Brodie West is a Canadian

alto saxophonist The alto saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of woodwind instruments. Saxophones were invented by Belgian instrument designer Adolphe Sax in the 1840s and patented in 1846. The alto saxophone is pitched in E, smaller than the B tenor ...

who has worked with The Ex,

Getatchew Mekuria Getatchew Mekurya ( Amharic: ጌታቸው መኩሪያ ወልደ ተክሌ; 14 March 1935 – 4 April 2016) was an Ethiopian jazz saxophonist. Early career Mekurya was born on 14 March 1935, in Yifat, Ethiopia. His father was a honey merchant ...

Sandro Perri Sandro Perri is a musician and producer from Toronto, Ontario, Canada. His music has been called post-rock, electronic, experimental, ambient, folk among others. He has been producing, mixing and mastering records for other artists since 2003. ...

, Lina Allemano,

Hamid Drake Hamid Drake (born August 3, 1955) is an American jazz drummer and percussionist. By the close of the 1990s, Hamid Drake was widely regarded as one of the best percussionists in jazz and improvised music. Incorporating Afro-Cuban, Indian, and Afr ...

and

Gord Downie Gordon Edgar Downie (February 6, 1964 – October 17, 2017) was a Canadian rock singer-songwriter, musician, writer and activist. He was the singer and lyricist for the Canadian rock band The Tragically Hip, which he fronted from its forma ...

Biography

Born in 1975 and raised in

Nanaimo Nanaimo ( ) is a city on the east coast of Vancouver Island, in British Columbia, Canada. As of the Canada 2021 Census, 2021 census, it had a population of 99,863, and it is known as "The Harbour City." The city was previously known as the "H ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

, West began playing saxophone in the sixth grade. In his teens, West began performing as well as attending educational programs which led to being awarded a soprano saxophone at the

Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival The Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival is an annual jazz festival, the largest west of the Mississippi River, that takes place in February on the campus of the University of Idaho in Moscow, Idaho. In 2007, the festival was awarded the National Medal ...

in Idaho, and receiving the Rising Star Award at

Musicfest Canada MusicFest Canada, originally established as the Canadian Stage Band Festival (CSBF), is a national educational music festival in Canada. It was founded in 1972 by Robert Richmond (the founding president), Gary Wadsworth, and Paul Miner. The CS ...

, which included a full scholarship to

Humber College The Humber College Institute of Technology & Advanced Learning, commonly known as Humber College, is a public College of Applied Arts and Technology in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1967, Humber has two main campuses: the Humber North c ...

in Toronto in 1993.

Career

In 1998, West formed a trio called Zebradonk with drummer Shawn Abedin and trumpeter Alfons Fear. Deciding to do a

busking Street performance or busking is the act of performing in public places for gratuities. In many countries, the rewards are generally in the form of money but other gratuities such as food, drink or gifts may be given. Street performance is pr ...

tour of Europe, the trio met

Han Bennink Han Bennink (born 17 April 1942) is a Dutch drummer and percussionist. On occasion his recordings have featured him playing soprano saxophone, bass clarinet, trombone, violin, banjo and piano. Though perhaps best known as one of the pivotal fig ...

Bimhuis The Bimhuis is a concert hall for jazz and improvised music in Amsterdam. With an average of 150 performances a year the Bimhuis is the main stage for these musical genres in the Netherlands. In 2017 it was also a host for the 17th edition of ...

in Amsterdam. West began studying with

Misha Mengelberg Misha Mengelberg (5 June 1935 – 3 March 2017) was a Dutch jazz pianist and composer.Feather, Leonard & Gitler, Ira (2007) ''The Biographical Encyclopedia of Jazz'', p. 459. Oxford University Press. A prominent figure in post-WWII European Jazz ...

in Amsterdam and while there he reconnected with Han Bennink who introduced West to Terrie Hessels of the Dutch experimental band The Ex. West then began touring with The Ex playing over 100 dates between 2005 and 2015. He appeared with The Ex and

Getatchew Mekurya Getatchew Mekurya (Amharic: ጌታቸው መኩሪያ ወልደ ተክሌ; 14 March 1935 – 4 April 2016) was an Ethiopian jazz saxophonist. Early career Mekurya was born on 14 March 1935, in Yifat, Ethiopia. His father was a honey merchant. ...

on the albums ''

Moa Anbessa ''Moa Anbessa'' is an album by Ethiopian saxophonist Getatchew Mekuria with Dutch post-punk band The Ex and guests, released in 2006 on The Ex's subsidiary label Terp. Background The project came together on the heels of The Ex's previous studi ...

'', ''

Y'Anbessaw Tezeta ''Y'Anbessaw Tezeta'' is the second studio album by Ethiopian tenor saxophone player Getatchew Mekuria in collaboration with Dutch punk rock band The Ex and several other musicians. The title is Amharic for "The Memory of the Lion" and Mekurya i ...

'', and '' The Ex at Bimhuis''. West has since formed The Brodie West Quintet which has released the album ''Clips'' and Eucalyptus which released the album ''Kick It Till You Flip It'' in 2019.

References

External links

Brodie West
at

Bandcamp Bandcamp is an American online audio distribution platform founded in 2007 by Oddpost co-founder Ethan Diamond and programmers Shawn Grunberger, Joe Holt and Neal Tucker, with headquarters in Oakland, California, US. On March 2, 2022, Bandcamp ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:West, Brodie 1975 births Canadian jazz musicians 20th-century Canadian male musicians 20th-century saxophonists Living people