Acrpost: A Project of the Pacific Association of Artist Run Centres

Event Description

After June's success in her long overdue visit to Herman's Jazz Club presenting the music of Billie Holliday last fall, she is joined this Saturday with an international all star band to feature seasonal tunes from her recent album "Romancing the Seasons" to celebrate the arrival of Spring with jazz greats, Hugh Fraser, Dan Brubeck, Ron Thompson, Noah Becker, Lorae Farrell

Hugh Fraser, piano
(multiple Juno awards, Clark Terry, Dizzy Gillespie, Maynard Ferguson, Billy Ekstein, Slide Hampton, Frank Foster, Don Thompson, Shorty Rogers, Kenny Wheeler, Dave Holland, Muhal Richard Abrams)

Dan Brubeck, drums (of the iconic Brubeck family, Gerry Mulligan, Jon Hendricks, multiple appearances on The Today Show, Johnny Carson's The Tonight Show, BBC and PBS jazz shows)

Ron Thompson, bass (Michael Bublé, Frank Frank Foster, Joe Henderson, Hugh Fraser, Don Thompson)

Noah Becker, saxes (Monday Magazine Award for “Favourite Jazz Artist”, Wynton Marsalis, Roy Hargrove, Hugh Fraser)

Lorae Farrell, trumpet (leader of Hypatia Creative Women's Jazz Orchestra, Hugh Fraser, Slide Hampton, Kenny Wheeler, Chucho Valdes)

This will prove to be a rare romantic evening of artistry that will herald in the spring by filling the hearts of the musicians and audience alike!


June's Bio:
Vocalist June Katz, the "resident den mother of the West Coast jazz scene," has been an important force in the music community as both a performer, and a nurturer for fellow artists. A fixture at the Alma Street Café from 1986 to 1993, Katz became known for her uniquely passionate and honest brand of jazz stylings, displaying what singer Kate Hammett-Vaughan has termed a "depth of innocence." In addition to holding down the venue's headlining spot, Katz turned the café into an informal training ground for musicians, inviting both veteran and up-and-coming artists to play and collaborate nightly. One of these up-and-comers was local musician Ross Taggart, who notes, "Playing at the Alma Street Café was like going to college for me, playing sax and piano with the best musicians in town." For Katz, " the young musicians who perfected their craft while playing in or with her band" became her "extended family."

Although she was a frequent performer on the parlor room "stage" of her parents' house in Brooklyn, New York, June Katz chose to pursue a dual-career in teaching and interior design. Katz moved to Vancouver in 1973, where music unexpectedly shifted to the forefront of her life. Here, an impromptu performance as an emergency stand-in at the Canvas Company led to a one-year gig at the restaurant, which in turn blossomed into a long and fulfilling career. Katz continues to share her music with Vancouver audiences today.