Doors at 7:30pm

Music at 8pm

Jason Raso

Over the past two decades, eight albums and countless live performances, Jason Raso has shown that he not only has the skills to pay the bills, but more often than not, enough musical currency left over at the end of the month to make good on the debts other musicians have welched on.

A Hartke Canadian Artist Search Winner (2010), Raso is a master of the four and six-string bass guitar whose music has been heard on public radio and jazz stations around the globe. And because seeing is believing, his virtuosity has also brought him in front of the camera to play for television viewers across Canada.

But the best way to experience what this talented performer has to offer is to see his one-man show in a festival setting. It’s here that concert goers will have the opportunity to understand why Exclaim Magazine describes Raso as a “…full-on orchestra of ground vibrating pleasure.”

No matter whether he’s deftly fretting through a well-loved standard, drawing in his audience with one of his melodic original compositions opening for a main stage mainstay or holding court as a featured artist, Raso is guaranteed to provide a performance music lovers will never forget.

Jason Raso’s latest album “Man of 40 Faces” features 11 new original compositions. Eight solo performances and three duets with legendary bassist Alain Caron, trombone phenom Wycliffe Gordon and brilliant vibraphonist Francesco Pinetti.

“Bass players will enjoy Raso’s strong command of the instrument, as he flawlessly demonstrates a cross-section of techniques, including chording, tapping and hammering. Man of 40 Faces is a truly melodic collection of originals, from start to finish.” – Jon Liebman (For Bass Players Only)

Rich Brown

RICHARD ‘RICH’ BROWN (bass, guitar, percussion) was born to Jamaican parents in Toronto, Ontario, Canada in 1970. He lived in Ft. Lauderdale throughout his teenage years, later returning to Toronto where he still resides. He taught himself to play bass at the age of 17 by listening to artists such as Jaco Pastorius, Victor Bailey, Jimmy Haslip, and Alain Caron. Since then, he has continuously expanded his vocabulary by drawing upon influences outside the bass realm.

He was featured as a member of the Kenny Kirkwood Quartet, and performed in concert with that ensemble in the “Sound of Toronto Jazz” Series on February 8, 1999.

Rich lead his own band, rinsethealgorithm, for a number of years. Their debut recording, Locutions, was released in 2008.

Rich has appeared on over fourty recordings in a broad range of musical styles including jazz, funk, latin, traditional Asian, and Arabic music. He has performed and recorded with Carol Welsman, Jane Siberry, Glenn Lewis, Andy Milne's Dapp Theory, Steve Coleman & 5 Elements, James 'Blood' Ulmer, Vernon Reid, Andy Narrell and Bruce Cockburn. More recently, he as performed internationally with numerous artists including with Rudresh Mahanthappa and Donny McCaslin.

In 2012 and 2014, Rich was part of the faculty for the International Workshop in Jazz and Creative Music at the Banff Centre for the Arts.

Brown released a solo bass recording, Between Heaviness & Here, featuring performances on electric and acoustic bass. The album was released in 2014 on ADDO Records and features mostly original compositions as well as pieces by Ennio Morricone and Little Dragon.

Lewis.Brown

Lewis.Brown is the new dynamic duo of drummer Larnell Lewis (Snarky Puppy, Fred Hammond, Lalah Hathaway), and electric bassist Rich Brown (Dapp Theory, Steve Coleman, Donny McCaslin). The 2 have formed an intense musical bond spanning well over a decade, and have developed a near psychic level of communication during that time. Both have expanded their traditional respective roles of drummer and bassist to include various types of electronics for this project. The result is a deep formidable groove combined with sonic textures that go far beyond the expectations of the conventional bass & drum duo. Lewis.Brown is a captivating new project that is definitely not to be missed.

Lewis.Brown live.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Eq6c9e4vWs