Artist / Band

Rob McConnell and the Boss Brass

Origin London, Ontario, 🇨🇦

Websites

thebossbrass.com

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Biography

Rob McConnell & The Boss Brass – Canada’s Big Band Legacy

Rob McConnell was born in London, Ontario on February 14, 1935. Raised in Toronto, he discovered the trombone as a teenager and quickly developed an ear for both performance and arrangement. By the mid-1950s, McConnell was already working with some of Canada’s leading bandleaders, including Bobby Gimby and fellow Canadian expatriate Maynard Ferguson. At the same time, he studied composition and arranging with Gordon Delamont, whose teachings would shape McConnell’s meticulous approach to orchestration.

After a stint in New York with Ferguson in 1964, McConnell returned to Toronto and became one of the most sought-after studio musicians in the city. Surrounded by an extraordinary circle of players, he began to imagine a band of his own—something brassy, sophisticated, and unapologetically Canadian.

That vision became reality in 1968 with the birth of The Boss Brass, a sixteen-piece ensemble of Toronto’s finest studio musicians. The group’s sound was bold and unmistakable: four trumpets, four trombones, a pair of French horns, and a rhythm section, with no saxophones at first. In 1970 McConnell added a full woodwind section, and by 1976 the band had grown to twenty-two members. The result was a powerhouse outfit that set a new standard for big band music in Canada.

From the outset, The Boss Brass combined technical precision with McConnell’s sharp wit and elegant arrangements. Their repertoire stretched from reimagined standards to original works that revealed McConnell’s lyrical sense of melody and sly humour. Audiences and musicians alike marveled at the sound. Trumpeter Guido Basso recalled playing Los Angeles clubs in the 1970s where the likes of Nelson Riddle and other Hollywood greats lined up night after night just to hear the Canadians play.

Over the next four decades, McConnell and The Boss Brass became Canada’s premier jazz orchestra. They recorded more than a dozen albums, many for the prestigious Concord Jazz label, and toured festivals across Europe, Asia, and North America. Their collaborations included sessions with Mel Tormé, The Singers Unlimited, and Phil Woods, among others. The band’s balance of muscular swing and studio polish made them a formidable force on record and a thrilling presence on stage.

Recognition came steadily: three Juno Awards, seventeen Grammy nominations, and three Grammy wins, including Best Jazz Big Band and Best Arrangement. McConnell himself was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame in 1997 and appointed an Officer of the Order of Canada the following year.

Though he briefly taught at the Dick Grove School of Music in California, McConnell remained rooted in Canada. His reputation as a perfectionist—sometimes exacting, often demanding—was matched by his deep commitment to the music and the musicians he led. Those who played under him recalled his cutting humour, his insistence on excellence, and the sense that he was always pushing for something just beyond the ordinary.

Beyond the Boss Brass, McConnell also led smaller ensembles and contributed as a trombonist and arranger to countless recordings, from Canadian jazz greats like Moe Koffman and Guido Basso to international stars. Even late in his career, his arrangements continued to be studied and performed, admired for their clarity, swing, and inventive use of colour.

Rob McConnell passed away on May 1, 2010, at the age of 75. His legacy endures not only in the recordings of The Boss Brass, but in the generations of musicians and listeners who came to see Canadian jazz as something world-class. As broadcaster Ross Porter once remarked, “Rob was one of our greatest gifts to music. His stature, talent, and importance in Canadian jazz should rank him with Oscar Peterson.”

For decades, The Boss Brass lived up to McConnell’s cheeky boast of being “the best damn band in the land.” History has proven he wasn’t wrong.
-Robert Williston

Now Playing

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Norma Locke, vocalist (1966)

10 tracks

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Seems to Me (Bryant)

#1 Side 1 06:12
Once Upon a Summertime (Barclay-Legrand-Mercer) (Norma Locke: vocals)

#2 Side 1 03:18
Interlude (Grandville/Bantock)

#3 Side 1 04:04
I'll Take Romance (Oakland) (Norma Locke: vocals)

#4 Side 1 02:41
Skylark (Carmichael)

#5 Side 1 03:56
In My Solitude (Ellington) (Norma Locke: vocals)

#1 Side 2 03:39
Manha de Carnaval (Bonfa-Mario)

#2 Side 2 04:34
It Never Entered My Mind (Rodgers-Hart) (Norma Locke: vocals)

#3 Side 2 04:21
Who Could Care (Brookmeyer)

#4 Side 2 04:17
God Bless the Child (Herzog-Holiday)

#5 Side 2 04:37

The Boss Brass (1968)

Showing 10 of 12 tracks

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Listen to the Boss

#1 Disc 1 Side 1 02:02
Green, Green Grass of Home

#2 Disc 1 Side 1 02:08
Mrs. Robinson

#3 Disc 1 Side 1 02:08
Mr. Bo Jangles

#4 Disc 1 Side 1 02:33
I Say a Little Prayer

#5 Disc 1 Side 1 02:08
Don't Give Up

#6 Disc 1 Side 1 02:09
This Guy's in Love With You

#1 Disc 1 Side 2 02:48
Brazil Trip

#2 Disc 1 Side 2 01:51
Little Green Apples

#3 Disc 1 Side 2 02:19
Delilah

#4 Disc 1 Side 2 01:51

Our Second Album (1969)

10 tracks

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Ob la di Ob la da

#1 Disc 1 Side 1 01:54
I'll Never Fall in Love Again

#2 Disc 1 Side 1 02:31
Windmills of Your Mind

#3 Disc 1 Side 1 02:19
Love Can Make You Happy

#4 Disc 1 Side 1 02:13
Aquarius - Let the Sunshine In

#5 Disc 1 Side 1 04:14
G'wan Back Home

#1 Disc 1 Side 2 02:20
Pretty World

#2 Disc 1 Side 2 02:18
Love Me Tonight

#3 Disc 1 Side 2 02:00
More Today Than Yesterday

#4 Disc 1 Side 2 03:08
Will It Ever End?

#5 Disc 1 Side 2 04:34

The Sound of the Boss Brass (1970)

8 tracks

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When I Die (Kennedy-Smith)

#1 Side 1 02:50
Samba Strut (Rick Wilkins)

#2 Side 1 03:43
You've Made Me so Very Happy (Gordy-Holloway-Wilson-Holloway)

#3 Side 1 03:40
I Want You (She's So Heavy) (Lennon-McCartney)

#4 Side 1 02:47
No Time (Bachman-Cummings)

#5 Side 1 02:48
Stardust (Carmichael-Parish)

#1 Side 2 04:55
Muddy Mississippi Line (Bobby Goldsboro)

#2 Side 2 05:12
If You Could See Me Now (Dameron-Sigman)

#3 Side 2 04:38

On a Cool Day (1971)

Showing 10 of 12 tracks

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Rose Garden

#1 Disc 1 Side 1 02:09
Love Story

#2 Disc 1 Side 1 02:31
Fly Little White Dove

#3 Disc 1 Side 1 02:38
Chelsea Morning

#4 Disc 1 Side 1 02:20
Carpenters Medley: Close to You; We’ve Only Just Begun

#5 Disc 1 Side 1 03:59
Candida

#6 Disc 1 Side 1 02:21
Put Your Hand in the Hand

#1 Disc 1 Side 2 02:10
1900 Yesterday

#2 Disc 1 Side 2 02:25
On a Cool Day

#3 Disc 1 Side 2 02:13
If You Could Read My Mind

#4 Disc 1 Side 2 02:45

Boss Brass 4 (1972)

Showing 10 of 12 tracks

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I'll Be Your Baby Tonight

#1 Side 1 02:01
Take Me

#2 Side 1 02:22
Monday Morning Choo Choo

#3 Side 1 01:49
Odds And Ends

#4 Side 1 02:39
Agua De Beber

#5 Side 1 01:52
Dolphin Dance

#6 Side 1 03:01
Morning, Noon And Nighttime Too

#1 Side 2 01:57
Hurting Each Other

#2 Side 2 02:24
Canadian Pie

#3 Side 2 02:20
You've Got a Friend

#4 Side 2 02:45

The Entertainer

#1 Side 1 02:06
Mas Que Nada-Tristeza

#2 Side 1 02:44
I Can See Clearly Now

#3 Side 1 02:54
Louisiana

#4 Side 1 03:21
Igor

#5 Side 1 02:46
Too Loo No Goo

#6 Side 1 02:16
Send a Little Love My Way

#1 Side 2 02:05
Think I Care

#2 Side 2 02:08
You Are the Sunshine of My Life incl. (You Are My Sunshine)

#3 Side 2 02:16
Santa Claus Blues

#4 Side 2 04:01

Swinging Shepherd Blues

#1 Disc 1 Side 1 03:02
'Nuff Love

#2 Disc 1 Side 1 03:38
Pretty Woman

#3 Disc 1 Side 1 03:41
Ob La Di

#4 Disc 1 Side 1 04:01
Spanish Flea

#5 Disc 1 Side 1 03:24
Comin' Close

#1 Disc 1 Side 2 03:52
Ebb Tide

#2 Disc 1 Side 2 03:09
Dancin' in the Dark

#3 Disc 1 Side 2 02:17
La Mer

#4 Disc 1 Side 2 04:11
Love, Live, Love, Live, Love

#5 Disc 1 Side 2 02:51

The Big Band Hour (England, UK) (unreleased) (1985)

2 tracks

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Big Band Christmas (1998)

Showing 10 of 11 tracks

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Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas - I'll Be Home For Christmas

#1 07:19
Silver Bells - In The Bleak Midwinter

#2 03:58
White Christmas - Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow - Winter Wonderland

#3 07:00
Away in a Manger

#4 02:10
Christmas Waltz

#5 04:59
The Christmas Song

#6 05:39
What Are You Doing New Year's Eve?

#7 07:55
It Came Upon A Midnight Clear - Silent Night

#8 05:30
My Favourite Things

#9 07:17
Christmas Love Song

#10 05:10