A new community-based jazz orchestra will debut for a Winnipeg audience as part of a monthly concert series.
The Big dig! Band is the creation of dig! magazine, a local bi-monthly jazz magazine, and will be conducted by the University of Manitoba’s Derrick Gardner with Steve Kirby as the artistic director.
The band will be an opportunity for jazz musicians to have their new compositions workshopped and performed by musicians. The first performance will be Thursday, January 15 at The Good Will Social Club, 625 Portage Avenue.
The idea to the band’s structure is a lot like the Mingus Jazz Workshops from the late 50s and early 60s. Those gatherings gave people a chance to bring pieces they’d composed, and have them workshopped, with the option to refine them and bring them back.
The workshop set begins at 8 p.m. with the concert following at 9:30 p.m. Admission is $5 at the door.
