The Art of the Trio

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Saturday, January 25th, 2014
7:30 PM to 10:00 PM

The Art of the Trio, swinging jazz with Kelby MacNayr on drum, Ron Johnston on piano and Chuck Deardorf on bass. A special evening in Tofino!

Drummer / composer / bandleader Kelby MacNayr performs groundbreaking original music; a beautifully crafted blend of innovation and tradition that engages and inspires audiences. A dynamic and creative musician MacNayr performs in Canada and abroad with leading musicians from New York, Seattle, Portland, Vancouver, Montreal and Toronto. A faculty member of the world-renowned Jazz Port Townsend Festival under director John Clayton, staff at the Lionel Hampton International Jazz Festival, Kelby is continually reinventing himself as a performer, composer and educator. In November 2013 the Kelby MacNayr Quintet released has the much-anticipated album The Measure of Light featuring Phil Dwyer, Dan Lapp, Miles Black & Tom Wakeling.

Born and raised on Canada's west coast, Kelby is connected to small but mighty musical community in his hometown, a great and varied musical community across the country and an ever-changing world of musicians in the Pacific Northwest, and across the US. His passion for the human element in music making has fostered a love of numerous world-music traditions as well as artists of all styles and mediums.

Chuck Deardorf has been an integral member of the Northwest jazz scene for over two decades. A respected acoustic and electric bassist, his dynamic performances have been a part of countless festivals, nightclubs, and recording sessions, touring the United States, Canada, the Caribbean, and Australia with such jazz greats as saxophonists Bud Shank and Don Lanphere; pianists George Cables, Bill Mays, and Kenny Barron; and guitarists Larry Coryell and Bruce Forman. As a first call bassist in Seattle over the last twenty-five years, he has been chosen to perform with a long list of legendary artists such as Chet Baker, Kenny Werner, Herb Ellis, Charlie Byrd, Eric Alexander, Phil Woods, and Zoot Sims, among many others.

Chuck�s latest solo release on Origin records, Transparence (released 2011) demonstrates his performing, producing and arranging abilities with a host of great musicians. He is currently a member of the Deardorf/Peterson Group (whose 2004 Origin release "Portal" won critical acclaim), the Jovino Santos Neto Quartet, the Susan Pascal Quartet along with the Bill Ramsay Big Band. Chuck also has performed on numerous occasions with the Seattle Symphony Orchestra.

Playing and performing piano for 40 years now, Ron Johnston is well-respected in the Canadian jazz scene. He�s performed with every major Canadian jazz musician such as Moe Koffman, P.J. Perry, Terry Jacks, and Rob McConnell.
Jazz has been a refuge and a joy for Johnston.
�At first, what drew me to jazz was my desire to escape into the piano as a means of coping with early difficulties in my life,� recalled Johnston. �Then I met Tommy Banks and he was awe-inspiring to me, both as a musician and a person.�
At 18, Johnston had the opportunity to study piano with Oscar Peterson at his Advanced School of Contemporary Music in Toronto, further increasing his ambition to be a jazz musician.
Johnston also counts Bill Evans and Keith Jarrett among his inspirations.
�I was stunned and captivated by their eloquence and sensitive piano playing, along with their commitment and integrity,� said Johnston. �I patterned myself after them, always trying to create melodic, sensitive, and rhythmical beauty in my piano playing.�
Johnston is involved in many musical projects as a freelance musician and is also a charter member of the Dylan Cramer Quartet.
He recently released his own CD, Remembering Tomorrow, with bassist Torben Oxbol and drummer Nolan, receiving critical acclaim and airplay on CBC Radio.