INDUSTRY TACTICS with FRIENDLY RICH

RIP Jeff Burke -- I am so sad to see you leave us. We are bassoonless.

Jeff Burke was a beautiful soul, a true original, and giant among us. I mean, he played the bassoon and Theremin! I remember asking Bob Wiseman: "Do you know any bassoon players in town?" ...and the rest is a rich history. I'm forever grateful to Bob for helping forge that connection, and to Jeff for every musical adventure we had together. I cherish each of them.

When the Sun Ra Arkestra came to Toronto, Jeff quickly put on the space smock and joined the band. They tried to abduct him back to live with them in their interstellar jazz house. Jeff was honoured to be asked, as you could imagine. But he stayed in Toronto, wanting to be close to his daughter Seren, his family, his partner Juliann, and of course, the community of musicians that he knew and loved. That was JB.

He was famously late for gigs, but I quickly realized that the art of booking Jeff was one of deep anticipation. Who gives a shit about time, the downbeat, the venue, or the gig, even? The excitement of when he'd eventually arrive through those doors, with his giant duffle bag of tricks, his slightly broken glasses, dangling together with a piece of piano wire -- a true magician. In the end, Jeff was never really late, as Gandalf reminds us: "A wizard is never late, nor is he early. He arrives precisely when he means to". He was a beautiful man and always added such joy to any stage or space that we ever shared.

He once played all of Master of Puppets on the bassoon at The Brampton Indie Arts Festival, and of course, when I arranged Rush "A Farewell to Kings", his bassoon loomed large. Of course, he's the very first episode of my podcast, Industry Tactics. He's a dear friend, who I will hold with me, as I move forward both on and off the stage.

In 2008, The Lollipop People lived together for a week in Montreal when we were presenting The Friendly Rich Show. It was so special being in Jeff's orbit; he'd stay up all night talking on the phone, or re-reading some Dan Brown novel he had already read. Jeff squeezed the most out of life, and when he hugged you, that was an instrumental part of the squeezing. His epic hugs would last forever, and I wish I could have one more. I know so many of us in this city love Jeff Burke and are so thankful to have known him. He will never be forgotten, legendary busker, creative musician, caring father, sci-fi lover, gentle human.

Safe passage, fellow dreamer.

A lovely chat with oboist Caitlin Broms-Jacobs of the trio TACAMIS. Caitlin is joined by Tracy Wright (English horn) and Allen Harrington (bassoon) on this stellar new recording of Bach's Goldberg Variations (Leaf Music), as arranged by Broms-Jacobs. We discuss the Canadian classical music scene, music education and much more. Dig in!

So great to stroll down memory lane with an old label mate, Wollo, aka László Bertholini. We talk about those early days on Hazelwood Records, touring in Europe, and also the inner workings of The Great Bertholinis. With a new EP "The Eye of the Beholder" just released, we discuss this recording and reuniting with his pals. So many deep thoughts in this talk, buckle up, we're gonna re-crash the Hazelwood van while listening to this beauty!

What a deep discussion with Royal Wood, we discuss his music education, contemplations of leaving music, only to bounce back with one of his finest recordings yet, Dear John. A heartfelt interview with one of Canada's finest recording artists, enjoy!

What an inspiring chat with Pulitzer-prize winning composer and musician, Raven Chacon. We unpack his recent piece, Tiguex, where he worked with hundreds of musicians from Albuquerque New Mexico in performing a piece that took all day, and spanned across various locations in the city, from hot air balloon to volcano! An amazing chat, we talk Guelph, Postcommodity, bird calls, and so much more! Prepare to be dazzled by the great Raven Chacon...