Robert McConnell OC was a Canadian jazz trombonist, composer, and arranger. McConnell is best known for establishing and leading the big band The Boss Brass, which he directed from 1967 to 1999. McConnell was born in London, Ontario, Canada, and took up the valve trombone in high school. He began his performing career in the early 1950s, performing and studying with Clifford Brown, Don Thompson, Bobby Gimby, and later with Canadian trumpeter Maynard Ferguson. He studied music theory with Gordon Delamont. In 1968 he formed The Boss Brass, a big band that became his primary performing and recording unit through the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s. McConnell assembled the original Boss Brass from Toronto studio musicians, consisting of trumpets, trombones, French horns, and a rhythm section but no saxophones. He introduced a saxophone section in 1970 and expanded the trumpet section to include the fifth trumpet in 1976, bringing the total to twenty-two members. His stellar soloists included Moe Koffman, Ed Bickert, Guido Basso, Eugene Amaro, Bruce Cassidy, and Dave Caldwell, to name a few. McConnell's direct-to-disc double LP, Big Band Jazz, won the Juno Award for Best Jazz Album in 1978. His 1983 All in Good Time album won the Grammy Award for Best Large Jazz Ensemble recording. In 1992 he was presented with a SOCAN jazz award. In 1997, he was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame, and in 1998 was made an Officer of the Order of Canada.