MBSS teacher to play in annual jazz festival

For the first time West Kelowna’s Craig Thomson has decided to step up into the limelight and be one of the artists at the jazz festival he runs.

As part of the B.C. Interior Jazz Festival, Thomson will be performing in concert with his sextet Thursday from 8 to 10 p.m. at the Forum showcasing his original music from his new album he recorded at the end of March. The concert will feature Juno award-winning trumpeter Brad Turner from Capilano University in Vancouver.

“I’m excited to get out there and take one of the stages and show what I’ve been working on,” said Thomson, adding the concert also serves as an opportunity to show another aspect of himself outside of teaching music at Mount Boucherie Secondary School.

“My students get a chance to hear me play almost all the time, but unless they’ve come out to see me play a real show, not a background thing, where I’m prepared and surrounded by a professional band, they don’t really know what I can do,” said Thomson.

A group of his students recently came to see Thomson in concert and many were shocked by the high level of playing. Many of them had never heard some of the local pros like Scott Gamble on drums and Bernie Addington on bass.

“I believe at this point in my career that I’m playing at a pretty high level and I’ve got something to show,” he said.

Thomson said he wants to show his students every artist needs an ego to be able to get on a stage.

He is quick to point out there is a big difference between having an ego and being egotistical.

“Egotistical means that you’re probably not going to learn, you lack humility and you might be difficult to work with,” he said. “But you do need an ego to be able to stand up in front of an audience and say, ‘Listen to me because I have something to share,’” he said.

Tickets are limited. Contact Thomson at craig.thompson@sd23.bc.ca for availability.