DUO:
Brent Rowan – saxophone and gigantic pedal boards
Jason Raso – electric bass and moderate sized pedal board

Over the past two decades, eight albums and countless live performances, Jason Raso has shown that he not only has the skills to pay the bills, but more often than not, enough musical currency left over at the end of the month to make good on the debts other musicians have welched on.

A Hartke Canadian Artist Search Winner (2010), Raso is a master of the four and six-string bass guitar whose music has been heard on public radio and jazz stations around the globe. And because seeing is believing, his virtuosity has also brought him in front of the camera to play for television viewers across Canada.

But the best way to experience what this talented performer has to offer is to see his one-man show in a festival setting. It’s here that concert goers will have the opportunity to understand why Exclaim Magazine describes Raso as a “…full-on orchestra of ground vibrating pleasure.”

No matter whether he’s deftly fretting through a well-loved standard, drawing in his audience with one of his melodic original compositions opening for a main stage mainstay or holding court as a featured artist, Raso is guaranteed to provide a performance music lovers will never forget.

Jason Raso’s latest album “Man of 40 Faces” features 11 new original compositions. Eight solo performances and three duets with legendary bassist Alain Caron, trombone phenom Wycliffe Gordon and brilliant vibraphonist Francesco Pinetti.

“Bass players will enjoy Raso’s strong command of the instrument, as he flawlessly demonstrates a cross-section of techniques, including chording, tapping and hammering. Man of 40 Faces is a truly melodic collection of originals, from start to finish.” – Jon Liebman (For Bass Players Only)
http://www.jasonrasomusic.com/home

Brent Rowan- is a director, performer, composer and educator of music. A Guelph based saxophonist, who also plays flute, clarinet and other woodwind instruments, Brent performs in a wide variety of musical collaborations; from 2009 Juno Nominated Eccodek, Big Bands and small jazz combos, to classical chamber groups and creative music ensembles.

Brent is the founding director of the Guelph Youth Jazz Ensemble and the New Horizons Band for Guelph. He is also the conductor of the Cambridge Concert band and the assistant conductor of the Guelph Concert Band. In 2011 Brent became a Nobel Instruments of Canada Jazz artist performing regularly on their Baritone Saxophone.

Brent teaches woodwind and jazz improvisation techniques at his own private music studio. He is also a clinician and adjudicator at music camps and festivals through out southern Ontario, specializing in saxophone and improvisation concepts. In 2008 he received the inaugural Guelph Mercury Forty under Forty award for making a difference in his community.

Brent composes and arranges music for the Guelph Youth Jazz Ensemble as well as for his own small improvisation groups. He holds a Bachelor of Music, Jazz Studies, from Humber College.
http://www.brentrowan.ca/

Doors 7:30pm, Music 8pm
$10 or PWYC
[46 essex]