Show Notes

Adrean Farrugia, jazz pianist and educator, talks to Bob Jonkman about improvisation, commercial music, composing music, performing, and Adrean’s performances at the Uptown Waterloo Jazz Festival.

The interview starts at 4m38s.

Online:

• Website: https://adreanfarrugia.com/
• YouTube: Adrean Farrugia (@adreanfarrugia7414) | YouTube
• Bandcamp: Adrean Farrugia | Bandcamp
• SoundCloud: Adrean Farrugia | SoundCloud
• Spotify: Adrean Farrugia | Spotify

Podcast

Download: ckms-community-connections-2026-07-13-episode263-Adrean-Farrugia.mp3 (47 MB, 50m56s, episode 263)

Index

Time	Title	Album	Artist
0m00s	Theme for CKMS Community Connections ccc	CKMS Community Connections	Steve Todd
0m50s	High Five	Ricocchet	Adrean Farrugia
4m38s	Talking about the time signature of High Five, in five/fourths time. Introducing Adrean Farrugia, pianist, composer, jazz musician, and teacher. Adrean talks about his teaching career and the Contemporary and Commercial Music program at the Wilfrid Laurier Faculty of Music. Laurier celebrated its 50th anniversary, and has expanded its Faculty of Music from mostly classical to jazz.
10m05s	Talking about Improvisation — how can you teach that? There is an impression of “lesserness” for improvised music. But high-level improvisation requires a vast skillset on one’s instrument, a level of technical mastery that is comparable to that of a concert pianist, and on top of that there needs to be a deep grasp of musical theory, and the ability to apply it. Adrean compares improvisation to having a conversation: using a set vocabulary and grammar to spontandeously express ideas. Many of the skill sets for classical music and jazz music are identical, but they are different styles, for different audiences. At Laurier the classical and contempory music is not siloed, but integrated together. Adrean is teaching an improv class equally populated by jazz and classical majors.
16m11s	Is jazz and classical “commercial” music? Not like rock, pop, and hip hop. But the disciplines of rock, funk, gospel, hip hop, country are all rooted in jazz music. If you study jazz then you’ll be quite well equipped to play in a funk or R&B band. Adrean likens it to chef school: Why would a Japanese chef specializing in tepanyaki study French cuisine? But when you study culinary arts you study everything to get broad knowledge, and filter that into a specialty. The vast majority of jazz students don’t become jazz musicians, but become really well educated rock and pop musicians, or film or video music composers. As a “commercial” music program there are courses for music production, and business of music courses to address writing grants, booking tours, promotion.
20m59s	Talking about composing music as a part of “commercial” music. In jazz there is a culture of writing your own music; in classical music a performer can have a good career without ever composing anything. Adrean tells us about composing “production music”, music written specifically for use as licenced music for film. Music is written and performed in particular styles, and searchable in the music libraries. This is not AI generated music! Adrean has produced a few “production music” albums, and has heard it used in movies and commercials. But even with billions of plays on the internet, there is not a lot of revenue from royalties. No-one is getting rich from writing music, unlike the 1950s when someone could write a hit song and retire on the proceeds from that one song. Adrean doesn’t consider himself a ‘Composer’, but a performer who composes.
27m03s	Introducing Blued Dharma, talking about performing as a duo, and how actual jazz music is different from production music.
28m21s	Blued Dharma	Blued Dharma	Adrean Farrugia
34m33s	The challenges of peforming as a duo. Challenging for the listeners too. Talking about playing in other groups, and upcoming albums. New albums provide an excuse for touring and booking some gigs, almost certainly at The Jazz Room.
39m55s	Talking about upcoming performance at the Uptown Waterloo Jazz Festival, Friday at 3:00pm backing for Jessica Lalond, and on Sunday at 1:30pm with his own band: Adrean Farrugia on Piano with bassist Roberto Occhipinti, drummer Ethan Ardelli, saxphonist Allison Au, and special guest Brad Good on trumpet. Shoutout to Derek Hines, the music director for the Jazz Festival. Festivals have been declining, but Adrean says they’re important cultural events for communities.
44m00s	Cultural events provide a way for an audience to be connected to performers — it is too easy today to not engage with the rest of humanity. But Adrean sees just the opposite in the students he teaches; some reject technology in order to hang out “in real life”. Adrean gives the example that young people have far more diverse Spotify playlists than older people. Older generations derived their identities from music, but younger people listen to music because they like it. One silver lining to streaming services is that it makes music more accessible. Adrean says today’s music students are leagues better than students from the 1990s. But the convenience of streaming can still breed bad habits of laziness, entitlement.
50m28s	A hasty summary of the Jazz Festival and a hasty goodbye.

CKMS Community Connections airs on CKMS-FM 102.7 from 3:00pm to 4:00pm on Mondays and alternate Fridays.

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Bonus Video

Video: CKMS Community Connections for Monday 13 July 2026, 312 MB (Radio Waterloo video)

Show notes and podcast interview content is Copyright © 2026 by the participants, and released under a Creative Commons Attribution Only license. Copy, re-use, and derivative works are allowed with attribution to Radio Waterloo and a link to this page. Music selections are copyright by the respective rights holders. The theme music is written and performed by Steven Todd.