Patrick George COLEMAN

Pat Coleman will be remembered for his superlative guitar playing, his excellent cooking, and his sense of humour and wit. Pat succumbed to heart failure on September 1st 2025 at the age of 76 after a wonderful life full of creativity.

Pat was born in Lewes, England on June 2, 1949. He immigrated to St. Albert, Alberta with his family in 1958. Although young when he came to Canada, he never forgot his love of “home” in the south of England.

He took up the guitar at an early age, and was already playing bass in Edmonton area bands by age 15. These were his powder blue suit days, and his experience touring around Alberta towns provided a foundation for the rest of his musical life.

In the 1960’s, he left home and went on the road with rock bands Graeme and the Waifers, and later, Stoney Plain, which became the opening act for The Who, The Doors, Bachman-turner overdrive, and Eric Clapton’s band, The Cream. Every night that Stoney Plain opened for Cream, Pat noticed that Clapton was standing in the wings, watching his guitar playing carefully. Quincy Jones heard the band and wanted to record them, but they declined, fearing the loss of “artistic control” (a common issue in those days). Leaving his rock years behind, Pat immersed himself in the study of classical guitar, but ultimately realized that it was a lonely pursuit, and he missed playing with others.

After some years in Vancouver, Pat moved to L.A. with his wife Jackie and son Aaron, where he studied jazz guitar, orchestration and arranging at the Dick Grove School of Music. After L.A., he moved back to Vancouver and further honed his jazz guitar skills.

In 1978, Pat packed up again and moved to Toronto, where he started a successful music production company called Interplay. He composed and produced music for TV, radio, movie scores and other events such as Expo ’86 Canada Place pavilion. He produced many important jazz recordings with such well-known jazz artists as Neil Swainson, Don Thompson, Woody Shaw and Joe Henderson. He was also active playing jazz in clubs in Toronto, Ottawa and London, as well as leading a Western Canada tour with a quartet under his name.

In 1990, Pat moved to Vancouver Island with his second wife Kim, and their daughter Emily. During this time, he became an important and beloved part of the west coast jazz scene, performing, producing, and recording with musicians such as Ross Taggart, Bob Murphy, Ken Lister, Buff Allen, John Gross, Phil Dwyer, Carol Welsman, Joe Coughlin, Pat LaBarbera, Joe LaBarbera, Doug Riley, Dave Holland, Kenny Wheeler, Claude Ranger and many others.

In addition to being in demand as a performer, Pat was a popular clinician and educator, inspiring students of all ages, including high school students at the Malaspina Summer Jazz Academy, and at jazz intensive weekends in Smithers, BC for many years. He taught at Vancouver Island University until his retirement at age 67.

He was deeply loved and will be fondly remembered by his family, including his daughter Emily, his son Aaron, his brother Roger, and his nephew Alex. He was predeceased by his eldest brother, Richard Coleman. 

Pat Coleman will be sorely missed by his family, friends and peers, and by his many students who were lucky enough to be shaped by such a master player and educator.

A memorial service to honour and celebrate Pat’s life will be held at a later date.

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