What: Phil Dwyer Trio (and guests)
Where: Hermann’s Jazz Club
When: Tonight, 8 p.m.
Admission: $20. To reserve, call 250-388-9166
After three decades of excelling in jazz, saxophonist Phil Dwyer just wants to give back to the little guy.
So he’s exchanging his saxophone for a barrister’s robes.
In September, the 48-year-old Qualicum Beach musician starts law school at the University of New Brunswick. Before moving with his wife to Fredericton, Dwyer will play a trio of farewell concerts, including one tonight at Hermann’s Jazz Club.
“I felt like I really needed a challenge. And I felt I was at the stage in my life where I could probably still have the mental energy and the capacity to take [law school] on,” he said.
Dwyer won’t abandon music. However, gigs will go on the back burner for now. After becoming a lawyer he hopes to help the underdog, perhaps those grappling with mental health problems or people of aboriginal descent.
“I’ve had my own experiences with the mental health system,” added the musician, who, in 2001, was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and subsequently overcame drug and alcohol problems.
The Juno-award-winning Dwyer is a big deal in Canada’s jazz scene. A largely self-taught prodigy, he was playing professionally in Vancouver at 16. He’s played with such greats as Philly Joe Jones, Art Blakey, Kenny Wheeler and Aretha Franklin. Recently, he was appointed to the Order of Canada for his contributions to jazz as a performer, producer, composer and educator.
Dwyer scored top marks when he wrote the LSAT. However, his applications to Canadian law schools met with a slew of rejections.
It was because he’d never furthered his formal education beyond high school. Once his music career took off, Dwyer never bothered with college.
He was originally rejected by the University of New Brunswick’s law school. Then Dwyer persuaded the administration to review his application.
“I don’t know if I begged. But I pleaded,” he said with a laugh.
It seems the university took Dwyer’s top-flight music resumé more seriously the second time. His record of accomplishments as a self-starter includes co-founding a saxophone company, Sea Wind Musical Instruments, and winning Juno awards in 1994 and 2012. He’s also an educator, having run a band camp — the Phil Dwyer Academy of Music and Culinary Arts — at Qualicum Beach for nine seasons.
It may seem a leap to go from music to law. Yet Dwyer says there’s more overlap than one might think. Becoming a jazzman means learning about the music’s history, which isn’t so different from studying law. Both fields require precision in thinking and the ability to assimilate information quickly.
As well, Dwyer has always had a strong interest in politics and social justice issues.
“It’s kind of a natural progression,” he said.
He comes from a family of lawyers. Dwyer’s sister is a Vancouver-based lawyer specializing in First Nations issues. Two cousins — one in Australia and one in Scotland — recently retired from law careers. Another cousin just graduated from law studies at the University of British Columbia.
When he was 17, Dwyer received a Canada Council grant to study music with leading New York musicians. Around this time, he was introduced to drugs. In 2012, Dwyer told the Ottawa Citizen he abused drugs and alcohol from 1983 until 2008, when he finally kicked his bad habits.
Today, Dwyer admits he used to self-medicate to cope with mental health problems. Once he understood this, he was able to recover.
“None of what I’m doing now would be remotely possible if I hadn’t been able to deal with those issues,” he said.
As well as giving back as a lawyer, Dwyer hopes his new career will offer the kind of steady paycheque most musicians can only dream of.
“Definitely, after 30 years of being a self-employed jazz musician, any measure of financial security would be welcome.”
Note: The Phil Dwyer Trio also plays Sylvan United Church in Mill Bay on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and the Filberg Festival on Aug. 2.