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Pretzil Stex is a jazz quartet collaboration from musicians who converged in Manitoba, Canada at a certain time and place. Recent Brandon University faculty Jeff Presslaff (piano), Matt Steckler (sax), Eric Platz (drums) and BU alumnus James Hamilton (bass) met weekly during the 2019-20 academic year to improvise, flesh out new creative concepts, and workshop new pieces and arrangements. They performed two well-received shows at Brandon University and CCFM Mardi Jazz in the spring of 2020.

But the story goes further back than that. Presslaff, Platz and Steckler themselves hail from the northeast USA. Matt met Jeff (a family friend) as a kid, captivated by the latter’s quartet which featured the legendary Cornelius Bumpus (Steely Dan, Doobie Bros.). He also knew Eric as a fellow grad student at New England Conservatory, where the two were often called on to perform with visiting artists Marty Ehrlich, George Lewis, Steve Lacy and others. All four have an association with the Winnipeg Jazz Orchestra (James’ father is noted bassist and educator Steve Hamilton), and for those familiar with the music community in that region, the project had been one of the most anticipated groups in the making.