Jim West: Jazzin' Justin Time's 40th & Best Industry Advice - Part Two

In the Zen (continued from Part One…)

By Kerilie McDowall
©2024 Kerilie McDowall - All Rights Reserved.

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.

ITZ: You must have many interesting stories historically, as your roster of artists is extensive. Some of the favorites on your Justin Time label's 40th-anniversary release include multi-award-winning pianists like Oscar Peterson, Diana Krall, and John Stetch, who we should discuss. A jazz hero comes to mind. Many musicians refer to him as, "OP." What are your thoughts on working with the late jazz icon, pianist Oscar Peterson, and how did that originally come about?

JW: Well, it helped that Oliver Jones and Oscar Peterson were great friends, but what really sealed the deal was Dave Young asking Oscar to be on his Piano—Bass Duets (Justin Time, 1996) recording that we were working on, which ended up being three volumes and features some of the world's greatest players. It was a highlight for me —that's for sure.

ITZ: What did you love the most about Oscar Peterson?

Past Blast: Oliver Jones and Oscar Peterson
- Just Friends - Live at the Montreal Jazz Festival 2004, Justin Time Records

JW: You could learn so much from this man. I only met him a handful of times but the way he operated and the way he played was simply very special. I think of everything this man has been through since the very beginning of his career. To receive this level of international notoriety is inspiring. I'm sure he worked harder than anyone to achieve what he achieved. Simply the best.

Recording with Oscar Peterson was certainly a highlight for me. You know, the world's greatest. That was very special to me for a lot of reasons.

ITZ: The exceptional experience of working with pianist Paul Bley, what was that like?

JW: Do you have a couple of days? Paul Bley provided simply some of the most fun sessions in the studio. Yes, I do have so many stories. Suffice it to say, he was a brilliant contemporary composer with a great wit and was always challenging the norms.

And, you know, we were having these talks about having fun in the studio. Paul was probably one of the craziest people to deal with.

Paul Bley - Love Lost
Love Lost · Paul Bley - Basics ℗ Justin Time Records. Released on: 2001-03-01. Music Publisher: Pablo Music. Provided to YouTube by Nettwerk

And it was a lot of fun, he would make it so entertaining, and so much fun. And so off the wall, you never just could not expect what was going to happen next.

But I was always prepared for that. I knew that was going to happen. So I looked forward to whatever craziness happened that day. He was a very serious pianist, don't get me wrong. But in the time it took to record, he would be able to get everybody riled up or on edge or just having fun and making jokes. And he was spectacular, absolutely spectacular, and a lot of fun.

Of course my first three artists, Oliver Jones, Ranee Lee, and the Montreal Jubilation Gospel Choir, are in special places in my heart, because, obviously being the first three I've recorded so much music with them. And I still talk to them today, almost every day we speak. To me, that goes back 40 years.

ITZ: Bassist Dave Young whom you have recorded, has made such profound albums with guitarist Lenny Breau back in the day and is also a Canadian legend, those must have been very inspiring listening moments during those sessions you did with him yourself.

JW: Yes indeed. I was not involved in those recordings [with Breau] in any way, but Lenny was a class onto himself—of course, augmented by the sensational Dave Young.

Nancy Marley, Jim West, CM, Diana Krall, OC, OBC, Jean-Pierre Leduc, Nadine Campbell. Courtesy of Justin Time Records.

ITZ: Pianist/vocalist Diana Krall is such a gifted global sensation. She has sold many millions of albums. As a producer how did you first come across Diana, and how has her talent impacted you after having worked with her?

JW: She was brought to my attention by Oliver Jones and then a number of phone calls from people like producers at CBC in Ottawa and some media outlets. I then met with Diana to discuss doing a project and the rest is history.

ITZ: Yes, it sure was history, Diana is such a favorite globally, those were timeless tracks.

Photo credit: Les Paparazzi/Michael Slobodian

Another pianist on your anniversary album, the multi-JUNO nominated jazz pianist and comedian, John Stetch, has made quite a stir recently with his comedic impersonations on YouTube of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

Stetch's talent is among the best globally for his merging of Eastern European music with jazz. John's recent recorded work has been exceptional. What are your thoughts about Stetch's 2023 winter comedic appearance with well-known political figures like Christine Anderson, with other comedians in Ottawa??

JW: I actually was not aware of John's appearance there, but I am aware of how talented he is as a pianist. John also worked and learned from another great European pianist by the name of Jan Jarcyzk, with whom we did a couple of projects.

ITZ: There is just so much to explore at Justin Time Records. We cannot discuss the album's pianists without mentioning your label's founding first- recorded artist, Oliver Jones. You both are now Order of Canada recipients, a true honor. Speak about your relationship with Jones and how that developed into a recording and later, the awards.

JW: I was very lucky to be able to work with Oliver. I kept in touch with him after seeing him playing at Biddle’s Jazz and Ribs in Montreal in 1983 and followed up by saying I wanted to start a label and make him the first signing. He thought I was kidding. Well, 22 albums and 40 years later we've toured the world together and talk almost daily. He is a great friend and a very special person.

Image by Pierre Arsenault.

ITZ: That sounds like a deep friendship that you will always treasure. Ranee Lee is also such a Canadian favourite, and as you had mentioned she also received the Order of Canada, too.

JW: Ranee Lee was our second artist thanks to Oliver Jones and again I was so fortunate to be able to work with her. She is also a wonderful friend and we talk very frequently. As I had mentioned, the first three artists on the label were Oliver Jones, Ranee Lee, and then Trevor Payne founder and director of the Montreal Jubilation Gospel Choir (again thanks to Oliver Jones). Oliver Jones was the organist for the Choir in those days. I was spoiled with those three signings.

Image by Vladim Vilain.

ITZ: Definitely. Those are special artists and one could spend hours just talking about them. Yet, there are a few other artists to mention to really cover the scope of the album. In Canada, we like to brag about our John Coltrane of the jazz guitar, Sonny Greenwich, who is featured on your 40th- anniversary release. That track on the album is such a favorite track of many. Please share your thoughts about Sonny. It has been said that Greenwich was the only Canadian musician ever invited to share the stage with the great Miles Davis, and also Wayne Shorter. Shorter and Davis were such talents to note. Your thoughts?

JW: Sonny is an immense talent—so spiritual. For me, his Bird of Paradise (Justin Time, 1987) recording is a classic.

ITZ: Yes it is an exciting album. Sonny's work often touches on the spiritual just like Coltrane's projects did. Greenwich was for many guitarists around the world a guitar hero. How many albums did you do with Sonny? He is such a favorite of so many.

Bird of Paradise · Sonny Greenwich - Bird of Paradise ℗ Justin Time Records.
Released on: 1987-09-14. Music Publisher: Janijam Music Reg D administered by Nettwerk One Music Canada Ltd. Provided to YouTube by Nettwerk.

JW: We produced two albums with him "Birds of Paradise" and "Live at Sweet Basil" (where every guitarist in NYC wanted to come and hear him play), but overall we released four—the other two being Sonny Greenwich/Paul Bley and then a Kenny Wheeler/Sonny Greenwich Quintet from the Montreal Bistro in Toronto.

And all of it's still fun. It's just that there are characters. And I had mentioned Paul Bley, he was certainly a character. I'll tell you one funny story about the guitar with Paul Bley and Sonny Greenwich.

We were in the studio and Paul was taking his time walking into the studio. He'd like to chat for quite a while first. And Sonny was there setting up his amp and getting his guitar out. And they'd got together in the room to do our first song. And Paul's ready to play and he looks over at Sonny and says, 'That's not fair.'

And Sonny said, 'What are you talking about?' He said, 'It's not fair,' and Sonny couldn't figure out what he was saying to him.

He said, 'I'm playing an acoustic instrument —you have to play acoustic too.'

Tell Yourself the Truth · Sonny Greenwich Live At Sweet Basil ℗ Justin Time Records. Released on: 1988-03-10. Music Publisher: Janijam Music Reg D administered by Nettwerk One Music Canada Ltd. Provided to YouTube by Nettwerk.

So Sonny's there with his amp and electric guitar. See, listen, if you listen to that record, I'll cut to the chase very quickly. But if you listen to that record, the first three songs we recorded are his semi-acoustic electric guitar without an amp. Without an amp. We mic'ed the strings. Because Paul wanted it to be fair to him. That gives you an example of what used to take place every session.

Paul, he'd like to get everybody on edge or just to the point. I don't know how to describe it. Yeah. In his mind, it was at your best, like, get your full attention and get you going. And he managed to do that with everybody he played with. Everyone that recorded with him had some issue, something that Paul instigated. And it was funny, it was. You know, he was brilliant at that.

Paul Bley, Sonny Greenwich, Outside In
Justin Time Records

Here's a funny story about Kenny Wheeler and Paul Bley that you might like. Okay, so Kenny Wheeler called me up, we were doing this duo recording in Montreal, and Kenny Wheeler calls me up and says, 'Jim. Paul won't talk to me.' And he said, 'I want to know what we're going to do with the session in Montreal.'

And I knew what was going on, of course, but I said, 'Kenny, don't worry. We're going to go have dinner the night before. And I'll bring it up at dinner.'

So we went out to this beautiful restaurant in Montreal. During dinner, I could see Kenny and he was almost kicking me saying, 'Come on, come on, say something.' And I looked at Paul and I said, 'Paul any thoughts about the recording tomorrow, what do you want to do? —Or anything?'

And I knew that just put them into a different place in his mind, right?

He says, 'Oh, yeah, I thought about it a lot.' And I said, 'Okay, so you want to let us know what you're thinking of?' He said, "Yup." He said, 'You know, (and I don't remember the years correctly), but he said, 'In 1958 I played with Kenny's drummer.' I said, 'Oh that's interesting.' 'In 1959 I played with Kenny's bassist. And tomorrow, I'm going to play with Kenny.'

And that was it and he changed the topic and went on to something else. Now, poor Kenny, I thought he was going to just jump out of the window. But Paul, of course, didn't answer the question. Wouldn't say a word when we got there, in fact, we did a Christmas tune in that session. And they both joined in on this Christmas song, both playing different songs on the same tune.

Image of Nancy Marley; Jim West, CM, Justin Time Records owner, producer; Diana Krall, vocalist/pianist: Jean-Pierre Leduc; and Nadine Campbell courtesy of Justin Time Records.

Continued… Subscribe to In the Zen to read the latest articles and “Jim West: Jazzin' Justin Time's 40th & Best Industry Advice,” - Part One and Three.

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. Enjoy 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.

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