Alan Jones Sextet

Alan Jones likes to jump off high places. Off cliffs into the water, where you have to time the waves’ surge just right to survive the plunge. He’ll do a flip, too, 70 feet in the air, just to give it some style. Risky leaps with grace and style: that’s also what the jazz composer, drummer, and bandleader Alan Jones likes in his music. That sense of graceful adventure is what Alan’s compositions are all about.

The Alan Jones Sextet’s latest and “ideal” embodiment is an unbelievable, generational super group comprised of some of todays most provocative jazz musicians.

This true Canadian all-star ensemble includes Seamus Blake and Phil Dwyer on saxophones, Ingrid Jensen on trumpet, Jon Ballantyne on piano and Tom Wakeling on bass.

The first incarnation of the Alan Jones Sextet was formed in 1985 during Alan’s time as a student at the renowned Banff Centre. Ironically, that original sextet, including Phil Dwyer and Jon Ballantyne, looked very similar to what his ideal sextet looks like today; 27 years and volumes of musical explorations later.

It was also in Banff, impressed by Alan’s original compositions, that both Kenny Wheeler and Don Thomson encouraged him to continue composing. This inspiring endorsement led to the formation of a second, European sextet that included (ironically again), Ingrid Jensen. These groups served as precursors for the band that would go on to record three CDs of Alan’s startlingly original music, produced by the brilliant pop icon Gino Vannelli.

The Alan Jones Canadian All Star Sextet delivers unpredictable improvisations framed by lush melodic passages set in narrative compositions. It’s free, but with a swampy, heavy pocket that offers the romance of risk without complete disorientation.

Listen Here

Wednesday, June 26 - 10:30PM
The Studio Club (Esplanade Studio Theatre)
$18 + Esplanade S/C

Tickets available at the Esplanade and Tixx Central

back to the top