saxcat photography blog

Etobicoke, ON—Humber College Music presented an unbelievable evening of music that featured the incredible bassist, “Christian McBride,” first with a medium sized ensemble, “Humber Christian McBride Project,” led by, “Mike Downes,” followed by the, “Humber Studio Jazz Ensemble,” led by, “Denny Christianson.”

It was great to see some friends and former teachers of mine such as, Pat LaBarbera, Mark Promane, Don Vickery, and Marsha Duggan.

The instrumentation in the first group consisted of, “Emily Steinwall,” tenor and soprano saxophones, “Matt Lagan,” tenor and soprano saxophones, “Alex Gambrel,” trumpet, “Shirsha Chakraborty,” vocals, “William Lamoureux,” violin, “Sean Clarey,” guitar, “Chris Tufaro,” piano, “David Steinmetz,” drums, and “Christian McBride,” bass.

The program for this group consisted of, “Brown Funk,” “Uhura’s Moment Returned,” Science Fiction,” “Butterfly Dreams,” and “Say Something.” All of these compositions were written by “Christian McBride,” with the exception of “Butterfly Dreams,” which was written by “Stanley Clarke.”

These Humber students performed with so much enthusiasm and passion which resulted in a top-notch performance, something that you don’t get to hear everyday.

The instrumentation for the second group consisted of, “Chris Dembski,” “Eric Carter,” “Matt Lagan,” “Emily Steinwall,” “Jonathan Lau,” saxophones, flutes, clarinets, and bass clarinet. “Megan Jutting,” “Thomas Upjohn,” “Stephen Griffiths,” and “Kyle Windjack,” trumpets and flugelhorns. “Nat Lazzarotto,” “Nick Marshall,” “Michael Callander,” and “Mitch Smith,” trombones and bass trombone. The rhythm section consisted of, “Chris Tufaro,” piano, “Chris Wiens,” drums, “Julien Bradley-Combs,” guitar, and “Christian McBride,” bass. This big-band also featured, “Elena Rawlins,” on vocals. Directing this wonderful big-band was the great, “Denny Christianson.”

The program for this big-band consisted of: “Brother Mister,” “Broadway,” “The Shade of The Cedar Tree,” “I Should Care,” “Bluesin’ In Alphabet City,” “In The Wee Small Hours Of The Morning,” and “Shake ‘N Blake.” All compositions were written by “Christian McBride,” with the exception of “Broadway,” “I Should Care,” and “In The Wee Small Hours Of The Morning.” All arrangements were done by “Christian McBride.”

The “Humber Studio Jazz Ensemble,” played with passion and a great deal of authority. It is truly amazing to see such a “young” big-band perform with such musicality and brilliance!!

“Christian McBride’s” website is located here: https://www.christianmcbride.com/

Humber College Music on Lakeshore Blvd in Etobicoke, ON presents numerous music concerts throughout the year. For more information you can checkout their website at: https://creativearts.humber.ca/programs/music.html

To view the complete photo gallery, click on the image of “Christian McBride.”