Faculty - Guitar

Bill Coon

Guitarist, composer and arranger Bill Coon has shared the stage with several jazz greats including Jimmy Heath and Eddie Daniels. Although best known for his collaboration with award winning vocalist Denzal Sinclaire, he is now gaining recognition with his own ensemble the Bill Coon Trio.

Bill performs with some of Canada's top musician's including Ross Taggart, Campbell Ryga, and Oliver Gannon. He appears on CD's with Sinclaire, Karin Plato, Mike Allen, Steve Maddock, Wow Jazz Orchestra, Altsys Jazz Orchestra and the Jill Townsend Big Band. He is also a sought after arranger/composer and has had his works performed by the NAC Orchestra, the Norwegian Radio Orchestra and Woody Herman.

A former faculty member of Montreal's Concordia University, Bill presently teaches guitar and composition at Capilano University. He has studied with guitarist Jim Hall and composer Neil Chotem, in part thanks to the Canada Council.

His new CD Speakeasy is a collection of originals and jazz standards that is available at billcoon.com.

Ihor Kukurudza

Ihor holds a regular faculty position in the Jazz Studies Program at Capilano University as an instructor of Improvisation, Small Ensemble, and Private Music for guitar. He has also held the positions of Facilitator of Private Music Instruction for the Music Department and has served as Coordinator for the Jazz Studies Program.

Although already an accomplished jazz guitarist, Ihor has chosen in recent years to make a focused commitment to refining his skills and further developing his personal approach. He performs regularly with his trio, and has recently completed the production and release of his first featured CD, As It Was. He also continues to perform in a free-lance capacity where, in addition to work with Phil Nimmons, the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, and CBC Television, he has to his credit several major Broadway productions, and has performed with Harry Connick Jr., Skywalk, Juno Award winners Fraser MacPherson, Brad Turner, Hugh Fraser, and PJ Perry; recording artists David Foster, Bernadette Peters, Shari Ulrich, and Jerry Reed, and was a contributing performer on the Canadian Anthology of Jazz CD.

Ihor initially began developing his diverse musical skills in Toronto, working in a number of recording studios, CBC and CTV television variety shows, and CBC Radio. His experience there also includes performances with such jazz notables as Ed Bickert, Don Thompson, Phil Nimmons, Pat LaBarbera, Dave McMurdo, and Pepper Adams.

Andre Lachance

Born in Québec City, bassist André Lachance has been living in Vancouver since 1990. He has been touring and recording with Ian McDougall, The Brad Turner Quartet, Kate Hammett-Vaughan, Mike Allen and the Hard Rubber Orchestra, among others. He is also a member of the Chris Gestrin Trio and Soulstream. He has been a part of numerous CBC radio and television shows as well as theatre and film productions. He has shared the stage with Lee Konitz, Clark Terry, Benny Golson, Kenny Wheeler, Joe Lovano, Kenny Werner, Gary Bartz, Seamus Blake and Claude Ranger among others.

Darren Radtke

Darren Radtke studied voice at Concordia College and bass at Grant MacEwan College in Edmonton. After moving to Vancouver in 1993, he graduated with a B.Mus in Jazz Studies at Capilano University, and has since been working as a freelance musician. Darren has performed and recorded with musicians Denzel Sinclair, Ernestine Anderson, Cedar Walton, Joanne Brakeen, Buddy Montomery among others, and is a member of the Bill Coon Trio, Brad Turner Trio, and the Sharon Minemoto Quintet.

Ron Samworth

Vancouver-based guitarist/composer Ron Samworth is a high profile presence on the Canadian scene, equally at home playing in the jazz tradition or the extended sound worlds of new and improvised music. Nominated for the 2002 National Jazz Writers Award "Best Jazz Guitarist", he leads the acclaimed quartet Talking Pictures and co-leads the 15-piece NOW Orchestra. He has appeared at all of the major jazz festivals across Canada, the Jazzfest Berlin, Chicago Jazzfest, New York's Knitting Factory, Vienna's Let's Cool One Chamber Jazz Festival, and at prestigious venues in France, Belgium, Holland and Germany. He has performed and recorded with many leading international artists including John Zorn, John Medeski, Han Bennink, Marc Ribot, Wayne Horvitz, Butch Morris, Bobby Previte, Marilyn Crispell, George Lewis, and Canadian jazz legend Claude Ranger. His inter-disciplinary work includes composition, performance and sound design for theatre, spoken word, film, and dance.