Ron Collier

Ron Collier, OC (July 3, 1930 – October 22, 2003) was a Canadian jazz trombonist, composer, and arranger.[1][2] He performed in and led a number of jazz groups, and created orchestrations for and recorded with Duke Ellington.

Ron Collier
Birth nameRonald William Collier
Born(1930-07-03)July 3, 1930
Coleman, Alberta, Canada
DiedOctober 22, 2003(2003-10-22) (aged 73)
Toronto, Ontario
GenresJazz
Occupation(s)Musician, composer, arranger
InstrumentsTrombone

Early life and education

A native of Coleman, Alberta, Collier began his musical training in Vancouver. He was a member of the Kitsilano Boys' Band.[3] He studied music privately in Toronto with Gordon Delamont.[4] The first jazz musician to receive a Canada Council grant, he studied orchestration in New York in 1961 and 1962.[1]

Career

Collier formed the Ron Collier Jazz Quartet, which performed in the 1950s at the Stratford Festival[5] and on CBC's Tabloid with Portia White.[6] and in 1963 with the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra.[7][8]

Duke Ellington performed with the Ron Collier Orchestra on the 1969 album North of the Border in Canada.[9][10] The album included compositions by several Canadian composers, including Collier.[11] Collier created orchestrations for a number of Ellington's concerts and recordings.[4][12]

Collier composed the scores to the films Face-Off (1971), A Fan's Notes (1972), and Paperback Hero (1973).

In the 1970s Collier began directing a student orchestra at Toronto's Humber College.[13] His band won the big Band Open Class at the Canadian Stage Band Festival in 1982 .[14]

In 2003, he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada.[15] He died in October that year in Toronto.[1]

References
  1. Helen McNamara, Betty Nygaard King. "Collier, Ron". The Canadian Encyclopedia. Retrieved 2010-08-08.
  2. Richard Cook; Brian Morton (2000). The Penguin guide to jazz on CD. Penguin Books. p. 465.
  3. "Ron Collier". Canadian Jazz Archive Online.
  4. "Ron Collier". AllMusic, Biography by Eugene Chadbourne
  5. The Canadian Music Journal. Canadian Music Council. 1957. p. 41.
  6. "Canadian contralto Portia White's life on the stage". Tabloid, CBC Television, Feb 01, 2019
  7. Winnipeg Tribune, via Newspaper Archives, January 04, 1963 - Page 14
  8. "A Question of Terms". Winnipeg Free Press, via Newspaper Archives, January 04, 1963 - Page 11
  9. "Canadian Jazz Great and 'Musical Force' Ed Bickert Remembered By His Son". Billboard, 3/9/2019 by Karen Bliss
  10. Stereo Review. Volume 22. CBS Magazines. 1969. p. 115.
  11. "Duke Ellington North of The Border in Canada". Oswego Palladium Times, via Newspaper Archives, January 25, 1969 - Page 9.
  12. "Jazz CD Reviews". Music-Wev International, Don Mather
  13. "The Best Seat in the House". Winnipeg Free Press, via Newspaper Archives. December 07, 1976 - Page 47
  14. "Relax'". Winnipeg Free Press, via Newspaper Archives, December 06, 1991 - Page 35
  15. Order of Canada citation
Archives at
LocationUniversity of Toronto Music Library 
IdentifiersCA OTUFM 35
Dates1929-2004
SourceRon Collier fonds
How to use archival material
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