Album Notes

P.J. Perry has become recognized by critics, colleagues and listeners as being one of North America's premier saxophonists.

P.J. has shared the stage with countless jazz greats such as Dizzy Gillespie, Woody Shaw, Michel LeGrand, Pepper Adams, Kenny Wheeler, Tom Harrell, and The Boss Brass among others.

In autumn of 1999 Justin Time Records released a Juno nominated recording of P.J. and the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra

Winner of a 1993 Juno Award for Best Jazz Recording for his album "My Ideal". P.J. has received Jazz Report magazine's Critic's Choice Award for Best Alto Sax for, a record, of seven years from 1993 to 1999.

P.J. has recently been performing his own show "The Joy of Sax" with orchestras across the country. He has also performed with the Edmonton Symphony, Winnipeg Symphony, Saskatoon Symphony, Kamloops Symphony, Hamilton Philharmonic, Montreal Symphony, Kitchener-Waterloo, and the Vancouver Island Symphony.

Campbell Ryga was honored the Jazz Report Magazine¹s Award 'Canada's Alto Saxophonist of the Year 2000' presented to him at the annual Jazz Report Awards Ceremony held in Toronto in May of the year 2000. The two former recipients of this award were Moe Koffman and PJ Perry.

Since 1987 Campbell has received 3 Juno Awards, with two additional nominations, a Grammy nomination and has twice received the Western Canadian Music Award in the Jazz category.

Since 1981 Campbell has toured internationally on 19 occasions, primarily to Western Europe and to Latin America, most notably the Havana International Jazz Festival, where he has performed for four consecutive years. Most of this touring has been with the internationally acclaimed Hugh Fraser Quintet, of which he is a founding member, an association that began in 1981. Campbell has performed week long engagements at Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club in Soho, London on four separate occasions. Campbell has also been involved in cross country Canadian touring on 24 separate occasions.

Campbell has contributed to 57 Jazz Recordings inclusive of his two current releases as a leader, 'Coastal Connection' and two years later 'Spectacular' which was released in December of 2001, both for Radioland/Universal Records.

Campbell Ryga was nominated for a Juno Award for Best Traditional Jazz Album of 2001, for the recording Spectacular

Campbell is pleased to announce a recent co-lead release with the great New York pianist Renee Rosnes for CBC Records entitled Deep Cove which features Neil Swainson on bass and Rudy Petchauer on drums and is distributed by Universal Records which was nominated for a Juno Award for 2005. This recording has received the Western Canadian Music Awards award for Most Outstanding Jazz Recording for the Year 2005.

Campbell Ryga is on faculty at Capilano College in the Jazz Performance degree program. Campbell is on faculty at Kwantlen College Langley as well. Campbell has also received the Wall of Fame honor presented to him by the British Columbia Secondary School District 67 for excellence in his field.