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Mike Downes
Noted as a profoundly musical bassist with a keen melodic sense, Toronto-based composer, arranger and bassist Mike Downes has released award-winning recordings ranging from solo bass, trio and quartet to large ensemble. His recent projects include the release of his 8th album as a leader "The Way In," a commission to arrange 12 pieces for jazz quartet and and symphony orchestra to commemorate the centenary of the great Oscar Peterson in Osaka, Japan in June 2025, and shows worldwide throughout 2025. International Society of Bassists calls him "As gifted a composer as he is a bassist" and guitar great Pat Metheny calls Downes “one of my favorite bass players.”
His extensive discography includes projects as a band-leader, performer, composer and producer. His own Ripple Effect won a 2014 JUNO award for Traditional Jazz Album of the Year and Root Structure was the 2018 JUNO award winner for Jazz Album of the Year: Solo. Root Structure inspired UK Vibe to write “5/5 - This album is as close to perfect as it is possible to get and fully warrants its rating here. Buy it!” His most recent album The Way In is slated for release in March, 2024.
Mike has performed with a long list of international jazz artists including Chris Potter, Pat Metheny, John Abercrombie, Kenny Wheeler, Dave Liebman and Donny McCaslin, and Canadians Don Thompson, Kirk MacDonald, Pat LaBarbera, Robi Botos, Molly Johnson and many more. He has performed throughout Europe, Japan, South Korea, Brazil, Mexico, Iceland, the United States and Canada.
"Mike’s time playing is delightfully inventive...his lines are clear, hip, and agile. His technique and intonation are extraordinary" Jazz Player Magazine
“Downes' playing is marked by an unerring and versatile technique, the kind of bass playing that's never static yet nevertheless establishes a firm foundation” Textura
Awards
2014 JUNO award winner - Traditional Jazz Album of the Year (Ripple Effect) 2018 JUNO award winner - Jazz Album of Year:Solo (Root Structure)
Tags
Shuffle Demons: Are You Really Real
by La-Faithia White
The Shuffle Demons are a Canadian jazz fusion band from Toronto. The band features a powerhouse ensemble of saxophonists Kelly Jefferson, Richard Underhill and Matt Lagan, anchored by the deep pocket of acoustic bassist Mike Downes and drummer Stich Wynston. The title track “X Marks The Spot" opens with an intriguing dialogue between bass and drums exploding into rapid-fire saxophone lines. Jefferson and Lagan exchange double-line runs, blending harmonies and layering multiphonics in a thrilling display of saxophone ...
Continue ReadingShuffle Demons: Are You Really Real
by Anastasia Bogomolets
Celebrating four decades of genre-blending jazz, the Shuffle Demons return with Are You Really Real, a studio album that fuses funk, post-bop, theatrical satire and spiritual jazz. Influences ranging from Eric Dolphy and Alice Coltrane to the Red Hot Chili Peppers shape the band's eclectic high-energy aesthetic. The opening track, “X Marks the Spot," sets the tone with multivoiced saxophone lines and a rhythm section that oscillates between swing and funk. Tenor saxophonists Kelly Jefferson and Matt Lagan ...
Continue ReadingShuffle Demons: Are You Really Real
by Pierre Giroux
There is a unique brand of musical madness that only the Shuffle Demons can conjure--a whirlwind of saxophones, humour, groove and a palpable sense of daring. With Are You Really Real, this storied Canadian outfit delivers a recording that captures the very essence of what made them both a cult favourite and respected presence on the international jazz scene. Bristling with invention, personality and raw performance energy, the album feels like a live set caught in a studio net--exhilarating, unfiltered ...
Continue ReadingMatt Greenwood: Atlas
by Dan McClenaghan
There are a lot of jazz guitarists out there, and competence in the art of the guitar is common. Mature excellence is less so. But we expect that when we spin a CD. Matt Greenwood, born in Zimbabwe and now home-based in Canada, displays that rare-for-a-debut mature excellence on his axe-- and more importantly in his artistic vision--on his debut recording, Atlas. He lays his vision out with assured eloquence on an impressive guitar/piano/bass/drums affair. There is boldness ...
Continue ReadingShuffle Demons: All In
by Chris M. Slawecki
There aren't too many bands still standing from back when Shuffle Demons first performed in 1984. Their tenth recording, All In features three saxophonists-- tenors Kelly Jefferson and Matt Lagan plus Richard Underhill on alto and baritone--plus acoustic bassist Mike Downes and drummer Stich Wynston tearing through ten new originals. With no chord instruments (piano, guitar) between them and the horns, bassist Downes and drummer Wynston keep shuffling in the spaces like madmen to keep All In moving, and simultaneously ...
Continue ReadingThe Shuffle Demons: All In
by Jack Bowers
With a three-saxophone front line and no piano, Canada's Shuffle Demons could be mistaken for the legendary Gerry Mulligan Quartet on steroids—could be, that is, until one hears the music, which bears scant resemblance to the West Coast cool espoused by Mulligan, Chet Baker and their colleagues. In other words, they're not called Shuffle Demons for nothing. When not shuffling, the Demons are otherwise brash and busy on their tenth album, All In, whose ten numbers were ...
Continue ReadingThe Shuffle Demons: All In
by Kyle Simpler
Bands such as Tower of Power and the Average White Band are known for their hard-driving blend of funky soul mixed with rock and jazz elements. The Canadian-based group, Shuffle Demons, takes these influences and keeps the funk alive while emphasizing their own jazz roots as well. Their tenth album, All In, features a non-stop combination of in-the-pocket grooves combined with big band elements. The Shuffle Demons formed in 1984, and they started off playing as buskers in ...
Continue Reading“As gifted a composer as he is a bassist." - Chris Kosky, International Society of Bassists "Mike’s time playing is delightfully inventive...his lines are clear, hip, and agile. His technique and intonation are extraordinary.” - Kim Richmond, Jazz Player Magazine "Emotionally direct, profoundly lyrical bass work." - Stuart Broomer, The Whole Note “This bass ace is incapable of letting you down” - Midwest Record “Downes' playing is marked by an unerring and versatile technique, the kind of bass playing that's never static yet nevertheless establishes a firm foundation” Textura "Virtuoso solo bassist Mike Downes delighted the hall: on this seemingly "heavy- handed" tool it is only possible in the performance of the greatest masters
Primary Instrument
Bass
Location
Toronto
Willing to teach
Advanced only
Credentials/Background
Helping to mentor and inspire young musicians is an important component of his career. Mike was the Bass Department Head at prestigious Humber College in Toronto from 2000-23. 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
Sonny Rollins
saxophone
Clifford Brown
trumpet
Ray Brown
bass, acoustic
Bill Evans
piano
Keith Jarrett
piano
Scott LaFaro
bass
Paul Chambers
bass, acousticPhotos
Music
Impulse Response
From: Music Is LifeBy Mike Downes
Redemption
From: AtlasBy Mike Downes
Each Hidden Joy
From: We Want All the Same ThingsBy Mike Downes
Cat Walk
From: Crazy TimeBy Mike Downes
Momentum
From: Root StructureBy Mike Downes
Videos
Similar
Keith Jarrett
piano
Dave Holland
bass
Michael Brecker
saxophone, tenor
Alex Goodman
guitar
Misha Piatigorsky
piano
Jon Miller
drums
Scott D Marshall
saxophone
James Pearson
piano
Mike Downes
Location: Toronto
Instrument: Bass
Born: August 16, 1964
Publicist: Orange Grove Publicity
