MTL is a new restaurant on Kirschner Road in Kelowna which will be swinging this Friday night as they open up their music series with The Saga Jazz Quartet.
The band is Craig Thomson (Sax), Sean Bray (Guitar), Bernie Addington (Bass), and Scott Gamble (Drums).
Thomson, an award-winning saxophonist and educator, is a thriving asset to the Okanagan jazz community.
Along with running the band program at Mount Boucherie Secondary School on the Westside, he also is the coordinator for the B.C. Interior Jazz Festival which every year brings together 1,500 students from around Canada and the United States to perform.
As well as promoting music education on a local and national level, Craig is an extremely busy and in-demand performer and session musician whose 2012 solo debut CD of all-original compositions (Bright Beginnings), garnered much acclaim and is a staple on CBC radio.
This Yamaha artist has received a music award from the Okanagan Arts Council and helped found the weekly jazz jam at the Rotary Centre for the Arts, a jam where students and professionals alike have an opportunity to create together.
Bray is a well-respected guitarist, composer, and educator who has recently called Kelowna home. An alumni of the prestigious Manhattan School of Music, he was named as one of Canada’s top 50 guitarists of all time by CBC.
He has shared the stage and performed with some of the top names in jazz including George Garzone, Pat LaBarbera, Matt 'Guitar' Murphy from the Blues Brothers, Mike Murley and Vincent Wolfe.
Bray is also an educator and has taught at The University of Guelph and The Toronto Film School.
He is the leader of the popular Sean Bray’s Peach Trio and is endorsed by PRS Guitars, Planet Waves and D’Addario strings.
Addington enjoys a successful career as a freelance musician and private instructor. He has played extensively throughout North America, Europe, and Australia and is a mainstay of Okanagan jazz.
He is a regular adjudicator, performer, and clinician at the B.C Interior Jazz Festival.
Gamble, a versatile drummer, can be heard playing with many genres around the Okanagan Valley. He tours regularly with Schellshock Tribute artists and has played with Dee Daniels, Bill King, Carol Welsman, and pop artists Daniel Powter and Greg Sczebel.
When he is not playing, Gamble can be found working as a professional 3D animator.
The Saga Jazz Quartet will be playing live at MTL this Friday night, Sept. 16.
MTL, a Montreal-inspired restaurant with all made from scratch food, will host live music the third Friday of every month. Open to all ages, the cover charge is $10. Reservations can be made at 778-484-3888.