Cory Weeds (born 1975) is a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

jazz

saxophonist The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of Single-reed instrument, single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed (mouthpi ...

and

impresario An impresario (from Italian ''impresa'', 'an enterprise or undertaking') is a person who organizes and often finances concerts, Play (theatre), plays, or operas, performing a role in stage arts that is similar to that of a film producer, film or ...

. He is the founder and owner of the Cellar Music Group

record label "Big Three" music labels A record label or record company is a brand or trademark of Sound recording and reproduction, music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a Music publisher, ...

. Weeds has performed alongside musicians including

Christian McBride Christian McBride (born May 31, 1972) is an American jazz bassist, composer and arranger. He has appeared on more than 400 recordings as a sideman, and is a nine-time Grammy Award winner. McBride has performed and recorded with a number of jaz ...

Joey DeFrancesco Joey DeFrancesco (April 10, 1971August 25, 2022) was an American jazz organist, trumpeter, saxophonist, and occasional singer. He released more than 30 albums under his own name, and recorded extensively as a sideman with such leading jazz perfo ...

, Peter Bernstein (guitarist),

Eric Alexander (jazz saxophonist) Eric Alexander (born August 4, 1968) is an American jazz saxophonist, composer, and educator. Having placed second at the 1991 Thelonious Monk International Jazz Saxophone Competition behind Joshua Redman and ahead of Chris Potter and Tim ...

, Mike LeDonne, and Joe Farnsworth.

Early life and education

Weeds was born and raised in

Burnaby Burnaby is a city in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia, Canada. Located in the centre of the Burrard Peninsula, it neighbours the City of Vancouver to the west, the District of North Vancouver across the confluence of the Burrard In ...

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

. His interest in jazz began in secondary school, which he then chose to pursue in his post-secondary education, attending

Capilano University Capilano University (CapU) is a teaching-focused public university based in North Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, located on the slopes of the North Shore Mountains, with programming that also serves the Sea-to-Sky Corridor and the Sunshi ...

and

University of North Texas The University of North Texas (UNT) is a public university, public research university located in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. Its main campus is in Denton, Texas, Denton, with a satellite campus in Frisco, Texas, Frisco. It serves as the ...

Career

At the age of 26, Weeds purchased a jazz club which would become the Cellar Jazz Club. This led to the establishment of the Cellar Live/Cellar Music Group record label in 2001. According to ''The Sage International Encyclopedia of Music and Culture'', American jazz magazine ''

DownBeat ''DownBeat'' (styled in all caps) is an American music magazine devoted to "jazz, blues and beyond", the last word indicating its expansion beyond the jazz realm that it covered exclusively in previous years. The publication was established in 1 ...

'' named Cory Weeds' Cellar on its list of the world's greatest jazz clubs. The Cellar Jazz Club shut down in 2014. Weeds has since continued to book musicians at Frankie's Jazz Club in

Downtown Vancouver Downtown Vancouver is the central business district and the city centre list of neighbourhoods in Vancouver, neighbourhood of Vancouver, Canada, on the northwestern shore of the Burrard Peninsula in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. ...

and the Shadbolt Centre for the Arts in Burnaby. In February 2023, Cellar Music Group was awarded their first

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

for Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album. The Grammy was awarded to Steven Feifke and Bijon Watson's Generation Gap Jazz Orchestra for their album ''Generation Gap Jazz Orchestra''.

Discography

* ''Big Weeds'' (2008) * ''Everything's Coming Up Weeds'' (2009) * ''The Many Deeds of Cory Weeds'' (2010) * ''Just Like That'' (2011) * ''Up a Step: The Music of

Hank Mobley Henry Mobley (July 7, 1930 – May 30, 1986) was an American tenor saxophonist and composer. Mobley was described by Leonard Feather as the "middleweight champion of the tenor saxophone", a metaphor used to describe his tone, that was neithe ...

'' (2012) * ''With Benefits'' (2013) - with Bill Coon Quartet * ''Let's Go!'' (2013) * ''As of Now'' (2014) * ''Condition Blue: The Music of

Jackie McLean John Lenwood McLean (May 17, 1931 – March 31, 2006) was an American jazz alto saxophonist, composer, bandleader, and educator. He is one of the few musicians to be elected to the ''DownBeat'' Hall of Fame in the year of their death. Bio ...

'' (2015) * ''This Happy Madness'' (2015) - with Jeff Hamilton Trio * ''It's Easy to Remember'' (2016) * ''Let's Groove: The Music of

Earth, Wind & Fire Earth, Wind & Fire (abbreviated as EW&F or EWF) is an American band formed in Chicago, Illinois in 1969. Their music spans multiple genres, including jazz, R&B, soul, funk, disco, pop, Latin and Afro-pop. They are among the best-selling ba ...

'' (2017) * ''Dreamsville'' (2017) - with Jeff Hamilton Trio * ''Explosion'' (2018) - Cory Weeds Little Big Band * ''Live at Frankie's Jazz Club'' (2019) * ''Dream a Little'' (2019) - with Champain Fulton (duo) * ''Day by Day'' (2020) * ''O Sole Mio! Music from the Motherland'' (2021) * ''Cory Weeds With Strings: What Is There to Say?'' (2021) * ''Just Coolin' '' (2022) * ''Home Cookin' '' (2023) - Cory Weeds Little Big Band * ''Every Now and Then'' (2024) - with Champain Fulton (duo) * ''Horns Locked'' (2025) - with Nick Hempton

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Weeks, Cory Living people 1975 births People from Burnaby Canadian jazz saxophonists