Phil Nimmons

Phillip Rista "Phil" Nimmons , OC , O.Ont (born June 3, 1923 in Kamloops , British Columbia ) is a Canadian jazz musician and composer. He is considered to be one of the key figures in Canadian jazz.

Live and act

Nimmons grew up in Vancouver , where he also directed a combo as a teenager. While studying medicine at the University of British Columbia , he played in local dance bands before joining guitarist Ray Norris' quintet, who also played for the radio. He wrote arrangements for the band and composed the theme song for the radio show "Anthology". From 1945 to 1947 he studied clarinet at the Juilliard School of Music , and then from 1948 to 1950 he studied composition at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto . In 1953 he founded his own nonet, which played for the radio and had its breakthrough in 1956 at the Stratford Festival. In the same year it also played with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra . In 1965 he expanded the band to the strength of a big band , which continued into the early 1980s.

Nimmons founded the jazz program at the Banff School of Fine Arts in 1970; In 1973 he was appointed to the University of Toronto , where he headed the jazz course until his retirement.

Compositions

Nimmons initially wrote compositions for chamber music, such as his Sonatina (1948, for flute), Toccata (1949), a string quartet (1950) and for orchestra Scherzo (1950) and Suite for Spring (1951). In the jazz area he initially oriented himself towards West Coast Jazz . He later wrote larger-format jazz compositions such as his Suite PEI (1973) and the five-movement Transformations (1975). His composition The Torch (1988) was performed by Rob McConnell during the Winter Olympics in Calgary . His plateaus: Cariboo Country Tone Poem were performed and recorded with the CBC Vancouver Orchestra .

Prizes and awards

In 1976 he received the first Juno Award , which was given for an album of contemporary jazz, for the recording of his Atlantic Suite with his band Nimmons 'N' Nine Plus Six . In 1993 he was appointed Officer of the Order of Canada for his services to the music of Canada .

Web links

• Phil Nimmons ( English, French ) In: Encyclopedia of Music in Canada . published by The Canadian Encyclopedia .
• Nimmons at the University of Toronto