Our 2019 Artist Spotlight is getting closer and closer! On April 8th, we will be celebrating all our amazing artists and releases! This year we have three of our artists showcasing selections from their latest projects. We thought we’d catch up with one of our Spotlight performers, Kevin Dean.

Trumpeter Kevin Dean is a Professor of Music (Jazz Studies) at the Schulich School of Music,McGill University, in Montreal, Canada. Kevin grew up on the plains of America and dreamed of one day being a cowboy. As sometimes happens when people age, they are attracted to the music they heard early in life which lead to his new cowboy jazz album, Sunset Trail. Dean co-founded the Jazz Association of Montreal and serves as their first president. He developed the first Jazz curriculum at McGill and is featured on over thirty CD’s, including twelve with his original music. Kevin has performed in concert and recorded with numerous well-known jazz artists including Jimmy Heath, Benny Golson, Joe Henderson and Barry Harris.

1. Are you excited for the Spotlight, and what are you looking forward too most?

I´m very excited and looking forward to connecting with old friends in Edmonton. Paul Johnston, PJ Perry etc!

2. What is your favorite track on your new Album, “Sunset Trail”?

I think “Empty Saddles” is a lovely tune by Billy Hill and it came out nicely, Its from the 1936 movie Rhythm on the Range..starring believe it or not. Bing Crosby as a cowboy!! absurd! Google Bing Crosby Empty Saddles and you will see why..

..Also from the same film there  the lovely tune by Gertrude Ross, “Roundup Lullaby” which is performed as a duet  on the LP with Gabriel Lambert and Marie Fatima Rudolf. The rendition in the film with Bing and Frances Farmer and a huge bull in a barn is completely ridiculous..but the tune is fantastic. I am also fond of “Moon of Mañana” which is virtually unheard of..from the 1939 Gene Autry film, South of the Border.

“The Banks of the Sunny San Juan” is also a great old song with a very old fashioned melody with lots of dramatic wide leaps and Jean-Michel Pilc´s whistling is brilliant. All this to say I guess I like all the tunes! I´m not sure I have a real favourite.

3. What is your process when writing and/or performing your music?

Well, this is the first album I have done where I don´t play my own music. With the exception of my composition “Cowboy´s Last Waltz,” all the songs are by other people, so I just listened to a lot of music, hundreds of songs really and took notes regarding the ones I liked and how they might be arranged. We actually recorded 15 numbers and I picked what I thought were the best ones to fit the time restrictions of the vinyl.

Normally I lead a jazz group..usually a quartet or quintet and I usually compose at the piano or just in my mind and then write it down at the piano or with my horn in hand.

4. Is there any artist or album that you drew inspiration from while working on your new album?

I would to say that the most interesting discovery was composer/vocalist Bob Nolan and the group he is mostly associated with, The Sons of the Pioneers. He was a great songwriter and that group was amazing. They sang mostly in 3 part harmony (but sometimes up to 5 part) and they all had quite distinctive voices so the particular blend of those voices is very unique. The also had a very long and successful period from the mid 30´s and into the 60´s with new personnel. They recorded constantly and were on the road, the radio and in movies too. Bob Nolan and Tim Spencer were the main composers and were very prolific. I also like gene Autry´s sort of easy going untrained style of singing. He was hugely influenced by Jimmy Rogers and for the first few years of his career sounded very much like him.

5. What is your favorite childhood memory?

That’s a tough one..probably getting ice cream at the town ice cream store: Birdsalls, which still exists.

My favorite musical memories would be when my uncle Allan (trumpet) and Gerald (piano/sax) would come home for Christmas or something and have a family jam session. My dad would play bass.

Stay tuned for more from our artists! For free tickets to our 2019 Artist Spotlight, Monday, April 8th, Click here.

You’re invited to our Special Pop-up Event featuring Kate Blechinger at Towers on Fourth, Tuesday, March 26th!

Can you believe that Bent River Record’s Artist Spotlight is less than a month away?! Monday, April 8th, we will be featuring three of our Bent River artists in a night filled with brilliant music and musicianship. To start off the celebrations we are holding an Pop-up event at MacEwan’s Towers on Fourth from 6pm- 8pm on March 26th!

Kate Blechinger, our featured artist, accompanied by Kyle White, will be playing two sets showcasing music from her new album, Under a Dancing Sky. Kate is an inventive and charismatic vocalist, composer and arranger. Her “Jazz” is the musical equivalent of an artist’s palette, and is definitely a hybrid of sorts; she pairs the harmony, instrumentation and improvisation of more traditional jazz forms with the lyricism of modern jazz and folk genres. What results is personal, poetic, and playful- and one that involves audiences in a truly eclectic musical journey.

Come down to Towers on Fourth to enjoy the talented Kate Blechinger, meet the Bent River team, and enjoy some excellent food and drinks!

We would love if you could join us!

Towers on Fourth Pub:
Grant MacEwan University 6-101,
Edmonton, AB T5J 2B7

Be on the lookout for Jean-Michel Pilc this month! He will be in Edmonton Friday, March 15th for a Jazz Improvisation masterclass at MacEwan University and will also be performing a solo piano set at the Yardbird Suite, Saturday, March 16th from 8 pm – 10 pm!

Jean-Michel Pilc is praised for his improvisations. Pianist and composer Jean-Michel Pilc has performed with numerous jazz giants including Roy Haynes, Billy Hart, Michael Brecker, Dave Liebman, Jean Toussaint, Marcus Miller, John Abercrombie, and the Mingus Dynasty & Big Band, among others. He also worked with Harry Belafonte as his musical director and pianist and performed a duet with the legendary opera singer Jessye Norman. Originally from France, Pilc moved to New York in 1995 where he established himself as an active performer. Jean-Michel has released four critically-acclaimed solo piano records: Follow Me (2004), Essential (2011), What Is This Thing Called? (2015), and his most recent solo double CD Parallel (2018). In addition, he regularly performs in a trio with both Montreal and New York City-based ensembles including Pilc-Moutin-Hoenig which performed at the Yardbird Suite in 2015. A dedicated educator, Jean-Michel founded the Improvisation Workshop Project with Rémi Bolduc, Kevin Dean and Jean-Nicolas Trottier, an educational research project funded by the Fonds de Recherche du Québec – Société et Culture (FRQSC). In September 2015, he was named Associate Professor at The Schulich School of Music of McGill University in Montreal.

Pilc’s masterclass is centred around his book It’s About Music: The Art and Heart of Improvisation. Jean-Michel’s workshops are based off the expressive aspects of improvisation. He bases his teachings off the premise that originality in art is a matter of expressing one’s own uniqueness.  Don’t miss the opportunity to learn from a masterful improviser and musician, Friday, March 15th at MacEwan University and be sure to see him live in action Saturday, March 16th at the Yardbird suite!

Tickets are $26, and $22 for EJS members, plus applicable fees.

Get your tickets here: https://www.tixonthesquare.ca/performances/5522

Get your copy of his book here: http://www.balquhiddermusic.com/books-and-cds-1/pilc-its-about-music

Website: http://www.jeanmichelpilc.com/about

Hello! Our artists have been up to some amazing things this year from recording new albums to playing some incredible shows! We thought we’d fill you on what one of our artists has been up to since her big release with Bent River Records back in 2017.

Mallory Chipman has had a world of success since her release of Rags and Feathers: A tribute to Leonard Cohen. It was celebrated with a western Canadian tour and had amazing media and audience response. Arranger and composer, Mallory is working on her new album Aquarian set to release this year!

“Chipman’s voice is as far removed from Cohen’s flat baritone as you can imagine, in the register and the way her nimble vocal cords dance out of the ether to explore a dynamic range in ways he didn’t or couldn’t. Her scat vocabulary nails it, and the audio keeps things warm and intimate as Chris Andrew’s keyboards, Brett Hansen’s guitar, Murray Wood’s bass and Jamie Cooper’s cleverly choppy drums set up exquisite backdrops, adding exotic seasoning from Cameron O’Neill’s percussion.” —The Edmonton Journal

We sat down and asked her a few questions on what she’s been up to since the release of Rags and Feathers and got the inside scoop on what to expect from her this year:

1. What have you been up to since your release of Rags and Feathers? What’s an event, show, or experience that you’ve been most excited about?

Since Rags and Feathers: A Tribute to Leonard Cohen came out about a year and a half ago now (wow, I can’t believe it’s been that long!), I’ve been keeping busy with a variety of shows, collaborations, and other creative works. What I’ve been most excited about; however, has been the songwriting I’ve been doing. With Rags and Feathers being a tribute album, I mainly was working on arranging for that record, with only a small focus on original material, but after the release of that album I promised myself that I would get back into writing more original music. One of the highlights of this past year was when I went out to Moose Farm Studios, a recording studio in rural Alberta, for a songwriting retreat. I hardly spoke to a single person while I was out there, and truly just set aside quality time for me and the piano. It was an extremely rewarding experience, and I came out with a handful of brand new tunes of which I’m very proud!

2. Where can we see you live in 2019?

One upcoming show I’m particularly looking forward to is a feature with the Cosmopolitan Jazz Orchestra on March 16 at the Old Strathcona Performing Arts Centre. I’ll be performing some original compositions of mine with the big band, and that doesn’t happen too often! https://www.cosmopolitanmusic.org/event/jazz-orchestra-concert-with-guest-mallory-chipman/

Additionally, on the following night, March 17, I’ll be performing with Jens Lindemann at the Yardbird Suite for A Tribute to Nat King Cole, which will be a really special concert. Tickets will be on sale soon through Tix on the Square.

3. What are you looking forward to this year?

This year I’m really looking forward to a variety of musical endeavours, but I’m over-the-moon excited about my upcoming trip to New Orleans! I should clarify – this is not a work trip, which, honestly, is kind of nice for a change. This summer, my husband, Brett, and I are travelling to NOLA to get some much needed R & R and listen to a variety of music in the birthplace of jazz, and I can’t wait!

4. Any new projects or events in the works?

2019 is turning out to be a year overflowing with fun musical projects. Two friends and peers of mine are releasing albums this year that I was so fortunate to be a part of: Concealment, the debut album from Edmonton jazz pianist Stephanie Urquhart, and Bloodless Arches by Ways in Waves, the art-rock brainchild of composer, producer, and guitarist, Brian Raine. Needless to say, I’m thrilled to see both of those records being released into the world this year! Additionally, I am working on my own album, projected to be released within the next year or so. This album, titled AQUARIAN, will feature the tunes that I wrote at Moose Farm Studios as well as a couple of others that I’m really excited about. It fuses rock, prog, folk, and jazz influences for a sound I truly believe will reflect my musical soul more authentically than any record I’ve done yet.

Check out Mallory Chipman’s Album “Rags and Feathers: A Tribute to Leonard Cohen” here!

You won’t want to miss the Bent River Records 2019 Artist Spotlight on Monday, April 8th at the Triffo Theater in Allard Hall!

Last year’s spotlight was filled with incredible music from BRR Artists Chandelle Rimmer and Tom Van Seters, Joshua Rager Nonet, and Mallory Chipman. We cannot wait to show you what our Artists have been up to this year!

This year’s showcase will feature three of Bent River Records’ artists. Obsessions Octet, led by Juno nominated Kent Sangster, will be jazzing up the stage with their spin on classical and tango music. Montreal based Trumpeter, Kevin Dean, will be gracing the stage with The Big City Wranglers, playing selections from his upcoming release. And last but not least, Nature Of will be releasing and playing selections from their brand new album!  

This is a night you will not want to miss!

Thank you to everyone who came out to the event last year and made the night such a huge success! We hope to see you again at this year’s Spotlight!

Here is a flashback to the 2018 Artist Spotlight: