Jazz drummer Barry Elmes (who attended York's Jazz program in 1974) and bassist and York grad Al Henderson (MFA'83) are both respected jazz teachers at York, and have achieved national recognition as jazz performers. Elmes and Henderson are co-leaders of the group Time Warp one of Canada's top jazz ensembles. Time Warp, which got its start at York, recently celebrated its 15th anniversary with the two-CD release Time Warp Collection (Cornerstone Records).

    Elmes, who also has his own quintet, the Barry Elmes Quintet, was named 1993 and '94 Jazz Report Award winner for Musician of the Year, while Henderson, whose own group is the Al Henderson Quartet, won Composer of the Year by Jazz Report in 1995.

    Longevity for any group or ensemble is a rarity these days, so to have Time Warp survive intact for 15 years seems nothing short of a miracle perhaps. Elmes says one reason the group has stuck it out is because the band has remained musically challenging over the years. "We've never lost sight of why we formed Time Warp: to perform original compositions and develop our own identity as a band."

    York University's own CD label, "the York Fine Arts label," was created to help celebrate York artists, graduates and performers. Rhythms, Riffs & Rhymes is one of the most recent label's releases. RR&R delivers a wide range of musical traditions from small jazz ensemble playing to funk to the jazz- rock of the '70s hit group Lighthouse.

    Younger artists who are recent graduates of York's music program include Mark Crawford, Rita di Ghent and Tim Posgate. Other artists you'll find here include jazz players such as Mike Murley, Barry Elmes and Al Henderson -- all of whom are jazz instructors at York.

    Maybe bigger is better. Certainly for pianist/composer Paul Neufeld (BFA '92) and jazz guitarist/composer Michael Occhipinti (BFA '92) it is. NOJO (the Neufeld-Occhipinti Jazz Orchestra) first performed three years ago, and has quickly established itself as an important big band.

    Jazz critics have called the 16-piece band a "very good one" with music that musters "great power." NOJO doesn't just play old chestnuts, however. They're more in the tradition of Charles Mingus, Henry Threadgill and the Art Ensemble of Chicago -- exploring improvisation in a large-scale setting.

    Fire Water is their most recent release. Their debut CD, NOJO, received a Juno award, with music professor David Mott conducting the sessions for that particular recording.

When your last name is Gotham, people tend to sit up and take notice. It also helps to be an accomplished jazz musician. Nic Gotham scores in both departments. Gotham, an alto sax player, graduated from York's Jazz Program in 1991. The composer-saxophonist is featured on blue quilt: 40 fingers saxophone quartet (Artifact Music) which, if you do the math, is exactly what it sounds like -- 4 players, 40 fingers, 4 tongues on 4 reeds.

The CD is the first release of 40 Fingers and runs the gamut from purely improvised music to composed work, with, says Gotham, "a lot of time spent in between." Produced by Gotham, the CD also features the playing and music of music professor David Mott, as well as Peter Lutek on tenor sax and Chiyoko Szlavnics on soprano sax.