Canadian composers and arrangers take center stage in this electrifying celebration of big band brilliance! Big Band Theory 4.0: Go! Canada! unites four of Saskatoon’s homegrown jazz orchestras — the Footnotes Big Band, the Saskatoon Jazz Orchestra, the Stone Frigate Big Band, and the University of Saskatchewan Jazz Ensemble — for one unforgettable night of artistic talent and powerhouse sound.
This annual community concert tradition showcases the incredible depth and creativity of our province’s jazz scene, featuring bold new works and beloved Canadian classics that capture the spirit, innovation, and diversity of Canada’s musical landscape. From coast to coast to prairie, this is big band jazz with a true Canadian heartbeat.
Get ready for an evening of soaring brass, driving rhythm, and the unmistakable joy of live jazz… Saskatchewan style!
Meet The Bands
Footnotes Big Band:
The Footnotes Big Band is a local ensemble comprised of talented young musicians who share a love of modern jazz music. The group focuses on performing new works arranged and composed by the band members. This Big Band is part of the Footnotes Jazz Collective, a music project created by Rhett Schroeder in the spring of 2020 to showcase different ensembles.
Saskatoon Jazz Orchestra:
The Saskatoon Jazz Orchestra (SJO) is committed to presenting high caliber professional large jazz ensemble music to the city of Saskatoon and beyond. Through programming and featuring celebrated local, national, and international jazz talent, the SJO also creates professional development opportunities for Saskatchewan’s own established and emerging jazz musicians from across the province. While some SJO concerts are stylistically retrospective, others are visionary. Some explore multi-disciplinary components. All our concerts feature important current and emerging musicians whose professional work intersects with the large jazz ensemble idiom.
Stone Frigate Big Band:
The Stone Frigate Big Band brings the big band sound to a playlist that features the greatest hits of the swing era and the American Songbook, alongside R&B and pop music favourites and well-known Latin and jazz charts. The Stone Frigate Big Band was formed in October 1995 at HMCS UNICORN, Saskatoon’s Naval Reserve Division, one of the Royal Canadian Navy’s “stone frigates”. Over the years we have played at public and private functions at locations around Saskatchewan that include Club Jazz at the Saskatchewan Jazz Festival, The Bassment, TCU Place, a number of hotel ballrooms and the Dekker Theatre in North Battleford. We have been regulars at Danceland, the famed swing-era dance hall at Manitou Beach, for over a decade.
USASK Jazz Ensemble:
The U of S Jazz Ensemble has toured western Canada, northern USA, and Quebec, and has commissioned and premiered many new works for the contemporary large jazz ensemble idiom. This ensemble has released 6 CDs in their ‘Bumper Crop’ series and has performed in venues such as Edmonton’s acclaimed Winspear concert hall. The U of S Jazz Ensemble has performed with many acclaimed guest artists, including Jens Lindeman, Campbell Ryga and Slide Hampton.
The USASK Jazz Ensemble is privileged to be under the direction of Dr. Kayla Solomon for their 2024-2025 concert season.
