Photo by LISA WALDNER of The Photofrenzy
Janice is a very active band leader, directing her own jazz groups, the jump-blues group The Swing Cats, Premium, Janice Finlay's Hardbop Herd and the Janice Finlay Dance Band. She is a long-time member of the Ron Paley Big Band and her saxophone artistry is frequently heard at Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra “pops” concerts.
Highly innovative, Janice has been the driving force behind a number of artistic projects. In May 2010, with the generous support of the Winnipeg Arts Council, Janice collaborated with three other Winnipeg women jazz composers to create original works for jazz sextet which were showcased in a Jazz Winnipeg "NuSounds" concert entitled Collaborate...Create...Compose! June 2009 saw the debut of Janice Finlay's Hardbop Herd, an extraordinary quintet comprised of outstanding Manitoba jazz musicians who swing through great tunes from the 50's and 60's hardbop era. In late 2007, Janice was honoured to be commissioned to compose a big band piece, A Harbinger of Swing to Come, which was premiered in March 2008 by the Winnipeg Jazz Orchestra. In an adventurous cross-genre collaboration, Janice partnered with outstanding local choreographer Brenda Gorlick to present Jazz on Tap at the 2007 Jazz Winnipeg Festival’s Manitoba Night. This show featured a number of Manitoba’s most outstanding tap artists who added a highly percussive element to some of Janice’s original compositions as well as a few jazz classics.
Janice is a “triple threat” in the woodwind world, playing flute and clarinet in addition to all of the members of the saxophone family. This versatility has afforded her many opportunities to perform as a member of pit orchestras for numerous musical theatre productions throughout western Canada. Recently Janice was “in the pit” for Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (Rainbow Stage), The Drowsey Chaperone (Manitoba Theatre Centre), A Chorus Line (Saskatoon and Calgary) and Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (Theatre Calgary). She is also a first-call musician who has backed many touring acts during their Winnipeg appearances, including such luminaries as jazz legend Clark Terry, children’s entertainers Sharon, Lois and Bram, 60's crooner Bobby Vinton, Las Vegas entertainer Wayne Newton, famous Motown groups The Four Tops and the Temptations, and country star Kenny Rogers. A career highlight was when the Janice Finlay Jazz Orchestra appeared as the opening act for comedian Bob Newhart.
At a sold-out CD release party in 2002, Janice released her feature CD She’s Hip. Showcasing both her lyrical, engaging playing style and her evocative well-crafted compositions, the CD was named one of the 2002 top three "must-have" jazz recordings by C.B.C.'s Galaxie network, and was nominated for a 2003 Western Canada Music Award in the jazz category. The CD continues to receive ongoing radio play and enthusiastic audience response.
In 2009 Janice was thrilled to be one of ten artists chosen from an international field to participate in a three-week composition residency at the Atlantic Center for the Arts in Florida, which was made possible with financial support from both the Manitoba and Winnipeg Arts Councils. Janice remains proud of her nomination in the Arts & Culture Category for a 2004 Y.M./Y.W.C.A. Women of Distinction award.
Over the many years she has pursued her musical passion, Janice has developed into an extraordinary educator whose gift for teaching was acknowledged in 2004 when she was awarded the Xerox Manitoba Jazz Educator of the Year Award. From 2005 -2007 Janice was the inaugural Jazz Program Coordinator at the Manitoba Conservatory of Music and Arts and she remains an active private instructor in addition to teaching various school workshops, jazz ensembles and jazz appreciation courses for the general public. She is a longtime member of the University of Manitoba's Jazz Camp Faculty and has been an active music festival adjudicator for more than fifteen years.
Reflecting an enduring interest in investing and finance*, in 2008 Janice developed a workshop entitled “Financial Fitness for Freelancers"” which she has presented numerous times for a number of government and arts organizations.
* A little known fact: Janice worked as a tour guide at the Bourse do Montreal (Montreal stock exchange) while completing her degree in jazz performance at McGill University!
Press Clippings:
“Finlay’s saxophone was the anchor of (the Janice Finlay Jazz Quartet’s) sound with catchy songwriting that weaved with the passion of musical storytelling… her musical ability and creativity have the strength to carry the group on her own…”
Jon Thompson, Kenora Miner and News
“…Janice Finlay’s rock-solid saxophone solos.”
Holly Harris, Winnipeg Free Press
“Findlay (sic) is a truly classic player, able to take the conventions of jazz and create a fresh sound.”
Cindy Filipenko, Herizons magazine,
“…you can’t miss the conviction, whether she’s tearing up a chart on tenor or alto with the Winnipeg Jazz Orchestra or blowing cool flute on a club date.”
Randall McIlroy, Uptown Magazine
“…it’s the musical director, Janice Finlay, one of the most sought-after musicians…on Winnipeg’s jazz scene, who comes across as the real star of this outfit.”
SCENE Roots and Blues Magazine
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