Photo by James Reilly
Winnipeg jazz musicians Greg Leskiw
and Bernie Addington of SwingSoniq
performed Nov. 15 at Alumni Theatre

 

 

Leskiw finally does it his way

By James Reilly
The University College of the Cariboo, Kamloops
The Digital Times

"I've got to tell you," Greg Leskiw, SwingSoniq's founder, frontman and leader said as he leaned a little closer to me. "When I was a kid, all I wanted was to be the rhythm guitar player in Django Reinhardt's band."

Leskiw would have a couple of problems fulfilling his childhood dreams. For starters, Reinhardt died in 1953, long before Leskiw even knew about him. And the type of hard-driving, heavy-swinging jazz Leskiw fell in love with was nowhere to be found on the Canadian Prairies in the late 1960s and early '70s.

So Greg Leskiw played rock and roll.

He played good rock and roll. In 1969, Burton Cummings asked Leskiw to join The Guess Who. He went on to tour with the group, won gold records and Juno Awards for Share the Land, So Long Bannatyne, and Rockin' and a platinum award for Best Of The Guess Who (Volume 1).

In 1972, he left The Guess Who, formed his own band, Mood jga jga, and headed for New York to record with legendary producer Phil Ramone.

In the mid-eighties, Leskiw had had enough of the travelling rock and roll life. He opened Vox Pop Studios in Winnipeg and focused on producing and recording other people's music. Vox Pop hosted many of the bigger Winnipeg bands, like The Crash Test Dummies and The New Meanies.

Vox Pop lasted until 1997.

"That was the year of the big flood," said Leskiw. "I found myself looking around, thinking this was the time to make a change and wondering 'what am I going to do now?'"

After some soul searching, Leskiw decided to do what he had wanted to do all along.

"What had I got to lose?" he said.

Django Reinhardt wasn't getting any less dead, but the jazz scene on the Prairies had gotten somewhat richer so Leskiw got back to basics, went into the woodshed and dug deep into the music that had always touched him the deepest.

"I started with After You've Gone," he said. "I was a rock player. I pretty much had to learn this stuff. But as an artist, I grew by leaps and bounds. It's been a total change. I have a brand new life."

If you can't get Django Reinhardt's band the next best thing would be to start your own band modeled after Reinhardt and The Quintet of the Hot Club of France.

That is exactly what Leskiw did.

Swing Soniq began life as a trio, with Leskiw and Greg Lowe both playing acoustic guitars and Daniel Koulack on acoustic bass. Lowe was replaced by Richard Moody on viola. Currently, Bernie Addington provides the hard-swinging double bass.

Swing Soniq plays Hot Club jazz-the carefree, wide open, fast, dripping with energy jazz that lit up Paris between the two World Wars. They don't merely relive the past however. Their repertoire features a healthy dose of bluesy, country-tinged originals as well as classic jazz standards like Moonglow, It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing) and The Hot Club signature tune Sweet Georgia Brown.

Leskiw provides thick, blues-drenched, smoke-infused vocals, giving Swing Soniq a modern edge. He also plays the driving acoustic rhythm guitar and takes a fair number of the solos.

Richard Moody is absolutely amazing. His viola plays foil to Leskiw as Stephane Grappelli's violin did to Reinhardt in 1938. Bernie Addington is one of the best bassists on the Canadian jazz scene. He does exactly what the bass player is supposed to do, yet all too often doesn't - provide almost invisible support, then step out and blow people away with powerful, lyrical solos.

Leskiw has found his voice. It's the voice of tradition fused with modern energy and insight.

He has no plans to do anything but SwingSoniq. Their first album, recorded in 1997, received critical acclaim. Plans to record a follow-up, possibly a live recording in January, are in the works.

"I'm not holding back," said Leskiw. "I'm taking this thing to whatever level it wants to go to."

Seeing the joy in his eyes, hearing the music coming out of him, I can't imagine him doing anything less.

 

SwingSoniq
PO Box 87,
Winnipeg Manitoba R3V 1L5
(204) 261-5283

Email Greg: Click here

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