Internationally-acclaimed Edmonton jazz trombonist Audrey Ochoa and well-known Calgary drummer Jon May are planning big nights of ska for their home cities.
The origins of their group, The Canadian Ska Orchestra, go back to 2018. Edmonton’s Yardbird Suite featured a series called the Yardbird Suite Orchestra. Different people would lead a big band live onstage.
Ochoa was approached to head one up. Edmonton saxophonist Dave Babcock said, “You need a theme.”
“I asked, ‘Can the theme just be songs I like?'” she laughs. He told her no, she needed a real theme.
“So I thought, let’s do a ska orchestra!”
Around the world there are several big bands who focus on the genre. They call themselves ska orchestras.
Leading such a group was really fun, she says, so when May asked about officially starting one, she was in.
They launched the Canadian Ska Orchestra, performed two shows, and had more scheduled. Then the pandemic hit. May moved away. (Cue sad horn sound.)
But now, four years later, May is back and so is the Orchestra! And they’re bringing fresh faces and new repertoire to the stage.
Growing up in the 80s and 90s, Ochoa says fun, horn-forward ska made an impact on her. It blends Jamaican rhythms like reggae and rocksteady with elements of jazz, punk, and pop.
“It’s basically the happiest music ever conceived,” she says.
This time around their line-up includes 15 musicians. With five saxophones, three trombones and three trumpets among them, there’s going to be a lot of power coming from the stage.
The Canadian Ska Orchestra is playing the Yardbird Suite on January 10 and the Ironwood Stage & Grill in Calgary on January 11.
The Orchestra musicians include Holly Sangster, Nathan Cedeño, Jeremiah McDade, Johnny McCormack, Dave Babcock, Audrey Ochoa, Olivia Menard, Ken Read, David Lavoie, Eric Weiden, Zach Semaniuk, Morgan Hanna, Steven Fletcher, Dan Churchill, and Jon May.
“Swamp Castles” from Frankenhorn, Audrey Ochoa’s 2020 album:
