Faculty - Trombone

Dennis Esson

Since moving to Vancouver in 1980, Dennis Esson has established himself as a highly respected and sought after trombonist for a wide variety of musical endeavors.

He has recorded music for cartoons, movies, jingles and soundtracks in addition to albums with many pop and rock groups such as Stephen Fearing, The Paperboys, Buddy Miles, The Salteens, Veda Hille and others. He has also been in the pit orchestras for Broadway shows such as "Chorus Line", "The Full Monty", and " 42nd Street".

As a jazz musician Dennis has recorded numerous C.B.C. sessions as a featured soloist. He is also the lead trombonist with groups such as the "Vancouver Ensemble of Improvisation (VEJI)", "Orquesta Goma Dura", "Jill Townsend Big Band", "Hard Rubber Orchestra" and the "Fred Stride Jazz Orchestra". Some of the musicians he has performed with include Kenny Wheeler, Phil Woods, Eddie Daniels, Marvin Stamm, David Foster, Maynard Ferguson, Natalie Cole, Clark Terry, Bud Shank, and Phil Nimmons. He has appeared and performed at all of the major jazz festivals across Canada.

In addition Dennis was the recipient in 1993 of a Canada Council of the Arts "B" grant to study jazz trombone in New York where he studied with Conrad Herwig, Steve Turre, Benny Powell and Slide Hampton. More recently he resumed his studies and completed a Bachelor's and Master's degree in Orchestral Performance from the University of British Columbia.

As a music educator Dennis has been the Jazz Trombone instructor at Capilano College since 1997 and has been the director of the UBC Jazz Ensemble 2 since 2000. In addition he has been on the faculty of the Courtney Youth Music Center since 2000 and prior to that time he was on the faculty of the Okanagan Summer School of the Arts from 1984-1999.

As an adjudicator Dennis has appeared at many festivals throughout B.C. and western Canada including Kelowna, Edmonton, Whistler, Surrey, Burnaby, and Vancouver. He has also performed clinics and master classes at universities, colleges, and secondary schools throughout Canada. Dennis is a Yamaha trombone artist and performs and records on the YSL697Z trombone.

Rob McKenzie

Composer, conductor, performer and teacher, Rob McKenzie brings to his work a lifetime of experience in the Vancouver music scene. His interest in composition stems from early experimentation with pop, rock, and jazz improvisation. This lead to jazz and classical training in Vancouver, Los Angeles, and Toronto, culminating in a Masters degree in music composition from the University of British Columbia.

McKenzie's works, among them Indigo, Bala de Plata, Veils, Fiddlehead Shuffle, and Vicious Circle have been recorded and performed on CBC Radio, Pro-Musica's Sonic Boom series, as well as the Vancouver and Montreal International Jazz festivals and the 2002 Festival Vancouver.* Recent completed works include commissions for the Festival Vancouver Jazz Orchestra, the Little Chamber Music Series That Could, Richmond Secondary School, and the North American Saxophone Alliance. He is an Associate member of the Canadian Music Centre and his works are published by Warwick Music.

As a trombonist, Rob has performed with orchestras, chamber ensembles, big bands, jazz and rock groups, played in concerts, musicals, with touring groups and on studio sessions for television and radio with Phil Woods, Bud Shank, Maynard Ferguson, Slide Hampton, Bill Waltrous, Louie Bellson, Muhal Richard Abrams, Clark Terry, Kenny Wheeler, Natalie Cole, Hugh Fraser, Phil Nimmons, Phil Woods, Bud Shank and Rob McConnell.* A regular with the Alan Matheson Septet, he also leads his own group Solid Brass, a jazz nonet featuring five of the West Coast's finest trombonists.

In his role as educator, Rob has taught composition, trombone, theory, world music, jazz pedagogy, large and small ensembles at Capilano College since 1989.