Behind the Scenes- WJO Plays the Beatles Songbook

4/18/2023

The Winnipeg Jazz Orchestra plays the Beatles Songbook this SUNDAY, April 23, 2023, at 2:00 pm Winnipeg Art Gallery is SOLD OUT! Thank-you to everyone who bought tickets to come to the concert. We will also have an online streaming version available for purchase if you missed out on tickets. We are very excited to present this music, here are some behind the scenes videos and interviews from some of the arrangers involved in this project.

Check out this video from arranger Greg Crowe:

Here is an interview with Neil Watson, Alto saxophonist and curator for this program:

Why did you choose the Beatles music to put into big band form?
Paul McCartney and John Lennon were a magnificent song-writing duo. Their harmonies were sophisticated, inventive, and perfect for big band interpretation. WJO is certainly not the first to do this. Count Basie recorded not one but TWO albums of Beatles material (one of which - Chico O'Farill's arrangement of All My Loving - we'll perform) and Buddy Rich recorded Norwegian Wood (WJO will also perform that arrangement).

Do you have a favourite Beatles tune and what significance does it have for you?
A favourite Beatles song changes depending on my mood. I do have favourite recordings. I like Rubber Soul and Revolver because I think they had really found their voices. The song-writing is adventurous and draws on many influences but doesn't sound over-produced (I'm going to offend some of you here *sorry*) like their later records.

Is there a moment, a piece, a musician’s solo, in this concert that you are looking forward to?
Niall Cade, Richard Gillis, Greg Crowe and Brady Gill are all arranging their favourite songs for this show. I'm very excited to hear those. Also it's so interesting to see what songs they've chosen: Greg has chosen The White Album as his inspiration for example, and Brady gravitated to Abbey Road. Everyone has a different "favourite" and really shows me that the WJO may have to explore a Beatles Songbook: Volume 2 sometime in the future.

How long have you been working with the WJO and what advantages has it brought you?
I've been working with the WJO for 15 years now? Yikes. The best thing about working with this group is getting the opportunity to play with 15 other fabulous musicians so often. That, and having an opportunity to hear arrangements I've done and concert ideas I've had come to life is a marvelous gift.

Are there any other things you feel would help people to know about this concert or the WJO?
We're going to tell the tale of The Beatles: their ups and downs, their incomprehensible rise and their (perhaps inevitable) breakup. It's a fascinating story and they have so many great songs we can use as a backdrop. Will your favourite be on the set-list? Let us know!

Here is a short interview with saxophonist and arranger Niall Cade:

Here is an interview from arranger Brady Gill:

Is arranging the Beatles music for a big band any different than the jazz arranging you might be more familiar with?
Arranging a Beatles song for big band was a little different than writing standard jazz arrangements, in that I wanted to stay true to the song that people would be familiar with, so I kept the form from the original intact and used a lot of Paul McCartney’s bass lines.

Which song(s) did you arrange for this concert and why did you choose these particular songs?
I arranged the medley from Abbey Road. Golden Slumbers, Carry That Weight, The End. I think the song is a really good opportunity to exploit the dynamic range of a big band. The medley begins reserved and subtle and moves into distorted guitar solo (in this case, Alto Saxophone) and then back again. There is a great recording called Music for Montserrat, a benefit concert at Royal Albert Hall in 1997, with Paul McCartney live with symphony orchestra, Phil Collins, Eric Clapton and Mark Knopfler.

Were you a Beatles fan before you started arranging music for this concert?
I have always appreciated the Beatles and after digging into this project I would consider myself a fan.

How long have you been involved with the WJO?
I’ve had groups perform in the pre-show and have known Richard Gillis for quite a while but this is the first time an arrangement of mine will be performed by the WJO.

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Winnipeg Jazz Orchestra

The Winnipeg Jazz Orchestra (WJO) is Canada’s first community-based, non-profit professional jazz orchestra. Founded in 1997 (registered charity in 2000), the WJO has matured to become an important part of Winnipeg’s cultural landscape, reflected in the ongoing support the organization receives from the Manitoba Arts Council, the Winnipeg Arts Council, the Winnipeg Foundation, and other sponsors. The mandate of the Winnipeg Jazz Orchestra is to be an instrumental force in the promotion and development of big band jazz in Manitoba and beyond, through performance, composition, recording and education.

The Winnipeg Jazz Orchestra is Generously Funded by:

Funding assistance provided by the Manitoba government. Aide financière accordée par le gouvernement du Manitoba.

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The Winnipeg Jazz Orchestra welcomes and shares its performance and creation of music - a universal language to all people irrespective of culture, race, sexuality, ability, language and gender.

Music is an agent of hope. A dynamic and valuable device that helps us to heal and to bring us together. The First Peoples of Canada understood this and used music to reunite, resolve and reconcile. In the spirit of reconciliation, we acknowledge that WJO activities take place on Treaty Territory – land that was maintained and earnestly cared for by Indigenous peoples before European settlement. Manitoba is the original lands of Anishinaabe, Cree, Oji-Cree, Dakota, and Dene peoples, and is the homeland of the Métis Nation. We acknowledge that Winnipeg benefits daily from Treaty 3 water that comes from Shoal Lake 40. It is with sincere sentiment that we recognize the mistakes of our recent and distant past. In working towards a Canada that benefits us all, we commit to seeking a greater understanding of Canada’s diverse cultural relationships through continued work with Indigenous communities; we commit to live in ways that honour and respect the treaties that were made on these territories; and we commit to stewarding the land in harmony for all who will come after us.

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Winnipeg Jazz Orchestra / Box 68114, RPO Osborne Village, Winnipeg, Manitoba, R3L 2V9
Main: 204-421-9398 / [email protected] Box Office: 204-632-5299 / [email protected]

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