Jazz programs at Banff Centre have provided one of the most important training grounds in the world for improvising jazz musicians and composers. For a few weeks each summer, the International Jazz Workshop and Jazz Orchestra Workshop have brought leading performers and composers together with younger emerging artists in an intense program of master classes, ensemble playing, discussion, and experimentation. The impact has been felt around the world: Banff jazz alumni have achieved prominence in Canada, the United States, and Europe, and an international network of alumni has fostered exciting musical developments in many countries. Alumni continue to assume positions of leadership in the creative music community worldwide.
In less than 25 years the summer workshop grew from a daring, all-Canadian experiment in jazz education to a mature, internationally-acclaimed program at the leading edge of developments in jazz.
How jazz programs started at Banff Centre
The idea for a jazz workshop at Banff Centre arose at a chance meeting in Toronto in 1972. David Leighton, then president of the Centre, was being interviewed on a television show. His fellow guests were Canadian jazz musicians Oscar Peterson and Phil Nimmons. Leighton approached them after the show and invited them to put their ideas on jazz education into practice at Banff. Peterson and Nimmons accepted, and in July 1974 they came to Banff Centre, bringing with them Dave Young, bass, Stan Perry, drums, and Gary Gross, piano/electric piano. The week-long workshop was so successful that the decision was made to repeat the experiment the following summer.
Summer workshop with Phil Nimmons as artistic head 1975-81
Nimmons was appointed artistic head and in 1975 extended the summer program to two weeks, with seven guest faculty. Through his seven-year tenure as artistic head, ending in 1981, Nimmons refined his ideas about jazz education and established the workshop as a unique Canadian training program. He emphasised the development of ensemble and improvisational skills through the study and performance of established jazz repertoire.
In 1980 a pilot project in improvisational composition was organised, in collaboration with the Creative Music Studio of Woodstock, New York, under the direction of Karl Berger.
Dave Holland as artistic head 1982-1990
In the summer of 1981 the workshop began incorporating some of the ideas introduced in the pilot project. Karl Berger and Phil Nimmons shared the role of artistic head and the faculty shifted from all-Canadian to strongly international. In 1982 the leadership was taken up by a team of three musicians – Dave Holland, Don Thompson, and Kenny Wheeler – who continued to expand the roster of international faculty and to explore new musical styles and improvisational techniques.
In 1983 Holland took over as sole artistic head and over the next seven years led the workshop into its second phase of development. He maintained Nimmons’s emphasis on a knowledge of traditional repertoire and structure and opened up the workshop to new ideas in jazz and improvisational technique by recruiting as faculty some of the world’s leading experimenters in the jazz idiom. Holland established a role for a composer-in-residence in the workshop and stressed composition as an important element in the evolution of jazz. He also insisted on retaining strong links to the African roots of the music and in 1986 began bringing Abraham Adzenyah, a fifth generation master drummer from Ghana, to run workshops in African drumming and rhythm.
By the end of the 1980s the workshop was again looking for fresh ideas and in 1989 Holland turned over the leadership to Steve Coleman who encouraged participants to explore the creative possibilities of synthesizers, computers, musical instrument digital interface technology, and audio engineering.
Hugh Fraser as head of summer workshop 1991-1998 and Jazz Orchestra Workshop 1993-present
In 1991 Hugh Fraser was appointed program head. Hugh had been associated with the summer jazz program since 1984 when he attended with members of the band he founded – Vancouver Ensemble of Jazz Improvisation, and from 1988 to 1990 he returned to the program as faculty. Hugh brought to the summer workshop a holistic synthesis of all the previous elements and influences in that workshop, celebrating the diversity of the music and of the individuals who make that music, making it the very best the world of jazz education could offer.
In January 1993 Hugh led the first Banff Jazz Orchestra Workshop, with guest Muhal Richard Abrams and subsequent Jazz Orchestras in 1994, with Slide Hampton and Maynard Ferguson, 2001 and 2002 with Maria Schneider, 2003 with Rufus Reid, 2004 with Kenny Wheeler, 2005 with Muhal Richard Abrams, and 2006 with Chucho Valdes. In 2005 the Jazz Composers Workshop was established by Hugh and in 2006 the first Denis Jackson scholarship was awarded to a pianist/composer attending.
In the fall of 1995 a program review took place with a committee comprised of Marc Vasey, Jazz Festival Society, Edmonton; Hugh Fraser, head of the Banff jazz program; Tim Brady, electric guitar, Montreal; Jay Clayton, vocalist, Seattle; and Charles Ellison, trumpet, Montreal. The goal was to learn from the members what they considered to be strong points of the Banff jazz workshop, where each thought jazz was headed in the world of music – especially in Canada, what kind of jazz programming Banff should offer to be relevant to the needs of jazz musicians, and how the program could best continue to act as a leader in the field. One strong recommendation coming from the review was for special focus workshops for specific groups or instruments. As a result, in May 1996, the first of several Vocal Jazz Workshops was held, led by Jay Clayton and Sheila Jordan.
In 1998 the 25th anniversary of the program was celebrated with the return of visiting artists Phil Nimmons, Dave Holland, and Dave Liebman, amongst others.
Kenny Werner as artist-in-residence, summer workshop 1999-2002
In 1999, New York pianist/composer Kenny Werner was appointed artist-in-residence and he brought to the workshop such internationally known jazz musicians as Joe Lovano and Chris Potter (saxophones), Dave Douglas (trumpet), Joey Baron and Jim Black(drums), and Mark Feldman (violin). In 2002 he introduced British jazz composer/instrumentalist Django Bates to the Workshop. Kenny’s focus for the Workshop was on the integration of diverse musical elements: musicality, motivation, world vision and awareness, and their impact on composing and band-leading. Networking and community building, and development of long-term projects were also emphasised. Kenny also introduced the idea of three tiers of visiting artists to work with participants: the “star' guests, coaches, and senior artists. With financial support from the Herb Alpert Foundation in 1999 and 2000, some scholarship was available to participants. With music selected from the 1999 summer program and some commentary by Kenny Werner, National Pubic Radio in the U.S. broadcast a series of programs during the fall of that year.
Dave Douglas as artist-in-residence and director 2002-2012
In the fall of 2002 Dave Douglas was appointed artist-in-residence, bringing a focus on facilitating the creation of original music. To reflect this focus, the workshop name was eventually changed to the Banff International Workshop in Jazz and Creative Music. Taking a broad look at great music of the past, visiting artists encourage the participants in fresh ways of thinking about music and music making. Visiting artists address composition, improvisation, ear training, rhythm studies, instrumental technique, and band leading. They talk about their own music and how it is made; about life, the road, and the music business. A rigorous focus on musical techniques is combined with an emphasis on real world experience. In a non-competitive environment, visiting artists and participants explore their common passions for music, examining the tradition to find an individual approach to new music – looking at the past to create the future.
From 2003-2006, the generous financial support of The Jordan Family Foundation allowed the program to offer more scholarships to participants and Dave to bring to Banff such artists as: Mark Turner, Mike Murley, Greg Osby, saxophones; Don Byron, clarinet; Bill Frisell, John Abercrombie, guitar; Jason Moran, piano; James Genus, Mark Dresser, Andrew Downing, bass; Clarence Penn, Dylan van der Schyff, drums; Peggy Lee, cello; Brad Turner, trumpet; George Lewis, trombone. French clarinetist/composer Louis Sclavis visited in 2003, with the assistance of the French Consulate in Vancouver, and recorded a CD in Banff Centre’s world-class facilities. In 2004 and 2005 members of the Dutch group, the Instant Composers Pool were introduced to Banff.
Pianist and composer Vijay Iyer appointed director: 2013-present
One of the most critically acclaimed jazz musicians of the new century, pianist, composer, and bandleader Vijay Iyer was appointed director, officially taking over the role in 2013. With 13 albums in ten years, Iyer’s compositions have referenced jazz and popular music greats including Thelonious Monk, Leonard Bernstein, and Duke Ellington, and he’s collaborated extensively with musicians including saxophonists Rudresh Mahanthappa and Steve Coleman, poet-performer Mike Ladd, and electronica composer and musician Talvin Singh. Iyer is active as an educator and holds a doctorate in music perception and cognition.