Don Thompson & Walter Martella, Jazz Piano & Trumpet
“legendary, multi-instrumentalist
Don Thompson and Walter Martella challenge the Academy Steinway…..an evening not to be missed …”
Friday, April 9, 2010 at 8 PM ~ Academy Hall
[Program]
Admission $20 -
STUDENTS: 18 & under free with student ticket voucher
Tickets are available at the
Academy Box Office 7280 Kemano Street, Monday – Thursday 9:30 - 4:30
Tel 604 485 9633
And at the door 30 minutes before the concert
Don Thompson, pianist, bassist, vibraphonist, drummer, composer, arranger, recording engineer, was born in Powell River. After childhood piano lessons he took up the string bass and the vibraphone in his teens. He is essentially self-taught on all instruments. In Vancouver 1960-5 he was sideman to Chris Gage (playing bass or vibraphone) and Dave Robbins (bass) and accompanied the visiting US jazzmen Barney Kessel, John Handy, and others in local nightclubs. With the drummer Terry Clarke he joined Handy's quintet in the USA in 1965, touring widely and making two LPs, one of which, Live at Monterey, was among the most popular jazz recordings of the 1960s.
Thompson has been a member of the Boss Brass (bassist 1969-82 and pianist as of 1988) and the bands of Sonny Greenwich (pianist 1970-82 and again as of 1990) and Moe Koffman (bassist 1970-4 and pianist 1975-8). He was the sole accompanist to Shearing and the singer Mel Tormé on Top Drawer, winner of a (US) Grammy award in 1984. While working with Shearing, he began to teach each summer at the Banff CA Jazz Workshop in 1982, and established the short-lived record label, From Bebop to Now, in 1983.
Thompson's comparably impressive facility as a bassist, pianist and vibraphonist has few precedents in jazz. He moves easily from instrument to instrument and from idiom to idiom, bringing to each an instinctive rather than schooled musicality. His recordings range from the mainstream Secret Love to the relatively avant garde Don Thompson Quartet Live. The albums Ed Bickert/Don Thompson and A Beautiful Friendship won Juno Awards (for best jazz recording) in 1980 and 1985 respectively.
Walter Martella is a Powell River musical phenomenon. A pianist, trumpeter, accordionist, conductor and composer, he is one of the great gems of the Sunshine Coast and has a dedicated fan base to prove it. Walter has taken the stage with many other world class musicians, including Don Thompson, Tom Keenlyside, Phil Dwyer, Dave Robbins, Alan Matheson, Rene Worst, Henry Young, Rick Killburn, Keith Copeland, to name just a few. His musical versatility has him equally comfortable from classical through rock, but his first love is jazz.
Performing is a significant part of Walter’s career but just as important to him is his involvement in teaching (Powell River Academy of Music and the Conservatory of Victoria, along with various workshops). A strong believer in the power of music as part of community, he also works with such groups as children’s choirs, adult community choirs and community bands.