By Genevieve Huchulak
Special to the Record
Thursday, May 9, marks the end of our 2023-24 Thursday Night Jazz winter series.
To celebrate surviving another challenging post-COVID year, with changing venues and shifting times, the Georgia Straight Jazz Society is presenting a special season-closing concert of Steely Dan music at Florence Filberg Centre at 7:30 p.m. Admission is by ticket only ($35). Tickets have been on sale during the past month at outlets in Comox, Courtenay and Cumberland, and any unsold tickets on the concert date will be available for sale after 6:30 p.m. at the door.
Stealing Dan (Comox Valley) comprises well-known Central Island musicians and vocalists who undertook to perfect many of the original songs performed by the great jazz rock band Steely Dan. Although the music is 50 years old, it’s timeless – and it’s performed in such a way that with your eyes closed, you cannot hear the difference from the original.
Band members include Jim Papp - lead vocals, electric piano, acoustic guitar; Jeff Gillespie - electric guitar, vocals; John Mang - pianos, synthesizers; Art Van Volsen – drums; Jeff Drummond - bass; Charity Monro - harmony vocals; Coleen Brooks - harmony vocals; Claudio Fantinato - alto saxophone, and Rachel Cooper - tenor saxophone.
Come on down and enjoy a Thursday night with a difference. Bring a partner, and enjoy one of the dance floors, or alternatively, sit back and drift through some great oldies.
The Georgia Straight Jazz Society will be shifting its regular concert venue to 40 Knots Winery, 2400 Anderton Road. The opening event will be on June 20 with the Edie Daponte Quartet. For more information, visit georgiastraightjazz.com.
Genevieve Huchulak is the president of the Georgia Straight Jazz Society