Stingray Rising Stars winners at 2019 TD Jazz Youth Summit
Stingray visited the nation’s capital for the fourth year in a row to attend the 2019 TD Ottawa Jazz Festival. We were welcomed with incredible music and had the chance to provide four bursaries to deserving new talent.
#WomenInMusic Spotlight: Afro-futurist post-bop saxophonist Nubya Garcia
Nubya Garcia is at the forefront of Britain’s youth-led jazz explosion, creating futurist bebop and afro-centric jazz that nods to Rollins and Coltrane while hurtling fearlessly into music’s unwritten future.
Help Restore Funding to the Ottawa Jazz Festival
As you may have heard, on May 31, the Ottawa Jazz Festival received notice from the Ford Government that a Celebrate Ontario grant in the amount of $290,000 would not be available to us. This grant has been awarded to the Jazz Festival annually for the last 12 years. The timing of this announcement has […]
#WomenInMusic Spotlight: Omara Portuondo’s “Last Kiss” farewell world tour
Now 88 years old and performing at the top of her game, Portuondo has embarked on her “Last Kiss” world tour. Our TD Ottawa Jazz Festival collaboration with the National Arts Centre Orchestra is her final North American stop.
#WomenInMusic Spotlight: Triple Grammy Award-winner Terri Lyne Carrington
In an overwhelmingly male-dominated field, masterful drummer Terri Lyne Carrington stands out not only as one of the world’s best, but an unparalleled mentor to all female musicians.
#WomenInMusic Spotlight: Prince disciple Donna Grantis wields a golden axe, fuses melodic funk with metallic jazz
Among Prince’s last collaborators, Toronto’s Donna Grantis wields an impressive axe, smelting Bitches Brew-era jazz fusion with modern funk and metal guitar virtuosity.
#WomenInMusic Spotlight: Thelonius Monk competition winner Melissa Aldana
Melissa Aldana, who plays tenor sax, is the only female instrumentalist to take first prize in the Thelonius Monk competition’s history. The prestigious event held every year since 1987 launched the careers of jazz artists such as saxophonist Joshua Redman in 1991—a year when Chris Potter was runner-up in third place.
#WomenInMusic Spotlight: A gender-equal big band led by Christine Jensen
The idea for = Jazz Orchestra started with Jazzfest’s programming team: I pitched Christine Jensen on an all-women big band and Christine said, “No, but I do want to do a gender-equal big band.”