Part of the residency Nick Fraser Presents
Southern Cross
Psychedelic and occasionally perplexing improvised music by Nick Fraser (drums), Rob Clutton (bass), Karen Ng (alto sax but possibly also clarinet), and Kurt Newman (pedal steel guitar).
NICK FRASER PRESENTS (JAZZ, IMPROVISED MUSIC): Nick Fraser has been an active and engaging presence in the Toronto new jazz and improvised music community since he moved there from Ottawa in 1995. He works with and presents with a veritable “who’s who” of Canadian jazz and improvised music.
Downbeat Magazine: “Drummer Nick Fraser is a long-time staple of the Toronto jazz scene— and for good reason. Not only is he a tremendously creative player, equally at home with free-form improvisation and standard bop-style jazz, he’s also a remarkably attentive listener. -JD Considine
Wholenote Magazine: “In his 20 years in Toronto, Nick Fraser has become first-choice drummer for numerous bandleaders ranging from the post-bop mainstream to free improvisation. He’s done it with aggressive musicality and consistently inventive drumming, combining drive and subtlety.” -Stuart Broomer
JAZZIZ Magazine: An Ottawa native, Fraser lives in Toronto, where he has established himself as a leading voice in that city’s improvised music community. A subtle, highly collaborative and original percussionist, Fraser deserves a much larger audience. His compositions are as diverse as his playing, filled with motivic cells that overlap and merge, studded with rhythmic devices. -James Hale