Noted for its unique style and original repertoire, Time Warp is co-led by drummer Barry Elmes and bassist Al Henderson, with Kelly Jefferson on tenor and soprano sax, and Kevin Turcotte on trumpet and flugelhorn.

As the Jazz Quartet-in-Residence, Time Warp will present concerts, master classes and workshops, in addition to working with students one-on-one and in ensembles.

Savvy fans and jazz ‘newbies’ alike will have the opportunity to enjoy a free concert by the renowned quartet at York on October 28 from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. in McLaughlin Performance Hall as part of the Music at Midday series. Immediately following the concert, Time Warp will conduct a free jazz workshop, 1:30 – 3:00 p.m. in room 207 at McLaughlin College. Observers are welcome.

With a performance record spanning 25 years, Time Warp is one of the most celebrated Canadian jazz ensembles of its generation. The musicians’ touring schedules have taken them to the global concert stages of North and South America, Europe and East Asia.

“We’re very pleased to be working with Time Warp,” said Michael Coghlan, Chair of the music department. “Their international reputation and performing experience will bring valuable real-world understanding to our students, which is an important part of our educational commitment of excellence and innovation.”

All of the members of Time Warp now teach exclusively at York. “So, if you want to study with Time Warp, you have to come to York,” remarked Coghlan.

The band was formed in 1980 by Elmes and Henderson, who were both students in York University’s jazz program in the ‘70s. Conceived as a vehicle for writing and performing original music, Time Warp became an overnight success, releasing five recordings between 1982 and 1992 while leading the way for many other Canadian jazz bands.

Long before the term “world music” was widely known, Time Warp was drawing on cultural influences from around the world, including the rhythms and harmonic structures of West African music, Japanese koto music, Hungarian folk songs, North American urban funk rhythms and New Orleans parade music. While firmly rooted in the long tradition of improvised jazz music, the band focuses on original compositions, while embracing nearly the whole of jazz chronology. Their material ranges from ‘30s swing to ‘40s bebop and ‘50s cool, to the ethnic modalism of John Coltrane and the melodic freedom of the early ‘60s Ornette Coleman Classic Quartet.

Time Warp’s extensive discography includes their most recent CD, Warp IX, which received the 2003 Canadian Independent Music Award for best jazz recording.

Individually, each member of Time Warp is an accomplished instrumentalist and Juno Award winner and/or involved in a Juno Award-winning project.

A fixture on the Toronto jazz scene since the early ‘80s, Elmes is one of Canada’s finest drummers, composers and bandleaders. At home in many musical styles, he has worked as a sideman for such eminent artists as Kenny Wheeler, Dizzy Gillespie, Tommy Flanagan, Dewey Redman, Charlie Haden, Don Thompson, Ed Bickert and the Moe Koffman Quintet. Elmes was named Jazz Musician of the Year by Jazz Report magazine in both 1993 and 1994, as well as Drummer of the Year for three consecutive years, 1994 to 1996. A part-time instructor in York’s music department since 1974, he became a full-time professor in the jazz studies program last year.

Active on the Toronto jazz scene since the mid ‘70s, bassist Henderson is well-known for his adventurous writing style. His compositions have been recorded by Alex Dean, Don Pullen and Jane Bunnett, to name a few. In 1995, he received the SOCAN award for original jazz composition, and in the same year was named Composer of the Year by Jazz Report magazine. As a bassist, Henderson has worked with the likes of Arnett Cobb, Slim Gaillard, Eddie ‘Cleanhead’ Vinson and Jane Bunnett, among many others.

Jefferson has worked with many of Toronto’s leading musicians, including Dave Young, Don Thompson, Jim Vivian, David Braid, Lorne Lofsky, Mark Eisenman, Neil Swainson and William Carn. He has also performed with the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, The Vanguard Jazz Orchestra, Ray Brown, Renee Rosnes, Denzal Sinclaire, Ranee Lee and Dee Dee Bridgewater, among others. Jefferson has toured extensively throughout the U.S. and Europe with legendary trumpet player Maynard Ferguson and his Big Bop Nouveau Band. His other tours include bands led by pianists Dave Restivo and Bryn Roberts and The Tommy Dorsey Orchestra.

Turcotte has been named Jazz Trumpeter of the Year multiple times by Jazz Report magazine. He has crisscrossed the globe, touring North and South America with Time Warp, Italy with Don Byron and Russia with the Dave McMurdo Jazz Orchestra. A consummate collaborator, Turcotte has performed on more than 50 recordings with the likes of Kenny Wheeler, Tito Puente, Dave Holland, Kenny Kirkwood, Pat LaBarbera, Shirley Eikhard, Bill Grove and Rob McConnell and the Boss Brass.

Former longtime Time Warp member and multiple Juno-winning saxophonist Mike Murley – an alumnus of York’s music department who also now teaches at his alma mater - will stand in for Jefferson in Time Warp’s October 28 concert at York.

In addition to the
members of Time Warp, some of Canada’s finest jazz musicians teach at York, which boasts Canada’s oldest and largest university jazz program. Faculty members include saxophonist David Mott; vocalists Bonnie Brett and Rita di Ghent; pianists Mark Eisenman, Frank Falco and Richard Whiteman; guitarists Lorne Lofsky and Roy Patterson; trumpeter Mike Malone; bassist Artie Roth; and drummer Barry Romberg.

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Media contact:

Mary-Lou Schagena, Communications, Faculty of Fine Arts, York University, 416-736-2100, ext. 20421 / schagena@yorku.ca

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