River City Big Band celebrates 20th anniversary with romantic jazz

As far as jazz institutions go in Edmonton, there are quite a few top-notch names around.

Tonight one of those swinging bodies gives a special gift to local jazz lovers as it marks a milestone.

The celebrated River City Big Band celebrates its 20th anniversary at a new location, the Oasis Centre, with one of Canada’s premier vocalists, Carol Welsman.

“She’s the other Diana Krall. She’s that good or better. She’s classically trained and plays the piano. She’s been nominated for five Juno Awards and is now based out of Los Angeles. The biggest difference is her fee. She’s a fraction of Diana Krall,” said band trumpeter Doug Zimmer.

Welsman was born into a musical family. Her mother was a piano teacher, her uncle a violinist and her father, Frank Welsman, was the founder and first conductor of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra.

It was, in fact, Frank that took Welsman to big band concerts where she was introduced to the sounds of Woody Herman, Count Basie and Peggy Lee. And it was from these greats she took her measure.

“Carol is different from Diana. You don’t have to be a scat singer to be a jazz singer. But some of the best have been scat singers. And Carol is that good. It comes from her harmonic training and ability to sing in tune on the fly and improvise. That’s one arrow in her quiver.”

Hired gun Ray Baril, head of winds and brass at MacEwan University, is the concert’s conductor and he’ll be leading the 18-piece band through Welsman’s book as well as a smaller portion of charts written by the band.

MacEwan University music department chair Allan Gilliland and band trumpeter has composed two original works and arranged a third that will also be performed.

The three Gilliland offerings are Abanico, a sassy chart with an Afro/Latin/Cuban groove tapped as the show opener followed by Flying Fingers, a turbo-charged piece with a lot of black notes.

“Allan writes a lot for orchestra and this one is almost classical sounding.”

The third chart is an arrangement of the classic jazz standard Nature Boy, a tune with a Latin vibe that Welsman will sing and improvise to.

The bulk of the concert is Welsman’s book of golden oldies. Some of her favourites are Cheek to Cheek, Slow Boat to China, Beyond the Sea and Fever.

St. Albert musician John Dymianiw trades in his trumpet for a flugelhorn to play a solo in Stompin’ at the Savoy, a samba arrangement of the classic Benny Goodman tune. Jean-Francoise Picard, conductor for Saint City Big Band, will also perform that night.

Dymianiw explains that this concert was never intended as an official Valentine’s Day concert.

“However, there is a romantic angle. It’s that kind of show with love songs, a piano and a vocalist. And that makes it a good Valentine’s gift.”