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Jazz, Sunshine, and Sculpture: Danny Carroll Brings Heart and Humour to Assiniboine Park
A scenic stage for live jazz
Summer in Winnipeg means long days, lush green parks, and the sweet sounds of live music drifting through the air. And every Sunday at noon, the Leo Moll Sculpture Garden in Assiniboine Park transforms into an open-air jazz club, where bronze masterpieces and shady trees offer the perfect backdrop for top local talent.
This Sunday, July 13, pianist and composer Danny Carroll will take centre stage alongside bassist Ruslan Rusin for an afternoon of jazz standards, original compositions, and good vibes all around.
From the dinner theatre pit to Rainbow Stage legend
Many Winnipeggers know Carroll from his decades of work in musical theatre, including his induction into the Rainbow Stage Hall of Fame in 2014. But his musical theatre roots go back even further — to the Hollow Mug Dinner Theatre at the International Inn, near the airport.
“That’s going back a while,” he said. “We would do a set of jazz, like, you know, the first set. And then we would do mini musicals. So we’d do about 40, 45 minutes — like excerpts and things and singing and dancing and the whole bit… It was a great learning thing. And it was so much fun.”
His first Rainbow Stage gig came in 1993, subbing in for a production of Fiddler on the Roof — and it was one to remember. “There was water pouring down the steps into the pit,” he recalled, describing a now-legendary stage flood. “Bob McMullin’s conducting, right? And we’re saying ‘Bob, Bob, Bob — there’s water in here!’” Eventually, the pit band was moved to higher ground, but not before the timpani nearly floated away. “They forgot — they didn’t take my timpanis out. My timpanis are floating, and they’re my $10,000 timpanis!” Carroll laughed.
The magic of sound
Carroll has created sound design for nearly every major theatre in Winnipeg, including Prairie Theatre Exchange, Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre, Manitoba Theatre for Young People and the Winnipeg Jewish Theatre. He describes the work as “sculpturing the sounds” to match the emotional and narrative tone of each production.
“It pulls you out of preparing and reproducing other music and into the world of creating your own music in coordination with whatever is going on with the show,” he said. “Every show was completely different. The best part for me was reading the script the first time — because things just start pouring out.”
This Sunday’s set: Ellington, originals and a touch of Sesame Street
For his July 13 performance, Carroll promises a mix of classic jazz tunes, original pieces, and a few surprises. “We’re going to play some Duke Ellington… ‘A Train,’ ‘All of Me,’ ‘It’s Only a Paper Moon,’ ‘Summertime’ — you gotta do ‘Summertime.’”
He’ll also perform pieces from his 2022 neoclassical album Keys for Transformation, including a solo piano track titled Sounds of the Heart, which lent its name to a company he created during the recording process.
Other originals include Chippawa, a bluesy nod to his hometown of Thunder Bay, and The Charleston — a playful tune written for It’s a Wonderful Life. “These are fun things,” he said. “We're just going to really have a fun, fun time.”
And yes, there may even be a bluesy version of the Sesame Street theme in the mix.
Playing off the crowd
Carroll’s duo partner for the day, bassist Ruslan Rusin, brings improvisational spark and rhythmic depth to the performance. “He’s a great improviser,” said Carroll. “You never quite know where you’re going to go.”
That sense of spontaneity — and connection — is what Carroll looks forward to most. “Every group of people that gathers brings its own kind of energy,” he said. “I try to attune to that and go off of that… You see some feet tappin’ there by some 125-year-old people — that’s great. Do some more of that.”
Catch the show
Danny Carroll and Ruslan Rusin perform Sunday, July 13 at 12 p.m. at the Leo Moll Sculpture Garden in Assiniboine Park. The concert is free — just bring a lawn chair, some sunscreen, and maybe an ice cream cone.
For more information, visit assiniboinepark.ca.