© Copyright Bruce Litteljohn

Phil Nimmons was born in Kamloops, British Columbia on June 3, 1923. He was raised in Vancouver and began playing clarinet in high school. Through his post- secondary years at the University of British Columbia, he played in local dance bands and joined the jazz quintet of guitarist Ray Norris. Phil wrote many arrangements for Norris's group and composed music for the CBC radio drama series Anthology. He then went on to study clarinet at the Juilliard School in New York and composition at the Royal Conservatory of Music of Toronto (RCMT). In 1953, he formed his own jazz band which made its concert debut at the Stratford Festival in 1956 and went on to great success as Nimmons 'N' Nine. The band had a long association with CBC radio and became an on-air regular for over 20 years on such programs as Jazz Workshop and Jazz Radio-Canada. The band also had success in recording soundtracks for films. In addition, Nimmons has created more than 200 original short compositions and arranged many pop songs and jazz tunes for his band.

Phil Nimmons' association with Oscar Peterson began in 1960 when the two, together with Ray Brown, Ed Thigpen and Butch Watanabe, established the Advanced School of Contemporary Music. In 1970 Nimmons arranged Peterson’s composition, Canadiana Suite, originally written for Peterson’s Trio, for a larger jazz ensemble. It was recorded by the CBC with Peterson on piano, Neils Henning Ørsted Pedersen on bass and the Nimmons ‘N’ Nine Plus Six. The Suite was the result of Oscar's desire to create a musical tribute and portrait of his homeland. Inspired by specific cities, events and scenery across the country, it consists of eight jazz pieces created to capture the essence and atmosphere of each location in music. 1

From 1969 to 1982, Phil was the director of jazz studies at the University of New Brunswick. He also taught at the University of Toronto for many years. His band received the Juno Award for best jazz album in 1976 for its work on Horizons. After the band folded in 1980, Nimmons remained active as a composer and arranger, writing numerous commisioned works. 2


Selected Recordings:

Nimmons 'N' Nine (1963, Verve 8376)
Strictly Nimmons (1965, RCA 1047)
The Atlantic Suite (1975, Sack 2008)


Footnotes

1 Lees, Gene.   Oscar Peterson: The Will to Swing.   Rocklin, California: Prima Publishing & Communications, 1990.

2 Kallman, Helmut and Potvin, Gilles.   Encyclopedia of Music in Canada.   Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1992.

O.P. & Friends

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