The story

One career ended in 2021. What I built next was made so it would not depend on me.

1. Before

   A trombone player from Red Deer

   I was born in Red Deer. I went to Humber College and have spent over twenty years in the music industry. I have studied and performed with Pat LaBarbera, Kirk MacDonald, Al Kay, Phil Nimmons, Don Thompson and Rob McConnell, and with visiting artists including Chris Potter, Kurt Elling, Randy Brecker, Peter Appleyard, Mike Stern and Terence Blanchard. Closer to home: Blue Moon Marquee, Twisted Lobby, Flatiron Big Band, The Vintage, the SwingTime AllStars, the RDC Big Band and Symphonic Winds, and the Rocky Mountain Symphony Orchestra.

2. 2021

   The injury

   A neck injury ended my career as a trombonist.

3. 2022

   I built it anyway

   I founded the Red Deer Community for Jazz Music the following year, before I knew whether I would perform again.

   …so that live jazz in this city would not depend on any one player being able to hold up a horn.

   100+paying jobs for musicians

   1,500+volunteer hours

   ~20events since 2022

   Since 2022 — an incorporated non-profit, entirely volunteer-run, with no municipal, provincial or federal funding. reddeercommunityforjazzmusic.ca →

4. November 2024

   Back on stage, on a different instrument

   I came back to the stage on the Berglund NuEVI, an electronic wind instrument — the first feature concert ever performed on it.

5. 2024 – 2025

   Putting the scene on the record

   I film and produce Behind the Scene: Live Jazz in Red Deer for TELUS STORYHIVE Voices. It was funded in 2024 and selected again in 2025 as a returning second season, and it goes out on TELUS Optik TV, Stream+ and the STORYHIVE YouTube channel.