Don Thompson (CM), well known for his work with the Boss Brass, Jim Hall and George Shearing, has been one of Canada’s most beloved instrumentalists for decades. Throughout this time, he has also been a mentor to many young jazz musicians. Chris Parnis, one of those musicians, has had the opportunity to work closely with Don since arriving in Toronto in 2019.

Chris has rapidly made a name for himself thereafter, performing and recording with celebrated Canadian jazz musicians including Brian Dickinson, Robi Botos, and Terry Clarke. In 2024, he released his own debut full-length album: Everything You Could Be (described by Midwest Book Review as “a treasure for connoisseurs of modern-day original jazz”). The record was met with a strong reception, and afterwards Don encouraged him to resist developing an artistic comfort zone and instead expand to music for a full horn section.

At this point, Don had stepped back from performing all but a few intimate shows. With a wealth of unrecorded and under-performed original writing for 9-piece band, he offered Chris the opportunity and challenge of recording and performing the unreleased music. This reigniting of the nonet began under Chris’ musical direction in May of 2024 featuring former members of Don’s original band and current generation rising talents, all of whom look forward to continuing to work together honouring his music.