The organ-driven Jon Miller Quartet Parallel Universe Project explores the ‘60s grooves of Jimmy Smith, Jack McDuff and Joey DeFrancesca on Sunday Feb. 4 at Pat’s House of Jazz in Crofton’s Osborne Bay Pub.
Featuring Hammond B-3 organ maestro Tony Genge with band leader Miller on drums, Rob Cheramy on guitar and Monik Nordine on saxophones, the band offers hard-driving swing that evokes the golden age of organ jazz.
The quartet’s latest CD, 3 Days in Winter, topped the charts at several West Coast radio stations. And the CBC’s Robert Rowat once exclaimed: “Whoa! Where have you been hiding, Jon Miller Quartet? On behalf of sun-deprived Canadians everywhere, thanks for this much needed dose of Vitamin D.”
A composer and arranger, Genge has performed and recorded with leading Canadian and international jazz artists, including Joe Coughlin and Paul Horn. He is home in Victoria on sabbatical as a professor of music at St. Francis Xavier University in Antigonish, N.S.
Miller, a graduate of McGill University’s jazz program, honed his chops in Paris, New York, Berlin and Monte Carlo before moving to Victoria more than a decade ago.
Guitarist and composer Cheramy brings exciting solos and inventive accompaniment to the mix, as does Nordine on soprano and alto saxes.
Nordine also directs the Victoria Jazz Orchestra, which has backed such guest artists as P.J. Perry and Mike Allen. She freelances regularly with many exceptional artists, including Jennifer Scott and Rene Worst, and has shared the stage with such luminaries as Michael Buble, Tommy Banks and Hugh Fraser.
Sunday’s performance is part of the weekly jazz series that runs from 2 p.m. each Sunday, presented by the Chemainus Valley Cultural Arts Society.
The pub is at 1534 Joan Ave. Admission is $15. For information, call 250-324-2245 or visit http://osbornebaypub.com.