From the Great Northern Plains, Little Miss Higgins struts and serenades her way onto any stage playing music brewed in early country blues, jazz and folk. A Playing, touring, collaborating and recording for over 15 years, this musician and mother now navigates her time through performing and parenthood.

Velvety-voiced pianist Elizabeth Shepherd, who returns to artsPlace as a quartet, arrived on the international scene in 2006 when her debut album 'Start To Move' was voted one of the top jazz albums of the year by listeners of the influential Gilles Peterson Show on BBC Radio Worldwide.

Queen Kong is an exploration of sounds inspired by the Radical Jewish Culture movement in New York founded by pioneer John Zorn. Led by Toronto drummer, vocalist and composer, Lorie Wolf, Queen Kong seamlessly blends Ashkenazi Jewish idiom with jazz, free improv, rock and punk to explore new sounds and ideas.

Montreal-based, BC-raised vocalist and composer, Sienna Dahlen and Vancouver-based, QC-raised guitarist and composer, Bill Coon share more than their respective love for these two beautiful Canadian provinces.

Taking their name from the word for heart in the Afro-Cuban religion of Santeria, the JUNO Award-winning women-led ensemble OKAN fuses Afro-Cuban roots with jazz, folk and global rhythms in songs about immigration, courage and love.

Bassist RJ LeBlanc has been a fixture of the Montreal jazz scene for 15 years, and is showing no signs of letting up anytime soon. In fact, he’s more active than ever, working with a wide variety of artists in a number of different styles, including the free jazz of Jean-Michel Pilc, the polished smooth jazz of Carol Welsman, and extensive work on the road with iconic Montreal rock bands like The Dears.

East meets West in an intriguing musical dialogue weaving contemporary jazz performance with the sounds and musical traditions of Peru, China and Vietnam. Those in search of the unexpected need look no further than this Asian-influenced jazz ensemble featuring compositions inspired by leader Huu Bac Quach’s travels in Asia, Europe and South America. The combination is a masterful and incandescent blend of cultures.