me.  I make friends, but it's not the same somehow.   
6. What sound or noise do you hate?   The sound of my little fridge going on and off, the hazards of rabbit hutch living.  And the sound of One loud customer in an audience full of listeners.
7. What is your favorite curse word? I don't know any Japanese curse words.  I like cursing quickly in English here, I feel I can get away with it more easily since people don't generally speak English.
8. What profession other than your own would you like to attempt?   I would like to run a retreat center.
9. What profession would you not like to do?   Waitress.  I did it, I was terrible!   
10. If Heaven exists, who's the first person you want to see in concert when you arrive?  Bob Marley

If you can't save up the coin for a trip over to Tokyo don't worry, I have a feeling Alexis will be back singing on Canadian soil this summer.  Keep your eye on her website!

Inside the Jazzers Studio - Kelly Jefferson

First off, I have a confession to make. I kinda hate the saxophone. I know!  It's shocking.  It's just that they play so many notes and they're always trying to show off how fast they can play and they take up so many choruses at the jams.  Am I a jazz traitor?  Well, not completely because there are some shining exceptions to my saxophone rule: John Coltrane, Tim Ries (who I just discovered this year), Richard Underhill and Kelly Jefferson.  Here's what I believe:  Kelly Jefferson is to saxophone like Roger Federer is to tennis.  They are both real gentlemen, kind and unassuming but when they take to their stages you realize they are true masters.

When my producer Marc Rogers suggested we add sax to a few of the tracks on my album I started to tense up, until he qualified his suggestion with "'Cause I just think Kelly Jefferson would sound killer on these few tunes."  "Well, that's different then just adding sax. That's adding Kelly." I thought. "Having Kelly on those songs would just make me smile."  Now that everything is recorded, I can assure you Kelly does sound amazing and I'm so grateful for all of the insightful musicality he brought to my album.  You can hear him having fun on my version of Just a Girl on myspace.

1. What is your favorite word? Cake. (Just say it half a dozen times slowly...see?)
2. What is your least favorite word?  Jazz.
3. What turns you on [creatively, spiritually or emotionally]?  Jazz.
4. What turns you off? People who need to get on the subway car before
   letting the other people off. 
5. What sound or noise do you love?  The sound of a quiet night at the cottage.
6. What sound or noise do you hate?  Microphone feedback.
7. What is your favorite curse word?  I like most of the four letter curse words...like
   jazz...
8. What profession other than your own would you like to attempt?  I'm still attempting my own, but I've always wanted to drive a Zamboni.
9. What profession would you not like to do?  Air Traffic Controller.
10. If Heaven exists, who's the first person you want to see in concert when you arrive? I'm not sure if I can narrow it down, (it would be one hell of a band!) but (today) I would have to say a 3-way tie between John Coltrane, Donny Hathaway and Glenn Gould.

Check out Kelly playing with Barry Romberg's Random Access Large Ensemble at the Rex Sunday, March 30th at 9:30.  This "big" band makes the most challenging but accessible music tune after tune.  Kelly will be playing alongside a score of players who are at the top of their game, including: Rich Brown, Jason Logue and of course, Barry Romberg.  It's worth showing up late for work on Monday because RA really is the hippest thing to hit the Rex. 

Inside the Jazzers Studio - Christine Bougie

I've heard Christine's name around town for a few years now but I only had the good fortune of meeting her earlier this month at the Jazz Fair.  Multi Instrumentalist, composer and wannabe Super-hero Christine Bougie started playing guitar at 12 years old.  She attended Humber college for Jazz Studies and soon found herself attracted to playing as much country music as possible. When she's not on tour playing lap steel and guitar for Amy Millan, you can usually find Christine any night of the week performing or recording with many of Toronto's finest musicians. Check out her myspace site and you'll see she's already booked well in to 2009.  Her first album, Hammy's Secret Life, was released in 2007. Christine loves making music, eating brunch and petting her 2 cats, Priscilla and Edgar.

1. What is your favorite word?  Kugel
2. What is your least favorite word?  funky
3. What turns you on [creatively, spiritually or emotionally]?  honesty
4. What turns you off?  arrogance
5. What sound or noise do you love?  cats talking to each other
6. What sound or noise do you hate? styrofoam rubbing against anything
7. What is your favorite curse word?  shitballs
8. What profession other than your own would you like to attempt?  comic book artist
9. What profession would you not like to do?  hmmmm....waxing people's back hair?
10. If Heaven exists, who's the first person you want to see in concert when you arrive?  how about....Elvis

     

You can hear Christine play with Dafydd Hughes at the Tranzac in Toronto at 7:00 on Monday, February 25th.