Calgary Jazz Orchestra's Johnny Summers calls Sinatra the "largest icon."

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The Calgary Jazz Orchestra featuring Johnny Summers "A Perfectly 'Frank' Christmas"
River Park Church
Sunday, December 19 - Sunday, December 19

More in: Blues / Jazz

When something's right, perhaps it shouldn’t be messed with — and for further proof, look to the Calgary Jazz Orchestra's December concert, A Perfectly Frank Christmas. That “Frank” in its title is, of course, Frank Sinatra, and as CJO sets up for its annual Christmas gig, they’ll return to the Sinatra theme they launched last season.

For CJO founder Johnny Summers, Sinatra is a natural choice — Old Blue Eyes’ music is accessible and his name immediately recognized; further, if fan turnout last year is any indication, he’s also an excellent draw. "I see him (Sinatra) as the largest icon," Summers says. "Hard-core jazz people might disagree with this, but Sinatra's the largest icon the jazz world has ever seen."

Part of the success — and the magic — of CJO's Christmas performance is that it keeps its Sinatra theme fresh. In fact, this year Summers put plenty of thought into changing things around for his annual Christmas gig.

"I was going to change it," he says. “I thought, ‘Let's do a Ray Charles Christmas or a jive Christmas,’ where it was going to be predominantly jive. But if we stick with the Perfectly Frank Christmas, people really seem to get it, and we can easily do a jive song, easily do a Ray Charles song. It's a general theme — the music of Frank Sinatra at Christmastime — and we can always throw in any of those other things and it fits."

Something else that fits is the CJO's venue for the last few years: River Park Church. Now in its third season at the venue, its relationship with the church, like the Sinatra theme, has plenty going for it: “They give us a good rate which allows us to try to keep the ticket prices down and keep things less expensive," Summers says. "The people there are so nice, they put the posters up, they let their congregation know — their congregation comes (to the concerts) and they enjoy them. They've been very supportive, they're incredible people, and there's free parking. It's easy for us, it's easy for the audience and I think it's a comfortable hall. "

That’s not saying anything of Summers himself. He’s one of the city’s best jazz trumpet players, but as far as CJO is concerned, he's also much more than that, serving as its MC, bandleader and, for Perfectly Frank, the vocalist, as well. That's a heavy load, but Summers wears it well and with good humour. How does he do it?

"As best I can," he laughs. "There are a lot of things, honestly, that I'm not good at. So I've really tried to analyze those and ask for people to help with that. I take on what I know I can do… to the highest level that I'm capable of and then try to learn and grow every time we do a concert."

CJO has continued to grow, too, while keeping its music fresh: It tackles new arrangements and challenges while responding to what its fans want to hear. And, as Summers notes, its high-calibre performers are the ones that make that possible.

“It's easy to be a director, really,” he says. “Sometimes I have to do very little and say very little because they all play so well."