23 students, 5 bands: the Fraser MacPherson Jazz Fundraiser
A full house of Cap combo recitals at Frankie's

The Fraser MacPherson Fundraiser at Frankie's
You won't get a more comprehensive dose of local jazz students' talent than this: a fundraiser for the Fraser MacPherson Jazz Fund (FMJF), held at Frankie's last Thursday, March 31, 2022.
The FMJF is a non-profit organization that provides local jazz students with scholarships and workshops, so this event is a perfect brand match – all the more so because Cory Weeds is now the president on FMJF's board.
At the fundraiser, mostly fourth-year students at Capilano University performed their ensemble recitals ("combo class") with some faculty – Brad Turner, Steve Kaldestad and more – as guests.
This roundup of the night's five combos will walk you through some of the outstanding traits on display by the up-and-coming musicians.
First band
photo at the top
- Robin Comeau on trumpet
- Robert Helgason on guitar dropped an enviably good piece of stage banter, about how he wrote his original tune while driving a tractor in Saskatchewan (you had to be there!)
- Glenn Lemieux on piano
- David Caballero on bass, who played a full-on gig at Frankie's with Atley King earlier in March 2022
- Casey Anderson on drums
- Faculty guest: Steve Kaldestad on tenor saxophone
- Minor Meeting (Sonny Clark)
- Relapse (Robert Helgason)
- Yardbird Suite (Charlie Parker)
Second

- Michelle Escudero on vocals
- Eric Bates on guitar
- Jacob Chapman on piano
- Faculty guest: André Lachance on bass
- Elijah Tisalona on drums
- Overture (Jacob Chapman)
- You Don’t Know What Love Is (Don Raye & Gene de Paul)
- Meant to Be (Michelle Escudero)
Third

- Feven Kidane on trumpet; I've heard Feven a lot lately, and although she brings unfettered force to the trumpet, she is a good listener and respectful bandmate
- Gordy Li on tenor saxophone
- Casey Thomas-Burns on trombone and vocals, who performed with Sister Jazz Orchestra and NiteCap recently
- Ben Millman on piano, who plays a lot of keyboard gigs out there in the broader pop/R&B/folk music scene, was the biggest showman of the night but came across as likeable
- Cole Woodland on bass
- Adrian Leung on drums
- Virulence (Cole Woodland)
- Inner Urge (Joe Henderson)
- What Shall We Do (Moonchild) featuring Casey on vocals
Fourth

- Tess Meckling on vocals; she says she doesn't really like singing jazz, but sounded pretty good
- Jacob Elwood on saxophone
- Andrés Coronado on guitar
- Arlo Spring on piano
- King Udofia on bass
- Karl DeJong on drums
- Faculty guest: Brad Turner on trumpet
- Horizon (Karl DeJong)
- If You Could See Me Now (Tadd Dameron with lyrics by Carl Sigman) featuring Casey Thomas-Burns on trombone
- Mr. Turner in Spain (King Udofia), the most comfortable non-swing groove of the night
Fifth

- Mackenzie Tran on vocals
- Connor Lum on alto saxophone, probably the most outstanding soloist of the night
- Harrison Ivaz on guitar, who had the biggest crowd reaction with his John Pizzarelli-style guitar+scat solo on the final number
- Ben Millman on piano again
- Colin Zacharias on bass
- Adrian Leung on drums again
- Faculty guests: Brad Turner on trumpet, Jennifer Scott on vocals
- Love You Better (Ben Millman), a cheesy vocal swing number but played with a nice timefeel
- Blue (Connor Lum)
- Death to a Star (Colin Zacharias) featuring Jennifer Scott; Colin said he drew inspiration from Vincent van Gogh
- Tripod (Harrison Ivaz), a rhythm changes tune
Wrapping up
As you can imagine, on Thursday night, dozens of performers shuffled around a packed, excited room at Frankie's while cheering each other on.
Keep an eye out for some of these young talents.
Correction: the delivered version of this Update didn't include Jacob Elwood in the list of the fourth band's members. I apologize for the omission, and I've added Jacob's name to that list.
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