Chapter 10

Canadian Music Associates

Gary Morton and Bob Martin established Canadian Music Associates in 1972.  C. M. A. was a private music school and the agenda was to provide lessons on an advanced level and to offer an opportunity to experience Big Band ensemble participation in the Jazz idiom.

Gary Morton was a graduate from the Berklee School of Music in Boston which was founded on the revolutionary principle that the best way to prepare students for careers in music was through the study and practice of contemporary music.

Bob Martin developed his craft during the peak years of the Swing Era and subsequently studied extensively on trumpet in Hollywood, California.

The ensemble classes gave advanced students an opportunity to hone their craft on a level that was similar to what they would experience in the professional scene. The band library for such classes consisted of advanced charts by top-level arrangers of the day, chosen to develop an total awareness of technique, dynamics and rhythmic sense in ensemble playing. The students benefited from these aggressive challenges and subsequently moved to a higher level of playing proficiency. It was a dimension of learning similar to what was offered at Berklee School of Music in Boston.

As things progressed the C.M.A Jazz Ensemble ( band of 17 musicians fronted by Bob Martin) presented show-case concerts at many London High Schools. They also drew large crowds to Victoria Park bandshell in London Ontario for Sunday night big band jazz concerts. Bob soloed on trumpet and conducted the group. From these presentations the band members gained additional experience from performing in public.

As the students advanced it became a special bonus for the outstanding players to be employed (through the school) backing acts at the Western Fair Grandstand or other shows that came through London e.g. Ice Capades on a yearly basis. These shows offered very little in the way of rehearsal time, consequently the players had to be skilled sight readers and aware of the nuances required for the type of production they were accompanying. The training that CMA gave them was a solid foundation for participating in this kind of musical endeavour.

Several of the young musicians gained added exposure augmenting the orchestras at London's Grand Theatre playing Broadway shows. Some of them are still working at the Grand Theatre to this day as well as the Stratford Festival Theatre.

Through Gary Morton's association with Lee Berk of Berklee School of Music in Boston... Canadian Music Associates was allowed to offer scholarships to Berklee to study advanced Jazz studies. About that time frame University of Western Ontario and other Canadian Universities were beginning to offer Jazz and Big Band Ensemble classes in their curriculums. There was a need for a private school to fill this gap in training if musicians were not attending these schools.

As it turned out later many of the students eventually joined the professional ranks and worked with renown artists such as Moe Koffman (Swingin' Sheppard .Toronto) Rob Mc Connell and the Grammy Awarding winning Boss Brass ..Toronto) Incidentally Rob McConnell is a native Londoner.

Two enterprising students of C. M. A. moved to Munich Germany and became successful impresarios booking the Broadway Show "Cats" in many countries in that region. They credited their business acumen, musical experience and exposure to the professional field from attending this London school. Careers were nurtured not only in music but in other fields as well.. medicine and law. To this day many former students of C. M. A. are still playing professionally and have become band leaders and are involved in various aspects of the music industry.

Gary Morton eventually moved to Ottawa and became the assistant conductor of the R. C. M. P. Band (Royal Canadian Mounted Police Band) and was their chief orchestrator. He was also involved in many aspects of the music scene in Ottawa through his considerable talents as an "orchestrator and conductor."

Bob Martin continued teaching and playing professionally in Toronto and has written 4 Trumpet Study Books as well as a text book for advanced players. (Strato-Chops for Trumpet -Brass)
This "Golden Era" was a period of artistic resurgence in the London area and Canadian Music Associates contributed to the London music scene by significantly advancing the expertise and ambitions of many of its music students.