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Juno-nominated saxophonist to perform in Qualicum Beach

Ryan Oliver Quartet concert on Sunday, March 25
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Saxophonist Ryan Oliver is headed to Qualicum Beach to perform in TOSH’s Music on Sunday program on March 25. — Submitted by Ron Hadley

A Juno-nominated, Victoria-based saxophonist will be performing at TOSH for Music on Sunday on March 25.

Ryan Oliver will be heading a quartet with Ron Hadley on piano, Rick Kilburn on bass and Damian Graham on drums.

Oliver honed his craft on Canada’s West Coast before embarking on an active professional life in Amsterdam, Toronto and then New York.

Since returning home, he has maintained a busy schedule as one of Canada’s most in-demand saxophonists. Oliver has toured India, Australia, New Zealand, the United States and Canada with the legendary eclectic jazz group, The Shuffle Demons. He is also a member of Juno award-winning blues/rock performer Derek Miller’s group.

The band has traveled throughout North America, including performances at the New Orleans Jazz Festival, the Aboriginal Achievement Awards (broadcast on CTV), and Toronto’s Dundas Square.

Oliver is featured in the horn section on Derek Miller’s most recent recording, Derek Miller and Double Trouble, featuring Stevie Ray Vaughn’s heralded rhythm section Double Trouble and musical icon Willie Nelson. The recording was nominated for a Juno in 2011.

Oliver’s debut recording, Convergence, was selected by CODA Magazine as one of the top 10 Canadian jazz releases of 2007. He has received numerous Canada Council and Ontario Arts Council grants for touring and recording and has performed at most of the major jazz clubs and festivals throughout Canada.

Jazz education is also an important part of Oliver’s professional life. He has been a featured clinician at Vancouver Island University, Western University, the University of Windsor and high schools throughout New York, New Jersey, Alberta, British Columbia and Ontario.

Alongside all of his efforts as a musician and educator, Oliver is also the artistic director for the Harbord St. Jazz Festival in Toronto, an annual festival that celebrates the pairing of fine dining and jazz. Oliver’s driving melodic inventiveness, charismatic sound and swinging time feel light up bandstands wherever he plays.

The Ryan Oliver Quartet concert at TOSH (The Old School House Arts Centre, 122 Fern. Rd. West, Qualicum Beach) takes place Sunday, March 25 at 2:30 p.m. Admission is $18. Reservations are recommended.

For more info, go to www.theoldschoolhouse.org, or call 250-752-6133.

— Submitted by Ron Hadley