By Malcolm Holt
Special to the Record
On Thursday, March 7, the Georgia Straight Jazz Society hosts The Valley Cats, a four-piece jazz, R&B, and funky ensemble comprising local Comox Valley musicians Mike Berman (drums, percussion), Mike Eddy (piano), Grahame Edwards (bass), and Charity Monro (vocals).
Rachel Cooper will also join the band on sax for this special gig at the High Tide Public House in downtown Courtenay.
Over the years, all these artists have played together in assorted musical projects. In 2023, they decided that it was time to take all that chemistry, make it official, and form The Valley Cats.
Their musical mission is to entertain audiences with their own variations of popular songs. Their repertoire includes some original jazz tunes written by Edwards. The group is expansive in its tastes, with a glorious eclectic mix of styles. It keeps the most sophisticated musical palates entertained with jazz standards like Blue Skies, all the way to smoky, classic R&B tunes, such as Dinah Washington’s Evil Gal Blues.
Since his arrival in the Valley, Berman (drums and percussion) has been aware of the need for all the diverse musical skills in our area to come together and give audiences what they want. Berman’s versatility and talent have landed him in many musical venues as he travelled all over North America. He developed his early influences in the diverse Montreal jazz scene, recording studios of New York City, and in the smoky honky-tonks of Baton Rouge. More recently, Berman has displayed his rock, funk and R&B talents, playing for six years with the Al Foreman House Band at Jake O’Grady’s Roadhouse in Vancouver. He then moved on to head up a successful jazz house band at the Bourbon Street Grill on the Mainland for three years. In 2015, after hearing of a vibrant music scene on Vancouver Island, he relocated to the Comox Valley, where he has played with many diverse artists and bands, including MoonShine and Blue Tonic. Berman’s love of jazz keeps him close to the genre, and he feels blessed to have found like-minded bandmates that make up the great talent in The Valley Cats.
Eddy (piano), was a band teacher for 35 years before coming to the Comox Valley. Many bands have been fortunate enough to have Eddy join them in several projects in the area (Sympatico, West Coast Jazz, Starlight 7).
He consistently demonstrates his skill and ease at the piano, playing various styles such as Dixieland, rock, classical and Jazz.
Edwards (bass), is a multi-instrumentalist, known for providing a foundation for many diverse projects in our musical community. Always fascinated by sound and music from an early age, He studied keyboard and strings in the UK and, upon his arrival in Canada, enrolled in the school band playing string bass. Now retired from a career teaching music, Edwards plays with several bands and ensembles in and around the Valley. He has written several original songs, and The Valley Cats will perform a sampling of these.
Lead vocalist Monro studied jazz performance at CYMC, the Victoria Conservatory of Music Summer Jazz Workshop, and Malaspina University College. No stranger to performing, jazz is Monro’s first love, and she brings authentic passion to her music. She is widely known for her diverse achievements, and has played with many collaborations, both on and off Vancouver Island. Monro’s musical choices, her creative and passionate adaptions of current tunes, and her smooth renditions of standard jazz songs, make The Valley Cats an act that you don’t want to miss.
Downbeat for this two-hour show is at 7 p.m. Admission is $15 for members, $20 for non-members. Arrive early to get a good seat. Meals will be served from the pub menu until 8:15 p.m., and drinks will be available for the entire show.
Visit www.georgiastraightjazz.com to select the calendar tab and see the forthcoming spring and summer concerts between now and September.
Malcolm Holt is the vice-president of the Georgia Straight Jazz Society