Celebrated Bassist Mike Downes to Release Debut Solo Album

The multiple Juno Award winner's album 'Mind Mirrors' will be released on September 16th, 2022

Celebrated Bassist Mike Downes to Release Debut Solo Album

The multiple Juno Award winner's album 'Mind Mirrors' will be released on September 16th, 2022

Multiple JUNO award winner Mike Downes has been a prominent Canadian bassist, composer, arranger and educator since the early 1980s. His musicality, emotional depth and melodic approach to the bass have thrilled audiences in Europe, Japan, South Korea, Brazil, Mexico, Israel, Iceland, the United States and Canada. In addition to leading his own groups, Mike has performed with virtually all of Canada’s top jazz musicians, including Molly Johnson, Oliver Jones, PJ Perry, Lorne Lofsky, Don Thompson, Kirk MacDonald, Robi Botos and Pat LaBarbera. He has performed with international artists Pat Metheny, Chris Potter, Michael Brecker, John Abercrombie, Peter Erskine, Kenny Wheeler, John Taylor, Dave Liebman and many others.

Mind Mirrors brings the instrumental, compositional, and improvisational artistry of multiple JUNO award-winner Mike Downes to the forefront as his first solo bass album.

Mike has been a prominent fixture both within the Canadian music scene and abroad, praised for his limitless versatility, seemingly effortless technique, and the extensive knowledge he has not just of his own instrument, but also of the foundation of music. Mike is a seasoned veteran not just as a performer, but as a respected composer, arranger, and educator.

Mike’s extensive discography also highlights his work as a performer, arranger, composer and producer for other artists. Aside from his own recordings, other JUNO award-winning or nominated recordings include Robi Botos’s Old Soul, Larnell Lewis’s In the Moment, Molly Johnson’s Meaning to Tell Ya, Lucky, Another Day, Messin’ Around and Because of Billie, Shirantha Beddage’s Identity and Momentum, Lorne Lofsky’s Bill Please, Jens Lindemann and Tommy Banks Legacy Live, and Ranee Lee’s Dark Divasand Maple Groove. 

Helping to mentor and inspire young musicians is an important component of Mike’s career. He has been the Bass Department Head at prestigious Humber College in Toronto since 2000. He has also been featured as a Yamaha artist/clinician throughout Canada, at the Paekche Institute in Seoul, South Korea and the infamous Conservatoire de Paris. Mike is the author of The Jazz Bass Line Book published by Advance Music of Germany. The book is receiving world-wide acclaim as one of the most informative books available on the subject. He is also co-author of Jazz and Popular Music Theory.

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Bass Magazine   By: Bass Magazine