![]() It was a tale of two jazz cities on the weekend. Mair, a tenor saxophonist, also played some good solos, especially on There’ll Never Be Another You, which he dedicated to Paley and in which he added a few phrases of Happy Birthday. The WJO was directed by Jim Mair, a former Winnipegger who teaches music at a Kansas City college and is artistic director of the Kansas City Jazz Orchestra - a man who knows something about KC jazz. Hearing the suite is like walking the streets of Kansas City in the 1930s and ’40s when it was a wide-open town with nightclubs open 24 hours a day and a haven for so many great musicians such as tenor saxophonists Coleman Hawkins and Lester Young. The Kansas City Suite, the 10-piece suite written for the Count Basie Orchestra in 1960 by saxophone great Benny Carter, is seldom performed in its entirety so it was a treat to hear the music played by a very good big band, music that celebrates the history of a city that holds a key place in jazz. The concert was also marking Paley’s 60th birthday, which falls later this month. The ensemble play and solos were superb, but alto saxophonist Greg Gatien and trumpeter Darren Ritchie stood out in a fine example of how gorgeous a big band can be in full swing. The piece opened with Paley performing solo as the other 17 musicians sat motionless, almost reverential, enraptured by the music before jumping in for a sometimes wild ride through Paley’s interpretations of his hometown. The highlight of the afternoon concert, one of two on Sunday, was the big band performing Home, a piece about Winnipeg commissioned from pianist Paley and a complex, almost symphonic composition that taxed the talents of the musicians while eliciting great performances. IT was billed as a tribute to the jazz of Kansas City, but the Sunday performance of the Winnipeg Jazz Orchestra was as much about Winnipeg and local jazz stalwart Ron Paley. When not involved in music, he is usually playing ball, wandering in the woods, or sledding with his sons, Cole, Andrew, and Grant, and his wife, Ann.This article was published (4482 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. He received a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from Arizona State University where his doctoral research focused on the music of Daniel Schnyder. Barrett attended the University of Nevada, Reno and Brigham Young University, where he received Bachelors and Masters Degrees in trombone performance. He is the author of Solo Training for Trombone, a book of exercises based on standard solo repertoire for high school and college students, published by Mountain Peak Music.ĭr. He also teaches trombone and directs a jazz ensemble at the Maine Summer Youth Music camp. Barrett performs often with the Brian Nadeau Big Band, the Jump City Jazz Band, Jay Bregman’s Swingmatism quintet, the Stone Doctors and other local groups. He was a national finalist in the Music Teachers National Association Brass Solo and Chamber Music competitions. He has been privileged to perform with several great jazz musicians including Bob Mintzer, Conrad Herwig, Andy Martin, John Fedchock, Thomas Gansch, Ingrid Jensen, Phil Markowitz, Eric Marienthal, and Byron Stripling. His career has included performances with the Utah Symphony, the Bangor Symphony, the Boston Brass and many other ensembles, as well as solo performances with the Carson City Symphony, the University of Maine Symphonic Band, the University of Maine Farmington Concert Band, the Brigham Young University Philharmonic Orchestra, the Utah Premiere Brass Band, and as a guest artist at the Eastern Trombone Workshop in Washington D.C. ![]() He also leads the Maine Trombone Collective and the Maine Brass Guild, two large ensembles that perform throughout the state. He enjoys playing and performing around the state and working with the excellent low brass students at the University of Maine. ![]() Dan Barrett teaches low brass instruments, music theory, and jazz courses at the University of Maine. ![]()
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