In the News
From the Road
- "Hello Peter: I just wanted to drop you a quick note to say how very much I enjoyed the concert you and Brian did at our church last evening. It was a terrific evening and I know you realized our appreciation at Bracebridge United Church." Kathy Smith - Chair of Executive Council (Sept. 09)
- "You guys are some kind of magic! We’d love to have you back again – let me know when you’re going to be in the area." Barb Mason (Bracebridge United Church)(Sept. 09)
Legends Browne and Woods Hit the Stage
From sharing the stage with jazz icon Bill Evans, to hosting his own CBC Radio program, to studying under the great Oscar Peterson...Brian Browne never fails to delight audiences with his swinging, pure jazz sound.
Peter Woods has also hit the national stage like a shooting star, taking his blistering saxophone...from festivals to local church and community events from Toronto and Halifax, Ottawa and Montreal. Woods is an incredible saxophone player!
Pembroke Observer, Thursday, Sept. 24th, 2009
Music Reviews
Testimony, the debut release from Ottawa sax man Peter Woods, bears witness to the creative harmony found in an effective musical partnership. Woods, a relative newcomer to the scene, provides lyrical interpretations against the lush harmonic backdrop created by veteran jazz pianist Brian Browne. A fine introduction to Woods' playing, this CD also features numerous passages where Browne's distinctive solo piano sound, on a beautiful Steinway grand piano, can be fully appreciated.
www.brianbrowne.com
Woods & Browne are a sax/piano duo that performs popular jazz standards as well as some of their own beautiful tunes.
If you haven’t seen “The Rev” Peter Woods in this particular musical incarnation, there’s a good chance you’ve seen him in another. In addition to Woods & Browne, he is a member of the Trinity Jazz Ensemble, Saints'n'Sinners, and the classic rock outfit ESP. He is also heavily involved with the Church music community, and has performed United Church worship events during the Ottawa International Jazz Festival and the Montreal International Jazz Festival. Oh, and one more thing – He’s an incredible sax player.
Brian Browne has been on the local, national, and international jazz scene for some time now. From sharing the stage with Bill Evans, to having his own CBC programme, to studying under the great Oscar Peterson, Brian Browne’s resume list is long and impressive. But all of those amazing accolades aside, Browne is simply a phenomenal pianist as diverse and passionate as any of the greats. His is “a unique natural gift for music that is manifested through a highly individual sense of musical artistry.” In other words, you want to hear this man play the piano.
Crossroads Connections (Oct 2006)
Ben Mullin
Minister Brings His Sax and Gospel Jazz to Music Series
The United Church minister from Smiths Falls brings his blistering sax and jazz sensibility to sacred music – and a sacred spirit to jazz-with his Trinity Jazz Ensemble.
The ensemble reinvents classic hymns and gospel tunes – such as Abide With Me and Rock Of Ages – with jazz rhythms and arrangements, finds the sould in Broadway and jazz standards and heats it all up with a little bebop, calypso, samba and even some “gut-bucket” blues.
“It’s gospel jazz,” Woods said. “We like to think of them all as great, powerful songs, whether they come out of the hymn book or the Broadway tradition. There’s lots of room for improvisation. The ensemble has played enough together over the years that there’s lots of room to stretch out.”
Ottawa-raised Woods remembers when he was a teenage trombone player and jazz great Phil Nimmons his band that they needed to hang out in Hull for a little down-and-dirty life experience.
Ministering may not be what Nimmons had in mind but it fits the bill – strange hours, strange experiences and helping people celebrate the good times and mourn the bad times, Woods said.
“It’s a natural fit – music is so important to ministry, but so much music is enriched by life experience. Music has a way of making sure our theology is fresh and relevant,” Woods said.
When he’s not playing with the Trinity ensemble, at venues including the All-Canadian Jazz Festival, or criss-crossing Lanark County with Dixieland group Saints’n’Sinners, the minister amps up with classic rock band ESP and plays, as he jokes, every bar in Smiths Falls.
excerpted, Megan Gillis
Brockville Recorder Times, Thursday, February 5, 2004
Hot Jazz for a Cold Night
After selling out the “Life Along the Rideau” Music Series’ premiere night last Friday, it is clear that this band’s refreshing mix of jazz and gospel music is just what the doctor ordered for these cold winter nights!”
The Record News
Smiths Falls, Wednesday, February 4, 2004
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