Tommy Banks (politician)

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Tommy Banks, 2017

Thomas Benjamin Banks (born December 17, 1936 in Calgary , Alberta ; † January 25, 2018 ) was a Canadian politician (member of the Senate from 2000 to 2011), who initially worked as a jazz pianist and had long television shows as a musician. He also worked as a conductor .

Live and act

Banks moved to Edmonton in 1949, where he became a member of Don DT Thompson's quintet the following year . In the 1960s he had his first television show, The Solo Piano of Tommy Banks. From 1968 to 1983 he hosted The Tommy Banks Show, which ran on CBC . He played with Clifford Jordan , Sonny Stitt , John Handy , Zoot Sims , Mark Murphy , Anita O'Day , Nat Adderley , Al Cohn , Pepper Adams , Joe Williams , Art Farmer and many others. He also played several albums with Big Miller as well as with The New Orleans Connection , Cheryl Fisher and PJ Perry. In 1978 he performed with his big band at the Montreux Jazz Festival . In 1983 he was the first jazz band to tour the People's Republic of China with his quintet since 1949.

As a conductor, he has directed symphony orchestras in North America and Europe. He released several albums on Century II Records. Between 1989 and 1995 he was a member of the Canada Council for the Arts . He was also a member of the American National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences , the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences and the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television .

In 2000, Governor General Adrienne Clarkson appointed him a member of the Canadian Senate on the recommendation of Prime Minister Jean Chrétien . As a member of the Liberal Party of Canada , Banks was the chairman of the Senate Standing Committee of the Energy, the Environment and Natural Resources from 2002 to 2009 . Due to age, he left the Senate on December 17, 2011 at the age of 75.

Prizes and awards

As a musician, Banks has received numerous awards such as the Juno Award , the Gemini Award and the Grand Prix du Disques Canada as well as several ARIA Awards . He was a member of the Alberta Order of Excellence and an officer in the Order of Canada . He was also honored with an honorary doctorate from the University of Alberta .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Edmonton jazz pianist and former senator Tommy Banks dies
  2. ^ Marylu Walters CKUA: Radio Worth Fighting for Edmonton 2002, p. 150
  3. ↑ Tom Lord The Jazz Discography (online, February 26, 2014)
personal data
SURNAME Banks, Tommy
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Banks, Tommy Benjamin (real name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Canadian politician and musician
DATE OF BIRTH December 17, 1936
PLACE OF BIRTH Calgary
DATE OF DEATH January 25, 2018