Make some noise for Brandi Disterheft


Jazz Yukon had already told Brandi Disterheft what “On The Wing” means, and she is looking forward to it.

“It is definitely one of my favourite types of venues,” says the stand-up bass player of her upcoming visit to the cozy stage of the Yukon Arts Centre Sunday, March 1.

“You can really interact and they can hear the fine details and you can draw them in.”

Looking forward to a European tour after this visit, Disterheft says Europeans “are not afraid to make noise and scream for you” and she hopes the Yukon audience will be just as boisterous.

“Like a Québec audience,” she says, offering a little more prodding.

Disterheft and her Brandi Disterheft Quintet will be performing songs from their next as-yet-untitled CD with vocalist Tara Hazelton.

There will also be earlier stuff from her Juno Award-winning CD, Debut, and some vintage Joni Mitchell, whom she has recently discovered.

Disterheft is one of many young performers getting a lot of respect from the old guard of jazz. Oscar Peterson said of her, “She has the same lope or rhythmical pulse as my late bass player, Ray Brown. She is what we call ‘serious’.”

Joining her on stage will be drummer Sly Juhas, whom she has played with since school, and Stacie McGregor on piano. “She’s amazing,” says Disterheft.

On tenor saxophone will be Chris Gale.

Although she is the youngest in the quintet, at the age of 28, Disterheft already measures her experience on stand-up bass in the decades.

She switched from piano as a child when her father introduced her to it.

“I just loved laying down a groove and playing in the pocket.”

The Jazz On The Wing performance at the Yukon Arts Centre begins at 7:30 p.m. on Sunday, March 1. Tickets are available at the Yukon Arts Centre Box Office and Arts Underground.

Then, on Tuesday, March 3, at 8 p.m., the quintet plays in Dawson City at the Odd Fellows Hall.


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