Velvety-voiced keyboardist Elizabeth Shepherd arrived on the international scene in 2006 when her debut album Start To Move was voted one of the top albums of the year by the listeners of the influential Gilles Peterson Show on BBC Radio Worldwide. Since then, the Montreal-based soul-jazz innovator has established herself as one of the most alluring and imaginative artists on the scene today.
Elizabeth has been hailed as “a jazz virtuoso blessed with a pop sensibility”, praised by critics worldwide for her arrestingly original writing and soulful delivery. Alongside Esperanza Spalding and Robert Glasper, she is among the new wave of jazz-influenced musicians bringing the art form to a younger generation of music fans.
The six-time JUNO nominee and two-time Polaris-Prize nominee has released seven widely acclaimed records, featuring collaborations with the likes of guitarist Lionel Loueke, bassist Jasper Hoiby, and UK producer Nostalgia 77. She has toured extensively in North America, Europe, Japan and Mexico, sharing the stage with such diverse acts as Christian MacBride, Branford Marsalis, Spankie Wilson, Victor Wooten, the Quantic Soul Orchestra, Bonobo, The Five Corners Quintet, and Jamie Cullum.
For this show, Elizabeth features compositions from her 8th album, "Three Things", in which she created a collection of 10 songs, written during lockdown. She has woven together soulful jazz and synth-based electronica into an uptempo ode to life, joy and resilience.
Elizabeth’s quartet includes Elizabeth Shepherd (keyboards & vocals), Michael Occhipinti (guitar), Remi-Jean Leblanc (bass) and Kevin Warren (drums).
“Wholly unique and unclassifiable style that blurs the boundaries between jazz, R&B, pop and hip hop, Montreal-based Elizabeth Shepherd is perceived by some commentators as a distaff equivalent to Robert Glasper. The truth is, though, that her music is deeper and more cerebral than Glasper's ... she's more like an intellectual Esperanza Spalding” - Charles Waring, MOJO (UK).
Additional information including audio/video can be found here.
ADMISSION: By donation.
CONCESSION: Coffee, tea and treats are also available by donation.
DOORS: Open at 6:30 pm
