Phil Dwyer (musician)

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Phil Dwyer (2015)

Philip Richard "Phil" Dwyer CM (born December 17, 1965 in Duncan, British Columbia ) is a Canadian jazz musician ( alto and tenor saxophone , piano , composition ), radio presenter and lawyer .

Live and act

Dwyer made a name for himself in Canada as a saxophone prodigy. At the age of twenty he became a professional musician. In 1985 he worked in the David Friesen trio in New York . He became a member of Hugh Fraser's quintet and moved to Toronto in 1989, where he led jazz bands with Dave Young , Doug Riley and Don Thompson . For 15 years he was a busy studio musician and interpreter there; he worked with Aretha Franklin , Red Rodney , Randy Brecker , Tom Harrell , Jim Hall , Dave Holland , Marcus Belgrave , Renee Rosnes , Carol Welsman , Moe Koffman , John Handy , Molly Johnson , Guido Basso and Rick Wilkins , but also went with Gino Vannelli on tour. In the mid-1990s, Dwyer studied composition and orchestration with Michael Colgrass . He has received commissions from the Gryphon Trio, Amici Chamber Ensemble, CBC Orchestra, Manitoba Chamber Orchestra, the Hard Rubber Orchestra and the Art of Time Ensemble.

In 2004 he returned to the West Coast to continue his performances, recordings and tours in Canada and internationally. In particular, he worked in groups with Kenny Wheeler , for whom he also arranged. Together with Ingrid Jensen he toured Europe and Mexico. With drummer Alan Jones , with whom he toured between 1987 and 1990, (and bassist Rodney Whitaker ) he released the album Let Me Tell You About My Day in 2006 . A 2010 commission from Mark Fewer and McGill University led to the creation of Dwyer's composition Changing Seasons , a 40-minute concerto for solo violin and jazz and string orchestra, which premiered with violinist Marc Fewer and which was released in 2011 by Alma . In 2013 Dwyer released the duo album Look for the Silver Lining with Thompson (on piano) . He also curates Phil Dwyer's Jazz Canada for CBC Radio Music .

Dwyer also works as a practicing attorney with a law firm in Nanaimo , having studied law at the University of New Brunswick and the University of Victoria through 2017 . He is a member of the Mental Health Task Force for the Law Society of British Columbia .

Prizes and awards

Dwyer can be heard on ten Juno Award- winning recordings (starring Basso, Fraser, Thompson, Young and Roberto Occhipinti). For the composition Land of Sleepless Dreams, which he wrote for the Amici Chamber Ensemble , he received the KM Hunter Award for outstanding performance in the arts. In 2013 he was named a member of the Order of Canada for his contribution to jazz . In 2015 he was made an Honorary Fellow by the Royal Conservatory of Music .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Entry (Radioswissjazz)
  2. ↑ a b c portrait (Canadian Jazz Archive)
personal data
SURNAME Dwyer, Phil
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Dwyer, Philip Richard
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Canadian jazz musician (saxophone, piano, composition) and lawyer
DATE OF BIRTH December 17, 1965
PLACE OF BIRTH Duncan (British Columbia)