Canadian drum legend Paul DeLong will be bringing his jazz fusion band ONE WORD to Peterborough’s Gordon Best Theatre for one night only on Thursday (May 4).
That’s 50 years to the day that the Juno award-winning DeLong — best known for his multi-platinum success with rocker Kim Mitchell — saw the Mahavishnu Orchestra live in concert for the first time, inspiring him to become a musician.
Formed by English guitarist John McLaughlin, the Mahavishnu Orchestra became one of the most important and high-profile bands in jazz fusion, a music genre that developed in the late 1960s when musicians began combining jazz harmony and improvisation with rock, funk, and rhythm and blues.
“My mind was blown,” recalls DeLong. “I had never heard anything like them before. It’s still the heaviest experience of my life.”
DeLong has since forged a career encompassing the funk, fusion, jazz, and Latin genres and, in addition to Kim Mitchell, has worked with other legendary artists including Domenic Troiano, Lawrence Gowan (Styx), David Clayton-Thomas (Blood, Sweat and Tears), Roger Hodgson (Supertramp), Tom Scott (L.A. Express), and David Blamires (Pat Metheny).
Five years ago, the Toronto-based DeLong formed his own jazz fusion band ONE WORD, which performs music from the Mahavishnu Orchestra along with other jazz fusion greats including Chick Corea’s Return to Forever, Allan Holdsworth, Weather Report, the late guitarist Jeff Beck, jazz violinist Jean-Luc Ponty, and more.
VIDEO: Paul DeLong’s ONE WORD
Award-winning electric violinist Victoria Yeh, who recently moved from Toronto to Peterborough and has been performing regularly around the city, is one of the members of ONE WORD, along with Grammy nominee Steve Lucas on bass, Michael Murray on guitar, and veteran Toronto keyboardist Don Baird.
Yeh promises an “unforgettable night of fusion” when ONE WORD performs at the Gordon Best on Thursday, May 4th. General admission tickets are $35 in advance or $40 at the door, with VIP tickets (including a pre-show meet and greet with the band and preferred seating) available for $55 in advance only.
Advance tickets are available now at victoriayeh.com/oneword/. Doors open at 7 p.m. with the show beginning at 7:30 p.m.
If you miss the ONE WORD concert, you can also catch DeLong when he performs at Showplace Performance Centre with the Chicago tribute band Brass Transit on Sunday, May 28th and again with the iconic Canadian rock band Lighthouse on Saturday, June 10th.
