Ron Collier
Birth nameRonald William Collier
Born(1930-07-03)July 3, 1930
Coleman, Alberta, Canada
DiedOctober 22, 2003(2003-10-22) (aged 73)
Toronto, Ontario
GenresJazz
Occupation(s)Musician, composer, arranger
Instrument(s)Trombone

Ron Collier, OC (July 3, 1930 – October 22, 2003) was a Canadian jazz trombonist, composer, and arranger.[1][2] He performed in and led a number of jazz groups, and created orchestrations for and recorded with Duke Ellington.

Early life and education

A native of Coleman, Alberta, Collier began his musical training in Vancouver. He was a member of the Kitsilano Boys' Band.[3] He studied music privately in Toronto with Gordon Delamont.[4] The first jazz musician to receive a Canada Council grant, he studied orchestration in New York in 1961 and 1962.[1]

Career

Collier formed the Ron Collier Jazz Quartet, which performed in the 1950s at the Stratford Festival[5] and on CBC's Tabloid with Portia White,[6] and in 1963 with the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra.[7][8]

Duke Ellington performed with the Ron Collier Orchestra on the 1969 album North of the Border in Canada.[9][10] The album included compositions by several Canadian composers, including Collier.[11] Collier created orchestrations for a number of Ellington's concerts and recordings.[4][12]

Collier composed the scores to the films Face-Off (1971), A Fan's Notes (1972), and Paperback Hero (1973).

In the 1970s Collier began directing a student orchestra at Toronto's Humber College.[13] His band won the big Band Open Class at the Canadian Stage Band Festival in 1982 .[14]

In 2003, he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada.[15] He died in October that year in Toronto.[1]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Helen McNamara, Betty Nygaard King. "Collier, Ron". The Canadian Encyclopedia. Retrieved 2010-08-08.
  2. ↑ Richard Cook; Brian Morton (2000). The Penguin guide to jazz on CD. Penguin Books. p. 465. ISBN 9780140514520.
  3. ↑ "Ron Collier". Canadian Jazz Archive Online. Archived from the original on May 14, 2011.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  4. 1 2 "Ron Collier". AllMusic, Biography by Eugene Chadbourne
  5. ↑ The Canadian Music Journal. Canadian Music Council. 1957. p. 41.
  6. ↑ "Canadian contralto Portia White's life on the stage". Tabloid, CBC Television, Feb 01, 2019
  7. ↑ Winnipeg Tribune, via Newspaper Archives, January 04, 1963 - Page 14
  8. ↑ "A Question of Terms". Winnipeg Free Press, via Newspaper Archives, January 04, 1963 - Page 11
  9. ↑ "Canadian Jazz Great and 'Musical Force' Ed Bickert Remembered By His Son". Billboard, 3/9/2019 by Karen Bliss
  10. ↑ Stereo Review. Vol. 22. CBS Magazines. 1969. p. 115.
  11. ↑ "Duke Ellington North of The Border in Canada". Oswego Palladium Times, via Newspaper Archives, January 25, 1969 - Page 9.
  12. ↑ "Jazz CD Reviews". Music-Wev International, Don Mather
  13. ↑ "The Best Seat in the House". Winnipeg Free Press, via Newspaper Archives. December 07, 1976 - Page 47
  14. ↑ "Relax'". Winnipeg Free Press, via Newspaper Archives, December 06, 1991 - Page 35
  15. ↑ Order of Canada citation
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