On March 31, Quebec Street Mall will be filled with jazz music but this is not a typical jazz group. Made up of 19 local musicians and vocalists aged 16 to 65, The Guelph Jazz Society Big Band is built on collaboration, with members working together to shape the sound. Run by the Guelph Jazz Society (founded in 2024), the group brings together different voices, skill levels, and generations, creating not just music, but a community. The Artistic Director, Liam Gallagher, sat down with Guelph Arts Council to share more about The GJS Big Band group and their upcoming performance.
Liam Gallagher is the Artistic Director, Band Leader, and the founder of this project. He studied at University of Toronto, earning a degree in Jazz Performance. He worked in pit orchestras in Toronto for 15 years before moving to Guelph during the pandemic. During this time Liam has a question at the forefront of his mind: What can a band leader, who only knows how to create and perform music, do to change things in the world?
Of course, making and performing jazz music might not create direct or highly visible change, but the community that grows out of that process is vital, especially in the arts world. For Liam, The GJS Big Band is about more than just performing jazz music, it’s about supporting each other and building connections. Which means it’s not your traditional jazz group either.
While traditional groups have a conductor that leads the musicians, The GJS Big Band takes a more collaborative approach. In the beginning, Liam helped guide the group during rehearsals, but now band members lead themselves. Each section discusses parts as they play, and roles are not assigned to the strongest player but instead in a way that allows members to learn from and teach one another.
Liam’s approach returns to the earlier roots of big bands which began in the 1920s as dance music and grew more popular into the 40s. At this time bands played whatever music they knew with the instruments they had, not performing for awards but for themselves and their communities. In the 50s, economic challenges led to fewer bands being able to tour and over time big band music was absorbed into universities becoming more institutional, complex, and less community driven.
The Guelph Jazz Society launched The GJS Big Band in February 2026, more than 20 years after the last big band group to be active in Guelph. The Guelph Jazz Society has been successful in rebuilding the jazz community through weekly Jazz Nights at La Poche, held almost every Thursday since La Poche’s opening in 2025, just recently playing their 64th show.
When asked if Liam envisions the Guelph Jazz Society and the GJS Big Band ever having their own dedicated space in the future, he explained that this initiative is rooted in working with local venues that already support music in Guelph. La Posh is one of those spaces, offering the group affordable rehearsal space and, in turn, the patronage of many band members. The Cornerstone has also been incredibly supportive, hosting a weekly jazz jam programmed by the Guelph Jazz Society for the past two years. Liam says these mutually beneficial relationships help both the band and the wider Guelph community uplift one another.
On March 31 at 7:30 p.m., you can experience Guelph’s first big band in over two decades for yourself at a free show at Quebec Street Mall. If you can’t make it, don’t worry, there’s another free show on April 7 at Brothers Brewing. Visit the Guelph Jazz Society website or Instagram to learn more about GJS Big Band, their upcoming performances, and ways to get involved.
