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James Danderfer
Originally from Vancouver, Canada, jazz clarinetist/composer James Danderfer has been traveling, studying and performing around the world since the age of 16. His travels first began when he was accepted into the prestigious Interlochen World Center For The Arts high school (USA) to study with renowned clarinetist Richard Hawkins. James attended the University of North Texas and later received a bachelor’s degree in jazz performance from Western Michigan University where he was a featured soloist and composer in both concerts and recordings. (WMU Jazz Orchestra, “Blue Miles” [1997], “Sabine’s Dance [1999]) For the next five years James gained experience as both a band leader and sideman performing in Canadian jazz clubs, festivals and CBC radio programs, on cruise ships internationally, and in New York City. After his celebrated debut recording “Run With It” (Cellar Live, 2005), James’ curiosity for traveling and learning about other cultures lead him to Shanghai, China where he worked as a freelance jazz musician and music instructor at international schools. After his first year of living in China, James proposed a project to the Canada Council For The Arts to compose a musical imagery of modern-day Shanghai, a juggernaut of development in the forefront of a rapidly changing nation. This year long project resulted in a concert tour of China and a subsequent CD recording in Canada entitled “Accelerated Development” (Cellar Live, 2008). James has enjoyed the opportunity to perform and/or record with such musical talents as Kenny Werner, Walt Weiskopf, Don Thompson, Brad Turner, Oliver Gannon, Chris Gestrin, Bruno Hubert and Jodi Proznick. James’ latest recording “Accelerated Development” has been receiving international radio play and goes a long way towards cementing James’ reputation as one of the most creative and pictorial composers on the jazz scene as well as one of the world’s premiere jazz clarinetists.
Awards
Nominated for Best Jazz Clarinetist in the 2008 & 2009 National Jazz Awards. Recipient of the Grant For Artists by the Canada Council For The Arts
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Cory Weeds: Home Cookin'
by Jack Bowers
On Home Cookin', his second recording with an eleven-piece little big band," tenor saxophonist Cory Weeds is doing the best he can. Really. As Weeds writes in the liner notes, the plan was to rehearse the band for two nights at Frankie's Jazz Club in Vancouver, Canada, home to Weeds and most of the band's personnel, then to convene at the Warehouse Studio on Sunday to record. Arriving at the club on Friday evening, Weeds found to his dismay that ...
read moreCory Weeds: Home Cookin'
by Pierre Giroux
Cory Weeds, a prominent figure in the contemporary jazz scene, has made a remarkable statement with his Little Big Band's latest album Home Cookin'. The session showcases a vibrant collection of compositions/arrangements carefully curated to resonate with his personal journey, including those by Horace Silver, Thad Jones and Oliver Nelson, which are essential to him for a variety of reasons. The band comprises ten of his favorite world-class Vancouver, BC-based musicians. These previously mentioned influential tracks ...
read moreFraser MacPherson: From The Pen Of...
by Jack Bowers
The late tenor saxophonist Fraser MacPherson was well-known in western Canada and elsewhere for his brilliancebut as player, not a writer. In fact, according to MacPherson's son Guy, who wrote the excellent liner notes to From the Pen of..., his father wrote barely a dozen or so original compositions, almost all of which are included on this superlative album with performances by a who's who of well- known jazz artists from Canada and other countries. Considering what ...
read moreFraser MacPherson: From The Pen Of...
by Pierre Giroux
Tenor saxophonist Fraser MacPherson was an original. Although he was raised in Victoria, British Columbia, he moved to Vancouver early in his career where he remained throughout his working life. He began to build his reputation as a Lester Young-influenced player, and in the mid '70s recorded his first trio album for West End Records with guitarist Oliver Gannon and bassist Wyatt Ruther. This album was picked up by Concord Records in the late '70s and released in the U.S. ...
read moreJames Danderfer Group: Accelerated Development
by Raul d'Gama Rose
For those who thought that the development of modern clarinet repertoire ended with the last release of Eddie Daniels, think again. James Danderfer's Accelerated Development gives notice that new possibilities for the clarinet are on their way again. What's more, with the nine charts that he has written, Danderfer has, also creates a harmonic palette of remarkable sound that lives, breathes, and thrives. This music is delivered by a sextet and creates one of the most unusual tonal canvases.
read more“Accelerated Development is a daring, poignant jazz album depicting life in modern day Shanghai. With every song, clarinetist/composer James Danderfer weaves haunting melodies with an array of textures to bring the listener deeper into his musical world.” - Michael Vrielink (AccuRadio.com)