Guido Basso 1937 - 2023
Renowned Canadian Jazz Musician
Guido Basso was born in in 1937 in Montréal, Québec. His Italian-Canadian family lived in the “Little Italy” neighbourhood of Montréal. At the early age of nine he was playing the trumpet. He studied music in Montréal at the Conservatoire de musique du Québec à Montréal. When he began his music career in his teens, his professional name was “Stubby Basso.”
In his early twenties, he played at the El Morocco in Montréal with bands led by Maury Kaye. He toured with singer Vic Damone who he met while playing at the El Morocco. In 1958 he toured North America with singer Pearl Bailey and her husband Louis Belson and their orchestra.
Upon his return to Canada he was busy performing and held a number of music director positions with the CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation).
Basso was a founding member of Rob McConnell’s Boss Brass big band. He played with the band for more than twenty years. He also played in bands led by Ron Collier and Phil Nimmons.
He organized and led big band concerts at the Canadian National Exhibition (CNE) Bandshell highlighting the following jazz greats: Dizzy Gillespie, Quincy Jones, Woody Herman, Benny Goodman, Count Basie, and Duke Ellington.
The Canadian Encyclopedia wrote that Basso was “one of Canada’s pre-eminent jazz trumpeters,” and that “he was credited with the theory that one attacks the trumpet and makes love to a flugelhorn.”
Guido Basso had an extraordinary career as a composer, arranger, trumpeter, flugelhornist, and harmonica player. He was a dynamic musician from the 1950s to 2023.
His citation to the Order of Canada said of him that he was “an advocate of the arts and an inspiration to young musicians, generous with his time and talent, running workshops and clinics and lending his name and expertise to worthy causes.”
While active, Guido Basso lived in Cabbagetown, on Aberdeen Avenue.
Basso died on February 13, 2023, in Hospice Quinte in Belleville, Ontario, not far from his country home in Prince Edward County. He was 85.
“His music always suited his environment because he was a damn good professional musician, beyond fluent on trumpet and the instrument closest to him, the flugelhorn. Few have come close to his sound and warmth on that horn.”
– Ted O’Reilly
Awards
- Order of Canada – 1994
- Juno Award for Traditional Jazz album of the Year – Turn Out The Stars – 2003
- Juno Award for Jazz album of the Year – Lost In The Stars – 2004
- Queen Elizabeth 11 Diamond Jubilee Medal – 2012
- Queen Elizabeth 11 Golden Jubilee Medal – 2022
Listen to Guido Basso on YouTube:
