About 15 years ago, Michael (Chico) Cham started playing gigs with another veteran guitar player, Tim Porter.
The pair met through a fellow friend, Darryl Havers — the keyboardist for the blues-funk group Brickhouse — and performed a number of acoustic sets around Metro Vancouver.
But when Porter wasn’t free for a job, Cham would ring up two other professional fretboard masters to fill his place: Chris Rolin and Simon Jarrett.
“They’re all phenomenal guitar players and are well-known in the music industry in Vancouver,” Cham told The Tri-City News.
Because of their strong ties to the Tri-Cities — Cham lives in Coquitlam and teaches at PoMoArts while Porter and Rolin teach at Long & McQuade in Port Coquitlam — Cham thought it was time to check an item off his bucket list and form a quartet so the community could hear their talent.
Saturday, they’ll be at the Evergreen Cultural Centre in Coquitlam to play their first theatre date as the Tri-City Guitar Players.
The four musicians will entertain with a variety of instrumental jazz and pop standards such as Autumn Leaves, Nuages, Friday Night at the Cadillac Club, Sunny, People Get Ready and Satin Doll plus three original tunes by Jarrett.
As well, they’ll pay tribute to two musicians who have died of cancer: Winnipeg composer Greg Lowe, a friend of Cham’s; and Chris Meister, the drummer in Jarrett’s band, Rocket Science, who passed away last month.
The Players will be backed by three more prolific musicians: tenor saxophone player Steve Hilliam, who works with R&B Allstars and Colin James; drummer Chris (The Wrist) Norquist; and bassist Rene Worst, whose credits include David Bowie, Poison, Rita MacNeil, Aerosmith and Glass Tiger.
Cham said he hopes the Evergreen show will be the first of many concerts to come for his newly formed ensemble.
“Being able to play collectively with these fabulous musicians has been a wish of mine for a long time,” he said. “The calibre of talent on the stage will be a 10 out of 10.”
Tickets to see the Tri-City Guitar Players at the Evergreen Cultural Centre (1205 Pinetree Way, Coquitlam) March 14 are $20 in advance or $25 at the door on show night. Doors open at 7 p.m. for general admission seating; the show starts at 7:30 p.m. Call the box office at 604-927-6555 or visit evergreenculturalcentre.ca.
