1. NAGEL TOURS
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PROMOTION TOURS
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20 January 2016 EDMONTON SENIOR
For a half century Frank Sinatra reinvented
the big band jazz genre with his masterful inter-
pretive singing and brought audiences to their
knees. With songs like “Fly Me to the Moon”,
“Strangers in the Night”, “My Way” and “New
York, New York,” big band music became cool
and hip. This past December three notable
Albertan jazz musicians took to the stage at All
Saints’ Anglican Cathedral in Edmonton for “A
Perfectly Frank Christmas Concert,” to honour
Ol’ Blue Eyes’ legacy.
Edmonton’s own legendary bandleader Tom-
my Banks shared the stage with fellow Edmon-
tonian Don Berner, a noted tenor saxophonist
and bandleader of the Don Berner Big Band.
They were joined by well-known trumpeter and
singer Johnny Summers of Calgary. “I feel great
about making this music. It makes anyone
with a soul want to at least tap their toe,” says
Berner. The trio played Christmas favorites and
also paid tribute to the music and influence
of other trailblazers like Harry Connick Jr., the
New Orleans jazz contemporary who influenced
both Summers and Berner. Performing for the
first time together as a trio, their collaboration
will be one of many tributes to the iconic singer
as the world honors Sinatra’s legacy. Sinatra
passed on in 1998, at the age of 83, but this
year marks what would have been his 100th
birthday. Don Berner was a young teen when he
first heard Sinatra and was captivated. Unlike
his peers at McNally Composite High School,
Berner longed for a chance to become a tenor
saxophonist in a big band. One day, Tommy
Banks asked Berner to sub for the young stu-
dent’s saxophone teacher in his band. It was his
first musical gig ever, at 19, but Berner became
a fixture in the Tommy Banks band until he
struck out on his own. “I remember being fea-
tured soloist on a few (Duke) Ellington tunes,
Mooch and Things Ain’t the Way They Used to
Be. I don’t normally remember those kind of
details about gigs but this one meant so much
to me. Tommy Banks was definitely an influence
on my love of this music. He’s a pretty inspiring
figure,” says Berner, who has been playing jazz
and big band music for some 20 years now.
Jazz lyrics have always contained that univer-
sal message about relationship angst, love, risk,
loss or happiness. Summers remembers as an
11-year-old getting a record of Harry Connick
Jr. from a friend and a Louis Armstrong vinyl
record from his mother and getting instantly
hooked. “I really liked Louis Armstrong. I loved
the music, I loved the life in it, the smile, the
emotion and the happiness in it,” he says.
When Summers was fresh out of university, he
met Tommy Banks at one of Bank’s University
of Alberta summer jazz camps. “We stayed in
touch through the years. Meeting him, writing
with him, and playing with him has changed
who I am as a person. He’s a powerful influ-
ence, a genuine soul. He’s a gift to Edmonton,
and Alberta and Canada,” says Summers. The
two protégés and their mentor “swung hard”
and offered a special Christmas concert for
their Edmonton audience. “It’s jazz with a range
of sound and Christmas music presented in a
way they have not heard before,” said Summers.
The Yardbird Suite has booked the trio again for
Christmas 2016.
Tommy Banks: A Frank Admirer
Tommy Banks puts on
a Christmas show to
remember Ol’ Blue Eyes
and the greats of jazz
music
By Gary Gee
Edmontonian Don Berner, tenor saxophonist
and leader of the Don Berner Big Band.
The eminent Tommy Banks, band leader and
driving force behind the show.
Photo: Gary Gee
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