Brodie West

Last updated
Brodie West
Born Saskatoon, Sask., CANADA
Genres Avant-garde jazz, free jazz, experimental
Occupation(s)Musician
Instrument(s) Alto saxophone, clarinet, [1]

Brodie West is a Canadian alto saxophonist who has worked with The Ex, [1] Getatchew Mekuria, [1] Sandro Perri, [2] Lina Allemano, [2] Hamid Drake [3] and Gord Downie. [2]

Contents

Biography

Born in 1975 and raised in Nanaimo, British Columbia, [4] West began playing saxophone in the sixth grade. [4] In his teens, West began performing as well as attending educational programs which led to being awarded a soprano saxophone at the Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival in Idaho, and receiving the Rising Star Award at Musicfest Canada, which included a full scholarship to Humber College in Toronto in 1993. [4]

Career

In 1998, West formed a trio called Zebradonk with drummer Shawn Abedin and trumpeter Alfons Fear. [4] Deciding to do a busking tour of Europe, the trio met Han Bennink at Bimhuis in Amsterdam. [4]

West began studying with Misha Mengelberg in Amsterdam [2] and while there he reconnected with Han Bennink who introduced West to Terrie Hessels of the Dutch experimental band The Ex. [4] West then began touring with The Ex playing over 100 dates between 2005 and 2015. [2] He appeared with The Ex and Getatchew Mekurya on the albums Moa Anbessa , [5] Y'Anbessaw Tezeta , [6] and The Ex at Bimhuis . [7]

West has since formed The Brodie West Quintet which has released the album Clips [8] and Eucalyptus [4] which released the album Kick It Till You Flip It in 2019. [9]

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References

  1. 1 2 3 "Brodie West". Toronto Jazz Festival . Retrieved May 24, 2020.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 McDowall, Kerilie (August 6, 2018). "Brodie West Finds Rhythm with The Ex, Mengelberg, Bennink". Downbeat . Retrieved May 24, 2020.
  3. Devlin, Mike (September 28, 2017). "For Drake, free jazz is freedom from pre-conceived notions". Times Colonist . Retrieved May 24, 2020.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Storring, Nick. "The Aural Perspectives of Brodie West". Musicworks . Retrieved May 24, 2020.
  5. "Moa Anbessa". Bandcamp . Retrieved May 24, 2020.
  6. "Y'Anbessaw Tezeta". Bandcamp . Retrieved May 24, 2020.
  7. "Brodie West: Credits". AllMusic . Retrieved May 24, 2020.
  8. Jacobson, Josef (October 2, 2018). "Nanaimo-raised saxophonist Brodie West back for hometown show at the White Room". Nanaimo News Bulletin. Retrieved May 24, 2020.
  9. "Kick It Till You Flip It". Bandcamp . Retrieved May 24, 2020.