RICK KILBURN | Master as Mentor

Article from IAJE newsletter (Fall 2004) by Jeremy Hepner

It has always been the tradition in jazz that the elders educate the young in the ways of this music. Charlie Parker took Miles under his wing and helped him to develop as an artist on the bandstand. Miles' groups, in turn, churned out generations of young musicians who went on to steer the path of jazz. Mentoring has been the traditional way in which the language of jazz has been carried on and a local example of this tradition is Canadian bassist, Rick Kilburn. He is a jazz giant who has continued the tradition of teaching, mentoring and passing the knowledge along.

Born in Richmond, BC in the early 1950's, Kilburn was welcomed into the world during a very rich time in the evolution of jazz. His father, jazz guitarist Jim Kilburn, was busy playing in the swinging Vancouver jazz scene. Additionally, his father became one of the founding members of the original Cellar Jazz Club during this same period. It was through the association with the club that major artists like Wes Montgomery, Howard Roberts and Don Thompson came to hang out and play and talk jazz in the Kilburn living room, making a strong impression on the then young Rick. Hanging out with Dad at The Cellar, Rick was steeped in the tradition and the language of the masters by hearing them live. "I also fell asleep in a lot of different laps back in those days," laughs Kilburn. "I think what really got me into jazz was the fact that those musicians could really communicate with me at my level, which was basically ground level. They were never afraid to get down on the ?oor and play with me." And so, from an early age and with the in?uence and the mentoring of masters, Rick took up the bass and began his own period of apprenticeship, now on the bandstand instead of in the audience.

Rick was active in his high school music program and, upon graduation, headed to where all of the young jazz lions were going at that time -- the Berklee College of Music in Boston. Moving to Boston in 1973 marked the beginning of a new chapter; in?uential teachers like Tony Texeria and drummer Joe Hunt were inspirational. Fellow students included the likes of Kenny Werner, Joe Lovano, and John Sco?eld. Feeding off each other's enthusiasm led to his accelerated growth. Soon he was playing with Chet Baker, Claudio Roditi and touring with Airto and Flora Purim. By the end of his time at Berklee, he was ready for a bigger challenge and New York called. Building on connections from Berklee and hard work, he soon found himself playing all over New York with some of the greatest names in jazz: Joanne Brackeen, Mike Knock, Andy Levern, Lyle Mays and Jerry Bergonzi, among others. The friendship with Jerry Bergonzi led to Kilburn's association with the Brubecks. He toured as the bass player with Dave Brubeck, Paul Desmond and the two generations of Brubeck's band for two years and continued on with Mose Allison for another seven years after that.

With such great experiences behind him, Kilburn longed for his West Coast home and made the move back to British Columbia in 1983. A favorite story has Rick arriving home and staying with his parents in Qualicum on Vancouver Island. "It was during this time that I received a call from a couple of teenagers who were into playing and they asked me if I wanted to come over to their parent's place and "jam". I thought I would, as they seemed so committed. I went over and was completely overwhelmed at the abilities and the level of musicianship of these kids. Of course, now we all know them as two Canadian jazz greats - saxophonist/pianist Phil Dwyer and bassist Pat Collins. It was also around this time that I got a call from a teenage jazz pianist in Nanaimo named Diana Krall. She too was living on Vancouver Island and called me to see if I wanted to play. We struck up a strong friendship and played gigs together while we were both living on the island. Around this time I also began teaching bass and jazz improvisation at Malispina College. I taught Pat Collins there as well as trumpeter Ingrid Jensen. It was a very exciting time for me as I saw so many talented young players coming up."

Around 1986, Kilburn moved to Vancouver where he started his own recording studio and continued to produce music. He had been recording Hugh Fraser since 1984 and was lucky enough to be involved with two Juno Award winning projects with him. In addition to West Coast Music Awards and many other highly regarded projects, jazz and jazz education have always been very much to the forefront for Rick. . He has used the studio as a vehicle for jazz education by presenting vocal master classes, where students work through a song with a local professional singer and then record the song with a live rhythm section. As a mentor, he has continued that jazz tradition with a project called the Peters Drury Trio.

The Peters Drury Trio was a group of three high school students from Canada's north, the Yukon Territory. Working originally with Grant Simpson, who passed the torch to Kilburn, they went on to develop a strong young sound based on the repertoire of the classic jazz songbooks. Kilburn says, "I became the bass player in the group so that I could help them grow musically within the ensemble. Actually," Kilburn laughs, "I was the only one old enough to rent a van so I brought many added bonuses to the touring group." The Peters Drury Trio With Rick Kilburn went on to tour Canada and selected areas of the Untied States over a ?ve-year period. During this time, the group also became a signature group for UNESCO, the cultural wing of the United Nations, and went on tour throughout British Columbia's interior, presenting concerts and workshops on behalf of the British Columbia Music Educators Association.

Kilburn's new mentoring odyssey is centered on the Composer's Jazz Orchestra Society (CJOS). This organization's mandate, founded by Kilburn, is to create opportunities for composers to write original Canadian compositions for jazz orchestra, to archive Canadian jazz compositions and arrangements by composers past and present, and to present concerts of works commissioned by the society. Another interesting aspect of CJOS is a jazz orchestra for outstanding high school students. Through CJOS, it is hoped that a student band can be formed that would have professionals leading each section in the group, providing that much needed mentorship-through-modeling example. As with many projects, ideas for funding are always welcome and any ideas IAJE Canada readers may have are always welcome.

Rick Kilburn is now keeping busy with a new project for singer Caroline Drury. As one of the singers (and the "Drury") of the Peters Drury Trio, Caroline has stepped out on her own and, with mentorship and guidance from Kilburn, is now having great success. Recently featured in Philadelphia, Drury was one of four acts selected to perform for a jazz series where Pat Metheny, Wynton Marsalis, and Diane Reeves presented the other three performances. From leader to sideman, from mentor to musician and producer, Rick Kilburn continues to ?nd new ways to keep the spirit of jazz at the vanguard. Frequently on tour, look for him soon in performance near you.

For more jazz anecdotes or to contact Rick Kilburn, please check out his website at www.rickkilburn.com. Rick Kilburn welcomes all correspondence about jazz, education and recording.