When jazz aficionado Israel Asper dreamed up the Izzy Asper Jazz Performances 25 years ago, he wanted Winnipeggers to experience the best and brightest jazz artists right here in Winnipeg. And that’s who we personally choose for you. We're celebrating our twenty-fifth season with three brilliant weekends at the Berney Theatre at the Rady Jewish Community Centre, and in honour of Izzy's fondness for the New York jazz scene, one special "club date" at the Fort Garry Hotel.
Our season opens December 2 and 3 with the DJANGO FESTIVAL ALLSTARS, a dynamite band from France who are wrapping their North American tour at the Berney Theatre. As the Wall Street Journal puts it, “Imagine a stage filled with five contemporary Reinhardt descendants, and you’ll get a sense that the collective talent pool on the bandstand is larger than the Arc de Triomphe!”
On March 16 and 17, we welcome the CANADIAN JAZZ COLLECTIVE, one of the hottest new bands on the circuit. Co-led by saxophonist Kirk MacDonald, guitarist Lorne Lofsky, and the Izzy Asper Jazz Performance’s Artistic Advisor Derrick Gardner, this septet packed European clubs, including London’s famed Ronnie Scott’s, in spring of 2022, culminating in their first studio recording, Septology.
For all of you who love a great jazz singer, our season closes May 4 and 5 with the powerhouse TAMMY McCANN QUARTET. Based in Chicago, McCann melds classical technique, a gospel aesthetic, and a knack for making her lyrics come to life. This is your chance to hear “a voice that soars in all registers, at all tempos, on all occasions...a voice that inspires wonder!” (Chicago Tribune)
You may purchase single tickets to any of these concerts, but we hope you’ll consider a subscription to all three concerts at the Berney Theatre. A subscription offers you the best value, and your seats are reserved. Scroll down for ticket pricing and a purchase link.
Our special club date is Sunday, April 14 when we present “A Little Sondheim” featuring Winnipeg singer Zachary Rushing. Sondheim is widely acknowledged as the most innovative, most influential and most important composer and lyricist in modern Broadway history. He has been a powerful creative force for Zachary Rushing, who will pay homage in the new jazz club on the lower level of the Fort Garry Hotel. It feels a lot like an upscale New York club, one of Izzy Asper’s favourite places to be. We’ll release tickets for “A Little Sondheim” early in 2024.
Thanks for helping us keep the spirit of jazz alive!
Charlene Diehl, Producer
Derrick Gardner, Artistic Advisor
Izzy Asper Jazz Performances
CHARLENE DIEHL started playing the piano before she learned to read, and music and books have been twin passions throughout her life. She was associated editor of dig! magazine through its 13-year run, and has been the Producer of the Izzy Asper Jazz Performances since 2019, when she took over the reins from Bev Aronovitch. She is also a writer, editor, former English professor, and the long-time Director of the Winnipeg International Writers Festival.
DERRICK GARDNER is an internationally-acclaimed trumpeter and composer whose performing credits include stints with the Count Basie Band and Harry Connick Jr.’s Big Band. He has performed and toured with a who’s-who of jazz, and appears on over 40 recordings, including several featuring his own bands. Recent recordings include Still I Rise! with the Big dig! Band, Pan Africa with the Jazz Prophets, and Septology with the Canadian Jazz Collective. He was hired in 2011 as the Babs Asper Chair in Jazz Trumpet at the University of Manitoba, and in 2021 returned to his hometown of Chicago where he is the Interim Director of Jazz Studies at Northwestern University.