Maynard Ferguson - Great Guns

Maynard Ferguson was always quite the showman. And never more so than in this clip, where he performs first on baritone horn, moves up to valve trombone, and finishes up with a flourish on trumpet. The tune is Great Guns. The band is the Canadian Jazz All-Stars, with a handful of Vancouver musicians. The year is 1959.

Patti Lewis

Patti Lewis was (is?) a Canadian singer who got her start in England before returning home. She co-hosted a radio show on CBC with Peter Appleyard in 1961-2 called... wait for it... Patti & Peter. Here she is performing with the Canadian Jazz All-Stars conducted by Maynard Ferguson in 1959, and featuring several Vancouver musicians (scroll down to the Phyllis Marshall clip for the details). Trombone soloists are Butch Watanabe and Ron Collier.

Kenny Colman with Patty Surbey and Gillian Russell

Ever wanted to hear Old McDonald swung? Here Kenny Colman, Patty Surbey and Gillian Russell sing a medley of kiddie tunes: While We're Young, Three Blind Mice, Kemo Kimo, Old McDonald, On the Good Ship Lollipop, What's New Pussycat?, My Talking Dog Napoleon, and You Make Me Feel So Young. This is from The Ken Colman Show on CBC from 1966:

More Barney Kessel

Here again is the American jazz guitarist, Barney Kessel, with his Vancouver trio, featuring Don Thompson on bass and Terry Clarke on drums (scroll down or perform a search to find more videos of the trio on this site). On this first number, Kessel introduces the late great Vancouver pianist Chris Gage, who joins the trio playing Love For Sale:

Here's the trio with Like Someone in Love:


Make Someone Happy:


Recado Bossa Nova:

More Kenny Colman

Here's some more Kenny Colman for you, of a slightly later vintage. This first clip is from the Hits a-Poppin' series hosted by Terry David Mulligan in 1968. He's introduced as Ken Colman. I guess the 'stache gives him extra gravitas. I think he kinda looks like Mr. Brady. He's singing Where Am I Going? from the musical Sweet Charity.

From 1966 backed by the Bobby Hales band, Almost in Your Arms:


Medley (Strike Up the Band, I Got Rhythm, Fascinatin' Rhythm, Crazy Rhythm):


You're Gonna Hear From Me:

Kenny Colman

With the success that singers like Michael Bublé are having, and the renaissance that Tony Bennett is experiencing, is there any reason that Kenny Colman shouldn't be included? The guy can flat-out sing. And swing. Here he is in the early days with Chris Gage on piano, Don Thompson on bass and Terry Clarke on drums with Bye Bye Blackbird:

Same personnel, How About You?:


Same personnel, I Got a Lot of Living to Do:


Same personnel, interviewed by Howie Bateman and sung on panel, Stop Crying Little Girl:

Howie Vickers

Howie Vickers was the lead singer for a group called The Collectors, which went on, minus Vickers, to form Chilliwack. There you go. That's the extent of knowledge of the pop singer. Again, I include this because of the backing of the Doug Parker Orchestra. This is from the Hits a-Poppin' series hosted by Terry David Mulligan on CBC. The song is The Snake. Psychedelic, man.

Lance Harrison

Lance Harrison was the trad jazz guy here in Vancouver for years and years. When I was a kid in the 1970s, I loved his album Happy Jazz. Played it to death. Here he is with an all-star sextet featuring Toronto-via-Winnipeg's Paul Grosney on trumpet, and the rest Vancouver musicians: Dave Pepper on trombone, Chris Gage on piano, Stan "Cuddles" Johnson on bass and Jimmy Wightman on drums. Harrison plays the licorice stick. (Interesting side note: Pepper retired from the music biz relatively early and became an optometrist in Victoria. In fact, he was my optometrist for years and years!)

Gillian Russell

Another pop singer singing a pop tune. This is Gillian Russell with the Beatles' song, Yesterday. But she's backed up by the Bobby Hales band and the clip comes from The Kenny Colman Show (that's Kenny introducing her). So there's your jazz for you.

Marty Gillan

Another stretch here because this ain't jazz no matter how you slice it. But it is vintage. I include it because the program, Hits a-Poppin', featured the Doug Parker Orchestra. You can see Doug playing the organ in this clip, as well as many mainstays on the Vancouver jazz scene in his band. The pop singer Marty Gillan, who I remember from his mid-70s series Banjo Parlor, does a tune made famous by Tom Jones, Help Yourself: