2013 Review by Marvin Dickau

The Community Concert Association scored another big hit Tuesday night as they presented CanUS Jazz Ensemble from Victoria.

CanUS is a sextet comprised of: Toni Blodgett (piano, vocals); Mike Broadley (trumpet, vocals); Jim Armstrong (trombone, vocals); Tom Ackerman (clarinet, saxophone); Joey Smith (bass, vocals); Don Leppard (drums). Each member had an opportunity to display their prodigious ability and virtuosity in an exciting program of Dixieland, New Orleans Jazz, Ragtime and more.

Their unique sound, instrumental and vocal blend, as well as the many solo turns, set them apart from many similar groups. On a personal level, I have not heard such fine playing anywhere before. Vocally, there was a lot of close harmony which they executed smoothly. Instrumentally they meshed perfectly, feeling every rhythm and melody between them. In the vernacular, they are a tight group. At the same time they gave us many subtle turns in the music. For me, there were many moments that literally took my breath away.

With such an outstanding evening, it is impossible to list everything, but there were, in my view, a number of outstanding moments: the energy in Sit Right Down.....the swing rhythm in Begin the Beguine... their tender approach in I Thought About You... the fantastic piano work of Toni Blodgett in Dill Pickles Rag....the Louis Armstrong voice of Mike Broadley, the walking bass parts by Joey Smith, the drum solos by Don Leppard, and the fluid solo work of Jim Armstrong and Tom Ackerman, to name a few. Indeed, every piece was special on its own.

I would like to mention the splendid vocal and instrumental solo work by each musician, in every piece, but suffice it say it was all great, as was their ensemble playing and singing.
The evening ended all too soon, and the group received an enthusiastic standing ovation of appreciation.

In the "Mississippi Rag' , Oct. 2001, reviewer Paige Van Vorst states"CanUS is a one-of-a-kind group. They perhaps feature too many vocals for some listeners, but they're having so much fun it rubs off on the listeners. Toni Blodgett has created a group with a sound unlike any other on the scene today, which is a tremendous accomplishment. If you like small group jazz of the 1930's, you should definitely give this one a try."

Most recently, March 11,2016 Tim Collins wrote a piece in Vic News which aptly describes the appeal that this group of musicians offers to a public of all ages.
go to http://www.vicnews.com/entertainment/371802501.html?mobile=true#.VuOG0vviL54.mailto

Mike Broadley - (Trumpet) With the recent move of Jim Armstrong off Vancouver Island to White Rock, B.C. there was a need for a versatile and quick study trumpet player/singer to replace Jim in CanUS. Keeping the repertoire but adding new and interesting music is the goal we have set for Mike Broadley. He's an exciting and highly skilled musician who continues his full time career with Canada's acclaimed Naden Band, the armed forces contribution to Canada and the world. He is a first call trumpet for every kind of music in Victoria and brings enthusiasm that belies his many years of being a professional musician both in Victoria and in Calgary, Alberta. While in Calgary he established a dixieland style band that played the Cannery for many years and hosted many visiting musicians who were playing Calgary. The piece de resistance is that he is a talented singer and is looking forward to adding his voice to the existing trio vocals that are so much of what makes CanUS what it is - truly unique! You will not be disappointed when you hear the 'new' CanUS and we look forward to seeing you at Hermann's Jazz Club when you next visit Victoria.

Toni Blodgett - (Piano) The concept of a group dedicated to the jazzy trio vocals of the 20's and 30's first came to Toni when the members were gathered to sing Christmas carols with friend and singer, Lynne McNeil. The name CanUS acknowledges that the outstanding musicians in the group originate from both sides of the Canadian/U.S. border. Toni previously played ten years with the Dixieland Express Band; she then formed her own group which has had considerable success both at home in Victoria and in jazz festivals throughout the western and midwestern states as well as in Canada and even Mexico! CanUS Hot Jazz Band was voted as the most requested band at the Sun Valley Jazz Festivals of 2000 and 2003...... and was also the top selling band at festivals in both La Crosse and Madison, Wisconsin. in 2000, Toni was the recipient of Sun Valley's Year "First Lady of Jazz" award, honoring the band's devotion to the arrangments of Connie Boswell and the Boswell Sisters of New Orleans!
Through all this, Toni has retained her love of ragtime and recorded two albums: Heliotrope Bouquet and Stomps, Drags 'n' Rags. She enjoys doing some of the arranging and transcriptions for the band vocals such as for "Me, Myself & I" , Sit Right Down & Write Myself a Letter", "Shine On, Harvest Moon", "When I Take My Sugar To Tea", and "Black-Eyed Susan Brown".

Joey Smith - (Bass) As well as singing in the CanUS vocal trio, Joey wrote the transcriptions for many songs in the CanUS repertoire including most of the Boswell Sisters' and Mills Bros'arrangements.
Joey originates from Chattanooga, Tennessee, and after two years of touring as bassist with the Glenn Miller Orchestra, he received a Masters Degree in Music at Eastman School of Music in Rochester, N.Y. Joey came to Victoria with the Glenn Miller Orchestra show, but love took him off the road to wedded bliss with his Diane and fortunately for us all, they settled here in Victoria! He was, therefore, the U.S. part of CanUS in the original quartet!
He is now settled in Victoria, B.C. as a full time musician, teacher and arranger. He is the busiest musician in the city, working with a diverse cross-section of musical styles, and also recording & touring with Marc Atkinson Trio which has received accolades from throughout North America.
After a stint of two years working aboard the Princess Cruise Lines, Joey has returned to Victoria and is again the bassist for CanUS. In addition to playing bass, Joey sings one of the three harmony parts.
An oustanding musician, arranger and teacher at Victoria Conservatory of Music Joey is without doubt Victoria's most revered musician. He plays in every musical venue there is with a variety of bands and styles. He has played bass in theater productions and concerts with such stars as John Dankworth and Cleo Laine, Houston Person, and many others over the years. He has written an arrangement for symphony and jazz trio, "Tribute to Louis Armstrong" in which he has also performed.

Don Leppard - (Drums) A retired military band leader and arranger, after 25 years in Canada's RCAF, Don settled down to live in Victoria as a musician and contractor. He recorded for CBC and CTV and received his certificate of arranging from the Berklee School of Music. His professionalism is evident in the variety of styles he confidently performs and although he is the only non-singer in the group, he makes a valuable "vocal" contribution in the introduction of "Diga Diga Doo". He receives more respect, however, for his jazz oriented DON LEPPARD BIG BAND and for such projects as recording sound tracks for TV shows currently filming in Vancouver and Victoria.

Al Pease - (clarinet/tenor sax) A Victoria jazz icon over the past 50 years, Al Pease brings his trademark swing to all genres and groups he performs with.Steeped in the music of Benny Goodman, Billie Holiday, Lester Young, and Coleman Hawkins, he draws on the essential roots of jazz to bring his swinging style to the stage.Never overpowering, his performances are a unique blend of nostalgia and the highest quality jazz, that cause listeners to crane their necks for a closer listen.
Born in Kelowna, he grew up in Vancouver, listening to and then playing with the best musicians in the city.After tiring of the erratic paycheck of a free-lance musician (including a stint of living in his car), he opted for a career as a musician in the Canadian Armed Forces.Postings in Edmonton and Winnipeg allowed extensive freelance work on radio and TV, including a two week stand with a young singer named Barbara Streisand.
In 1967, he was invited to play in the joint forces NORAD Band in Colorado, rubbing shoulders with alumni of Stan Kenton, Lawrence Welk and others.This three-year stint was followed by a posting to Victoria and the Naden Band, where he quickly was employed playing in a number of groups including Grand Slam, the Dixieland Express, and the Paul Mascioli Big Band and CanUS.
Now that CanUS has opted out of the travel-to-jazz-festivals in North America part of their history, Al happily joins his CanUS friends as a regular member and bringing joy to many hearts in the Victoria jazz audiences to come to hear us

Doug Rhodes (Bass, Bari Alto and Soprano Saxophones)) Doug grew up near Disneyland and, in fact, played his first trad jazz gig with his piano player brother, Robbie. He also sat in with the 'South Frisco Jazz Band', an experience he never forgot. He spent 5 years as a studio bass and keyboard player in Hollywood (you can hear his celeste on The Association's "Cherish" which is still heard world wide in elevators and dentist offices!) and also toured the U.S. with the rock group Music Machine promoting their hit, "Talk, Talk". Don't let that scare you, however. His love of trad jazz is what prevailed in the end. After a move to Canada, his time now is divided between CanUS and The Stomp Club, Dixie Dreamboats,as well as The Yiddish Columbia Orchestra. Thais, when he is not tending to his business of tuning & rebuilding pianos.

CanUS was born from an idea of creating a jazz quartet of musicians who could also sing complicated harmonies honouring such as the Mills Bros. and the Boswell Sisters of New Orleans.
The four were: Leader, Toni Blodgett on piano; trumpet and trombone player, Jim Armstrong; bassist, Joey Smith and drummer, Don Leppard (no vocals!)
20 years of touring with CanUS and appearing on all 8 CanUS CD's, Jim was integral to the success of CanUS until 2011 when he moved from Victoria to White Rock, BC, a long ferry ride away from Vancouver Island
Fortunately for CanUS, there resided in Victoria an amazing trumpet player & singer who's full time occupation was that of trumpet player with the acclaimed Canadian Forces Band in Victoria, The Naden Band.
This enabled the band to carry forward with their specialized repertoire plus some amazing material brought by Mike to the group
Over the past 30 years, CanUS has remained amazingly stable with only three other musicians being a part of the band: Everett Atchison** replaced Joey Smith on bass during the years that Joey worked on the cruise ships. During that same time, Doug Rhodes was brought into the band to sing Joey's third part harmony and was also able to add his playing of saxophones to the group.
When Everett retired from the bass position, Nathan Gage joined CanUS bringing a fresh and young energy to the group! But as Nathan moved to Montreal where he operates his own music store, Joey Smith, who had come off the high seas back to dry land returned to playing bass.

**CanUS joins Everett Atchison's family in mourning the passing of Everett on December 23rd, 2009. He will be remembered as the fellow who stepped in as bass player, replacing Joey Smith who left Victoria for a sojourn on cruise ships. With quiet competence, Everett enabled CanUS to fulfill a full schedule of festival and local appearances and hardly missing a beat during the changeover. A quiet, graceful man, Everett will be missed by his large family and many friends.

News for September, 2018 is that Doug Rhodes is busy pursuing travel and other interests in his life which is probably something we should all think of doing while we still can! As Hermann's has cut back our schedule and group size to four, we will soldier on without Doug but Al Pease and Mike Broadley make a worthy front line together. It's been great having Doug all these years and his contribution to our concert at the Kennedy Centre will speak for the talent he contributed to our CanUS Jazz group. You can hear it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E-QTESE78Wk

2018: And changes do occur in the band lineup over the years so we are now saying farewell to Tom Ackerman as he retires from being a regular member of CanUS and we thank him for his years of service to our cause of bringing the best of music our audiences.
Replacing him is a long-time Victoria legend, Al Pease on clarinet and sax, adding his flavour to the CanUS mix!
Doug Rhodes is busy pursuing travel and other interests in his life which is probably something we should all think of doing while we still can!
As Hermann's has cut back our schedule and group size to four, we will soldier on without Doug but Al Pease and Mike Broadley make a worthy front line together

CanUS - a joyous sound and entertaining musicality that elicits admiration from other musicians as well as their legions of fans!
Check out their recorded library of 8 acclaimed CD's by going to Our CD's

You can find out where they play in their home city of Victoria, B.C. Where we're playing
For booking information contact: Toni Blodgett, 555 View Royal Ave., Victoria, B.C., CANADA V9B 1B9, Phone: (250)479-8861 or Fax: (250)744-4402, E-mail: canus@islandnet.com