By Matt Micucci
Brad Turner is a Canadian jazz trumpeter and pianist. He has won two Juno Awards and six Canadian National Jazz Awards for categories including Jazz Trumpeter of the Year, Jazz Composer of the Year and Musician of the Year.
Turner is also well known for being a member of the jazz fusion Canadian group Metalwood, which was former in 1997 in Toronto, and which won back-to-back Juno Awards in 1998 and 1999 for best Contemporary Jazz Album (Metalwood and Metalwood 2).
On top of having performed and recorded with such artists as Joe Lovano, Ingrid Jensen, Kenny Wheeler and Mike Murley to name but a few, he is also an esteemed jazz educator and is currently teaching at Capilano University in Vancouver.
After a few years’ break between releasing albums, Turner is back, dropping two albums at the same time. one, Over My Head, is recorded with his quartet. The other one, Her Now, he recorded with his trio.
Turner plays trumpet with his quartet and piano with his trio. To mark the release of both albums, he performed on Saturday, November 7, at Frankie’s Italian Kitchen & Bar, with both bands.
Over My Head and Her Now are his first albums where he is the bandleader since his 2007 album Small Wonder with his quartet. That album was nominated in the Traditional Jazz Album caregory for a Juno award.