Cannot explain the magic of music
The music I like to play comes from a place of joy, happiness, and soul
Cory Weeds
After spending his entire adult life immersed in jazz and the music scene, Cory Weeds is still fascinated by the mysterious alchemy that creates a memorable performance. “The funny thing about music, I often wonder, why is this working? Or what changed from the last time?”
Weeds admits he does not have the answers; in fact, sometimes he doesn’t even know if his mojo is working. “This one time, I was so jet-lagged … just dead on my feet. I was on the verge of selling all of my equipment when I got off stage. Then these people came up and said “Wow! We’ve never heard you sound that good.”
Despite not fully understanding the magic, Weeds does not let fear of the unknown hold him back. He has been described as the hardest-working man in jazz, and it would be hard to argue against it: his resume looks like it should belong to three people.
He founded and ran a jazz club in Vancouver, for 13 years; has been the leader on more than 20 albums, while working as a sideman on many others; and has also been the producer on more than 250 recordings. Weeds also established and runs his own record label, which won a Grammy, in 2023, in Best Large Ensemble Jazz category. He has a piece of a Juno award, teaches, serves on boards, promotes festivals and spreads awareness of jazz throughout British Columbia and beyond.
“I love the music; I love the people that make the music,” he says. “Energywise, some people have a gift of being able to study music ten hours a day. My gift is being able to make things happen. I do a lot of things.”
He does indeed do a lot of things, all the while working on his craft as a musician. One critic has tagged him as an “expressive saxophonist,” a label which seems to make Weeds a little uncomfortable. “I’m a self-deprecating guy,” he said. “I’m rooted in the tradition of hard bop, and I gravitate toward the more soulful, more lyrical side.
“The music I like to play comes from a place of joy, happiness, and soul.”
And that is the vibe the Saxophonist Cory Weeds Quartet will be bringing to the Yukon Arts Centre on Nov. 16, as part of the Jazz on the Wing concert series. The hard-bop style is ideally suited for the kind of exuberant and upbeat performance the quartet is aiming for. The subgenre is an extension of bebop (drawing on R&B, gospel and the blues), to create a sound that is funky and somewhat rambunctious, leaning heavily on the saxophone and piano.
“We’re actually bringing a jazz version of some songs done by Huey Lewis and the News, [a pop-rock band popular in the eighties and early nineties.] We were listening to an album and I said, ‘This music really lends itself to a jazz organ approach.’ We’ll be bringing that music, and some original music and some greasy, down-home-again stuff. People are going to have fun.”
After the Yukon gig, the band is heading into the studio to record an album tentatively titled “Boop, Bop, Bing, Bash!”
Despite the rhapsodic lyricism he is drawn to, someone as driven as Weeds could all too easily be infected with the cynicism and treachery that pervades the music industry—a danger he recognized early on.
“I was never going to let this business make me bitter,” he said. “I love music too much. It is disheartening, but you have a choice. You can spend all your time getting upset with how the streaming companies are screwing us, or you can use what’s available to us to stay above the line.
“I can’t remember who said it, but if you take care of the music, the music will take care of you.”
Weeds, however, does not depend solely on music to ward off bad juju. He takes care of his body and his soul.
“As I get older, I am very much concentrating on communicating with people, making sure they have a good time. I am not up there trying to prove anything; I leave it up to the people to say if we are good or bad … It is not for me to make that decision.”
“I try not to care, because that’s when you get into your head.”
Being breezy and laid back, however, does not seem to come naturally to Weeds. His pre-game ritual sounds anything but carefree. “You have to put care into every aspect. I make sure I warm-up properly. Did the sound check go okay? Am I playing music that speaks to me?”
Which brings us back to the mystery of making magnificent music that brings merriment to the masses, which, unfortunately, remains as elusive as an eel in an estuary. “Sometimes you can do all of those things, and nothing works.”
However, those occasions are rare for the expressive saxophonist who remains a self-deprecating dynamo in Canada’s jazz scene.
