Oliver Gannon

From Infogalactic: the planetary knowledge core
Jump to: navigation, search
Oliver Gannon
File:Oliver Gannon White Rock BC March 1 2015.JPG
Oliver Gannon in 2015. Photo by Pat Gannon.
Background information
Birth name Oliver Gannon
Born (1943-03-23) 23 March 1943 (age 81)
Dublin, Ireland
Origin Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Genres Jazz
Occupation(s) Musician, songwriter, arranger, educator
Instruments Jazz Guitar
Years active 1961 – present
Associated acts Pacific Salt, RIO, Fraser MacPherson, Ian McDougall, Ron Johnston, Miles Black
Website olivergannon.com

Oliver Gannon (born 23 March 1943) is an Irish-born Canadian composer and musician. He is one of Canada's best known jazz guitarists, a winner of the National Jazz Award's Guitarist of the Year, and is best known for his collaborations with the late Fraser MacPherson that led to a 1983 Juno award for Best Jazz Album.[1]

Early life

Eldest son of Irish jazz pianist Joe Gannon, Oliver was born in Dublin, and his family emigrated to Winnipeg Canada in 1957 when he was 14.[2] Oliver began playing in his late teens, after he purchased a Gibson ES-125 electric guitar[3] and amplifier with his leftover tuition money earned from his summer job.[4]

Originally enrolled at the University of Manitoba to study engineering, Gannon abruptly changed his focus: "I remember a thermodynamics class at 8 o'clock in the morning, having been playing the night before, and the blackboard was full of the Second Law of Thermodynamics or something, and I looked up at that and said, 'Is this what I want to do for the rest of my life, or do I want to do what I was doing last night?' A light bulb went off and I literally got up in the middle of the class, walked out, and never came back."[5] In 1964, Oliver was accepted at Boston's prestigious Berklee College of Music, where he studied composition and arranging with Herb Pomeroy and William Malloff,[6] graduating with a Bachelor of Music in 1969.[7] Gannon credits this period in Boston with exposure to some of the great jazz artists, such as Wes Montgomery, Wynton Kelly, Jimmy Cobb, and Paul Chambers.[8]

Musical career

Returning to Canada in 1969, Oliver settled in Vancouver, where he soon became a 'go to' session musician.[7] He was soon a regular at the Cave Supper Club, joining in with Fraser MacPherson's big band. "The Cave band was such a joy to play," remembers Gannon. "These guys were such excellent readers... They would play a brand new show perfectly the first time."[5]

In 1970 he helped co-found the fusion group Pacific Salt,[7] with five of Vancouver's premier jazz musicians: trombonist Ian McDougall, Don Clark (trumpet), Ron Johnston (piano), Tony Clitheroe (bass, bass guitar), and George Ursan (drums).[9] Pacific Salt recorded three LPs, and was inactive by the early 1980s. As a trio, bandmates McDougall, Gannon, and Johnston recorded in 1976 and 1988 and in 1990 toured the Canadian festival circuit under the name RIO.[10]

In 1975 Oliver was invited by prominent tenor saxophonist Fraser MacPherson to join a new trio along with bassist Wyatt Ruther.[11] The collaborative relationship with Fraser MacPherson would last until MacPherson's death in 1993. Gannon has participated in countless groups in the Vancouver area and has played at most major festivals in the world: Montreux Jazz Festival (1979 ); North Sea Jazz Festival (1979 ); Concord Jazz Festival (1981 ); Montreal Jazz Festival (1982, 1984, 1995, 1997); Toronto Jazz Festival (1986, 1989, 1995, and 1998), Edmonton's Jazz City (1985),[12] and appearances in his home town at the Vancouver International Jazz Festival.

With Fraser MacPherson's trio "Fraser & Friends", Gannon toured Russia, (then the U.S.S.R), an unprecedented four times starting in 1978, the first Canadian group to tour the Soviet Union under the Soviet-Canadian Cultural Exchange Treaty. The group played in Moscow and Leningrad, in what was originally booked to be nine concerts, but was expanded to thirteen over the ten days of the tour.[13] The group became the first North American jazz ensemble to be invited back, and they performed 3 subsequent tours in 1981, 1984 and 1986.[14]

Oliver continues to play sessions around the West Coast and Vancouver area, including Vancouver's the Cellar,[15] and his recordings are heard on Jazz music stations worldwide. His latest collaborators are longtime friends Ian McDougall, Ron Johnston, and Bill Coon, and playing with other talented Vancouver players such as Cory Weeds, Jodi Proznick, and pianist Miles Black, who he calls 'one of the best piano players in the world.'[3]

Musical Educator

As well as being a sought after performer, Gannon expanded his musical activities to musical education and entertainment as musical director for PG Music Inc., a software company founded by his younger brother Dr. Peter Gannon. He was with the company since its inception in 1989, and has served as the executive producer of program content and has guided the creation of many music instructional software titles complete with transcripts, including The Jazz Guitarist, the Jazz Guitar Master Class and Oscar Peterson Note-for-Note, an instructional CD-ROM. Oliver has also performed and produced hundreds of hours of musical content for the company's flagship musical accompaniment and creation product Band-in-a-Box.[16] Oliver retired from the company in 2008.[4]

Awards

In 1983 Gannon and MacPherson shared the Juno Award[1] (Canadian Grammy) for Best Traditional Jazz Album for their LP of duets, I Didn't Know About You.[17] In 2003 Oliver was named Canada's "Best Jazz Guitarist of the Year" by the National Jazz Awards.[18] Oliver has performed on many Juno nominated albums, including three with Ian McDougall: Best Traditional Jazz Album, In A Sentimental Mood (2006), Instrumental Album of the Year The Very Thought Of You (2013), and Traditional Jazz Album, The Ian McDougall 12tet Live (2014). Oliver played on Ross Taggart & Co. nominated for Best Jazz Album at the West Coast Music Awards in 1999.

Style

With MacPherson, Gannon employed an orchestral accompaniment style, while on his own recordings, he displays a masterful, linear, bop-based style,[19] showing his early roots as an admirer of Barney Kessel and Wes Montgomery,[20] and the influence of Art Blakey.[21] Other critics have acknowledged Gannon's 'slick, cool stylings',[22] and "studies in careful and complete orchestration. His lines could be crisp and harmonically advanced, or fluid and lyrical."[23]

Personal life

Oliver has two brothers, Bill and Peter, and three sisters, Brenda, Shivon, and Germaine. He is married to accomplished professional singer and bassist Patty Hervey,[24][25] with whom he has two children, David and Nicole.[7]

Discography

Solo and As Leader

  • 1972 Oliver Gannon, Oliver Gannon (CBC LM216)
  • 1990 Oliver Gannon and Company, Oliver Gannon and Company: featuring Campbell Ryga (What It Be)
  • 2002 Oliver Gannon Quartet, Live at The Cellar (Cellar Live)
  • 2004 Oliver Gannon, That's what (Cellar Live)
  • 2006 Bill Coon & Oliver Gannon, Two Much Guitar (Cellar Live)
  • 2014 Oliver Gannon Quartet, Easy Sailing (Cellar Live CL120913)
  • 2014 Oliver Gannon and Miles Black, Broadway (Cellar Live CL011214)
  • 2015 Bill Coon & Oliver Gannon,Two Much More Guitar (Cellar Live)

As Sideman

  • 1970: Dave Robbins, Dave Robbins Band (CBC LM89)
  • 1971: Pacific Salt, Pacific Salt (Country detour Music Service Canada)
  • 1972: Pacific Salt, Pacific Salt (CBC LM194)
  • 1973: Pacific Salt, Pacific Salt (Gramophone G1002)
  • 1973: Don Clark, Don Clark (CBC LM318)
  • 1975: Don Clark, Don Clark Ragtime Band (CBC LM430)
  • 1976: Fraser MacPherson, Live At The Planetarium (West End 101 – reissued 1978 Concord CJ-92)
  • 1976: Ian McDougall, Three (Energy E464)
  • 1978: Fraser MacPherson, Live At The Planetarium (Concord CJ-92)
  • 1979: Fraser MacPherson, Live from Montreaux (Concord)
  • 1980: Fred Stride, First time out (Last Time Out LTO-030)
  • 1980: Fraser MacPherson, I Didn't Know about You (Sackville 4009)
  • 1980: All Star Jazz Sextet, Jazz Canada Europe '79 (CBC 1980)
  • 1981: Karen Young, Karen Young (Radio Canada Int. RCI528)
  • 1983: Fraser MacPherson, Indian Summer (Concord Jazz CJ224)
  • 1987: Fraser MacPherson, Honey and Spice (Justin Time JUST23, JUST23-2)
  • 1988: RIO, R.I.O. (Innovation JC0017 LP)
  • 1989: Charles Mountford, Good Stuff (Unisson DDD1009 [CD] RCI ACM38CD1-4 [CD])
  • 1990: Fraser MacPherson, Encore (Justin Time JTR8420-1, JTR8420-2)
  • 1992: Fraser MacPherson Quintet, Featuring Ian McDougall – In The Tradition (Concord CCD-4506 )
  • 1994: June Katz, New shoes blues (Katzeye Productions)
  • 1994: George Robert Quintet, Tribute (Jazz Focus JFCD004)
  • 1995: Ian McDougall Quartet, The Warmth of the Horn (Concord Jazz CCD-4652)
  • 1996: Fraser MacPherson: Someday You'll be Sorry
  • 1996: Ed Bickert: The Guitar Mastery of Ed Bickert (DSM2-3004. )
  • 1998: Ross Taggart, Ross Taggart & Co (Boathouse BHRCD007)
  • 1999: The Ian McDougall Sextet, Dry with a Twist (Barbarian CDM02)
  • 1999: Various Artists, (Oliver Gannon Quartet), Jazz Vancouver (Justin Time 6652-2)
  • 2000: Kenny Colman, Straight Ahead (Justin Time JUST147)
  • 2002: Donnie Clark Quintet: To Swing or Not to Swing (Silver Lake Records)
  • 2005: Ian McDougall Quintet: In a Sentimental Mood – The Ian McDougall Quintet plays Ellington and Strayhorn (Barbarian CDMO4-2)
  • 2006: Ian McDougall Sextet, Burnin' The House Down (Barbarian Records CDMO3)
  • 2007: The Ian McDougall Big Band, No Passport Required (Barbarian CDMO5)
  • 2007: Fraser MacPherson Trio – Live At Puccini’s (Recorded 1977) (Cellar Live)
  • 2007: Various Artists, Cellar Live – The First Five Years (Cellar Live CL101206)
  • 2009: Various Artists, Compilation: Rocky Mountain Jazz (Single Track 'Kelowna')
  • 2012: Ian McDougall, Trombone with String Orchestra – The Very Thought of You (Ten Mile Music Productions)
  • 2012: Cory Weeds Quartet – Cory Weeds, Up a Step: The Music of Hank Mobley (Cellar Live)
  • 2012: The Ian McDougall 12tet, The Ian McDougall 12tet – Live (Barbarian Records CDM06)

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  15. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  16. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  17. ↑ http://www.discogs.com/Fraser-MacPherson-Oliver-Gannon-I-Didnt-Know-About-You/release/3993671
  18. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  19. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  20. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  21. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  22. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  23. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  24. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  25. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

Retrieved from "https://infogalactic.com/w/index.php?title=Oliver_Gannon&oldid=720789679"