John Stechishin, better known as John Stetch (born 1966 in

Edmonton Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

) is a Canadian

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

pianist. Stetch's family was ethnically

Ukrainian Ukrainian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Ukraine * Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe * Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine * So ...

, and as a boy, Stetch played in ensembles at Ukrainian weddings and sang in community choirs. He studied reed instruments early on but concentrated on piano from his teenage years onward. After graduating from

McGill University McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter granted by King George IV,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill Universit ...

in 1991, he relocated to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. He most frequently performs solo or in a trio setting, often with longtime collaborators Sean Smith (bass) and Rodney Green (drums). His professional career has included performing and/or recording with Ed Jackson, Jan Jarczyk, Chris Kase,

Rufus Reid Rufus Reid (born February 10, 1944, in Atlanta, Georgia) is an American jazz bassist, educator, and composer. Biography Reid was raised in Sacramento, California, where he played the trumpet through junior high and high school. Upon graduation ...

Akira Tana Akira Tana (born March 14, 1952 in San Jose, California) is an American jazz drummer. Biography Tana grew up in Palo Alto, graduating from Gunn High School in 1970. Tana then obtained a bachelor's degree from Harvard University in the social sci ...

Alain Trudel Alain Trudel (born 13 June 1966) is a Canadian conductor, trombonist and composer. Biography Born in Montreal, Quebec, Trudel first became known to the public as a trombone soloist. He made his solo debut at the age of 18, with Charles Dutoit a ...

, Mark Turner, and Johannes Weidenmuller. Stetch won the Du Maurier Grand Prix at the

Montreal Jazz Festival The Festival International de Jazz de Montréal ( en, Montreal International Jazz Festival) is an annual jazz festival held in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The Montreal Jazz Fest holds the 2004 Guinness World Record as the world's largest jazz fest ...

in 1998, was second place in the 1993 Thelonious Monk Composer's Competition, and has been nominated for six

Juno Award The Juno Awards, more popularly known as the JUNOS, are awards presented annually to Canadian musical artists and bands to acknowledge their artistic and technical achievements in all aspects of music. New members of the Canadian Music Hall of ...

s in jazz. Stetch was a faculty member at

Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...

and at the

Vancouver Symphony Orchestra The Vancouver Symphony Orchestra (VSO) is a Canadian orchestra based in Vancouver, British Columbia. The VSO performs at the Orpheum, which has been the orchestra's permanent home since 1977. With an annual operating budget of $16 million, it is ...

School of Music. In March of 2021, Stetch was investigated for hosting a conspiracist party. Amidst social gathering restrictions due to the

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

pandemic, he hosted a gathering in his apartment with approximately 14 people without masks, in close quarters. He has since been suspended by the

School of Music during investigations.

Discography

*''Rectangle Man'' (Terra Nova, 1992) *''Carpathian Blues'' (Terra Nova, 1994) *''Stetching Out'' (Terra Nova, 1996) *''Kolomeyka Fantasy'' (Global Village, 1996) *''Green Grove'' ( Justin Time, 1999) *''Heavens Of A Hundred Days'' (Justin Time, 2000) *''Ukrainianism'' (Justin Time, 2002) *''Standards'' (Justin Time, 2003) *''Exponentially Monk'' (Justin Time, 2004) *''Bruxin''' (Justin Time, 2006) *''TV Trio'' (2008) *''Fabled States'' (Addo Records, 2011) *''Off With The Cuffs'' (Addo Records, 2013) *''Improvisations'' (2015) *''Ballads'' (2019) *''Black Sea Suite'' (2019)

References

*"John Stetch". '' The New Grove Encyclopedia of Popular Music'' (accessed via Oxford Music Online). {{DEFAULTSORT:Stetch, John 1966 births Living people Canadian jazz pianists Musicians from Edmonton 21st-century Canadian pianists Justin Time Records artists McGill University