In the words of Jerry Seinfeld, "Ya like jazz?"
If so, you may well take an interest in this Portage local.
Every Wednesday at the Portage la Prairie Regional Library and Thursday at the Prairie Fusion Art Gallery, “Jazzy John” Sushelnitsky offers free performances of swing-era jazz that echo across the prairies.
A retired teacher, John brings decades of musical devotion and community spirit to life through his guitar—and now through his YouTube channel, John’s Jazz Joint.
A Life in Music
Sushelnitsky recalls that his journey with music began early in life.
He says, “I started taking guitar lessons when I was 14 years old. Kind of departed from it when I went to university, and as I became a teacher, I found that I used music in my French classes.”
After retiring, he found new ways to share his passion, explaining, “We did all the retirement homes… we weren’t in it for the money we were in it because we loved music.”
When COVID-19 put an end to his band, he turned to technology with the help of a chance encounter.
“A fellow said, ‘I have my own production company. I’ll show you how to put it on the Internet.’ We have put up over the five years since COVID, around 35 videos on the Internet.” he describes.
Those recordings became John’s Jazz Joint, his YouTube channel that now features dozens of performances from the 1920s through the 1960s.
The channel can be found at John’s Jazz Joint.
Giving jazz a stage
While he has a fondness for many styles of music, Sushelnitsky says jazz offers something special to the local arts scene.
“I just think that there isn’t a large platform for jazz in this town, and what I do - playing jazz music - is just giving that kind of music a stage or platform.” he notes.
For him, the performances are never about money.
As he puts it, “The price is right. But we do it much like a painter paints; we do it because it's worthwhile in itself.”
The reach of his music has even surprised him.
He notes, “I got a word from a fellow in Pennsylvania, he appreciated my music and he sent me some of his own music he himself is a RCA recording artist.”
A guitar with a story
His instrument also carries history worth telling. At his retirement party, he learned from Portage guitarist Derk Grantham that the guitar he had been playing once belonged to him. “At my retirement party, Derk Grantham said, ‘Hey, that's my guitar', and he's modified it he has tinkered with it so that you get different sounds. So, I have a Derk Grantham guitar.”
Sushelnitsky says the instrument is more than just a tool—it’s a piece of local culture. “It is more than a conversational piece. It’s a piece of Portage history; this is Derk Grantham.”
Music for the soul
Even outside of shows, he finds time to play nearly every day.
He admits, “Most nights I play… sometimes a little later… there’s something wrong if you don’t get to… do it… in a way… doing music each day is good for me.”
For him, it’s about leaving a mark on the community he has called home for five decades.
He says, “It’s my contribution to the cultural scene of this town. It’s been my town for 50 years. I feel like I can make a contribution to it in terms of its culture.”
For now, Jazzy John continues to light up the air with a bit of passion, no matter where he goes.