“Laissez les Bon Temps Roulez (Let the good times roll)!” The Georgia Straight Jazz Society concludes its 10th Anniversary celebratory concert series sponsoring a special appearance by Connor Stewart & the Bon Temps. Direct from the famous Frenchman Street nightclubs of New Orleans, the band brings the raw energy, boisterous harmonies, and feel-good excitement of the Crescent City Trad Jazz scene to the Comox Valley on their 2017 “Rockies to Rainforest” Canadian tour with a stop at the Avalanche Bar and Grill.
=0D=0A=Led by multi-national (Can/US/Irish) woodwind sensation Connor Stewart on tenor/soprano saxes, clarinet, and vocals, the band showcases an outstanding front line of fellow New Orleans international touring artists including veteran trumpet great/vocalist Kevin Louis and emerging trombone standout/vocalist Miles Lyons, joined by a stellar B.C. rhythm section of Noah Gotfritt upright bass, Andrew Janusson guitar, and Aaron Levinson drums/tambourine.
=0D=0A=Comox born Stewart, grandson of long-time Valley resident Joan McCluskey, began playing professionally full-time at 16, and earning his living in New Orleans at 17 as a bandleader, frontman, sideman, writer/arranger, and recording studio session musician. Now 20, he has earned accolades at prominent jazz/music festivals and major venues on multiple tours of Canada, the US, UK, Europe, and Turkey, and will play his 500th gig this year.
=0D=0A=An accomplished and active multi-instrumentalist (tenor, soprano, alto, baritone saxes, clarinet, trumpet, flute, keys) noted for his dynamic soloing, expressive singing, and entertaining stage presence, he has led or played in Bop/Hard Bop, Trad Jazz, Gypsy Jazz, Swing, Blues, Funk, Rock, and Big bands, and performed with an eclectic array of Grammy, Latin Grammy, NEA Jazzmaster, Juno, American Blues, Maple Blues, Irish Music, and Canadian Folk Music award winners and nominees.
=0D=0A=Joining him on the front line are New Orleans natives Kevin Louis on trumpet, who has toured over 30 countries, including 5 tours of Africa, the Middle East, and Latin America as a U.S. State Department/John F. Kennedy Jazz Ambassador, and trombonist Miles Lyons, who has toured Europe and the U.S., and played with Stewart as sidemen in a band that won the 2016 French Quarter Fest Battle of the Bands.
=0D=0A=Rounding out the sextet are Vancouver bassist Noah Gotfritt, who plays winters in New Orleans, and together with Stewart recently toured as sidemen in a gypsy jazz quartet in NY, Belgium, and Scotland; Vancouver drummer/tambourinist Aaron Levinson, who has studied with drum greats Ulysses Owen Jr in New York, and Shannon Powell and Herlin Riley in New Orleans; and guitarist Andrew Janusson, VIU Jazz program grad and first call island guitarist who has appeared with a number of prominent B.C. musicians.
=0D=0A=Stewart, the 2016 CYMC Island Jazz camp Guest Artist, first played for the Jazz Society at 15 with the Arrowsmith Big Band, and subsequently with NMA Big Band, Andrew Homzy’s NOLA Nighthawks dectet, Denis Chang Trio, the Jen Hodge All Stars quartet, and leading the Boss Tenors sextet, the Triadically Hip trio, and Connor Stewart Quintet with MIguelito Valdes. The GSJS 10th Anniversary concert marks his 10th appearance for the Society.
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