Rick Climans is no stranger to Calgary jazz. He’s been playing the corporate circuit here for about four years, has gigged around town, guested at the Sylvan Lake Jazz Festival and formed his own jazz group. During his professional career (which started at age 13), Rick has studied classical music, attended Toronto’s Royal Conservatory and been exposed to a great variety of sounds. At the end of the day, though, there is only one road for this musician.
“Oh, it gives me the chills,” says Climans, “[Jazz] moves me deep inside and I could listen to it 24 hours a day. Classical was great training, but it was all basically reading the written chart with no improvising.”
Climans’s passion for the genre led him to train with well-known Toronto musician Frank Uren, and later with tenor Pat LaBarbara. Armed with this experience, Climans has established a reputation for excellent performances. This is a guy schooled in the tradition of Stan Getz, John Coltrane and Sonny Rollins, and he’s ready for the next step.
What can you expect from Climans's group? Well, it may be familiar but it won’t be your usual fare. As Rick says, “We take what a lot of people these days call cover tunes, jazz standards, and put an interesting spin of our own on it. We [play] not only the usual kind of solos back and forth, but each player has his own unique style. That really shines through. We’re really trying to go for dynamics, meaning you’re not just going to hear us do the straight ahead, real loud thing all night. We’re really trying to weave an emotional journey. “
