Mike Downes has earned a reputation as one of Canada’s finest jazz artists. He has been active as a bassist, composer, arranger and educator in the Canadian music scene since the early 1980s. He has performed worldwide, including tours throughout Europe, Japan, South Korea, Brazil, Mexico, Iceland, the United States and Canada. In addition to leading his own groups, Mike has performed with virtually all of Canada's top jazz musicians, including Oliver Jones, Diana Krall, PJ Perry, Renee Rosnes, Don Thompson, Kirk MacDonald, Terry Clarke, Guido Basso and Pat LaBarbera. He has been in demand to perform with visiting jazz artists such as Chris Potter, Michael Brecker, John Abercrombie, Peter Erskine, Kenny Wheeler, John Taylor, Paquito D'Rivera, Dave Liebman, Billy Hart, Phil Woods and many others. His large discography includes Juno-nominated and Juno-winning CDs. He has released three recordings as a leader - Forces, Then and The Winds of Change. Mike is the Bass Department Head at Humber College in Toronto. He has also been featured as a Yamaha artist/clinician throughout Canada, at the Paekche Institute in Seoul, South Korea and the infamous Conservatoire de Paris. Mike is the author of The Jazz Bass Line Book (Advance Music). The book is receiving world-wide acclaim as one of the most informative books available on creating jazz bass lines. He is also co-author of Jazz and Contemporary Music Theory. For more information please visit www.mikedownes.com.