John Turner
Special to The Morning Star
An award-winning, Toronto-based jazz trumpeter, composer and vocalist brings his True Stories Tour to the Vernon Jazz Club Nov. 17.
This newest release has earned him the worldwide Independent Music Award for Jazz Music Producer and the Toronto Independent Music Award for Best Jazz Vocals. The fourth album is a collection of nine tracks providing an upbeat mix of jazz, punk and world music that’s very listenable, with fun lyrics and great production quality.
Listening to Mike Field is like a refreshing trip around the globe filled with adventurous tales of a great travel writer. Field performs regularly in Canada, USA, Australia, New Zealand and Europe, with the odd concert in South Korea, Chile and Antarctica. He’s played the Grampians Jazz Festival in Australia, the Nelson Jazz Festival in New Zealand, the Newmarket and Niagara-on-the-Lake Festivals here in Canada, Gregory’s Jazz Club in Rome, SCAT Jazz Club in Madeira, and the Lighthouse Café in Los Angeles to name a few. His world travels are reflected in the melodies and lyrics he creates and brings to life.
Canadian-born and raised, Field learned his craft at the age of 10, studying with private teachers from the Toronto Symphony Orchestra and later the New York University and taught himself to play guitar and write songs. His career made a drastic turn in 2007 after leaving a PhD in Spanish Computational Linguistics for music because “it would be so much more fun.”
Field’s philosophy is that life is too short to take seriously, so we should have as much fun as possible. It certainly shows in his music. Taking a similar path to Louis Armstrong, Louis Jordan and Brian Setzer – Field’s music evokes the cultures and movement of the world music scene. His melodies are dynamic, exciting and show his love for languages and culture. These are reflected in selections such as Tu vuo’ fa’ l’americano, Five Days in Hermosa, High Altitude or the Latin-flavoured song, Train Station Frustration lift you to a different land and space.
As an unsigned independent solo artist, Field has three previous albums (Ashes, Rush Mode and Attic Jump).
Don’t miss Field on trumpet, guitar, and vocals, along with the Okanagan’s own crazy talented musicians Stan Sabourin (tenor sax), Justin Glibbery (piano) Stefan Bienz (bass) and Mike Treadway (drums). is filled with the an energetic, lively and upbeat performance that’s technically precise and full of fun. The evenings selection will be a mix of standard-like originals, and a few jazz standards
Field will join Okanagan players onstage at the Vernon Jazz Club (3000-31 Street) on Saturday, Nov. 17 at 8 p.m. Doors open at 7:15 p.m. A cash only bar is on site. Tickets are $20 online at www.vernonjazz.com and at Expressions of Time (2901-30 Ave), with a $5 rebate at the gig for VJS members. We are a volunteer-run organization. Please consider joining us.
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