For as long as anyone can remember, a small second-storey performance space in downtown Peterborough has hosted very big talent.
That will again be the case on Friday, October 16 when jazz musician Mark Ferguson brings his quartet to the Gordon Best Theatre at 216 Hunter Street West.
As a pianist, trombonist, composer, arranger, and producer, the 69-year-old Ottawa-based musician has enjoyed a lengthy and impressive career doing what he loves to do.
If that’s not enough, as an educator, he has imparted his music knowledge at the post-secondary level in Toronto and at Ottawa’s Carleton University from which he recently retired after 20 years as a professor with the music department.
When Ferguson takes to the stage, he’ll be joined by Ben Di Millo on guitar, J.P. Lapensée on bass, and Jamie Holmes on drums and percussion — all former students of his at Carleton.
AUDIO: “Transformation” – Mark Ferguson (2026)
“These days, I’m 30 years older than most of those around me on the stage, which is a good thing because it means I’m still doing playing music and they still want to play with me after all these years,” muses Ferguson.
Ferguson’s formal music education saw him, at age 17, enrol in the Bachelor of Music program at the University of Ottawa.
“It was the classical program, but I was obsessed with jazz,” he recalls. “After two years, I decided to go to Toronto to attend Humber College. It turned out to be a great move. I met so many fantastic musicians, many of whom I’m still working with.”
Ferguson remained in Toronto for 10 years before returning to Ottawa with the intention of finishing his degree at the University of Ottawa and then returning to Toronto.
“I met my wife and, you know, life gets in the way. I ended up staying here. I love Ottawa. There’s a smaller circle of musicians than Toronto, but there are really great ones.”
Ferguson’s journey as a music educator began in 1996 when he was asked to direct the jazz ensemble at Carleton as well as teach jazz piano and trombone. That led to teaching jazz theory and orchestration. On reflection, he says teaching music benefited his own musicianship.
“You can have a lot of musical knowledge, but when you have to relate it to other people, it becomes a lot clearer in your mind,” he reasons.
Speaking to the jazz genre, Ferguson feels its drawing young people in increasing numbers.
“It’s always been a bit of a fringe music, other than in the 1940s when it was the popular music of the day,” he says.
“Being a jazz musician was never a get-rich-quick plan. You’ve got to really love it. If you look at publications like Downbeat or Jazz Times, there are always great young musicians coming along. There’s definitely a future for jazz. When people say jazz is dead, it’s not dead.”
AUDIO: “Share The Path” – Mark Ferguson (2026)
Back in the 1980s, Ferguson was blessed with the opportunity to perform alongside some of the biggest names in entertainment who headlined at the then very swanky Imperial Room at Toronto’s Royal York Hotel.
He was a member of the house band that backed jazz greats including Ella Fitzgerald, Tony Bennett, Dionne Warwick, Natalie Cole, and Engelbert Humperdink, to name but a few.
“I was in my early 20s,” Ferguson recalls. “I had to pinch myself. There’s Ella standing in front of me. I thought ‘Wow, it’s not going to get any better than this. This might be the pinnacle of my career.'”
As things turned out, it was not. Far from it, in fact, as studio work came Ferguson’s way. That not only saw him perform on other artists’ albums but, in the early 2000s, collaborate with saxophonist Mike Tremblay for his first studio project.
In 2015, Ferguson recorded and released The Next Chapter, an album featuring his original compositions. That was followed by an album featuring himself joined by Tremblay along with bassist Dave Young and drummer Terry Clarke of Boss Brass fame.
AUDIO: “The Next Chapter” – Mark Ferguson (2015)
Ferguson’s joining the artist roster of Quebec-based PSP Records in 2024 led to his newest album Transformation. Featuring the talents of his current bandmates Di Millo, Lapensée, and Holmes, it debuted live in January of this year at GigSpace in Ottawa.
“There’s really not a lot of swing music on Transformation,” Ferguson observes. “It’s kind of a different path for me, but it’s still jazz.”
Then there’s Ferguson’s extensive work as a composer for television and film. His credits include the CBC television series Life & Times, Cottage Country, and On The Road Again. His original compositions are also featured in the Treehouse Television series Toy Castle. Ferguson has also composed music for the Canadian Museum of History.
Meanwhile, as an arranger, Ferguson’s work has been performed by the likes of National Centre Arts Orchestra, the RCMP Band, and the Central Band of the Canadian Armed Forces, as well as by his Latin jazz ensemble Los Gringos.
Ferguson has also toured and played trombone with The Funk Brothers — the famed group of session musicians which, during Motown’s boom years, performed on most all of the label’s biggest hits.
AUDIO: “Paradiso” – Mark Ferguson (2015)
Ferguson’s Gordon Best Theatre stop is squeezed between an October 15 show in Kingston and an October 17 performance in Port Hope. All three shows are part of a southern Ontario tour set up by PSP Records.
As for the music the audience will hear during his Gorden Best show, Ferguson calls it “pretty accessible.”
“It’s not far out or anything,” he says. “Just some great virtuoso musicianship from the guys in the band. It’s really exciting to hear them play my tunes.”
Likely influenced by his background as a music educator, Ferguson adds that he also engages with the audience when performing.
“I always have something to say about the compositions,” he explains. “I find if you just play for an audience and you don’t tell them what the song is about — how it was written, why it was written — it doesn’t pique their interest as much. If you’re Miles Davis, you can get away with not doing that.”
As for what the future holds, Ferguson affirms “I’m going to keep doing this until people don’t want to hear me anymore.”
“It’s not just a job,” he says. “It’s a passion, so it’s pretty tough to stop doing it.”
During the Gordon Best Theatre show, the Mark Ferguson Quartet will perform two 45-minute sets beginning at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, October 16. The cover charge is $15 at the door (no advance tickets are available). Seating is general admission, so get there when doors open at 6:30 p.m. for the best seat selection.
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