An evening of shamisen and sitar.

Tickets in advance (sliding scale): $15, $20, $25
Tickets at the door: pay what you can***
***Tickets at the door are subject to availability. Purchasing tickets in advance is highly recommended.

GET YOUR TICKETS HERE

Aki Takahashi (Toronto)
Aki Takahashi (Toronto) will perform a solo set featuring shamisen and vocals for her project 10-10-20. In commemoration of her 20th anniversary of performing in Canada, she is planning 20 solo performances this year.
ten ten is an evolving art experiment with its roots in the Japanese folk tradition. In the Japanese alphabet, “ten ten” refers to two dots used to change the sound of a syllable. In the same spirit, ten ten strives to create its own unique voice for Japanese folk music breathing new life into this traditional art form.

Mohamed Assani Trio
The Mohamed Assani Trio takes music to new realms while remaining committed to the rich roots of South Asian traditions. Mohamed Assani, twice Western Canadian Music Awards nominated artist for Instrumental music, is a dynamic performer and composer known for his genre-defying music. Mohamed has performed South Asian classical music as well as his own original music across the globe — with orchestras, string quartets, hip hop artists, DJs, world music ensembles, jazz artists — and as a soloist. Trained in both Indian/Pakistani and Western Classical music, his music-making seamlessly draws from different genres and cultures with depth and authenticity. He forges new paths while remaining committed to the rich roots from which his tradition has emerged. Mohamed will be joined by talented multi-instrumentalist and percussionist Curtis Andrews and the versatile guitarist/bassist Jared Burrows for an evening of original Inter-cultural and original compositions from Mohamed’ latest album “Wayfinder”

Mohamed Assani – Sitar
Jared Burrows – Electric Bass
Curtis Andrews – Mbira, drums, percussion

“Mohamed Assani is a musician for the ages. Pushing his passion into the future, with a glance to his past and the history of this amazing instrument, but never shying away from what is new and exciting.He is at the frontier of cultural hybridization, leading us deeper into the lush landscape of worldwide music”. Nohoartdistrict.com

Concert featuring Canadian Jazz legends.

Saturday, April 15th, 2023
Doors 6:30 pm
Show 7:30 pm
Venue: The Annex, 823 Seymour St, Vancouver, V6B 3L4

Tickets in advance (sliding scale): $15, $20, $25

Tickets at the door: pay what you can***

***Tickets at the door are subject to availability. Purchasing tickets in advance is highly recommended.

Get Your Tickets Here

Sharon Minemoto Trio

Since the age of sixteen, Sharon Minemoto has been performing to audiences around the world.  She is the leader of a trio, a quartet and a quintet. Her trio and quintet have each released one CD as well as several shows for CBC Radio. Her quartet’s recording, “Safe Travels”, took the band on a Canadian tour in February and March of 2018. The band will be going back into the studio in February to record their 2nd album. In addition to her own ensembles, she has performed in groups led by Jill Townsend, Cory Weeds, John Korsrud, James Danderfer, Laura Crema, Alan Matheson, Mike Allen, the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra and the Phoenix Chamber Choir.  Sharon has been on faculty at Vancouver Community College in the school of music since 2000.  She is the recipient of two Canada Council for the Arts grants and one BC Arts Council Grant.  Her last grant took her to New York City for 4 months to study with Renee Rosnes and Kenny Werner. In 2015, Sharon teamed up with vocalist Melissa van der Schyff for two very successful concerts, one at the legendary jazz club, Birdland in NYC and the other at The Abbey Theatre in Orlando, Florida. In 2019, CBC Radio in Vancouver selected one of Sharon’s compositions as the new theme song for their weekly jazz program, “Hot Air”. Sharon was the host of the weekly Pat’s Pub jazz jam session for over ten years. In addition to performing, she is on faculty at Vancouver Community College and most recently, she has been programming the Saturday Jazz series at La Fabrique St. George.

The trio will be playing a mix of originals and standards to kick off the evening.

• Sharon Minemoto, piano
• André Lachance, Bass
• Dave Robbins, Drums

Jill Townsend Jazz Orchestra

The Jill Townsend Jazz Orchestra will perform thrilling original music written especially for their return to the Annex. Sparkling compositions and delectable arrangements by Jill Townsend and Bill Coon embrace the unique and dynamic sound of the orchestra while celebrating the superb soloists. Joining them for a few fresh takes on familiar standards is the charismatic Steve Maddock who will enchant you with his compelling vocals. Soloists include Brad Turner, Steve Kaldestad, Cory Weeds, Bill Coon, Dave Robbins and many more.

• Jill Townsend, Leader
• Steve Maddock, Guest Vocalist
• Steve Kaldestad, Alto Sax
• Bill Runge, Alto Sax
• Jon Bentley, Tenor Sax
• Cory Weeds, Tenor Sax
• Chad Makela, Bari Sax
• Derry Byrne, Trumpet
• Brad Turner, Trumpet
• John Korsrud, Trumpet
• Tom Shorthouse, Trumpet
• Robin MacLulich, Trombone
• Dennis Esson, Trombone
• Jeremy Berkman, Trombone
• Ellen Marple, Bass Trombone
• Bill Coon, Guitar
• Andre Lachance, Bass
• Dave Robbins, Drums

Jill Townsend is a prolific composer/arranger and leader of the critically acclaimed Jill Townsend Jazz Orchestra. JTJO has released two recordings to date earning them international recognition. The Canadian National Jazz Awards twice nominated JTJO for Large Ensemble of the Year. Guest artists featured with JTJO include B3 organists Dr. Lonnie Smith and Chris Hazleton as well as trombonists Ian McDougall and Jiggs Whigham. Jill’s music has been recorded and performed by many ensembles throughout North America including the Seattle Women’s Jazz Orchestra and Calgary based Prime Time Big Band, featuring award-winning saxophonist PJ Perry. She also served as co-director of the Seattle Women’s Jazz Orchestra for two seasons. Jill’s recent commissions include the East Meets West Suite, a collaboration with composer/saxophonist Christine Jensen for the Winnipeg Jazz Orchestra, the No Chamber Music Society, and the Cellar Live release Explosion, by the Cory Weeds Little Big Band. Jill is the recipient of several Canada Council Arts Awards and Leighton Artist Studio residencies at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity. She is a member of the Jazz Faculty at Capilano University and the Music Faculty at Douglas College.

Eclectic evening of fusion and improvisation.

Thursday, April 27th, 2023
Doors: 7:00 pm
Show: 7:30 pm
Venue: Fox Cabaret, 2321 Main St, Vancouver, V5T 3C9

Please note: all events at the Fox Cabaret are 19+

Tickets in advance (sliding scale): $15, $20, $25

Tickets at the door: pay what you can***

***Tickets at the door are subject to availability. Purchasing tickets in advance is highly recommended.

Get Your Tickets Here

Feven Kidane Trio

Electricity meets fusion to create original sound: trumpeter Feven Kidane partners up with bassist Cole Woodland and drummer Todd Stewart for a powerful version of the Feven Kidane Trio. Incorporating elements of free improvisation and jazz, this trio works in seamless synergy to bring powerful heat to one’s ears. Not a band to miss!

A budding artist on the West Coast, Kidane is a multi-instrumentalist, musical electronicist, composer, and arranger based out of Musqueam/Squamish/Tsleil-Waututh territory. Inspired by the art of Blackness, her practice revolves around decolonization, spirituality, and the complexities of human experience.

Longhand Trio

Saxophonist Peder Long was a little-known but extremely prolific composer who wrote hundreds of unreleased songs. In the mid-1980s, he mentored the now-iconic West Coast guitarist Tony Wilson, who also played in Long’s band. Decades later, Tony’s Longhand Trio has recorded a full album of Peder’s music which they’ll present alongside special guest violinists Jesse Zubot (Tanya Tagaq) and Josh Zubot (Land of Kush).

The Zubots are remarkable talents who match traditional mastery of their instruments with wide-screen, cinematic use of electronics and extended techniques. With JUNO Award winners Russell Sholberg bass and Kenton Loewen drums, Longhand’s lyrical interpretations of Peder Long’s music border on the spiritual.

Celebrating The Peggy Lee Band’s sixth studio album with vocalist Julia Ulehla.

Saturday, June 10th, 2023
Doors: 7:30 PM
Show: 8:00 PM
Venue: Fox Cabaret, 2321 Main St, Vancouver, V5T 3C9

Tickets in advance (sliding scale): $15, $20, $25

Tickets at the door: pay what you can***

***Tickets at the door are subject to availability. Purchasing tickets in advance is highly recommended.

Get your tickets at: https://vim-peggy-lee-julia-ulehla.eventbrite.ca

The Peggy Lee Band

On June 10, 2023, The Peggy Lee Band will celebrate the release of their album, A Giving Way on the Songlines label. A Giving Way is the sixth studio album by the Peggy Lee Band and was recorded in July 2022.

The compositions come from a place of gratitude and love for family, place and community as well as a desire to do better collectively towards justice, honour and human dignity. The ensemble playing is beautifully polished and warm and the members of the band improvise with great creativity, passion and clarity.

• Brad Turner, trumpet
• Jon Bentley, tenor saxophone
• Jeremy Berkman, trombone
• Ron Samworth, guitar
• Tony Wilson, guitar
• André Lachance, bass
• Dylan van der Schyff, drums

About The Peggy Lee Band

This group was largely inspired by Peggy’s experiences working in the bands of guitarists Ron Samworth (Talking Pictures) and Tony Wilson (the Tony Wilson Sextet).

By 1998, Peggy felt ready to try her hand at composing for a band of her own, wanting to bring together some of her favorite players who, at the time, hadn’t played a lot with each other.

Originally a sextet (trumpet, trombone, cello, electric guitar, electric bass and drums) the band was expanded in 2007 with the addition of tenor saxophone and a second electric guitar.

From the start, the main objective was to explore different strategies for improvisation within composition and to feature the unique and brilliant individual voices that make up the band. Over the years, with five records released, the individual voices remain vivid and compelling but the overall ensemble sound has also developed into its own rich entity.

Julia Ulehla

Drawing on various threads of Ulehla’s musical background (opera, oratorio, cabaret, musical theatre, folk traditions, pop, experimental, and new music), this performance will explore song as a medium for storytelling across a wide terrain of musical genres. Drawing on composers like Henry Purcell, Kurt Weill, Peggy Lee, Bob Dylan, PJ Harvey, Roy Orbison, Ulehla and Bajakian bring together songs that might not be paired in other contexts.

• Julia Ulehla, vocals
• Aram Bajakian, guitars

About Julia Ulehla

Julia Ulehla is an interarts performer, improviser, and scholar who lives and creates on the traditional, ancestral, unceded territory of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) people. Her performance practice, research, and writing explore song as a living being. Since 2013, Julia has been vocalist and bandleader of the avant-folklore ensemble Dálava, with whom she regularly performs throughout North America and Europe. Julia holds a PhD in Ethnomusicology from the University of British Columbia, an MMus in Vocal Performance and Literature from the Eastman School of Music, and a BA in Music from Stanford University. Julia performed as a lyric mezzo-soprano in opera and oratorio from 2002-08, and from 2008-11 she was a member of the renowned laboratory theatre the Workcenter of Jerzy Grotowski and Thomas Richards in Pontedera, Italy. She is currently a SSHRC Postdoctoral Fellow in Cultural Studies at Queens University. Her research-creation project explores the “extra-rational” possibilities of the voice, extending the theoretical account of living song into ethical praxis, and developing methods for voice, movement, text, image, theatre, and installation in a community of collaborative artists.

Vancouver Independent Music Centre (VIM) in partnership with the Roundhouse Community Arts Centre presents 

Aunties Sing… Music is Medicine

A Concert featuring the Sandy Scofield Band, Helene Duguay with the Murray Porter Band and Dalannah Gail Bowen with Michael Creber

7:30 pm. Friday, November 18, 2022
Roundhouse Performance Centre, 181 Roundhouse Mews
Tickets in advance (sliding scale): $15, $20, $25
aunties_sing.eventbrite.ca
Tickets at the door: pay what you can

Host & curator: Elaine Bomberry

Here on the West Coast, there are a few legendary Indigenous female artists, who have had illustrious careers in the Canadian music industry for decades. Assembled by music trailblazer Elaine Bomberry, these fine music artists will surprise and delight audiences in this special concert at the Roundhouse. They include JUNO nominee and Canadian Aboriginal Music Award winner, singer songwriter Sandy Scofield; bassist Helene Duguay who will rock the crowd with her stunning riffs and yodeling with The Murray Porter Band; and legendary blues singer, Dalannah Gail Bowen.

Sandy Scofield Band
Sandy Scofield (vocals, guitar) Stephen Nikleva (vocals, guitar) Brian Minato (bass) Randall Stoll (drums) Kelsey Wavey (vocals)

Helene Duguay with the Murray Porter Band
Helene Duguay (vocals, bass) Murray Porter (vocals, keyboard) Rick Boulter (guitar) Darren Harry (drums)

Dalannah Gail Bowen
Dalannah Gail Bowen (vocals) Michael Creber (keyboard)

About Roundhouse Community Arts and Recreation Centre:
The Vision & Mandate of the Roundhouse is twofold: to be a centre for community cultural development and a community source for recreational activities for all ages. “We thrive on exploring issues, on taking risks, on being cutting edge. We strive to bring people together in new ways to explore what is important to them. By stretching our boundaries and challenging our perceptions, we endeavour to build community and in our own way to make the world a better place. We invite you to join us.”
https://www.roundhouse.ca 

About Vancouver Independent Music Centre Society (VIM):
VIM is a non-profit, charitable organization established in 2011 with a mandate to develop a well-designed, central, accessible, sustainable and culturally diverse music centre. Through research and planning, we’ve heard from hundreds of musicians, music presenters, concertgoers, managers and others to determine the vision and feasibility for a new state-of-the-art venue for Vancouver. In 2018, the City of Vancouver passed zoning at the Plaza of Nations to include a 20,000 square foot music centre based on the VIM’s vision and plans.

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