Rob McConnell

Early Life and Career

Rob McConnell was raised in Toronto, where he played slide trombone in high school. But his career began in Edmontonin 1954 with the band of saxophonist Don “D.T.” Thompson. After working for three years with a brokerage firm in Toronto (during which time he began playing the valve trombone), he resumed his career as a pianist with Alex Lazaroff's Rhythm Rockets.

While studying with Gordon Delamont from 1958 to 1962 and playing in and writing for Delamont's rehearsal band, McConnell was a trombonist with Bobby Gimby. McConnell also formed his own rehearsal band. In 1964, he worked in New York with Maynard Ferguson’s big band. He returned to Toronto later that year and became one of the city's leading studio players. He was also active as an arranger and composer.

Boss Brass

In 1968, Rob McConnell formed the Boss Brass, which became one of Canada's most successful groups. It was through his leadership of the Boss Brass that McConnell emerged in the 1980s as one of the major Canadian jazz musicians on the world stage. His orchestral writing and valve trombone playing were complementary opposites: the former was subtle, controlled, ambitious and occasionally whimsical; the latter was brash, vigorous and often broadly humorous.

In 1997, McConnell reorganized the Boss Brass into a tentet. This helped to emphasize the instrumental talents of some of Toronto's best younger players, such as pianist Dave Restivo and saxophonist Mike Murley. The band's first recording, Tentet, released through Justin Time, won a Juno Award in 2001.

Concurrent with the downturn in studio work in Toronto during the early 1980s, and due to the frequency with which stage bands played his arrangements (including the eight compositions on All in Good Time, all published by Jenson), McConnell became increasingly active in the US, Canada and Europe as a teacher. He taught at the Dick Grove School of Music in Los Angeles in 1988–89.

Recordings

The celebrated 16-piece (later 22-piece) Boss Brass recorded extensively for several labels, including the high-profile Concord Jazz. McConnell was also featured as leader on several small-group recordings for Concord. His tentet was also prolific, releasing three recordings between 2000 and 2003. In 2002, McConnell also released two big band recordings, Riffs I Have Known (Recall) and Live with the Boss (Black & Blue).

As a trombonist, McConnell appeared on recordings by a number of artists, including Nimmons'n' Nine Plus Six, singers Mel Tormé and Dave Frishberg, vibraphonist Peter Appleyard and pianist Oliver Jones.

Other Activities

Throughout his career, Rob McConnell also led small jazz groups with guitarist Ed Bickert as a constant in the rhythm section. Guido Basso, Ian McDougall, and Rick Wilkins joined in variously on the front-line. McConnell appeared as a soloist in similar settings at several US festivals, including the 1990 Concord Jazz Festival in California.

Awards

Canadian National Jazz Awards

• Arranger of the Year (2002)
• Trombonist of the Year (2002)
• Arranger of the Year (2003)
• Trombonist of the Year (2003)
• Acoustic Group of the Year (Rob McConnell Tentet) (2003)
• Big Band of the Year (Rob McConnell Tentet) (2003)
• Arranger of the Year (2004)
• Trombonist of the Year (2004)
• Big Band of the Year (Rob McConnell Tentet) (2004)
• Big Band of the Year (Rob McConnell Tentet) (2005)
• Trombonist of the Year (2006)
• Big Band of the Year (Rob McConnell Tentet) (2006)

Juno Awards

• Best Jazz Album (Big Band Jazz) (1978)
• Best Jazz Album (Present Perfect) (1981)
• Best Jazz Album (All in Good Time) (1984)
• Best Jazz Album (The Brass is Back) (1992)
• Inductee, Canadian Music Hall of Fame (1997)
• Best Traditional Jazz Album – Instrumental (The Rob McConnell Tentet) (2001)

Others

• Best Jazz Instrumental Performance, Big Band (All in Good Time), Grammy Awards (1984)
• Honorary Doctor of Letters, Francis Xavier University (1986)
• SOCAN Jazz Award, SOCAN (1992)
• Best Arrangement on an Instrumental (“Strike Up the Band”), Grammy Awards (1993)
• Best Instrumental Arrangement with Accompanying Vocal(s) (“I Get a Kick Out of You”), Grammy Awards (1996)
• Prix Oscar Peterson, FIJM (1997)
• Officer, Order of Canada(1998)
• SOCAN National Achievement Award, SOCAN (1999)

(See also Jazz in Canada.)

An earlier version of this article originally appeared in the Encyclopedia of Music in Canada.