Heillig Manoeuvre pushes band members to be their best

Toronto jazz quartet will play the Regent Hotel on Halloween, presented by the Revelstoke Jazz Club

A Toronto-based quartet will play in Revelstoke on Halloween.

Heillig Manoeuvre, whose current members have been together since 2011, will be playing at the Selkirk Room in the Regent Hotel from 7 to 9:30 p.m. on Oct. 31. The show is presented by the Revelstoke Jazz Club.

The band’s repertoire consists of original intrumental jazz. Bassist/ band-leader Henry Heillig calls their music “thoughtful fun.”

“I write songs, with melody and elements of my own character,” he says. “They become jazz in performance with my musical partners.”

The band also consists of saxophonist Alison Young, pianist Stacie McGregor and drummer Charlie Cooley.

Heillig is best known for his more than 20 years as a musical director of Manteca, a nine-piece afro-latin-world-beat-calypso-jazz ensemble.

“Manteca was a great ride, much like an ocean liner. Heillig Manoeuvre, by comparison, is a sailboat that can change direction on a gust of spantatenous ideas,” says Heillig. “Our performances have form, but also room for spontaneity, and we push each other to be our very best.”

Their newest album, Thoughtful Fun, is out now.

Heillig Manoeuvre hits the Regent Hotel at 7 p.m. on Oct. 31. Admission is by donation.

Revelstoke Times Review