The Vernon Jazz Club will be welcoming one of Canada’s finest trombonists, Bob Rogers, to the stage this Saturday night.
Rogers’ band will be playing a mixture of originals and jazz standards that will have the audience swinging.
Rogers will be joined by his quintet, which includes Pat MacGibbon on sax, Jordan Dick on guitar, Shannon Sternloff on bass, and Trevor Wallach on drums.
Rogers says he was drawn to jazz by the freedom within the music and a love for improvisation.
“No two times through a tune are exactly the same and the interplay between musicians is unlike that of any other form of music,” he said. “That being said, I really enjoy the energy of performing in a funk or R&B band, and the structure and beauty of playing in a symphony orchestra. They are all different but also challenging and enjoyable in their own unique ways.”
Rogers is an alumnus of Humber College, the University of B.C., and Northwestern, and has his bachelor’s and master’s in trombone performance.
Although his musical passion was greatly influenced by legends such as J.J. Johnson, Frank Rosolino, and Carl Fontana, one of his biggest mentors was the great Canadian trombonist Ian MacDougall, who was also his teacher. Other artists who have shaped his musical world are Duke Ellington, Nat King Cole, Count Basie, and Charlie Parker.
Earlier on in his career, Rogers worked in Vancouver as an in-demand session and freelance musician. During this time he performed with Natalie Cole, The Temptations, and the Vancouver and Victoria symphonies and operas.
His sound can be heard on recordings with Aerosmith, the Vancouver Ensemble of Jazz Improvisation, the West Coast Jazz Orchestra, and soundtracks for both film and television.
In 1993, Rogers re-located to Revelstoke, where he has been teaching music and performing ever since. Since moving to the Interior he has been a regular member of the Okanagan, Kamloops, and Cranbrook Symphony Orchestras. He has also played with the Michael Garding Big Band and Aged to Perfection.
All the musicians playing Saturday night have studied music in college or university.
Originally from Kelowna, MacGibbon is another Humber alumnus who now lives and teaches music in Nakusp. He was the program director for the Comox Valley Youth Music Centre Island Jazz summer camp and has conducted workshops at the B.C. Interior Jazz Festival.
MacGibbon is a strong advocate for music being a part of the school system and currently teaches kindergarten to Grade 12 music and band. Since 2010, he has revitalized two school band programs both of which have nearly doubled in size.
Dick hails from Hamilton, Ont. and studied jazz at Mohawk College. He has lived in Salmon Arm for the last several years where he plays with The Salmon Armenians.
Sternloff studied music at St. Francis Xavier in Nova Scotia. He now lives in Revelstoke, where he not only plays with bands but also books them through his agency, Get Live Music.
Wallach studied music at Grant MacEwan College in Edmonton. He plays with various bands throughout the Interior.
The Bob Rogers Quintet takes the stage at the Vernon Jazz Club (3000-31st St.) Saturday at 8 p.m. Doors open at 7:15 p.m. Tickets are $20 at the Bean Scene, Bean to Cup, and at www.vernonjazz.ca.
