Cole Schmidt talks about the upcoming 40th Vancouver International Jazz Festival presented by the Coastal Jazz and Blues Society, where he is the co-artistic director. Cole is a guitarist and composer who is an absolute mainstay of our scene and has been for many years now. To say that Cole has a full plate at any given time is a gross understatement. His project with Peggy Lee, Forever Stories Of: Moving Parties, came out in November 2024 to critical acclaim. More recently, the band KneeJerk with Brian Horswill, Karlis Silins, Kenton Loewen, and Cole released their album The Speed of Dark in May on the Infidels Jazz label.

Cole is working on future projects with his longtime band, Sick Boss; a new group called LETTR OPENR with Feven Kidane, Kevin Romain, and Nebyu Yohannes; a duo with Alvaro Rojas, and even a solo record. In short, the man is making music happen.

Next week, Cole is playing at the festival on June 25: 5:00 PM - Revue Stage, Forever Stories Of: Moving Parties (pay what you can).

Here are my gigs around jazzfest time!

• June 22: 2:00 PM - Hero's Welcome, Jazz Salvation Organ Trio with Mary Ancheta & Biboye Onanuga ($10 cover)
• June 23: 9:30 PM - Tyrant Studios, my quartet with John Nicholson, Conrad Good, & Todd Stewart + a jam (get tickets)
• June 26: 4:00 PM - Ocean Artworks, John Nicholson Quintet (pay what you can)
• June 28: 1:00 PM - North Vancouver Civic Plaza, Taras Luka (FREE)

Also check out Will's gig with the Madeleine Elkins Trio (joined by Kevin Romain) on June 29: 4:00 PM - Ocean Artworks (pay what you can)!

Become a member for free today at rhythmchanges.ca. You'll get the free weekly email with upcoming events from the gig list, plus artists, events, or recordings for you to enjoy and share. Sent every Tuesday morning at 6:00 AM Pacific Time.

Hosted by Chris Fraser. Edited and mixed by Will Chernoff. A Chernoff Music podcast. Theme music: "Lutin" by William Chernoff.

Jessica Hawkes talks about the Nashville songwriting scene and her perspective on that world coming from a jazz background. Jess is a vocalist, songwriter, producer, and engineer who goes way back with me to formative years at CapU. Originally from Lake Country, BC, she has split her time between Vancouver, New York City, and Nashville.

Become a member for free today at rhythmchanges.ca. You'll get the free weekly email with upcoming events from the gig list, plus artists, events, or recordings for you to enjoy and share. Sent every Tuesday morning at 6:00 AM Pacific Time.

Hosted by Chris Fraser. Edited and mixed by Will Chernoff. A Chernoff Music podcast. Theme music: "Lutin" by William Chernoff.

Dean Thiessen talks about his Stranger Friends Orchestra (I'm a band member) and their upcoming performance at the Fox Cabaret on May 31 presented by Infidels Jazz. The large ensemble will celebrate the release of a live EP that weekend on the Infidels Jazz label. Dean is a pianist and composer from Alberta who has been active in Vancouver as a working musician and composer-bandleader for over a decade. His small group, also called Stranger Friends, will perform at the jazzfest and release a new album this year as well.

Will Chernoff has a new podcast called Upsample with our friend Carson Tworow. Find it wherever you're listening to this podcast or see the links here.

Become a member for free today at rhythmchanges.ca. You'll get the free weekly email with upcoming events from the gig list, plus artists, events, or recordings for you to enjoy and share. Sent every Tuesday morning at 6:00 AM Pacific Time.

Hosted by Chris Fraser. Edited and mixed by Will Chernoff. A Chernoff Music podcast. Theme music: "Lutin" by William Chernoff.

Biboye Onanuga talks about his latest of what is now several trips to Vancouver from Edmonton, and the different flavours inspiring him as he goes about his creative life today, from the literally food-based to the musical. He played two Infidels Jazz shows this weekend: one at the VIFF Centre playing the music of Thelonious Monk, and the other at Frankie's After Dark with his quartet, billed as "Low and Slow". He'll return to play around jazzfest time this year (with me in the group). This is Biboye's second appearance on the show, the previous one being episode 95 hosted by Will Chernoff.

Shruti Ramani talks about her Juno nomination at the 54th awards taking place in Vancouver this weekend, for her band Raagaverse's album Jaya in the Jazz Album of the Year - Group category.

Raagaverse consists of Shruti as the vocalist-bandleader and the composer of most tracks on Jaya, Noah Franche-Nolan as the pianist and co-arranger, Jodi Proznick on bass, and Nicholas Bracewell on drums. Jaya, the band's first album, also features a horn section and strings. Raagaverse released it on the new Rhea Records label. This is Shruti's second appearance on the podcast, the previous one being episode 72 hosted by Will Chernoff.

Raagaverse performs at the ACT in Maple Ridge this Friday, March 28.

Become a member for free today at rhythmchanges.ca. You'll get the free weekly email with upcoming events from the gig list, plus artists, events, or recordings for you to enjoy and share. Sent every Tuesday morning at 6:00 AM Pacific Time.

Hosted by Chris Fraser. Edited and mixed by Will Chernoff. A Chernoff Music podcast. Theme music: "Lutin" by William Chernoff.

Ben Frost talks about the nature of composition, some anonymized tales of difficulty on the bandstand, and being a side musician versus a leader. This is Ben's second appearance on the show, the previous one having been hosted back in December 2022 by Will Chernoff.

Ben and I will play together as a duo at Is That French? next Thursday, March 27; at the UNIT/PITT Society with Miles Wong on drums on March 28; and in Karl Silveira's band at Tyrant Studios on April 18.

Become a member for free today at rhythmchanges.ca. You'll get the free weekly email with upcoming events from the gig list, plus artists, events, or recordings for you to enjoy and share. Sent every Tuesday morning at 6:00 AM Pacific Time.

Hosted by Chris Fraser. Edited and mixed by Will Chernoff. A Chernoff Music podcast. Theme music: "Lutin" by William Chernoff.

The entire Montreal-based band Bellbird sits down for our only 5-person episode ever! Reedists Claire Devlin and Allison Burik join Eli Davidovici and Mili Hong, who were influential on the Vancouver scene while they were based here and previously appeared on Will Chernoff's edition of the podcast as a duo. The members variously played four Infidels Jazz shows last week, including Jazz at the Bolt, the New Thing series, Frankie's After Dark (in my own band), and Knockouts at All-City Athletics. They continue with Hermann's Jazz Club in Victoria tomorrow night. Mili also plays in Gordy Li's Smurf 4 at the Painted Ship for Infidels Jazz tonight.

Become a member for free today at rhythmchanges.ca. You'll get the free weekly email with upcoming events from the gig list, plus artists, events, or recordings for you to enjoy and share. Sent every Tuesday morning at 6:00 AM Pacific Time.

Hosted by Chris Fraser. Edited and mixed by Will Chernoff. A Chernoff Music podcast. Theme music: "Lutin" by William Chernoff.

Jacob Wutzke talks about his new album You Better Bet, which showcases his compositions alongside several Tony Williams tunes, and his first tour as a bandleader surrounding the album. After two performances here in Vancouver, Jacob continues on to Portland, Oregon and then to Edmonton and his native Calgary (tour date info here on his website). He studied drums at Humber in Toronto for his undergraduate education, went to McGill for grad studies, and is on the cusp of moving to New York City. He has worked with Caity Gyorgy, Lucas Dubovik, and Jocelyn Gould to name a few.

Jacob is performing at Jazz at the Bolt 2025 and You Better Bet is available now on Cellar Music (disclosure: Jazz at the Bolt and Cellar are clients of Will's Chernoff Music services company).

Become a member for free today at rhythmchanges.ca. You'll get the free weekly email with upcoming events from the gig list, plus artists, events, or recordings for you to enjoy and share. Sent every Tuesday morning at 6:00 AM Pacific Time.

Hosted by Chris Fraser. Edited and mixed by Will Chernoff. A Chernoff Music podcast. Theme music: "Lutin" by William Chernoff.