I composed this piece in January 2020. Once a week, I would drive an hour north from Vancouver to Squamish along the Sea to Sky Highway to teach music. This drive offers a spectacular view of the Howe Sound. In the summer and early fall, the sunlight sparkles off of the calm, blue waters. In the winter, the skies are grey and dark, the water tumultuous and cold. This piece was my attempt to evoke this duality through music, using phrygian sounds to represent the turbulent, inky sea in the winter, and lydian chords to represent the brightness and serenity of summer.        

Personnel: 
Composer/Arranger/Producer/Video Editing: Christopher Berner
Alto 1: Connor Lum
Alto 2: Adam Kyle 
Tenor 1 (solo): Gavin Grochowski
https://grochowskimusic.com/ 
Tenor 2: Ardeshir Pourkeramati
https://www.ardeshirmusic.com/ 
Baritone Sax: Niko Tsiras 

Trumpet 1: Michael Kim
https://www.michaelkimmusic.com/ 
Trumpet 2: Silas Freisen
https://silasfriesen.ca/ 
Trumpet 3: Rory Hislop
Trumpet 4: Thomas Houlden

Trombone 1: Cam Henderson
Trombone 2: Greg Dent
Trombone 3: Hayley Bennett
Bass Trombone: George McNally 

Piano (solo): Dean Thiessen
https://www.deanthiessen.com/ 
Guitar: John Elliott
Bass: Emilio Suarez
https://emiliosuarez.ca/ 
Drums: Jamie Lee
https://www.jamieleemusic.com/bio 
Recording Engineer for Trumpet 1: Jim Hopson 
https://www.jimhopsonmusic.com/ 

Photo: Sechelt, BC 

Special thank you to Micki-Lee Smith, John MacLeod, and Michael Kim for the extensive help with mixing and audio editing.

Along The Coastline

Recorded Live October 26th 2018 at Blueshore Financial Centre for the Arts 
Capilano University A-Band with Bria Skonberg
Don't Be That Way
Composed: Benny Goodman
Arranged: Chris Berner

Featuring Bria Skonberg (trumpet) and Julian Borkowski (trumpet)
Direction: Brad Turner 

Saxes:
Connor Lum (Lead)
Rowan Whitridge
Sam Baglieri
Bryan Chung
Adam Kyle

Trumpets: 
Robin Brinkerink-Johnson (lead)
RJ Abella
Tristan Young
Julian Borkowski
Chris Berner

Trombones:
Cam Henderson (lead)
Hayley Bennett
Colin La
Greg Dent (bass bone) 

Piano: Jordan Manderoli/Jikan Jung 
Guitar: Cole Smith
Bass: Stephen Edwards
Drums: Jamison Ko

Don't Be That Way

Evermore - composed by Ben MacRae/arranged by Christopher Berner

Recorded Live July 22nd, 2019 at Brentwood Presbyterian Church by the Brentwood Jazz All-Stars

Directed by Ben MacRae
Soloists: Bryan Chung (tenor)

Saxophones:
Kayla Ferguson (lead)
Connor Lum
Adam Kyle
Brian Chung
Niko Tsiras

Trumpets:
Robin Brinkerink-Johnson (lead)
Christopher Berner
Amber Tsang
RJ Abella

Trombones:
Aaron Lee (lead)
Greg Dent
Sean Lavigne
Cam Henderson

Piano: Strauss Whiteside
Guitar: Alvin Agetap
Bass: Marcos Flo
Drums: Tyler Murray

Evermore

Jet  Stream - composed by Peter Bernstein, arranged by Chris Berner
Performed by the Capilano University A Band  
Recorded live on December 1st, 2019

Featuring Patrick Kao (guitar) and Julian Borkowski (trumpet) 

Saxophones:
Connor Lum (lead)
Kayla Ferguson
Evan Taylor
Ethan Birnie
Adam Kyle

Trumpets:
Robin Brinkerink Johnson (lead)
Feven Kidane
Tristan Young
RJ Abella 
Julian Borkowski

Trombones:
Cam Henderson (lead)
Greg Dent
Aaron Lee
George McNally

Rhythm:
Jordan Manderioli (pno)
Patrick Kao (gtr)
Atley King (vibes)
Emilio Suarez (bass)
Clem Pytel (drums)

photo: Clarice Scop

Jet Stream

Facing North
Composed/Arranged by Chris Berner 
Featuring Jamie Hicks (tenor sax)
Recorded November 21, 2019 by University of British Columbia Jazz 1

November 21, 2019

Facing North

Composed and Arranged by Christopher Berner 
Featuring Julian Borkowski (flugelhorn) 
Recorded (socially distanced) by the Capilano University A Band 
December 2020

ChrisBerner