When the Remi Bolduc Jazz Ensemble performs “A Tribute to Dave Brubeck” words like “dazzling virtuosity and stunning maturity” come to mind. Bolduc, one of Canada’s best jazz saxophonists will be on stage at the beautiful Venables Theatre, Oliver, at 7:30 on Friday, January 27 as the third concert in the South Okanagan Concert Society’s 2016-17 season.

Remi Bolduc brings with him guest artist Montreal jazz pianist, Francois Bourassa, as well as Fraser Hollins on double bass and Dave Laing on drums. Together they will be performing the music of Dave Brubeck who in 1950 to 1960 reigned with his celebrated band as the most influential and popular American jazz ensemble. Brubeck created the album Time Out, one of the most famous and best-selling albums in the history of jazz to this day. Take Five, Blue Rondo a la Turk and several other compositions from the album are on the program.

Remi plays sax with intensity and control, breathtaking precision and a magnetic stage presence. He is acclaimed at venues from New York to Paris by way of Geneva, Tokyo and Beijing. With his band he composes and plays numbers that “convey his formidable energy and spontaneity, allowing his organic sound to breathe freely.”

Teacher and head of the McGill University jazz department, Remi has won awards for the best jazz album of 2011 and the Opus prize for Jazz Concert of the Year in 2013.

On his latest album recorded in collaboration with Francois Bourassa and released to much acclaim, the joy these two musicians share in playing together is palpable.

Pianist and composer, Francois Bourassa, is the son of Robert Bourassa, Premier of Quebec from 1970–1976 and 1985–1994. Francois, as a side project, has recently finished his first concerto for orchestra and percussion while maintaining an international concert tour on three continents with his jazz quartet.

Fraser Hollins, Remi’s man on double bass, studied music at Ottawa University and later in Montreal at Concordia.   He regularly plays with groups of national and international artists.   He lives in Montreal and teaches at McGill.

David Laing, on drums, grew up in a musical family, studied at McGill and began his professional career shortly after. In the past fifteen years he has recorded, toured, and performed with national and international stars. He currently resides in Montreal where he also teaches at McGill.

Those requiring bus transportation from Osoyoos can call Maureen at 250 495 7978 to make arrangements.

Assigned seating tickets for the event on January 27^th can be obtained online at www.venablestheatre.ca, at the theatre box office now open from Tuesday through Thursday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. or at the Door. Single entrance is $22.50 and students under 17 are free.

by Jan Nelson

In anticipation of Sergei and Nikolai Saratovsky’s piano duo concert in December, I was brought back to my own childhood piano concerts. Under the tutelage of Agnes Sutherland, I spent many years sharing the piano bench with friend and classmate Eryn Moore. Aggie repeatedly stressed how the success of a piano duet was reliant upon an implicit trust between the two performers, and how their unspoken communication and ability to share the joy of making music together was key to a good performance. Nikolai and Sergei have managed to put aside any sibling rivalries and have perfected this combination; a blind trust in the other’s ability to perform, a deep respect of the other’s skills, and a true sense of joy in sharing the stage together.

The Saratovsky brothers, originally hailing from Russia, are masters of their trade. Both display world-class technical skills, a deep sense of expression, a true understanding of the pieces they perform, and a great sense of humour to boot. Sergei, the more vocal and physically expressive of the duo (he definitely lets the audience know when a piece is finished!), guided the audience through a programme featuring some of the best piano duets written. From Mozart to Brahms to Gershwin, their performance tested the limits of the genre and shared with the audience the awesome advantage of having twice as many hands at the keyboard. Sergei enjoys a successful and award-filled career in Canada as a classical performer, having received a Doctor of Musical Arts from the University of British Columbia where he studied with Canadian great Jane Coop.

I remember Coop’s performance in Oliver at a SOCS concert in the 1980s, before which she was kind enough to share a meal at my family’s dinner table. We had a few albums of her recordings to which we frequently listened, and as a budding performer myself, I noticed we had one piece of music in common. During her stay, I snuck off to the piano and played the piece in hopes of her noticing my hidden musical brilliance, but I failed to receive the fanfare my 12 or 13 year old brain expected. To be honest, she probably did not even notice my performance as she had a concert of her own to prepare for that evening, but now I was just as happy to have this connection with Sergei even before meeting him. But I digress…

Nikolai is the steady base of the duo, creating an amazing and expressive base for Sergei’s more dramatic performance. As they played, my mind wandered wondering how they managed to divide the tasks of their performance; Sergei dominated the microphone and played the more flowery treble while Nikolai was alloted the role of ‘support’ playing bass. How sibling dynamics must make this simple decision so much more difficult! To our surprise, after the intermission Nikolai appeared alone at the microphone only to apologize for his brother’s mindlessness in forgetting the sheet music for the next piece, offering a jab that only an older brother can. Nikolai then sat down in the treble position and showed us all how fantastic and expressive he could be.

There were some pieces in particular that stood out; their encore of Brahms’ No. 4 for four hands, the Nutcracker Suite by Tchaikovsky, the Fantasy in F Minor for Piano Four Hands by Schubert, and the Rhapsody in Blue for four hands was brilliant. But more than the awesome spectacle of witnessing these two world-class performers share their gift with the audience on our humble stage was the honour I felt in watching them perform in Oliver.  Having lived in many places around the world, some more ‘cosmopolitan’ than our small town, I am still in awe at the dedication the South Okanagan Concert Society has shown over many decades bringing some of the world’s most gifted performers to the Venables Auditorium. From the first concerts I experienced as a restless elementary school student, to the unforgettable performers I now have the pleasure of enjoying as a parent myself, we are so lucky to have this dedicated group of volunteers who work tirelessly to bring a little more joy to our small community.

The next SOCS presentation is the Remi Bolduc Jazz Ensemble, performing a tribute to jazz great Dave Brubeck. As an ex-saxophonist myself, I am looking forward to enjoying an evening with one of Canada’s best jazz sax performers on Friday, January 27th at the Frank Venables Theatre. The concert starts at 7:30pm, and tickets are available online (www.venablestheatre.ca) and at the Venables Theatre box office on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday from 10am to 3pm.