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A twenty-year veteran of the Vancouver nightclub scene and a sought-after studio musician, reedman Fraser MacPherson went on to become a "cultural ambassador" (Plourde) for both Vancouver and for Canada. The success of his 1975 recording Live at the Planetarium led to a contract with Concord Jazz, and subsequent albums earned him the attention and acclaim of the international jazz community. His ensemble toured in Europe, Canada, the United States, Australia, and the Soviet Union, becoming the "first North American jazz group to be invited back to the U.S.S.R. to play" (Plourde). From 1978 to 1989, they visited the country an unprecedented five times. As a result of these recordings and tours, Mark Miller credits MacPherson with "...contributing much to awareness of Canadian jazz musicians outside Canada's borders" (in Nygaard King).

"On the west coast — and this will apply to all Western Canada — I would say that Fraser MacPherson is the best musician on his instruments. The only guy that practices everyday and that works out and plays everything."
—Bobby Hales

"I've yet to see a book that will teach a student how to improvise two bars of melody that counts. The only way they can get that, I think, is by just steeping themselves in the music of the master musicians."
—Fraser MacPherson

Although it was his "controlled, elegant tenor style" (Nygaard King) that brought him into the limelight, MacPherson was able to play a whole host of instruments, including clarinet, alto saxophone, piccolo, clavietta, and the alto and bass flutes. His corresponding list of musical influences is equally vast, and speaks to his deep knowledge of the history of jazz; MacPherson cites New Orleans clarinet players Sidney Bechet and Jimmie Noone, alto players Johnny Hodges and Charlie Parker, and tenor saxophonists Stan Getz, and Lester Young as figures who helped shape his sound.

Not surprisingly, Fraser MacPherson placed great emphasis on listening as a tool for musical education. Although he received little formal musical training himself, he did teach at both Douglas College and Vancouver Community College, where he came to the conclusion that it was crucial for a jazz program to offer students "some sense of where the music came from, of historical perspective or continuity" (MacPherson).

Although Fraser MacPherson passed away in 1993, his musical legacy lives on through the Fraser MacPherson Music Scholarship Fund. This fund provides support for young instrumentalists by offering four to eight $2000 scholarships, awarded annually.

FOR MORE INFO

Fraser MacPherson: Diary of a Musician
(Google Video)
CBC Documentary, 1966

Chris Gage Jam Session 1952, Photo Collage with Music
(You Tube Video)

"Can't Buy Me Love"
(You Tube Video)
Bobby Hales Orchestra playing with Fras on Tenor Sax, 1966.

Fraser MacPherson Music Scholarship Fund
More information and application form