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| New Year's Eve with John Geggie at the NAC Fourth Stage! The National Arts Centre (NAC) Fourth Stage is delighted to usher in the New Year in style with John Geggie and guests, Thursday, December 31 at 9 p.m. John will be joined for this special evening by Mark Ferguson, Tena Palmer, Paul Rainville and Charles Gay, and champagne and cake will be served just before the countdown to midnight! John Geggie has established himself on the Canadian and international jazz scene as a versatile musician and creative composer. This fall he celebrated the release of two new CDs of his own compositions. He has also recorded or performed with a veritable who's who of creative improvised music: Edward Simon, Seamus Blake, Donny McCaslin, Jon Christensen, Andy Milne, Ben Monder, George Colligan, Craig Taborn, Sheila Jordan, David Murray, Andrew Cyrille, Matt Brubeck, Ted Nash, Billy Hart, Vic Juris, Marilyn Crispell, Myra Melford, Bill Carrothers, Cuong Vu, and Mark Dresser. He has for many years hosted the Late Night Jam Sessions at the Ottawa International Jazz Festival, and has performed at various international festivals including Rouen and Maubeuge (France), Molde (Norway), and throughout the United States. Most recently, he performed extensively in the Ottawa International Chamber Music Festival and the Guelph Jazz Festival. He is regularly heard on CBC and SRC Radio. In addition, he continues to maintain a busy concert schedule with the Thirteen Strings Chamber Ensemble and is involved in many recording projects. John is on faculty at the Crane School of Music, State University of New York (SUNY Potsdam) and has students at both Carleton University and the University of Ottawa. Known for his work with the Great Canadian Theatre Company (GCTC) and the NAC English Theatre, actor Paul Rainville is delighted to join such illustrious company to celebrate the New Year. His association with John Geggie goes back to the Angstones' 1995 release, The Hills Are Alive. They also worked together on The Hockey Show, and Paul has been a fan of John's Four Corners concert series. He has also worked with Tena Palmer in her choral and vocal workshops and has been a student and fan for a long while. His connection with Mark Ferguson goes way back to the 1991 NAC/Canadian Stage coproduction of The Dreamland. More recently they worked together on GCTC's inaugural show at the Greenberg Centre, The Man from the Capital. After living abroad from 1996 to 2003 (in Iceland, Holland and Czechoslovakia), award-winning singer and composer Tena Palmersettled in Toronto. Her voice and writing are featured on more than ten critically acclaimed CDs, six of them Canadian. Hailed as "the most creative vocalist in Canadian free improvisation" (Stuart Broomer, Toronto Life magazine), Tena tours and records in many styles: Brazilian, Celtic, jazz, folk, bluegrass, minimalist electronica, and country music, all of which influence her original compositions. Several of her works have been commissioned by European and North American ensembles ranging from three to nineteen players.Aside from frequent collaborations with diverse artists the world over, Tena fronts two primary Toronto bands: Bevy (with Mike Murley, Reg Schwager, Jim Vivian, and Ted Warren) and a new group (working title: Supermodel Slim), with slide maestro Don Rooke, Tania Gill on piano, Farfisa (synthesizer) and vocals, and Victor Bateman on guitar, bass and vocals. Mark Ferguson has over 20 years' experience in the music industry as a pianist, trombonist, composer, arranger, producer, and educator. He has performed with many of the world's great artists, including Ella Fitzgerald, Tony Bennett, Gil Evans, Nelson Riddle, Dionne Warwick, Natalie Cole, Tom Jones, Engelbert Humperdinck, Rosemary Clooney, Carol Channing, Rob McConnell and the Boss Brass, Holly Cole, Manteca, The Funk Brothers, and the National Arts Centre Orchestra. Mark currently leads his own big band and tours North America with The Big Band Broadcast starring Holly Larocque and the Mark Ferguson Orchestra. As a composer, his credits include the CBC television series Life and Times, Cottage Country, and On the Road Again. Mark has written a film score entitled Transformation for the Canadian Museum of Civilization and created the music for Corel's Lumiere video editing software. His original compositions are featured in Treehouse Television's series Toy Castle, in radio and television advertising jingles, and on recordings by various artists. Mark has written musical arrangements for a wide range of groups including the RCMP Band, the Central Band of the Canadian Armed Forces, the HMCS Stadacona Band, the Edmonton Armed Forces Band, and his own Latin-jazz ensemble Los Gringos. He currently teaches jazz theory and jazz piano at Carleton University. He has directed the University of OttawaJazz Ensemble and the Carleton Jazz Ensemble, and has served as a jazz clinician at high schools and universities across Canada. Charles Gay first picked up a set of drumsticks at the age of six, inspired by his older brother, who was a singer and guitar player. It was around 1970, as a young teenager, that he developed a real passion for music and drums. He was instantly attracted to the world of jazz and the creative latitude it offers drummers. He took a few drum lessons at the University of Ottawa, but he is largely self-taught, and honed his considerable talent by performing regularly with other musicians. From 1975 to 1985 he and his younger brother Claude (on bass) performed with a wide variety of ensembles and in several concerts and recordings. Charles has played alongside such talented musicians as pianists Jean Beaudet, Jean Pierre Alain and Mark Ferguson, saxophonists Vince Rimbach, Frank Lozano and Kirk MacDonald, guitarists Roddy Elias and Donald Meunier, and bass players Claude Gay and John Geggie. Mark Ferguson – piano and trombone, Tena Palmer - vocals Paul Rainville – teller, Charles Gay – drums, and John Geggie - double bass UPCOMING CONCERTS IN THIS SERIES January 30, 2010 John will be joined by saxophonist Donny McCaslin (New York), pianist Nancy Walker, and drummer Nick Fraser. March 6, 2010 Modern and contemporary jazz by four adventurous horn players: Lina Allemano (Toronto) on trumpet, Rémi Bolduc (Montreal) on alto sax, Bret Zvacek (USA) on trombone, and Chet Doxas (Montreal) on tenor sax. Playing drums on this concert will be Montreal-based Isaiah Ceccarelli. April 17, 2010 Lyrical and impressionistic improvisation with pianist Frank Kimbrough (New York) and drummer Jean Martin (Toronto). May 15, 2010 Creative contemporary jazz and original compositions played by young Canadians on the New York jazz scene: Michael Webster(tenor sax), Erica vonKleist (alto sax and flute), and Greg Ritchie (drums). write your comments about the article :: © 2009 Jazz News :: home page |