Music PEI Nomination for Sean Ferris' Doug Riley Tribute

Last summer's Doug Riley Tribute concert has been nominated for the 2012 Music PEI "Event of the Year". 

 

In memory of Doug Riley's tremendous impact on PEI an Island musician is selected each year as the “Doug Riley Artist”. For 2011 the Doug Riley Artist was Charlottetown keyboardist and composer Sean Ferris. 

 

Sean Ferris presented a concert in St. Pauls Anglican Church featuring  the music of Doug Riley as well as a selection of Sean's own compositions and favourite covers.  Joining Sean was a lineup of 3 different backing bands comprising 17 of PEI's finest musicians: drummers Alan Dowling and Matt MacEachern, bassists Chris Budhan and Devin Hornby, guitarists Chris Corrigan and Norm Zocher, singers Meaghan Blanchard, Catherine O'Brien, Julain Molnar, Terry Hatty and Joey Kitson, pianists Max Keenlyside and Don Fraser, tenorman Alex Dean plus a trombone/trumpet/sax horn line of  Doug Millington, Rowan Fitzgerald and Peter Bevan-Baker.

 

  The concert featured selections from Doug's jazz repertoire as well as three charts from Doug's hit-making "Dr. Music" book.  Sean also treated the audience to a selection of his own compositions and arrangements. 

 

  Among the many highlights were Sean's own masterful keybard skills,  sublime choral work on the Dr Music tunes, Norm Zocher's ground-breaking pedal steel jazz solos, Alex Dean's ear-bending improvisations, Alex and Norm dueling in good-natured "cutting" sessions, Max Keenlyside channeling Doug's famous stride left hand, the ever-fresh voice of Meaghan Blanchard and some of the finest rhythm section work to be heard anywhere.

 

Congratulations to Sean for the well-earned distinction of a Music PEI award nomination!