Cory Weeds & Jerry Weldon

Biography

Cory Weeds & Jerry Weldon is a saxophone-fronted jazz partnership that unites Canadian impresario and tenor/alto saxophonist Cory Weeds with New York tenor saxophonist Jerry Weldon, a veteran of the hard‑swinging soul‑jazz tradition.[3][4][5][8] Their collaboration is rooted in the classic tenor‑sax ‘battle’ lineage, drawing on the example of Gene Ammons, Dexter Gordon, Eddie “Lockjaw” Davis and Johnny Griffin, and presenting it in a contemporary setting that emphasizes blues feeling, relaxed but propulsive swing, and conversational improvisation.[3][5] Although both had crossed paths professionally over the years, their work as a co‑billed recording and touring act crystallized around the Cellar Music Group album Cory Weeds Meets Jerry Weldon (2025), which showcases their intertwined but contrasting approaches over a rhythm section of Miles Black (piano), John Lee (bass), and Jesse Cahill (drums).[3][5][8]

The project grows out of Weeds’s dual identity as a performer and one of Canada’s leading jazz entrepreneurs—founder of Vancouver’s Cellar Jazz Club and of the Cellar Music Group label—and Weldon’s long career in New York with big bands, organ groups, and small‑group soul jazz.[4][6][8][9] Together they explore repertoire associated with earlier tenor giants (such as Eddie “Lockjaw” Davis’s “Hey Lock” and Clifford Jordan’s “Princess”), with Weldon bringing a commanding, blues‑inflected sound and ‘bar‑walkin’’ energy, while Weeds offers a cooler, highly articulate swing feel rooted in bebop and hard bop.[1][2][5] Critics have described their joint work as a “marriage of two musicians” that feels “divinely inspired” and “way overdue,” highlighting the group as a continuation of the classic two‑tenor tradition for modern audiences and solidifying their reputation as leading voices in mainstream and soul‑jazz idioms.[3][5][7][9]

Beyond the recording studio, Cory Weeds & Jerry Weldon function as a flexible touring unit—often as the Cory Weeds Quintet featuring Jerry Weldon—appearing at clubs and festivals across North America under Weeds’s Cellar Music umbrella.[1][2][8][9] Live, the ensemble leans into call‑and‑response exchanges, unison shout choruses, and extended solos that reflect both musicians’ deep experience working with organists, big bands, and small‑group hard bop settings.[3][4][5][8] In this way, the collaboration serves both as a platform for their individual artistry and as a conduit connecting regional Canadian jazz scenes and the New York mainstream, contributing to the preservation and ongoing evolution of straight‑ahead, swinging jazz.[3][4][6][8][9]

Fun Facts

• The album Cory Weeds Meets Jerry Weldon opens with Eddie “Lockjaw” Davis’s tune “Hey Lock,” explicitly tipping its hat to the classic two‑tenor battles that inspired the project.
• Although they had ‘met’ professionally before, reviewers noted that a full‑blown recorded collaboration between Weeds and Weldon felt “way overdue,” emphasizing how naturally their sounds fit together.
• Jerry Weldon’s background as a charter member of Harry Connick Jr.’s big band and as a house‑band member on Connick’s daytime TV show HARRY gives the Weeds–Weldon partnership a direct link to mainstream American entertainment as well as hardcore jazz circles.
• Cory Weeds’s role as a major jazz impresario—running a club, label, and radio show—means that the Weeds & Weldon collaboration is not just a band but also part of a broader ecosystem he has built to document and promote straight‑ahead jazz.

Musical Connections

Mentors/Influences

• Lionel Hampton - Jerry Weldon joined the Lionel Hampton Orchestra after finishing the Rutgers University Jazz Program, gaining early big‑band experience under Hampton’s leadership. (Touring and performing with the Lionel Hampton Orchestra) [Early 1980s–2002]
• Jack McDuff - Weldon worked in organist Jack McDuff’s Heatin’ System band, absorbing the soul‑jazz and organ‑combo tradition that shapes his style in projects like Cory Weeds & Jerry Weldon. (Performances with Jack McDuff’s Heatin’ System) [Post‑Hampton, mid‑1980s–1990s (approximate, based on career chronology)]
• Joey DeFrancesco - Cory Weeds performed and recorded with organist Joey DeFrancesco, deepening his connection to organ‑based hard bop and soul‑jazz that informs the aesthetic of his work with Weldon. (Live performances documented on Cellar Music releases led by Weeds) [2000s–2010s]
• Harold Mabern - Weeds shared the bandstand with pianist Harold Mabern, whose hard‑bop language and mentorship of younger saxophonists influenced Weeds’s approach to swing and repertoire. (Live dates and Cellar‑related projects featuring Mabern and Weeds) [2000s–2010s]

Key Collaborators

• Miles Black - Pianist in the Cory Weeds Meets Jerry Weldon session, providing harmonic framework and introductions such as the rubato opening to Clifford Jordan’s “Princess.” (Album Cory Weeds Meets Jerry Weldon) [Recording and release circa 2025]
• John Lee - Bassist on Cory Weeds Meets Jerry Weldon, anchoring the groove and supporting the two‑tenor interplay with steady time and walking lines. (Album Cory Weeds Meets Jerry Weldon) [Recording and release circa 2025]
• Jesse Cahill - Drummer for the Weeds–Weldon project, driving the hard‑swinging feel that underpins their tenor ‘battles.’ (Album Cory Weeds Meets Jerry Weldon and related live dates) [Recording and release circa 2025]
• Harry Connick Jr. - Weldon is a charter member and featured soloist in Connick’s big band and appeared with him on tours, Broadway, and television, experiences that feed into his authority as a co‑leader with Weeds. (Harry Connick Jr. Big Band, Broadway musical Thou Shalt Not, TV show HARRY) [From 1990; TV house‑band work 2016–2018]
• Dr. Lonnie Smith - Weeds’s band CRASH was booked to back organist Dr. Lonnie Smith, leading to the collaborative album The Dr. Is In and solidifying Weeds’s organ‑jazz credentials later heard with Weldon. (The Dr. Is In (Cellar Live)) [Early 2000s]

Artists Influenced

• Vancouver jazz community (various emerging artists) - Through his work as club owner, label head, and bandleader, Weeds has significantly impacted the careers and visibility of numerous Vancouver and Canadian jazz musicians who appear on Cellar Music and share bandstands with him and, by extension, projects like Cory Weeds & Jerry Weldon. (Releases on Cellar Live / Cellar Music Group, including leader and sideman dates Weeds curates or produces) [2000s–present]

External Links

• Spotify