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As his father foretold, Ian McDougall's career as a trombonist has been a very successful one. By the age of 13, McDougall was already an active member of the Musicians' Union, and could be heard playing in Victoria clubs. He proceeded to export his musical stylings across the Atlantic for a 1960-61 stint in England, after which he settled in Vancouver. Once here, he played in both the Cave house band under Chris Gage and Fraser MacPherson and in the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra.The latter provided his first exposure to "legit music," which he pursued further as a student in the Bachelor of Music program at the University of British Columbia.

"I sort of became the first-call trombone player in Canada I guess, doing studio work, television, movies and so on." — Ian McDougall

From 1973-1986, McDougall and his family lived in Toronto, where he established himself as a top studio musician. His radio work brought him to the attention of Rob McConnell, leader of Boss Brass. This group, which got its start doing recordings of pop song arrangements, eventually built up a "challenging and largely original repertoire of jazz compositions and arrangements by McConnell and band members Ian McDougall and Rick Wilkins." By the mid-1970s, it had become "the leading big band in Canada, and one of the finest in the world" ("Boss").

Back in the West, McDougall "got his first real job at the age of 50" (Tracy). He recalls the interview process for the position of Professor of Jazz Studies and Trombone at the University of Victoria:

"When they said to me "We know you've got all that experience and you're a good teacher, but if you had some academic training, this would help". So I said "Yes, I've got a Masters degree" and they almost fell over with glee! That meant that traditionally I was okay" - Ian McDougall

Needless to say, McDougall received the appointment. He left the University of Victoria as Professor Emeritus in 2003.

"If you get a degree in jazz studies or symphonic music and you don't necessarily make a living in those areas, if you're practising properly, you're disciplining yourself to become a better person. You can go into another field, but the quality of the training you had as a musician is going to stand you in good stead for the rest of your life." —Ian McDougall

VIDEO

Bobby Hales on Ian McDougall

Don Thompson quartet plays "Samba D'Orfeu" (1967)

FOR MORE INFO

Ian McDougall Official Website
www.ianmcdougall.com