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Jim West: Jazzin' Justin Time's 40th & Best Industry Advice - Part One, Two & Three
Music review of Justin Time Records 40th Anniversary
Kerilie McDowall
April 18, 2024
In the Zen
By Kerilie McDowall
©2024 Kerilie McDowall - All Rights Reserved.
Courtesy of Justin Time Records
Jim West: Part One, Two & Three
I recently wrote a jazz music interview article that was distributed in three parts about jazz music producer Jim West, CM, owner and founder of the jazz, blues and gospel record label, Justin Time Records. Here at last are all the links to the articles in one place, along with highlights about my favorite artists from the impressive Justin Time Records 40th Anniversary release.
Ian Terry, Jim West, Oliver Jones, Skip Bey.
Image by Daniel Gagné courtesy of Radio Quebec,1986.
Part One:
Cover image of Jim West (right), Oliver Jones (left) and Duke Eatmon (center), CBC Host.
September 2023. Photo by Louis-Marie Philidor courtesy of Duke Eatmon.
Part Two:
Nancy Marley, Jim West, CM, Diana Krall, OC, OBC, Jean-Pierre Leduc, Nadine Campbell.
Cover photo image: Nancy Marley, Jim West, CM, Diana Krall, OC, OBC, Jean-Pierre Leduc, Nadine Campbell. Courtesy of Justin Time Records.
Part Three:
Jim West’s Justin Time Records hits its 40th anniversary milestone.
Purchase the 40 Years of Justin Time Records (justin-time.com) release HERE and view the tracks.
Many of Canada’s most favorite jazz pianists are featured on the milestone release from Oliver Jones to Oscar Peterson, John Stetch, Paul Bley, Taurey Butler, Matt Herskowitz, Jean Michel Pilc, and the sensational Diana Krall. Listeners will not want to miss this.
The Legendary Oliver Jones
Image by Pierre Arsenault
The toe-tapping 40 Years of Justin Time Records, release launches as Montreal’s beloved Oliver Jones, OC, QC, kicks off the release with the joyfully comforting blues, “Blues for Helene,” and heavy swinging reigns in with a happy bounce. Pianist Jones makes the keys testify with divine ease and mastery.
Mischievous Antics by Paul Bley
Seguing later to the elegant, “Lucky,” from one of West’s past label artists, Paul Bley (November 10, 1932 – January 3, 2016), West recounts entertaining humorous stories of Bley interacting at recording sessions with other famous Canadian jazz stars such as guitar hero, Sonny Greenwich and composer-trumpeter Kenny Wheeler.
An especially amusing story was that one day in the studio, the provocative pianist Bley would not let star jazz guitarist Greenwich play through his guitar amplifier, claiming it was, “unfair.”
The compromising Greenwich, his guitar mic’ed up without the amp, managed to get through the session anyway, and most true and genuine electric guitarists would duly note the eccentric and even inflammatory nature of that request.
Yet, even with the mic’ing up of Greenwich’s guitar strings with no amplifier the result was a jazzy acoustic guitar timbre true to the tradition of jazz, with Greenwich’s genius phrasing soaring to even newer heights.
You can sample some of Paul Bley and Sonny Greenwich’s work from Justin Time Records here:
One day the famed trumpeter-composer Wheeler complained about Bley to Jim, “Paul won't talk to me.”
Catch the all the details on the eclectic Bley’s merging with the iconic Canadian composer Kenny Wheeler, (14 January 1930 – 18 September 2014), OC, in Part Two and Three of West’s interview.
Jazz Royalty: The Genius and Mastery of Oscar Peterson
Listeners will not want to miss the one and only legendary jazz genius, pianist Oscar Peterson’s tickling of the ivories, on the 40th anniversary release.
Oscar burns it up at a lightning quick maestro tempo with Americans, guitarist Herb Ellis, and bassist Ray Brown, from the 40th anniversary compilation’s, “The Surrey with the Fringe on Top,” originally heard on the label’s album Tenderly.
Of particular note on this track is guitarist Ellis’ fiery improvisation barreling away with Peterson. The trio makes for a formidable romp into all things jazzy, ripping it up together as an adventurous magical force.
Many knew the virtuosic pianist Peterson also to be an eloquent and grand orator. Peterson is fondly remembered by lucky former students at York University in the late 1980s, who had exposure to the great pianist in private small classes and lectures. In his classes, Peterson demonstrated his unique wisdom and music expertise with his engaging and welcoming personality in a kind and patient manner with the keen students.
An exciting legend in all jazz musical circles, the great genius Oscar Peterson is celebrated by Canadians as one of the greatest jazz pianists to ever grace the finest world performance halls and stages with his ever-graceful approach and his strong majestic presence.
Pianist John Stetch
Canadian pianist John Stetch has proven himself to be to be a formidable talent and one of the most exciting inventive artists globally at fusing Eastern European music with a unique approach to jazz and the piano. The multi-JUNO-nominated Stetch performs in an intricate yet fascinating driving approach as an exceptionally gifted improviser and composer.
In recent years, Stetch has risen additionally as a comedian, becoming known for his sharp satire and critique of traditional Canadian political approaches. Known especially for poking fun at political correctedness and the common injustices seen during the pandemic and its rising inflation, Stetch’s approach is considered controversial and his ethical stance is often misinterpreted or presumed by others.
Stetch is a brilliant pianist who conceptualizes his music with an overview and deep understanding of larger and advanced structural hierarchy during improvisation. This type of advanced forethought (or foreshadowing) of a visual “photo-memory-type” approach to form hierarchy is only observed in the best piano artists and composers such as Herbie Hancock, Keith Jarrett, Chick Corea, and others.
Sold Out Concerts/Millions of Sales: Justin Time Records’ Discovery of Diana Krall
Pianist and vocalist Diana Krall’s delightful, “Straighten Up and Fly Right,” shows off her prowess at interpreting the fine work of the brilliance of Nat King Cole’s early recordings with the King Cole Trio. Cole’s early commercial work from that period of the mid and late 1940s implied an ecstatic joie de vivre, rising up and uplifting even with the oppression and tragic horrors of WWII until 1945.
Photo credit: Les Paparazzi/Michael Slobodian
Krall has always been a brilliantly masterful interpreter, from the nod to Cole, to traditional Christmas songs, nothing escapes Krall’s uncanny ability to bring excellence forth from hidden or obscure gems that she finds within the traditional music and jazz standards repertoire.
From her velvety grand majestic vocals to her warm, intricate piano musings, Krall wins over each audience with her gift for interpretation, flying forth with ease on the piano keys. Krall is known for soothing the listener with her exceptionally sublime musical talent and stunning intuitive all-knowing approach.
Smooth Vocals
Justin Time Records’ collection of not-to-miss outstanding vocalists on the compilation include Order of Canada recipient Ranee Lee, and the artistry of Carol Welsman, Halie Loren, Lorraine Klaasen, Susie Arioli, the Montreal Jubilation Gospel Choir, Laura Anglade, Kitt, Emma Frank, Coral Egan, Jeri Brown, David Clayton Thomas, and Alex Pangman.
A showcase of the label’s excelling vocal talents, of note is that shining star sultry vocalist Halie Loren just released another fine recording on the label and Laura Anglade has a new release soon on the way.
Guitar Master Sonny Greenwich
The varied sounds of legend and guitar hero Sonny Greenwich shine through as ever-spiritual, enhanced by Sonny’s all-knowing technical and savvy wisdom. The power performances by guitarists Nelson Symonds, and Brian Hughes are additionally a pleasant exchange of jazzy delights.
Click the message clipped below left, “View entire message,” link to see the entire blog.
Saxophone Wonder
A recent 2024 JUNO winner for her latest album Day Moon, the multi-award-winning saxophonist and composer Christine Jensen, always impresses, with her penned harmonic and melodic delights and her best album yet. The sensual timbres of her saxophone flow expressively with a palette of colour hues respecting both the silences and the soundscape. The subtle touches can fly by quickly, yet the astute listener will catch the artistic use of space used so patiently and masterfully by bandleader Jensen and her ensemble.
Delving into the world of jazz, blues and gospel, Justin Time Records has an exciting catalogue that caters to every taste.
A sampling from the World Saxophone Quartet, Billy Bang, Hank Jones, and Brandi Disterheft, and David Murray to edgy band Little Animal, Hugh Ragin, Bryan Lee, and more, the label with its 600+ releases is worth exploring. It’s been a fascinating dive in to some of Canada’s most exciting projects.
Check into Parts One to Three of Jim West: Jazzin' Justin Time's 40th & Best Industry Advice and catch some of Jim West’s stories, wisdom and jazz industry reflections to learn more. Justin Time Records Inc. | Quarter Century (and counting) of Recording (justin-time.com)
Part One:
Part Two:
Part Three:
Newsletter/ email Kerilie McDowall https://poplme.co/sx3r8jLP/dash
More about the author Canadian jazz guitarist/13x award-winning TV movie Director/jazz radio host, and jazz writer (DownBeat 2016-2020) Kerilie McDowall is available online at In the Zen blog and the Canadian Online Guitar Lessons website on beehiiv. Enjoyand support McDowall's jazz and creative music interviews, stories, and seasonal lifestyle articles, and learn more about her music, and creative and music services. Want to read more? Subscribe to Kerilie’s interviews and articles here. CONTACT Kerilie McDowall here. 250-668-3589
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