Casual and serious musicians invited to join Wednesday jam sessions

And it’s not just musicians who are being drawn in. With tables set up around the stage to create a club-like atmosphere, the Hideaway mid-week is a venue in which to relax and enjoy an evening of live jazz sounds.

The Muskoka Jazz Jam is spearheaded by jazz woodwind player and computer consultant Doug  Banwell, a relative newcomer to the area.

“Shortly after (his partner Cheryl Stamper) and I took  an office in the Empire Block, I was talking to (building owner) Dave Keay about the bar and he said he was thinking about changing the focus of the business,” Banwell recalled.

“He knew I was a professional musician because he heard me playing scales through the walls.”

Banwell, who plays “everything with holes in it,” owns four saxophones, three flutes and two clarinets, and that’s just for starters. A trained musician, he is well known on the Toronto jazz circuit, playing with Earthen Sky, Mary Anderson, the Toronto Saxophone Quartet, Murray Porter, and the Endangered Species Big Band, among others.

Shortly after his conversation with Keay, the Muskoka Jazz Jam became a reality, opening one Wednesday night in March.

“I had no idea how long I would be playing by myself on the stage,” said Banwell, adding that, fortunately, local musician and piano technician Tim Sullivan quickly came on board.

Word travels fast in the jazz world, and on April 3, an upright bass player, Bruce Rumble, made the trip up from Barrie. Other Muskoka jammers to date include Sandy McLennan, Neil Barlow and Derek Shakespeare.

The jazz played at the jam is very mainstream, said Banwell. “It’s accessible jazz, not loud and obnoxious.  It’s from 1940 to 1963, not wartime swing, but   Dave Brubeck, Duke Ellington, and Cole Porter – by the ton.”

That style of music is the central repertoire of jazz musicians traditionally referred to  as the Great American Songbook, added Banwell.

“Any good tune with an interesting rhythm, progression or a nice melody can be a jazz tune whether it’s bop, blues, ballad or bossanova,”  said Sullivan.

It may come as a surprise to many that most jazz  musicians are fans of Frank Sinatra and Tony Bennett. “It makes perfect sense to us,” said Banwell.

Wednesday jazz nights at the Hideaway begin at 8 p.m. and usually wrap up around midnight. There is no cover charge.

“Tim and I are having a great time, and we are anxious to spread the word and get people out,” Banwell said.

“We know that Huntsville has tons of casual and serious musicians who would love to try playing some jazz if they had a supportive environment. I run the jam to provide a friendly place to perfect the art that is jazz and to network with other jazz musicians and, most importantly, to have fun playing music. Everyone is welcome to come down and play and/or listen.”

For more information, contact Banwell at host@muskokajazzjam.com.