Waterdown Sax Man Peter McFarland Passes

It is with sadness that we announce the passing of Waterdown Sax Man Peter McFarland. He passed away on October 26, 2018. Peter played with many local artists and was also a member of Groove Corporation. We will add details as we learn about them. Our condolences to his family, friend and fans.

Here are some social media comments about Peter.

Shawn Brush

It’s hard to know what to say today. Some of you May already know that Peter McFarland has passed. For those of you who don’t, I’m sorry to be the bearer of the news. Peter was a wonderful person and a great saxophone player. He will be missed in our musical Community. Rest in peace PETER.

David Battrick

I am deeply saddened by the loss of friend and fellow musician Peter McFarland today . He was my favourite local Sax player, the guy who "Got It". Now he can play with the angels.

Peter Griffin

Very sad to hear of the loss of a member of our musical community today. Peter McFarland was a talented musician and a warm gentleman. I am grateful that I had the opportunity to share the stage with him on occasion. He will be missed by many. RIP Pete.

William Schwendiman (The Casbah)

In the early 1990's while a student at McMaster University, I had a job with the City of Hamilton at the municipal golf course cutting the greens. My boss was a laid back, gentle man named Peter McFarland. Soft-spoken, but as an employer, carried a strong authoritative energy that caused you the desire to always do good work. That was one of my favourite jobs and ran the course of 4 years while in school. 

Years later my path navigated to music, and eventually owning a club and promoting concerts. It was only then that I figured out Peter was a talented musician. Not once during the 4 years that I worked for him did he mention he was one of the city's best saxophone players. Not one to self-promote, humble and again..soft-spoken.

It saddens me that my friend has passed away today. He will be missed.

Chris Chambers

He and my father worked together for 30+ years and he was the guy who introduced me to the entire circle of musicians who brought me up as a player when I was a really young kid. He was a hell of a guy and a great player. He’ll be missed.

His Groove Corporation bandmate, Lily Sazz, created this beautiful YouTube video shortly before his passing.



Links: Groove Corporation, More Groove Corporation Stories, Video above courtesy of Lily Sazz

If anyone else knows of any other videos with Peter, please email us at blueshamilton@gmail.com and we will add it.

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