Rob McConnell

Rob McConnell studied at University of Toronto. Subjects and genres recorded for the work are jazz. Residence is recorded at London. Distinctions recorded are Officer of the Order of Canada, Grammy Award for Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album, Grammy Award for Best Arrangement, Instrumental or A Cappella and Grammy Award for Best Arrangement, Instrumental and Vocals.

• Birth Name — Robert Murray Gordon McConnell • Born — 14 February 1935 • Birthplace — London, Ontario, Canada • Died — 1 May 2010 • Place of death — Toronto, Ontario, Canada • Genre — Jazz, big band • Occupation — Musician, arranger, composer • Instrument — Trombone • Years Active — 1960s–2000s • Label — Concord, Pausa, MPS, Dark Orchid, Innovation, Canadian Talent Library, United Artists Records, Attic Records • Past Member Of — Boss Brass

McConnell was born in London, Ontario, Canada, and took up the valve trombone in high school. He began his performing career in the early 1950s, performing and studying with Clifford Brown, Don Thompson, Bobby Gimby, and later with Canadian trumpeter Maynard Ferguson. He studied music theory with Gordon Delamont. In 1968, he formed The Boss Brass, a big band that became his primary performing and recording unit through the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s. McConnell assembled the original Boss Brass from Toronto studio musicians. The instrumentation of the band was originally sixteen pieces, consisting of trumpets, trombones, French horns, and a rhythm section but no saxophones. He introduced a saxophone section in 1970 and expanded the trumpet section to include the fifth trumpet in 1976, bringing the total to twenty-two members. In 1977, McConnell recorded a double LP called Big Band Jazz. This was a 'direct cut' LP using Direct-to-disc recording. A small number of albums that recorded direct-to-disc began to appear on the market in the late 1970s and were marketed as "audiophile" editions, promising superior sound quality compared with recordings made using the more common multi-track tape recording methods. On McConnell's direct cut double LP, an entire side (15 minutes and 2 seconds) was devoted to a version of Gershwin's "Porgy and Bess". The double album won the Juno Award for Best Jazz Album in 1978. His 1983 All in Good Time album won the Grammy Award for Best Large Jazz Ensemble recording. In 1988, McConnell took a teaching position at the Dick Grove School of Music in California, but gave up his position and returned to Canada a year later. In 1992 he was presented with a SOCAN jazz award. In 1997, he was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame, and in 1998 was made an Officer of the Order of Canada. He remained active throughout the 2000s, touring internationally as both a performer and educator, running music clinics around the world and performing as a leader and guest artist. The Rob McConnell Tentet, a scaled-down version of the Boss Brass featuring many Boss Brass alumni, recorded three albums, The Rob McConnell Tentet (2000), Thank You, Ted (2002), and Music of the Twenties (2003). McConnell died of liver cancer on May 1, 2010, in Toronto at the age of 75.

Rob McConnell is recorded with the occupation jazz musician. Recorded with the occupation music teacher. Recorded with the occupation bandleader. Recorded with the occupation trombonist. Recorded with the occupation composer. Classed in the genre jazz. Recorded as having received Officer of the Order of Canada, Grammy Award for Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album and Grammy Award for Best Arrangement, Instrumental or A Cappella.

Juno Awards • Nominee, Best Jazz Album, Rob McConnell and the Boss Brass The Jazz Album, Juno Awards of 1977 • Winner, Best Jazz Album, Rob McConnell and the Boss Brass, Big Band Jazz, Juno Awards of 1978 • Winner, Recording Engineer of the Year - David Green, Big Band Jazz, Juno Awards of 1978 • Nominee, Best Jazz Album, Again!, Juno Awards of 1980 • Winner, Best Jazz Album, Present Perfect, Juno Awards of 1981 • Nominee, Best Jazz Album, Live In Digital, Rob McConnell and the Boss Brass, Juno Awards of 1982 • Winner, Best Jazz Album, All In Good Time, Rob McConnell and the Boss Brass, Juno Awards of 1984 • Nominee, Best Jazz Album, Atras De Porta, Rob McConnell and the Boss Brass, Juno Awards of 1986 • Nominee, Best Jazz Album, Old Friends, New Music, The Rob McConnell Sextet, Juno Awards of 1986 • Nominee, Recording Engineer of the Year - Phil Sheridan, "Ellington", Mel Tormé, Rob McConnell and the Boss Brass, Juno Awards of 1987 • Winner, Best Jazz Album, The Brass Is Back, Rob McConnell and the Boss Brass, Juno Awards of 1992 • Nominee, Best Jazz Album, Brassy and Sassy, Rob McConnell and the Boss Brass, Juno Awards of 1993 • Nominee, Best Mainstream Jazz Album, Our 25th Year, Rob McConnell and the Boss Brass, Juno Awards of 1994 • Nominee, Best Mainstream Jazz Album, Overtime, Rob McConnell and the Boss Brass, Juno Awards of 1995 • Nominee, Best Mainstream Jazz Album, Even Canadians Get the Blues, Rob McConnell and the Boss Brass, Juno Awards of 1997 • Winner, Best Traditional Jazz Album, Rob McConnell Tentet, Rob McConnell Tentet, Juno Awards of 2001 • Nominee, Traditional Jazz Album of the Year, Thank You, Ted, Rob McConnell Tentet, Juno Awards of 2003 Grammy Awards • Nominee, Best Jazz Instrumental Performance, Big Band, Big Band Jazz, Rob McConnell and the Boss Brass, 1979 • Nominee, Best Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist(s), "Tangerine", The Singers Unlimited with Rob McConnell and The Boss Brass, 1980 • Nominee, Best Jazz Instrumental Performance, Big Band, Present Perfect, Rob McConnell and The Boss Brass, 1981 • Nominee, Best Jazz Instrumental Performance, Big Band, "Tribute", Tribute, Rob McConnell and The Boss Brass, 1982 • Nominee, Best Jazz Instrumental Performance, Big Band, Live In Digital, Rob McConnell and The Boss Brass, 1983 • Winner, Best Jazz Instrumental Performance, Big Band, All In Good Time, Rob McConnell and The Boss Brass, 26th Annual Grammy Awards, 1984 • Nominee, Best Arrangement On An Instrumental, "I Got Rhythm", All In Good Time, Rob McConnell and The Boss Brass, 1984 • Nominee, Best Large Jazz Ensemble Performance, The Brass Is Back, Rob McConnell and The Boss Brass, 1992 • Winner, Best Arrangement on an Instrumental, "Strike Up The Band", Brassy And Sassy, Rob McConnell, 35th Annual Grammy Awards, 1993 • Nominee, Best Large Jazz Ensemble Performance, Brassy And Sassy, Rob McConnell and The Boss Brass, 1993 • Nominee, Best Large Jazz Ensemble Performance, Our 25th Year, Rob McConnell and The Boss Brass, 1994 • Winner, Best Instrumental Arrangement With Accompanying Vocal(s), "I Get A Kick Out Of You", Mel Tormé, Rob McConnell and the Boss Brass, Rob McConnell, 38th Annual Grammy Awards, 1996 • Nominee, Best Large Jazz Ensemble Performance, Even Canadians Get The Blues, Rob McConnell and The Boss Brass, 1997 • Nominee, Best Instrumental Arrangement, "What Are You Doing New Year's Eve?", Big Band Christmas, Rob McConnell and the Boss Brass, Rob McConnell, 1999 • Nominee, Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album, Rob McConnell Tentet, Rob McConnell Tentet, 2002 • Nominee, Best Instrumental Arrangement, "Autumn In New York", So Very Rob, Boss Brass Revisited, Rob McConnell And The SWR Big Band, Rob McConnell, 2004 Canadian National Jazz Awards • Arranger of the Year, Rob McConnell, 2002 • Trombonist of the Year, Rob McConnell, 2002 • Arranger of the Year, Rob McConnell, 2003 • Trombonist of the Year, Rob McConnell, 2003 • Acoustic Group of the Year, The Rob McConnell Tentet, 2003 • Big Band of the Year, The Rob McConnell Tentet, 2003 • Arranger of the Year, Rob McConnell, 2004 • Trombonist of the Year, Rob McConnell, 2004 • Big Band of the Year, The Rob McConnell Tentet, 2004 • Big Band of the Year, The Rob McConnell Tentet, 2005 • Trombonist of the Year, Rob McConnell, 2006 • Big Band of the Year, The Rob McConnell Tentet, 2006

• Awarded, Honorary Doctor of Letters, St. Francis Xavier University, 1986 • Awarded, SOCAN Jazz Award, Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada, 1992 • Awarded, Prix Oscar Peterson, Montreal International Jazz Festival, 1997 • Inducted, Canadian Music Hall of Fame, Juno Awards of 1997 • Named, Officer of the Order of Canada, 1998 • Awarded, SOCAN National Achievement Award, Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada, 1999