Shows

Named a “Rising Star Female Vocalist” in the 2024 Downbeat Magazine Critics Poll and voted “Best Individual Jazz Musician” in the 2024 Chicago Reader Poll, Alyssa Allgood has captured attention for her dynamic vocal command, sophisticated songwriting, and captivating performances. Showcasing modern sensibilities, Allgood is a fearless vocalist known for her confident musical interaction, fierce improvisation, and vulnerable expression. Downbeat Magazine has praised her “boldness, swagger, and surefooted musicianship” while the New York City Jazz Record has recognized her “force, clarity and jazz integrity.” With Tilden Webb – piano, Jodi Proznick – bass and Jesse Cahill – drums

Named a “Rising Star Female Vocalist” in the 2024 Downbeat Magazine Critics Poll and voted “Best Individual Jazz Musician” in the 2024 Chicago Reader Poll, Alyssa Allgood has captured attention for her dynamic vocal command, sophisticated songwriting, and captivating performances. Showcasing modern sensibilities, Allgood is a fearless vocalist known for her confident musical interaction, fierce improvisation, and vulnerable expression. Downbeat Magazine has praised her “boldness, swagger, and surefooted musicianship” while the New York City Jazz Record has recognized her “force, clarity and jazz integrity.” With Tilden Webb – piano, Jodi Proznick – bass and Jesse Cahill – drums

Join industry professionals Jodi Proznick, Shruti Ramani, Ingrid Stitt, Cindy Fairbank and featured guest artist Alyssa Allgood to explore jazz for a day in a welcoming and non-judgmental environment. Become immersed in the rhythms, improvisation, composition, and learn about the women who’ve brought magnificence to this popular genre of music.

We will celebrate and encourage female- and nonbinary-identified music lovers in a supportive space with jam sessions, workshops, mentoring, and an afternoon performance at 2:30pm. The concert is free and open to the public. Make your voice heard in conversations designed for students, teachers and beginner/intermediate level musicians. If you have 2+ years’ experience on vocals or an instrument—or just a curiosity about the nuts and bolts of jazz music—then this event is for you!

You will take away at the end of the day:

• An understanding of how a jazz lead sheet works
• Methodical and fun ways to practice improvisation
• A new community of musical collaborators
• Confidence and empowerment to do the creative work you have always wanted
• Professional tips for teachers to teach creative music play in your classrooms and ideas to implement in your jazz bands

Join us on May 24 for a full day of FREE musical delights – 10am to 10pm – spread across multiple stages, including the Orpheum, VSO School of Music, Christ Church Cathedral, and various stages in Yaletown, TELUS Garden, Deloitte, and Arts Umbrella. With over 100 performances to enjoy, there’s something for everyone in the family. Cap off the day with a free concert by the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra at 8pm.

Marketa Foukalova – singer, composer, lyricist, and voice coach who has been an active performer since she was thirteen. As a seventeen-year-old she won the main prize at the voice competition Zlíntalet and started to perform with Czech pop star Eva Pilarová. In the past years, she has sung with and written for a number of bands, including the trip-hop Gang Ala Basta and the acid-jazz Madfinger with whom she won first prize at The Young Jazz Musician’s competition of the Philips International Jazz Festival. She has also collaborated with Michal Pavlíček, Kamil Střihavka, BSP, Michal Prokop, the bands Jasná páka, Hudba Praha, and J.A.R., with Vladimír Mišík on his latest recordings, Matěj Benk on the project Planety, or the jazz big band Concept Art Orchestra, and she has also performed with the classical-music Duo Teres. Her home and main focus, however, has been the band Lanugo which whom she has released four albums to date. A co-founder and the director of children’s choir Beznot, Foukalová also teaches at the Jaroslav Deyl Conservatory and New York University in Prague. Lanugo released its debut album in 2009 with Animal Music.

Martin Brunner – composer, pianist and keyboardist based in Prague, Czech Republic. He released five studio albums as a leader. Each of these albums consist original music written by Brunner and are very diverse musical projects – piano trio, septet with the string quartet, jazz-rock music or vocal songs with symphonic orchestra. Brunner also regularly composes classics chamber music. As a piano and keyboard player he collaborates with the most significant musicians at the Czech jazz scene. He ranks among distinctive composers of his generation and he is a member of “The Prague Six”, the informal group of composers who regularly write music for Czech award winning jazz big band Concept Art Orchestra.

Jodi Proznick – three time Juno-nominated bassist, composer, producer and educator Jodi Proznick has earned a reputation as one of Canada’s finest jazz artists. She has won numerous National Jazz Awards, including Bassist of the Year in ’08 and ’09. Her group, the Jodi Proznick Quartet, was awarded the Acoustic Group of the Year and Album of the Year in ‘08 and the Galaxie Rising Star at the Vancouver International Jazz Festival in ‘04. Most recently, Jodi was awarded the Jazz Artist of the Year at the Western Canadian Music Awards and the Platinum Jubilee Art and Music Award from the Lieutenant Governer of British Columbia.