❧ Pacific Standards Jazz
- Jan 16
- 3 min read
Updated: 2 hours ago
Saturday, January 9, 2027 at 7:00 pm
Sunday, January 10, 2027 at 2:00 pm
$40 per ticket
The 61st and 62nd concerts the York Place Musical Salon.
❧ About the Concert
Pacific Standards Jazz is a new trio making its debut: Roy Styffe on alto saxophone, Phil Dwyer on piano and Steve Wallace on bass. Old friends, old musical connections, freshly rekindled... this is their first public appearance and hopefully not their last.
The group's name nods to Gil Evans's classic record Pacific Standard Time, to the high standards of BC jazz, and to the group's repertoire of songs drawn from the Great American Songbook.
Phil and Steve need no introduction. They were the inaugural duo at the very first York Place Musical Salon concert, and have returned many times since. Now they're joined by an old friend, Roy Styffe, whose sweet, pure tone and lyrical, slightly abstract approach reflect the "cool" lineage of Paul Desmond, Lee Konitz and Hal McKusick, filtered into something entirely his own.
Expect swinging, thoughtful explorations, a few original tunes, sumptuous ballads, maybe a blues or two, all carried by the easy chemistry of three old friends playing together for the first time. Don't miss the debut of Pacific Standards Jazz.
❧ Get Tickets
~ Tickets will be available on Monday, November 9, 2026 at 9:00 am on this page.
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We gratefully acknowledge a generous donation from an anonymous patron who has sponsored the York Place Musical Salon since 2024. This support helps further our goal of presenting performances of the highest caliber. Thank you.
❧ About The Musicians
In December 2013, Phil Dwyer was appointed as a Member of the Order Of Canada. He was cited for “his contributions to jazz as a performer, composer and producer, and for increasing access to music education in his community.” In January 2015 he was recognized by the Royal Conservatory of Music as an Honorary Fellow. These distinctions arise from an illustrious thirty year career collaborating with a storied roster of great musical artists, crossing stylistic and geographic borders. Phil has appeared on ten Juno Award-winning recordings, and over thirty nominated recordings. He is also a recipient of the prestigious K.M. Hunter Prize, for excellence in the arts.
Phil is a practicing lawyer, with his own firm in Qualicum Beach. Phil is a litigator, working primarily in family, estate, and environmental law, and appears regularly in Provincial and Supreme Courts. He is currently a member of the Law Society of British Columbia mental health task force. As a musician he remains an active performer, writer, and recording artist. He curates “Phil Dwyer’s Jazz Canada” for CBC Radio Music, programs music for The Old School House, in Qualicum Beach, and is a partner in SeaWind Musical Instruments. These concerts mark Phil's sixth and seventh appearances in the York Place Musical Salon.
Steve Wallace is one of Canada’s foremost jazz bassists. He was born in Toronto in 1956. Most of his career took place there and internationally, playing clubs, touring and recording with such American greats as Zoot Sims, Ray Bryant, Scott Hamilton, Rosemary Clooney, Woody Herman and many more, as well as with such Canadian giants as Fraser MacPherson, Rob McConnell, Oscar Peterson, Phil Nimmons, Ed Bickert, Mike Murley and many others. He moved to Courtenay in July 2021 where he now lives with his long-suffering wife Anna. These concert mark Steve's 14th and 15th appearances in the York Place Musical Salon.
Roy Styffe is a Canadian jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, flutist, composer, and bandleader based in Victoria, BC. A graduate of the Humber College Jazz Studies program, he has enjoyed a career spanning more than 30 years and has performed with many leading figures in Canadian jazz, including Kenny Wheeler, Ed Bickert, Pat LaBarbera, Phil Woods, Renee Rosnes, and Don Thompson.
Roy also studied at the Banff Centre with musicians including Dave Holland, Lee Konitz, and Kenny Wheeler, and received a Canada Council grant to study in New York with Dick Oatts and David Liebman. He has released recordings as a leader and has performed internationally. Roy is currently a member of the Naden Band of the Royal Canadian Navy and remains active as a jazz performer and improviser.