Oliver Gannon (born 23 March 1943) is an Irish-born Canadian jazz guitarist.

Early life

The eldest son of Irish jazz pianist Joe Gannon, Oliver Gannon was born in Dublin, Ireland, and emigrated with his family to Winnipeg, Canada, in 1957 when he was 14. He began playing in his late teens, after he purchased a Gibson ES-125 electric guitar and amplifier with his leftover tuition money earned from his summer job. Gannon enrolled at the University of Manitoba to study engineering but changed his mind. "I remember a thermodynamics class at 8 o'clock in the morning, having been playing the night before, and the blackboard was full of the Second Law of Thermodynamics or something, and I looked up at that and said, 'Is this what I want to do for the rest of my life, or do I want to do what I was doing last night?' A light bulb went off and I literally got up in the middle of the class, walked out, and never came back." In 1964, he was accepted at the

Berklee College of Music Berklee College of Music is a private music college in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known for the study of jazz and modern American music, it also offers college-level cours ...

, where he studied composition and arranging with Herb Pomeroy and William Malloff, graduating in 1969. He credits this period in Boston with his exposure to jazz musicians such as Wes Montgomery, Wynton Kelly, Jimmy Cobb, and Paul Chambers.

Career

Returning to Canada in 1969, Gannon settled in Vancouver, where he became a popular session musician. He worked often at the Cave Supper Club, joining

Fraser MacPherson John Fraser MacPherson CM (10 April 1928 – 27 September 1993) was a Canadian jazz musician from Saint Boniface, Manitoba. MacPherson moved to Victoria, British Columbia, as a child. He learned piano, clarinet, and alto and tenor saxophones ...

's big band. "The Cave band was such a joy to play," remembers Gannon. "These guys were such excellent readers... They would play a brand new show perfectly the first time." In 1970 he co-founded the fusion group Pacific Salt with trombonist Ian McDougall, Don Clark (trumpet), Ron Johnston (piano), Tony Clitheroe (double bass, bass guitar), and George Ursan (drums). Pacific Salt recorded three albums and was inactive by the early 1980s. McDougall, Gannon, and Johnston recorded as a trio in 1976 and 1988. In 1990, they toured Canadian festivals under the name RIO. In 1975 Gannon was invited by MacPherson to form a trio with bassist

Wyatt Ruther Wyatt Robert "Bull" Ruther (February 5, 1923, Pittsburgh – October 31, 1999, San Francisco) was an American jazz double-bassist. Ruther played trombone in high school before picking up the double-bass. He studied at the San Francisco Conservat ...

. The collaboration lasted until MacPherson's death in 1993. With MacPherson's trio, Fraser & Friends, Gannon toured the U.S.S.R an unprecedented four times starting in 1978. The trio was the first Canadian group to tour the Soviet Union under the Soviet-Canadian Cultural Exchange Treaty. The group intended to play nine concerts in Moscow and Leningrad, but the schedule was expanded to thirteen. The group became the first North American jazz ensemble to be invited back, and they toured again in 1981, 1984, and 1986. Gannon has participated in groups in the Vancouver area and has played at most major festivals in the world: Montreux Jazz Festival (1979);

North Sea Jazz Festival The North Sea Jazz Festival is an annual festival held each second weekend of July in the Netherlands at the Ahoy venue. It used to be in The Hague but since 2006 it has been held in Rotterdam. This is because the Statenhal where the festival w ...

(1979); Concord Jazz Festival (1981); Montreal Jazz Festival (1982, 1984, 1995, 1997);

Toronto Jazz Festival The Toronto Jazz Festival is a jazz event in Toronto which takes place for 10 days in late June through early July. Unlike the Beaches International Jazz Festival, most of the events are indoors and located throughout the downtown core. The hub of t ...

(1986, 1989, 1995, and 1998), Edmonton's Jazz City (1985), and appearances in his home town at the Vancouver International Jazz Festival. Gannon was the musical director for PG Music, a software company founded by his younger brother, Peter Gannon. He was with the company since its inception in 1989 and served as the executive producer of program content. He performed and produced content for the company's Band-in-a-Box. Gannon retired from the company in 2008. He was married to singer and bassist Patty Hervey.

Style

With MacPherson, Gannon employed an orchestral accompaniment style, while on his own recordings he displayed a linear, bop-based style, showing his roots as an admirer of

Barney Kessel Barney Kessel (October 17, 1923 – May 6, 2004) was an American jazz guitarist born in Muskogee, Oklahoma. Known in particular for his knowledge of chords and inversions and chord-based melodies, he was a member of many prominent jazz groups a ...

and Wes Montgomery, and

Art Blakey Arthur Blakey (October 11, 1919 – October 16, 1990) was an American jazz drummer and bandleader. He was also known as Abdullah Ibn Buhaina after he converted to Islam for a short time in the late 1940s. Blakey made a name for himself in the 1 ...

. Other critics have noted Gannon's "slick, cool stylings", and "studies in careful and complete orchestration. His lines could be crisp and harmonically advanced, or fluid and lyrical."

Awards and honors

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 ...

, Best Traditional Jazz Album, ''I Didn't Know About You'' with Fraser MacPherson, 1983 * Guitarist of the Year, National Jazz Awards (Canada), 2003 * Member of the Order of Canada, 2017

Discography

As leader

* ''Three'' with Ron Johnston & Ian McDougall (Energy 1976) * ''I Didn't Know About You'' with

(Sackville, 1980) * ''Rio'' with Ron Johnston & Ian McDougall (Innovation, 1988) * ''Live at the Cellar'' (Cellar Live, 2002) * ''That's What'' (Cellar Live, 2004) * ''Two Much Guitar'' (Cellar Live, 2006) * ''Two Much More'' (Cellar Live, 2015) With Pacific Salt * ''Pacific Salt'' (Gramophone, 1973) * ''Jazz Canadiana'' (CBC, 1973) * ''Live Litte'' (Mountain Sound, 1976)

As sideman

With

* ''Live at the Planetarium'' (West End, 1976) * ''Honey and Spice'' (Justin Time, 1987) * ''Encore'' (Justin Time, 1990) * ''In the Tradition'' (Concord Jazz, 1992) With Ian McDougall * ''The Warmth of the Horn'' (Concord Jazz, 1995) * ''In a Sentimental Mood'' (Barbarian, 2005) * ''The Very Thought of You'' (Ten Mile Music, 2012) With others *

Gary Guthman Gary Guthman is an American jazz musician from Portland Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the list of cities in Oregon, largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette ...

, ''Moonchild'' (Intercan, 1980) * Dave Robbins, ''The Dave Robbins Band'' (CBC, 1970) *

Vancouver Chamber Choir The Vancouver Chamber Choir is a Canadian choir performing in Vancouver, British Columbia. It was founded in 1971 by Jon Washburn. The VCC has commissioned and premiered more than 170 new choral works in over four decades. The choir performs at h ...

, ''Simple Gifts'' (CBC, 1991) * Karen Young, ''Karen Young'' (Radio Canada, 1981)

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gannon, Oliver 1943 births Living people Bebop guitarists Berklee College of Music alumni Canadian jazz guitarists Canadian male guitarists Juno Award for Best Jazz Album winners Canadian male jazz musicians Members of the Order of Canada Musicians from Vancouver Sackville Records artists