Mike Van Eyes | Ain’t That Loving You Baby

Mike Van Eyes Big Band: Ain’t That Loving You, Baby

(Northern Electric Label)

CD | LP | DL | Stream

Out 14 February 2026

PRE-SAVE HERE

One of the legendary figures from the Vancouver underground music scene Mike Van Eyes finally steps forward into the limelight to release his new big band album Ain’t That Loving You, Baby. It’s an album which carries the spirit of the legendary big-band era, where brass, swing and rock ’n’ roll all collide into one glorious celebration of a rich musical legacy. Ian Corbridge reignites a long-standing family passion for big band jazz and blues to absorb every single finely tuned note of this expansive sound for Louder Than War.

Vancouver’s soul and blues heavyweight Mike Van Eyes has long been considered one of the city’s most formidable piano forces, and there is no doubt that his place in the musical heritage of the city was assured from a very young age. With a father who was a senior musicologist at the University of British Columbia and founder of the Vancouver Folk Music Society and the Vancouver Folk Festival, and a mother who was a fine folk singer in her own right, his future destiny was in very little doubt.

Once Mike emerged from his own musical grounding, he spent subsequent decades building his own legacy as he immersed himself in the roots of rock’n’roll and rhythm and blues, playing with bands such as The Epics and The Trespassers who became institutions in the Vancouver scene. He also toured with the Herald Nix Band, where he even shared stages with The Clash in Edmonton and Calgary and sat in with Howlin’ Wolf’s band, finding a unique vantage point at the musical intersection where punk, blues and soul all collide. He has also collaborated with artists such as Colin James, The Yodells, GI Blues, Copyright, The Undertakin’ Daddies and Peewee Clayton, thereby cementing his own place in the history of West Coast roots music.

With all this behind him, Mike Van Eyes finally steps forward into the limelight in his own right with his new album, Ain’t That Loving You, Baby. On this album Mike is backed by his full 24-piece Big Band, a heavyweight lineup whose résumés stretch across classic soul and rock history, including musicians like celebrated electric guitarist Tim Porter, powerhouse saxophonist Jerry Cook, Vancouver jazz-rock fixture Chris Nordquist, Chris Davis on trumpet and Dave Say on alto-sax, who themselves have collaborated with the likes of Keith Richards, Robert Plant, The Isley Brothers, Michael Bublé, The Temptations and The Supremes, to name but a few.

The album is essentially a tribute to some of the greats from all these musical genres with each song carefully chosen with a particular artist in mind. It was recorded at the legendary Mushroom Studios (now Afterlife) with Juno Award-winning producer and engineer Erik P.H. Neilsen, who was on a mission to capture the vintage warmth that emanates from the original songs but all with a sharp, modern mix that is possible with the technology that is now available. And boy does he succeed!

Title track Ain’t That Loving You, Baby opens the proceedings in fine style with this timeless arrangement of a classic song penned by Don Robey. Paying tribute to Bobby ‘Blue’ Bland who first released the song in 1962, its quintessential blues-soul vibe is laced with big and bold brass orchestrations all driven along with a seriously swinging groove and overlaid with Mike’s soulful and uplifting vocals. As Mike describes, “We cut it fast, no overthinking. I wanted the take where the band looked at each other and went ‘yeah, that’s the one’.”

The Work Song follows as a tribute to Oscar Brown Jr, drawing inspiration from the age old chain-gang songs. Steeped in rhythmic and melodic soulfulness, its soul jazz vibe and blues heavy feel is infectious yet mournful in equal measures with notable solos by Brian Harding on trombone, Derry Byrne on trumpet and Bill Runge on alto sax. Yield Not To Temptation is another Don Robey song paying tribute to Bobby ‘Blue’ Bland which hits a ferocious groove with a real swing and swagger. With its piano driven boogie-woogie vibe, it’s an arrangement steeped in powerful gospel, soul and classic rhythm and blues influences which dances with a real sense of joy, fuelled by a scorching tenor sax solo from Jerry Cook and soulful backing vocals from Dawn Pemberton.

You’re Driving Me Crazy is a vibrant and uplifting tribute to the song’s author Professor Longhair and is a quintessential example of traditional New Orleans rhythm and blues styling, retaining the wild and off-kilter vocals and piano playing of its original incarnation. Stormy Weather slows things right back down again with this elegant portrayal of a jazz standard which has always been an integral part of the Great American Songbook. As a song sourced from the 1943 film of the same name, this arrangement simply oozes class with its lush and dreamy arrangement, underpinned with some great work on the piano from Ted Koehler.

Once I Loved is another song which pays tribute to its co-writer, Antonio Carlos Jobin, one of the great exponents of Brazilian music. As a melancholy soliloquy, the flugelhorn solo by Vince Mai perfectly fits the more sombre mood of this bossa nova style ballad, complemented by Mike’s beautifully eloquent, soft and sentimental vocal style. All Or Nothing At All is yet another jazz standard from the Great American Songbook paying homage to the Big Man himself, Frank Sinatra. It’s theme of intense melancholic romance are subsumed within the relatively stark arrangement which offers a more laid back, lightly swinging feel to the song, with Mike’s more subdued vocal styling bringing some real emotional depth.

Hoe Down once again pays tribute to its author Oliver Nelson and stays true to its origins as an up tempo blues with this dazzling arrangement offering a battleground for the jazz section with a vibrant trade-off between the alto sax solo of Bill Runge, the trombone solo of Brian Harding and the baritone sax solo of Chris Startup.

The album closes with another jazz standard, St. James Infirmary, which was originally adapted by Irving Mills from its folk origins into an 8-bar blues structure which has endured through the ages. Dedicated to Cab Calloway, who is often cited as recording the definitive version of this song, this classic somewhat haunting arrangement gives it a really poignant feel which aligns well with the songs somewhat morbid themes. In spite of this, the illuminating solos by Chris Startup (clarinet), Derry Byrne (trumpet) and Brian Harding (trombone) shine through from within the depths of this darker setting.

Ain’t That Loving You, Baby is an album that takes you right back to a bygone era when the dance halls were swelling with people, the atmosphere was shrouded in smoke, the rhythms were vibrant, the brass sections were tearing down the walls, and the joints were literally jumping. With Mike Van Eyes at the helm, once again cementing his place as one of Canada’s most enduring and unmistakable voices in traditional rock ’n’ roll, jazz and rhythm and blues, this is a band who effortlessly bridge generations by bringing the vintage warmth of old school jazz and blues standards into a modern landscape with spectacular results.

And a final word from Mike Van Eyes, “These songs know how to carry themselves. We just make sure we don’t get in the way of the take that feels true.” And on this album, these songs sound as true as they could ever be.

You can pre-save the album here or order the vinyl here.

You can find Mike Van Eyes on Facebook, Instagram, Bandcamp and his website.

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All words by Ian Corbridge. You can find more of his writing at his author profile here.