Mike Downes is a Canadian jazz musician, composer, arranger and educator. He has performed with visiting artists such as Pat Metheny, Chris Potter, John Abercrombie, Peter Erskine, Kenny Wheeler, Dave Liebman and with many of Canada's top jazz musicians including Molly Johnson, Robi Botos, PJ Perry, Don Thompson, Guido Basso and Pat LaBarbera. His musicality, emotional depth and melodic approach to the bass have thrilled audiences in Europe, Japan, South Korea, Brazil, Mexico, Iceland, the United States and Canada. His large discography includes many JUNO-nominated and winning recordings. He has released six recordings as a leader - Forces, Then, The Winds of Change, Ripple Effect, In the Current and Root Structure. Ripple Effect won a 2014 JUNO Award for Traditional Jazz Album of the Year. Mike is the Bass Department Head at Humber College in Toronto. He has also been featured as a Yamaha artist/clinician throughout Canada, at the Paekche Institute in Seoul, South Korea and the infamous Conservatoire de Paris. Mike is the author of The Jazz Bass Line Book (Advance Music) and co-author of Jazz and Contemporary Music Theory.