Artist brings poetry and music to the Owl stage

By Lethbridge Herald on September 26, 2023.

Al Beeber
Lethbridge Herald

Gordon Leigh isn’t letting age slow him down.

Soon to be 81, the well-known city musician who used to be seen regularly busking downtown with his trumpet, is hitting the stage Wednesday at the Owl Acoustic Lounge for its monthly poetry session.

And he’s bringing with him a new CD of recorded poetry and music called “Muse ’n’ Blues.”

Leigh, who spent 26 years in social work with the John Howard Society after the city music scene slowed down, is a veteran professional trumpet player who has worked with numerous artists over the decades including his own group Naked Ear and poet Richard Stevenson.

For more than a decade, Leigh also presented the popular Jazzerwocky festival here. 

Leigh, who long ago branched out into poetry, says his poetry seems to be going over well at the Owl.

“Muse ’n’ Blues” isn’t just words spoken over pre-existing melodies, Leigh said in an interview last week. 

“It’s all original stuff, we’ll see how it goes,” said Leigh who has played trumpet for more than 60 years.

Leigh says his acoustic and techno-trumpet playing and his taste for free expression of cool-funk jazz are audible on his CD, which he will be selling for $10 on Wednesday.

“The addition of a drummer-percussionist, guitarist and a bassist-guitarist to the concept plus a range of digital recording techniques, provides the rhythmic and sonic texture” to his poetry and music which is performed by The Naked Ear, he says.

“I still play to a professional standard,” says Leigh, who recalls the days when musicians could make a good living playing professionally here.

He says musicians could perform six nights a week and “make good money” but Leigh says times changed with the rise of disco and sports bars.

Needing to maintain his income, Leigh ended up getting into social work where he spent 26 years with the John Howard Society and was instrumental in helping to develop social programs here including the soup kitchen and the first food bank.

Leigh studied piano as a child before switching to trumpet in his teens.

 He studied that instrument under Tom Holt, a cornet soloist in Britain and Bob Martin, a former lead trumpet for the Stratford Festival Orchestra in Canada.

A significant part of his life was spent as a professional musician, playing jazz. 

After he got involved with social work, he maintained his interest in music by composing, recording and occasionally supporting poets from across Canada at poetry and literary festivals with the Naked Ear.

Writing his own poetry came later “after paying dues with other poets,” says Leigh.

“I watched, listened and learned from them,” he says.

The themes of his poetry are drawn from his roots growing up in the industrial north of England and his “understanding of the plight of those whose lives are caught up in the prison system and the homeless in their need to escape from the pain of their existence,” Leigh says. Adding to this is what he calls the cosmic consciousness to complete the influences.

Leigh has also written a best-selling children’s book about the law and is a recipient of the Canadian Numismatic Association’s highest award for research and writing.

Wednesday’s poetry open stage starts at 7 p.m. with host Teri Petz. The Owl is located downtown across from Galt Gardens on 3 Ave. S.