The Jazz Page - music samples

NEW - sound clip of original tunes that I've written recently - also live clips with the quartet

The East Side Quartet cd - 'The Original CD' is now available. We'll have copies at all our gigs and I'll post tunes from the recording below from time to time. If you would like a copy of the cd, contact me through my email links on this page - see below

I can also send my Electronic Promotion Kit [EPK] from my Sonicbids site by email to anyone who prefers band information in this format.

We are also getting great airplay from other radio streaming sources as well including tunes recently picked up by mvyradio.com in Martha's Vineyard

And here's another station that has picked up our tunes to air - MusicToGoUSA.com

This is the main web presence for - East Side Trio - East Side Quartet - and - Acoustic Flight Dance Band. There is a separate page for Acoustic Flight - click on the link above.

While most of our bookings are private functions, I post public gigs for all the groups further down on this page.

I'm based in Ottawa, Ontario and the small group name comes from the fact that I live just about as far east as you can get and still be in the city of Ottawa!

The Ottawa International Jazz Festival, Parliament Hill, Ottawa Congress Centre, National Arts Centre, Chateau Montebello, Chateau Laurier Hotel, Marriott Hotel, Crowne Plaza Hotel, Museum of Civilization, War Museum, Metropolitain Restaurant, NAV Centre in Cornwall, Greyhawk Golf Club, Camelot Golf Club, Britannia Yacht Club, Army Officers Mess, Navy Officers Mess, Air Force Officers Mess, Bean Town Ranch, Royal Canadian Mint, LCBO and Restaurant Eighteen as well as at many private venues for events such as birthday celebrations, wedding receptions and corporate functions & parties.

If you would like specifics about booking any of the groupings, please click here to email me and I'll send along our listing of tunes as well.

Acoustic Flight dance band. This is a 10 piece band consisting of 3 saxes, 1 trumpet, 1 trombone, piano, guitar, bass and drums plus female vocalist. Our objective is to get people dancing! From rock and roll to disco, from funk and blues to swing jazz of the great big band era, this small band with a big sound can provide the music you need for your dance. [click on the button at the top to go to the Acoustic Flight page].

East Side Five has evolved somewhat and is now a small dance band for occasions where the larger dance band just doesn't work due to space or the smaller size of the function. We play a mixture of jazz and pop/rock tunes that blend well to get people on the dance floor. Much of the material on my trio/quartet repertoire list is performed by East Side Five but we also do lots of tunes that were popular on the top 40 charts over the past few decades. In addition to my saxes, the band features piano, bass, drums and either a female vocalist or a second horn. East Side Five would be a great choice for smaller to moderate sized wedding reception dances and corporate Christmas parties, for example.

So, for pure jazz events, I can still provide the jazz of East Side Five with a focus on tuneful standards and originals. Our style is mainstream and oriented towards an ear pleasing combination of contemporary/bop/mainstream.

Upcoming dates: email me for additional information on these dates/locations. 2009

2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009 were excellent years for 'East Side Jazz'. In addition to the public gigs, some listed here, we played many private functions - from wedding receptions to corporate events. I'd like to take this opportunity to thanks everyone who hired 'East Side Jazz' - including Acoustic Flight - in one form or another thus contributing to our memorable year. I'm looking forward to an even busier and better 2010.

If your company or group is considering having jazz at your Christmas function, it's never too early to book.

2010... looks like another great year for East Side jazz groups.

February 13, 2010 - 43rd Annual Osgoode Winter Carnival - Lion's Gourmet Dinner and Dance in Osgoode. The trio will play during dinner and Acoustic Flight will be playing for the dance. Tickets are $60 per person and can be obtained by contacting Steph at 'stephthegrillinggourmet@yahoo.ca or any member of the Osgoode Lion's Club.

East Side Quartet will be playing at Knox Fine Dining in Moose Creek on March 13 and April 10 from 6pm to 10pm. A great place for a wonderful night out - dinner and jazz. We will be there on the 2nd Saturday of each month through the next few months. Knox Fine Dining is in Moose Creek, a bit east of Ottawa, just west of hwy 38 that runs from hwy 417 to Cornwall. An easy drive from Ottawa. Call 613.538.5669 for reservations.

In addition to the many private parties and wedding receptions here's a short list of past public gigs. I want to also thank the many corporate, government and individual clients who booked the trio, quartet and Acoustic Flight for private functions during the year.

A few of our previous public gigs:

East Side Quartet at Knox Fine Dining in Moose Creek on Dec 5/09. Knox Fine Dining is in Moose Creek, a bit east of Ottawa, just west of hwy 138 which runs from hwy 417 to Cornwall. An easy drive from Ottawa. Call 613.538.5669 for reservations.

November 21/09 - East Side Trio was booked for a return to the "Goode Grapes' fundraiser in Osgoode. A roomful of people having a great time with the wine tasting, auctions and more. Paul Soble on bass and Albert Kaprielian on piano.

East Side Quartet performed at Greenfields Pub, 900 Greenbank Rd, Barrhaven on Sunday, July/09 , with a full house and it was a great evening. More dates in the future so check back here and plan to join us at this great pub/restaurant.

East Side Quartet performed at the 2009 Ottawa Jazz Festival. We were on the Rendezvous Rideau stage [in the Rideau Centre] on Saturday, June 27 at 2:00pm. This was our fourth year we've played at the festival and we had a great time once again. Dave Jones sat in on guitar for this gig since Garnett was on a trip out of the country.

East Side Quartet at Bass Line Station, Friday March/09, 2557 Baseline, - just east of Greenbank. We played a couple of sets featuring many original tunes along with some not-so-standard jazz tunes. The quartet includes Garnet Picot on guitar, Paul Soble on bass and Mike McNeil on drums.

Acoustic Flight performed at the Cabana Supper Club [formerly the New Bayou], 1077 Bank St at Sunnyside, on January, May and June 2009. This was in our non-jazz format with tunes by Tower Of Power, Average White Band, Blues Bros, Chicago, Blood Sweat & Tears, James Brown, Doobie Bros and...well you get the idea. It was a great night for dancing and for just having a good time for all our fans of this music - see the Acoustic Flight page for set list.

November 29/08 - East Side Trio performed for the "Goode Grapes' fundraiser in Osgoode. A roomful of people having a great time with the wine tasting, auctions and more. Paul O'Connor on piano and Paul Klazek on bass. We'll be back again in 2009 for this event - November 21/09.

November 5/08 - East Side Trio played at the Sun Life Centre in downtown Ottawa. The trio for this booking consisted of Garnett Picot on guitar and Tom Denison on bass along with me on tenor sax.

September 19 and 20/08, East Side Trio at the LCBO main store at King Edward and Rideau St. A special promotion of Ontario wines with local artists displaying works as well as food samples prepared by local chefs.

May 23 and 24/08, Cafe Paradiso: East Side Quartet performed on Friday and Saturday nights May 23 and 24 at the Cafe Paradiso - Ottawa's premier jazz club. Garnett Picot - guitar, Paul Soble - bass, Mike McNeil - drums. The same quartet that played the Ottawa Jazz Festival in June.

East Side Quartet was booked for the 2008 Ottawa International Jazz Festival. We performed on the Rendezvous Rideau stage in the Rideau Centre at 12 noon on June 29. The quartet consisted of Garnett Picot on guitar, Paul Soble on bass and Mike McNeil on drums along with me on tenor and alto.

East Side Trio performed at the World Exchange Plaza for a noon hour concert on Thursday, July 31. Garnett Picot - guitar and Paul Soble - bass, will be joining me for this concert.

East Side Quartet performed for the closing reception of the Languages Canada conference at the National Arts Centre on March 6, 2008.

A few of our 2007 and 2006 public gigs:

Acoustic Flight played for the Easter Seals Charity Ball on November 2007 at the Congress Centre.

East Side Quartet at the 2007 Ottawa Jazz Festival. The quartet consisted of: Pierre Vaillancourt - piano, Tom Denison - bass, Paul Wright - drums, and myself on tenor.

Metropolitain Restaurant - the trio had a 2006 summer gig each Wed/Thurs/Fri in the courtyard and it was great.

Eighteen [18 York St.] - East Side Trio performed for dinner/drinks at this fine restaurant in the Byward Market area of Ottawa from September 2005 to July 2006.

Ottawa International Jazz Festival 2006 - East Side Quartet performed at the Ottawa International Jazz Festival on Monday June 26

Recorded material

I hope these tunes provide a flavour of what our mainstream brand of jazz can provide for your function:

The East Side Quartet CD is now finished and it's called 'The Original CD'. It contains five of my tunes along with an alternate take of Squeaky Beach, six tracks for about 33 minutes in all. The full cd is available and you can contact me at this email address to get a copy. The cost is $10 to cover costs including mailing. The tunes on the cd were recorded over two evenings in November 2008 and is the result of many people asking for a recording of our music. Garnett, Paul and Mike have done a great job on my tunes and I appreciate their work on this project.

From the cd, this is Eight By Eight. Eight By Eight is a nice gentle tune that moves between Latin and swing styles. And here's another with a very different feel. This tune has a quirky funky/shuffle feel to it and utilizes some electronics in parts. I hope you enjoy Squeaky Beach

East Side Quartet had a great time playing at the Ottawa Jazz Festival June 24th, 2007 and here's 'Softly, As In A Morning Sunrise'. You'll hear Pierre Vaillancourt on piano/organ, Paul Wright on drums and Tom Denison on bass.

Here's a sampling of original tunes that I have written over the past couple of years. These are recordings of the tune and a chorus or two of soloing just to get an idea of the tune. The quartet in these recordings consists of bass, drums and piano instead of guitar. Clients frequently ask what the difference is and this will give you a sense of the difference in sound of the group when I play with either the piano or guitar in the quartet/trio.

Rain And Ten Its A Seasonal Thing Eight By Eight Squeaky Beach and here's a rough 1st take on a brand new tune - In Search

I've been working on a new project and details will be posted soon but for now here's a few short clips - baritone sax with a quartet:

Rico Apollo Lonesome Boulevard and here's a beautiful ballad Song for Strayhorn all of these tunes were written by Gerry Mulligan.

The following links are samples of tunes performed by East Side Five, East Side Trio, East Side Quartet.

Here's Cape Verdean Blues with me on baritone sax with East Side Five.

Here are examples of tunes with guitar, bass and drums. I play baritone on this version,

Our Love Is Here To Stay [baritone]