from last years Pender Harbour Jazz Fest.


The Trio.
Bernie Arai; drums and Chris Gestrin; organ.


Bernie Arai; drums and Adam Thomas; bass.




And this summer's Vancouver International Jazz Festival
The Quartet.
Bernie Arai; drums, Chris Gestrin; organ and Jon Bentley; sax.





Riding the Sea to Sky with my buddy Sacha.

So I'm not as devoted to the notion of updating one's website as some. Here are a few tidbits at least.

I took a few days to initiate the motorcycle season by riding with a buddy through Washington and just into the northern most edge of Oregon. We found some amazing roads notable for their twisted nature (meant it the best possible sense), their scenic beauty, and the relative absence of cars. Here's a link to some photos: latest ride

GIGS & NEWS


At long last the most anticipated release of the year (by me at least) is close to hitting the shelves. "Village", the debut album by "3 Sisters" is ready to hit the shelves. The next objective is to get the band on the road and to a venue near you. Until then you can check it out here; follow the "sounds" link.
If you'd like to hear some really good live music (no point in feigning modesty when you're posting your own web site) sooner than that, then please come down to the Jazz Cellar on Thursday, March 31st to hear my trio which features the keenly inventive Bernie Arai on drums and the impeccable and inspired playing of Laurence Mollerup on electric & acoustic bass.
Jazz Fest season is approaching and it should prove to be as eclectic an experience for me as ever. Some of my performance highlights will be:
The Daryl Jahnke Quartet; June 25th, 1PM - 2PM, in Gastown at the Maple Tree Square stage. Corcovado, July 1st, 5:30 - 6:30, at Granville Island, Jazz On the Mound Espiritu do Brasil Sextet, July 2nd, noon - 1PM at David Lam Park John Korsrud's Electric Band, July 2nd, 5:15 - 6:15 at the Roundhouse Pepe Danza's El Sur, July 3rd, 3PM - 4PM at David Lam Park

Then there's the Vancouver Jazz Festival which begins on June 25th. Here are some of my gig highlights: June 26th 9PM at Performance Works with El Sur led by Pepe DanzaJune 26th, 5PM at the Tap Room with Melody DiachunJune 30th, noon at Granville Isl. with the Daryl Jahnke QuartetJuly 3rd, 3PM at Performance Works with Corcovado July 4th, 1:30PM at Davi Lam Park with the Dave Robbins Band


October 8, 2003 My quartet (Jim Pinchen; sax, Jodi Proznic; bass, Bernie Arai; drums) will be playing at the Cellar. The tunes will be original with some brand new material I've written especially for this ensemble. I'm really looking forward to this evening as I thoroughly love working with these musicians. You can hear some of our repertoire by going to the "sounds" page.

 

September 17, 2003The end of August found Shaheen and me spending a couple of weeks in Ghana. The land and the people were wonderful and warm, I'd never seen such joyful children before. Here is a visual taste of where we went.
 
March 4, 2003 The quartet (Jim Pinchen; sax, Jodi Proznic; bass, Bernie Arai; drums) went into the studio for a very quick session; basically a three tune pre-production recording with an ultra-quick mix. It was a fun, fast 'n' furious afternoon and I thought everyone played great; I'm really enjoying the flavour of this band and am looking forward to making the album. Here are 3 tunes from that afternoon: SlideUltimationSlip of the Tongue
March 3, 2003 As promised: here are a few tunes (un-mastered) from the soon to be released "3 Sisters" CD: Back In StyleGarden PartyVillage
January 8, 2003 "The Three Sisters Collective"' is now officially underway. The Toronto sessions went really well and we completed our inaugural album in the middle of the afternoon on our second day in the studio. Inception Sound is a great place work; they dialed up good sounds quickly and helped us relax and have a good time. Here are a few images from the sessions:

sounds will be coming after we get the mix done at the end of this month.
November 5, 2002I've just launched a new quartet at the Cellar Jazz Club recently and I'm excited by the prospect of composing for and playing in a group that explores some tangents not often heard in the other bands I'm performing in. It's sonically more traditional with the beautiful playing of Jody Proznic on acoustic bass, Jim Pinchin on tenor sax and Bernie Arai on drums, but I'm trying to put a very contemporary and sometimes surprising twist on it all through the use of some not so traditional compositional ideas and by blending in some non-mainstream guitar sounds. We should be in the studio relatively soon, after which I'll make some tunes available through the "Bands" link.
I'm also really excited by another new band which finds Chris Tarry (bass) and me collaborating with Barry Romberg (drums) and Geoff Young (guitar) who are both from Toronto. I first heard Barry when he came to Vancouver with Michael Occhipinti's quartet and I immediately knew I'd have to find an opportunity to gig with him. Serendipity found Chris and I planning to be in Toronto at the same time so we booked a trio gig at the Rex, got Barry in on it and had a blast connecting effortlessly. Now the wheels where really turning so once Chris confirmed a Canadian tour for his nonet, which included both Barry and me, we set up a date to do some extracurricular playing. So Chris, Barry and I got together in Toronto with Barry's good friend Jeff Young, who's an excellent guitarist. We spent a couple of afternoons playing for fun and rolling tape without expectation, next thing I know Barry's submitted the recording as part of a successful grant application and Chris and I are off to Toronto in the beginning of December to make an album with Barry and Jeff. The fruits of that adventure will also be available here.