Jazz Youth Summit
Canada's best young players gather at the Ottawa Jazz Festival
They're young, from different parts of Canada, and crazy about jazz. They're the Jazz Youth Summit, an initiative of the TD Canada Trust Ottawa International Jazz Festiva
Red Deer, Conception Bay, Kitchener, Medicine Hat.
Not exactly parts of Canada you might scout in search of the next generation of jazz musicians.
But that's exactly where the TD Canada Trust Ottawa International Jazz Festival found them, before bringing them to the nation's capital as part of its week-long Jazz Youth Summit, an arm of the Fest aimed at grooming tomorrow's prospective headliners
"I was shocked when I found out that I got picked," marvels Andrew Ludtke, an Albertan trombonist who fell in love with jazz after hearing J.J. Johnson. Unlike other participants, Ludtke did not have to submit a demo tape; practicioners of the more specialized instruments - the baritone sax is another, played in the ensemble by mop-haired home boy Michael Heinermann - were personally selected by musical director Jim Lewis. "But it's great. Ottawa has a great musical vibe to it...and the girls are really beautiful!" Spoken like a true musician!
Make no mistake, though: this is no free tour of the nation's capital. Members of the Summit, each between the age of 17 and 22, are kept so busy it's a wonder that they even catch a glimpse of the Parliament Buildings. They rehearse every day from ten to four, attend workshops and seminars of all kinds, are pushed to see as many acts as their free time allows, and participate in late night jam sessions at the Cooper St. Holiday Inn, where they play alongside industry names such as James Moody, Slide Hampton and Kenny Werner.
Along the way there are a string of public performances (including a mid-afternoon concert on Canada Day)t hat feature arrangements by some of the band's members - most notably, Newfoundland's Brad Jefford. "In Newfoundland, there's not a lot jazz players," explains Jefford from behind his omnipresent shades, "I've only ever heard anything I've ever written coming back at me from my computer. This is the first time I've ever heard it played by real guys."
And not just any "real guys."
"Our different personalities really bleed into the sound," adds drummer Evan Tighe, another O Town product. "Whatever city you're in, you get to know the youth who play jazz pretty fast. So an opportunity like this allows you to really branch out."
At week's end, most will be returning home, preparing for their first or second years in jazz programs at places like Humber, Concordia or McGill. But rest assured that they will keep in touch; each promises to trade facebooks the way that they've been trading riffs.
Fifteen minutes into our conversation, a Festival hand prompts the boys back to work - a prospect each embraces with indefatigable enthusiasm.
Our round table breaks up.
I leave confident that the future of the music is in good hands.
