January 11th 2018 at 7:30pm

Jon Miller Quartet

Members $10, non-members $12

A wonderful winter surprise awaits Comox Valley's jazz community when drummer/bandleader Jon Miller's quartet plays this Thursday. Victoria drummer Miller's exceptional Hammond organ-driven Parallel Universe Band will perform material from Miller's latest, west coast radio stations' chart-topping release, "3 Days in Winter". The music features Dr. Tony Genge's soulful organ-jazz repertoire in the vein of giants of the genre Jimmy Smith, Brother Jack McDuff and Larry Goldings.

The quartet has made regular appearances throughout BC including the JazzFest in Victoria, Pat's Pub, McMillan Arts Centre, Hermann's Jazz Club. Along with writing for and leading his quartet Miller held the drum chair for the Victoria Jazz Orchestra from 2013 to 2016. Living in the US and Europe in the 1990s he played clubs, festivals and in studios in Philadelphia, New York, Paris, Berlin and Monte Carlo.

Jon Miller is a multi-talented drummer, composer and arranger. At once energetic and passionate, his music cross-cuts a wide swath of musical interests. The newest organ-driven incarnation of his quartet made its debut in the summer of 2017 leaving Island audiences spellbound and demanding more. Said Miller, "I love the more conventional jazz quartet with bass, but these days it's been just a ton of fun bringing this Hammond organ sound to audiences, and the response has been overwhelmingly positive. I have always had a soft spot for organ-jazz which I got to hear a lot of while living in Philadelphia. In this format the four of us sound more like a five-piece band; it's a fuller sound and we can hit harder when we want, which is also a big plus to me."

Monik Nordine has a powerful, lyrical, and impressive command of the saxophone, and needs no more introduction to local jazz audiences. In addition to playing in the Jon Miller Quartet, Nordine leads her own groups as well as directing the Victoria Jazz Orchestra which has performed with guest artists, including Mike Allen, P.J. Perry, Andrew Homzy, Greg Bush and Chelsea McBride.

Local jazz aficionados will remember Dr. Genge's incredible Hammond-style jazz following his previous appearance at The Av a few weeks ago. Genge has performed with many leading Canadian and international jazz artists and can be heard on the critically acclaimed jazz piano trio CD "Blues Walk". His tasteful and thoughtfully refined playing, writing and arranging can also be heard on recordings by Joe Coughlin and Paul Horn.

Guitarist Rob Cheramy is a prolific and accomplished composer, and an extremely inventive, technically impressive jazz guitarist with a highly individual style, celebrated both for his exciting solos and for his inventive accompaniment.

For more information about the forthcoming 20+ shows during the remainder of this performance year, please browse the GSJS web site and select the calendar tab.

GSJS showcases jazz live in the Comox Valley, giving music lovers an opportunity to enjoys local, regional and internationally-known jazz musicians.