On Saturday, September 7th at The Jazz Room , a super group of some of Canada’s finest jazz musicians will perform selections from their highly acclaimed albums. The Nimmons Tribute honours the legacy of Canada’s jazz legend – The Dean of Canadian jazz – Phil Nimmons O.C., O. Ont. who died earlier this year at the age of 100. Led by Sean Nimmons, the band consists of former colleagues, friends, students and family, who have come together to celebrate Phil through his music. It features some of Canada’s greatest musicians, many of whom are JUNO Award-winners.
Personnel:
Sean Nimmons-piano
Kevin Turcotte-trumpet
Tara Davidson-saxophone
Mike Murley-saxophone
Alex Dean-saxophone
William Carn-trombone
Jon Maharaj-bass
Ethan Ardelli-drums
“….so talkative that it intoxicates you like an excess of Dom Pérignon, gently euphoric without ever doing you harm. Discovering or rediscovering Nimmons’ music in this way is nothing short of a miracle….”
Formed in 2020 to pay tribute to Phil Nimmons, the band’s first album Volume 1 – To The Nth received critical acclaim. To celebrate Phil’s 100th birthday in June this year, Volume 2 – Generational was released to great reviews once again. Both albums bring new life to vintage Nimmons compositions with brand new arrangements by Phil’s grandson, pianist, arranger, and composer Sean Nimmons. Volume 2 builds on the first album, while showing more of the range and diversity of Phil’s writing – the spirit of Phil Nimmons’ music with contemporary shading.
“What the album and the Nimmons Tribute ensemble reminds us how timeless the music of Phil Nimmons–his songs have been speaking to the hearts and souls of Canada for nearly seven decades.“
Phil Nimmons is a huge part of Canada’s cultural legacy He was one Canada’s pioneering composers, and one of a handful of musicians who helped solidly establish the country’s status in the jazz world. Phil also helped to launch several major initiatives that continue to support Canadian contemporary music today. He was a professor in Western University’s Faculty of Music for many years!
“Volume 2 – Generational is an album that demands multiple listens to fully appreciate all the subtleties of its musical composition. At every moment, there is a profound sense of the art of melody, a magical staging of the instrumentation, a way of captivating the listener as if taking them by the hand to suggest the path.”(Thierry De Clemensat, Paris Move)
Check out: “Generational” “Arf”
