A Message from Lisa Buck

Well. Where to start?

These are strange and stressful times.  The threat of illness brings with it huge amounts fear and anxiety and it is surreal to be experiencing this on a global level.  Just when we need comfort and strength from our communities, we are voluntarily isolating ourselves, locking our doors on an enemy we can’t see.

It’s important to remember that we are overreacting on purpose: it is not fear but prudence that is pushing the shutdown of many of our institutions and I am grateful that we have leaders who are willing to make these hard choices now, while there is time to work at containment.

We have rescheduled our March concert to October.  We will make lemonade out of this situation and host a mini-festival of female band-leaders featuring the Claire Devlin Quartet, the Adi Meyerson Quartet, and Gentiane MG with Frank Lozano.  It will be epic and I hope it gives you something to look forward to. We will be assessing the viability of the May shows closer to their dates.

I am proud to say that the first reaction in the jazz community to shows being cancelled was an overwhelming concern for the musicians who are losing their livelihood. I met Friday with members of our community and we have created Calgary Jazz Relief as a way to address this crisis. Kodi Hutchison, Artistic Director of Jazz YYC, was quick to offer the resources of his organization.  

We are also looking at ways to live-stream music.  Music is hope and we need this sound-track to our lives to lift us through tough times.  Festivals you are used to attending in person may come to you over the internet this year. Please be open to that possibility and consider buying a subscription to streamed concerts.

I know this is a crappy, fretful, fearful time.  The arts community will be reeling from the after-effects of this cultural shut-down long after people forget how COVID-19 infected our lives.  But with adversity comes opportunity and this is our time to show the vulnerable amongst us that we care for them, that we journey with them, that we support them emotionally and financially.

On a personal note, Tom and I are instituting a voluntary quarantine for the next couple of weeks, at least, because Tom has several health concerns that make him part of a vulnerable population.  But I will be helping distribute beef donated by Mitchell Bros. Beef to musicians (when the dust settles, please buy from them as they have been incredible!), BJP will be an active partner in Calgary Jazz Relief, and we will have our radar out for anyone who needs care and support.  If that’s you, please be in touch.  We want you to be well.

Best,

Lisa Buck

BuckingJam and the Junos

BuckingJam Palace prides itself on the consistent high quality of the many jazz artists who play there. In the spirit of the Juno Awards (which are taking place in Saskatoon this coming weekend) we thought it would be prudent to recognize the many Juno awarding winning artists and nominees that have graced the BuckingJam living room stage over the past couple of years.

Here's a short (!) and concise list of the many BuckingJam artists who have either won Juno awards as a leader and/or sideman or have been nominated for an award:

Juno Award Winners

Kirk MacDonald

Mike Downes

Robi Botos

Mike Rud & Sienna Dahlen

Laila Biali

Mike Murley

Nominees

Jodi Proznick

Ted Quinlan

Larnell Lewis

Joel Miller

Quinsin Nachoff

Shirantha Beddage

Morgan Childs (with the Amanda Tosoff Quartet)

Jeff McLeod (with the Alison Young Quartet)

Joanna Borromeo

Adrean Farrugia

And here's a few other worthy mentions as well...

Bassist Solon McDade (who performed with pianist Noam Lemish's group) won the 2007 Juno award for best Roots-Traditional Album with his world-folk group The McDades.

Speaking of bass players, Jodi Proznick took home the 2019 Western Canadian Music Award for Best Jazz Artist of the Year while Edmonton's Rubim De Toledo captured the same award in 2018. Toronto bassists Steve Wallace and Kieran Overs have anchored the bottom end of many Juno award-winning and nominated projects over the years.

We would also like to recognize Montreal alto saxophonist Benjamin Deschamps and his band No Codes which took home the coveted 2019 Montreal Jazz Festival Grand Prix du Festival award.

And how about bassist Paul Sikivie (who appeared with tenor saxophonist Sam Taylor) and his two-time Grammy winning work with vocalist Cecile McLorin Salvant?

And of course, don't forget about drummer Lewis Nash whose has played on no less than 10 Grammy winning albums over the years (including an album with Betty Carter!)

The Claire Devlin Quartet: Saturday, March 21st 8pm

Montreal's Claire Devlin and her quartet will be appearing at BuckingJam Palace on Saturday, March 21st 8pm. Claire and her band will be touring Western Canada this March to promote her new album.

Formed in 2016, the Claire Devlin Quartet comprises four of Canada’s most exciting new voices in jazz. Hailing from across the country, the group met while studying music at McGill University in Montreal. Since, they have performed their music throughout central Canada. Adventurous yet lyrical, Devlin’s strong compositional voice unites this group of talented improvisors into a cohesive unit. Each musician plays with a selfless dedication to Devlin’s weaving melodies and intricate rhythms. The group is excited to announce the imminent release of their first full length studio album, due out in March 2020.

Featuring:

Claire Devlin – Tenor Saxophone

Roman Munoz – Guitar

Summer Kodama – Bass

John Buck – Drums

This concert is currently sold out (!) however please consider signing up through the Eventbrite page or contacting Lisa Buck through the BuckingJam website and ask to be put on the waitlist as last minute tickets often come up.

Please consider signing up for the mailing list so you don't miss out on future concerts such as this one!