McGill University

[Tyler Durden]

Hey I'm new here, I live on the other side of this great country of ours we call Canada. Jazzeast.com doesn't have a forum, and I looked around Canada, and the vancouver scene has the best forum. So I'd thought I'd join up and try to get to know some people. I play guitar, and just started getting into jazz. Some of my fav jazz dudes are Bill Frisell, Wayne Krantz, John Scofeild, John Zorn, and non jazz Les Claypool, TOOL, Jimi Hendrix, ect. Anyway I'm getting ready and thinking about attending McGill University and study jazz, so I just wanted to know if anyone out there went there, and could tell me what it's like! thanks alot.

[robnz]

I loved it but it's pretty straight ahead. If you don't feel the need to learn about how Wes Montgomery played, you probably won't like it.

[Brian Nation]

I loved it but it's pretty straight ahead. If you don't feel the need to learn about how Wes Montgomery played, you probably won't like it.So how come you loved it, Bonecr . . . I mean robnz?

Given the contribution McGill has made to the amazing pool of jazz talent in Vancouver it must be a pretty hip school. Hey . . . seeing as their best students and faculty are here, now, maybe you should move to Vancouver and go to Cap, Tyler!

[John Doheny]

I did some recording at McGill studio "B" around Christmas 1998. At that time I believe the school had two guitar instructors, Greg Clayton and Mike Rud. Greg was supposed to play on the date, but he wound up having to stay an extra day in Toronto at a session for some singer whose name escapes me at the moment, and Mike came in to sub for him. Mike turned out to be an absolutely fabulous player and when he moved out here a few years later I had the pleasure of working a few jobs with him and that first impression was reinforced. Aside from being a great musician, Mike is a really cool and interesting and fun guy, exactly the kind of cat you want in your corner in any kind of playing situation.

Interestingly, on that same trip to Montreal, Greg Clayton's tenor player suddenly became unavailable for his upcoming New Years gig at Koji's, and he hired me to play on that. So I got a chance to check Greg out up close and personal, and I feel confident in saying that you could do a whole lot worse than to study with him ( last I heard he was still teaching at McGill). Greg and I got along like a house on fire, as we are both old school hipsters who take our esthetics from the great master-hipsters like Lenny Bruce, Joe Anscis and Herbert Huncke ( Greg is even mentioned as a source in Benjamin Schafer's "The Herbert Huncke Reader"). So I vote you go to McGill and study with Greg.

Of course if you can't hack the weather you could always come out here and study with Mike.

www.Johndoheny.com

[Tyler Durden]

A cool guys, thanks for the help. I must say I'm really psyched about goin, I hope I get accepted