The Georgia Straight Jazz Society is getting a reputation.

Take two sold-out Sunday concerts in the fall 2010 season, add record crowds for Thursday Jazz at the Elks, and it is not surprising that rising stars on the Canadian jazz scene want to add a Courtenay date to their touring schedule.

On Sunday, Jan. 30, the Toronto-based Griffith Hiltz Trio will take to the stage at the Upper Elks Hall. Featuring Johnny Griffith on saxophones and bass clarinet, Nathan Hiltz on guitar and bass pedals, and Sly Juhas on drums, the trio produces a melodic jazz sound that is at once familiar and exotic.

The bass pedals that form the core of the band鈥檚 sound had been gathering dust in Griffith鈥檚 basement until a lucky conversation brought them to Hiltz鈥檚 attention. He had been working with a lot of organ players and was curious about the effect of using the vintage technology of the pedals to replicate the organ鈥檚 place in a trio. It quickly became apparent that they were on to a great new sound.

Hiltz is the most promising Canadian guitarist of this generation, and he soft-shoes his way across the array of bass pedals with the deftness of Gene Kelly. The spirit of Rashaann Roland Kirk is channelled through the daring multi-reed explorer Johnny Griffith. Ever tasteful and precise, the supportive Sly Juhas seems incapable of playing anything that isn鈥檛 right on the money.

Their 2009 debut recording, Now and Then, gives a nod to jazz legends Horace Silver, Lee Morgan and Herbie Hancock, and also incorporates Celtic, Norse, and Eastern motifs. It was named the No. 1 Jazz Album of 2009 by Jazz FM.

Says Jack Chambers, author of Milestones: The Music and Times of Miles Davis: 鈥淛ohnny Griffith and Nathan Hiltz have uncommon telepathy. They write memorable themes, rooted in the blues and bop, and they rock freely on them, playing off one another with total confidence.鈥�

Tickets are $12 for society members and $16 for non-members, and are available at Bop City Records, Play It Again Music Recycle, and weekly at Thursday Jazz at the Elks.

The show starts at 7:30 p.m.

For more information, go to www.georgiastraightjazz.com.

鈥� Georgia Straight Jazz Society