NOW – Paul Plimley

2026 Celebrating Paul Plimley

Thanks to Tim Reinert of Infidels Jazz Productions for organizing and presenting this concert. My previous post gives additional information about an exciting new Jazz Festival starting in Vancouver this year. I am happy that I initiated including a tribute to Paul because he was a significant force in the Vancouver music scene and he would have been delighted to be a part of this new kind of jazz festival.

As part of the 2026 festival Alliance Française Theatre hosts a tribute to the late and beloved Vancouver pianist Paul Plimley on October 15th. Advance tickets are available at the link below.

The new building at 6161 Cambie St has ample parking and is a short walk from the Oakridge skytrain on the Canada Line. This is where Paul’s Yamaha Disklavier is housed by the Alliance Francaise.

The Celebration of Life for Paul, held March 16, 2023 at the Roundhouse was to honour Paul as a wonderful human being.

Kenton Loewen, who is a featured musician, was the first person I spoke to about the idea of creating this concert. His response was, “I get it. The event before was for Paul, the man; this will be to honour Paul the musician.”

Tim has put together an event that features many of the Vancouver musicians that Paul played with regularly during his life. In addition, Paul’s piano will be played by Lisa Cay Miller and Brian Horswill; two great Vancouver musicians.

Click on one of the links below for tickets.

Infidels Jazz Presents: Celebrating Paul Plimley at Alliance Française

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/infidels-jazz-presents-celebrating-paul-plimley-at-alliance-francaise-tickets-1999194930855

Condition West Recordings

Condition West Recordings, hosted on Bandcamp, is a project of Paul Plimley’s friend and frequent musical collaborator, Gregg Simpson. Gregg makes digital copies of some early recordings of ensembles he played in available on the Condition West Bandcamp page. These rare recordings include groups led by Paul Plimley and several New Orchestra ensembles of different sizes.

Paul described Gregg to me as one of the most innovative and interesting drummers that he played with in his early career. Paul, Clyde Reed (string bass) and Gregg Simpson were original Paul Plimley Trio members.

Here is the link to “Swinging Planets”, a collection recorded by the Paul Plimley Trio, originally released by the trio on cassette.

1979 The Paul Plimley Quintet playing at the Vancouver East Cultural Centre – left to right: Paul Plimley, piano; Lisle Ellis, string bass; Gregg Simpson, drums; Ralph Eppel, trombone; Paul Cram, saxophone.

The New Orchestra Quintet (image above) shows Gregg on the drums, with Lisle Ellis on string bass. Paul Plimley is on the left playing piano.

The debut of this quintet was in 1978 at UBC and Gregg also offers a recording of this historic performance, “Live at UBC” featuring the same line up of players as in the photo.

Paul and Gregg, with their community of collaborators, were at the forefront of adventurous music in Vancouver, BC. The New Orchestra Workshop Society (NOW Society) continues to present concerts, and facilitates mentoring and educational opportunities.

NOW activities center around the performance space located at 8 East Pender St, called “8 East”. The 8East calendar of scheduled events is online here. The current Executive and Artistic Director, Dr. Lisa Cay Miller maintains this space and manages the society. Find out more on the NOW website.

Paul Plimley was involved with the NOW Orchestra performance ensemble for many years, creating compositions for the ensemble. Much of the group’s repertoire was written by performing members or commissioned for the group. Paul performed playing piano, vibraphone and percussion. The NOW Orchestra toured to Europe and the USA playing for delighted audiences.

There are more recordings on the Condition West Bandcamp page from the late 20th Century era of Vancouver music and many feature the playing of Paul Plimley.