Candice McMahon
Special to The Morning Star
Stephen Buck, an authentically professional woodwind player, fronts this quintet, which is comprised of local talent from the Okanagan area, including his son.
Buck graduated from the University of Western Ontario with a bachelor’s of arts degree, having studied the clarinet, saxophone, and flute. He then played with the Vancouver Youth Symphony, followed by the University of Toronto Big Band and as the lead alto sax player of the Humber College “A” Band.
After these musical stints, Buck moved to Europe and began his long, illustrious career by conducting the University of Amsterdam Big Band. During this time, he lived and played in London, Paris, Berlin, Amsterdam, Hamburg, Cologne, New York and Atlanta.
Buck experienced some very prominent moments as a professional musician. These include performing Bolero for Leonard Bernstein with the Schleswig-Holstein Festival Orchestra, concerts with the Frankfurt Opera Orchestra in both Frankfurt and in Paris, as well as playing live on the Letterman Show in New York in 1996.
Buck has performed and recorded with jazz musicians Herb Geller, Georgie Fame, Barbara Dennerlein, Peter Autschbach, Benny Bailey, Claudio Roditi, Palle Danielson, Lee Konitz , George Gruntz, Kenny Wheeler, John Taylor, Norma Winstone, Cleo Lane, Johnny Dankworth, Bruce Ditmas, Mike Westbrook, Terje Rypdal, Dino Saluzzi, Jiggs Whigham and Della Reese.
Since moving to Kelowna in 2010, Buck has played with the Okanagan Symphony Orchestra, Kelowna City Band, Night Owls Orchestra, Spectrum Singers, Jazz Café, Major Mambo, Las Vegas Rat Pack Show, Michael Garding Big Band, Kenny (Blues Boss) Wayne and the Okanagan Symphony Wind Ensemble.
Alex Buck, Stephen’s son and piano player in the band, was born in Berlin, Germany and moved to Vancouver Island when he was seven. He has studied piano, trumpet and French horn in both classical and jazz styles. Buck has achieved his Royal Conservatory of Music Grade 10 in piano with first class honours.
Since moving to Kelowna, he has been active in the music scene as a multi-instrumentalist. He has been fortunate enough to play with many of Kelowna’s leading jazz artists such as Bernie Addington, Craig Thomson and Anna Jacyszyn. In May of 2015, Buck was invited to play with the Conn Selmer Centerstage Jazz Band for MusicFest Canada in Toronto. This band features the most outstanding young jazz musicians from all across Canada.
Marshall Rasmussen is one hot Kelowna trumpet player who specializes in jazz and commercial music performance. He holds a bachelor’s of music in jazz performance from the renowned Schulich School of Music at McGill University in Montreal. During his studies, Rasmussen had the opportunity to learn from and perform with some of the greatest musicians in Canada. Well-versed in a wide variety of genres, Marshall has been busy carving out his career as an in-demand professional musician.
Brian McMahon is a much-loved local Vernon musician, who will be playing double bass in this group. McMahon taught high school concert and jazz band, as well as the choir at Kalamalka Secondary for 23 years. He is thrilled to be playing in a multi-aged group.
“I always worry that the popularity of jazz music may fizzle out after the Baby Boomer generation is gone, but then I have had the good fortune to teach and to perform with young people who continue to inspire me in my own playing,” says McMahon. “Surely, with these young hotshots coming up, jazz music will continue to be appreciated and experienced in live performance venues for many years to come.”
Scott Gamble is a top-notch drummer and percussionist living in Kelowna. He has worked with a broad range of artists, bands, and orchestras from progressive metal to high-end jazz, to symphonic, and musical theatre. Gamble is a sought-after studio musician and has played on more than sixty recordings.
The Stephen Buck Quintet will be onstage at the Vernon Jazz Club (3000-31 Street) May 5 at 8 p.m. Doors open at 7:15 p.m. Cash only bar on site. Tickets $20 online at vernonjazz.com and at Expressions of Time (2901-30 Ave), with a $5 rebate at the gig for VJS members.
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