CELEBRATE JAZZ APPRECIATION MONTH WITH HALIFAX JAZZ FESTIVAL TD JAZZ LABS FREE SHOWS THIS APRIL

Featuring Performances by Laura Gallant, Bill Stevenson, and the Andrew Miller Trio on Consecutive Saturdays this April.

Sat, April 13, 7:00 - 8:00pm New Music in New Spaces — Laura AT LARA, Laura Gallant @ Lara Cafe (2347 Agricola Street Halifax)

Sat, April 20, 2:00 - 3:00pm Bill Stevenson @ Northwood Harbourview Lounge (2615 Northwood Terrace, Halifax)

Sat, April 27,  5:00 - 6:00pm Andrew Miller Trio ft. Tom Easley & Geordie Haley @ The Cottage Cafe (300 Prince Albert Rd, Dartmouth)

​[Halifax, NS] - April is Jazz Appreciation Month and the Halifax Jazz Festival is celebrating with FREE TD Jazz Labs shows on three consecutive Saturdays in April. TD Jazz Labs are a series of interactive performances that are programmed for the entire family to explore different movements in jazz. This year, TD Jazz Labs features music by Laura Gallant on April 13, Bill Stevenson on April 20, and the Andrew Miller Trio ft. Tom Easley & Geordie Haley on April 27. Show times vary, from afternoon to evening in order for all to enjoy.

TD Jazz Labs are FREE and suitable for all ages, offering a behind the scenes look at making music that includes artist talks, master classes, and interactive concerts. TD Jazz Labs are part of Halifax Jazz Festivals Music Education Program, which includes the Creative Music Workshop.

Jazz Appreciation Month kicks off Saturday, April 13th with New Music in New Spaces — Laura AT LARA, Saturday April 13th at Lara Cafe ( 2347 Agricola Street) Halifax from 7:00 to 8:00pm. Join us for a performance from up-and-coming singer/guitarist Laura Gallant. Laura is has emerged as one of the city’s unique new voices in both jazz and pop realms. A graduate of the NSCC Music Arts program, she can be heard as the voice of jazz-fusion group Superfluid, as well as penning intricate, yet catchy music with her own project Lazeez, that performed at the Halifax Jazz Festival in 2017. Laura will be performing a solo set of music at the recently opened Lara Cafe, the perfect intimate setting for her personal takes on jazz, pop and original music.
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Bill Stevenson will perform the following Saturday April 20th, at Northwood Harbourview Lounge (2615 Northwood Terrace) Halifax from 2:00 to 3:00pm. In partnership with Northwood Community Recreation and Wellness, Halifax Jazz Festival presents pianist Bill Stevenson at Northwood Harbourview Lounge. In more than forty years as a musician Bill has recorded for Elektra records while still in his teens, opened for the Doors, backed up John Lee Hooker, put performing and recording bands behind some of Canada’s best loved musicians including Amos Garrett, Colleen Peterson and Linda Carvery. He has hosted his own National radio series for CBC. He has been a contributing side man to multi award winning albums by Garrett Mason, Thom Swift, Hot Toddy, and his own win with a 2008 ECMA for best Jazz Album. His participation in the Jazz/Blues idiom has earned him a respected place in the national music spectrum.

Andrew Miller Trio ft. Tom Easley & Geordie Haley will perform on Saturday, April 27th at The Cottage Cafe (300 Prince Albert Rd) Dartmouth from 5:00 to 6:00pm. Join us for an early evening performance with one of the newest additions to the Maritime Jazz scene, drummer Andrew Miller, as he performs with his trio at one of Dartmouth’s newest spots, The Cottage Cafe! Andrew graduated from The University of Toronto in 2016 and worked as one of the most in demand jazz drummers in Toronto. He is a recipient of the TD Stingray Rising Star Award, a two time recipient of the Jason Lang Scholarship, and a recipient of the Buddy DeFranco Outstanding Jazz Soloist Award. Since 2015, Andrew has been leading two of his own ensembles, Congruence, and Lewis/Downing/Vrankulj/Miller. Most recently, he has been working in a collective called the JMB trio in Halifax.

As a side man, Andrew has played with: Port Cities, Michael Formanek, David Liebman, Norma Winstone, David Braid, Andrew Downing's Otterville, Mike Murley, Jim Vivian, Brad Roberts (Crash Test Dummies), Phil Nimmons, PJ Perry, Tommy Banks, Dillon Ponders, Terrell Morris, Ghettosocks, Upstream Music Association, Halifax Dance, Canadian Contemporary Dance Theatre, among many others.

Andrew has a busy private studio in Bedford, Nova Scotia and presents school clinics around the maritimes.   

TD Jazz Labs are part of  Halifax Jazz Festivals Music Education Program. Beyond sharing the relevance of jazz in today’s world, these Jazz Labs provides opportunities for artistic development and music education for all ages. Halifax Jazz Festivals music education mission includes TD Jazz Labs, the Creative Music Workshop and Splash! Bang! Boom! On Theodore Tugboat, Jazz Up Your Spring, and these April shows celebrating Jazz Appreciation Month.

Support for the TD Halifax Jazz Festival is provided by numerous corporate and community partners including TD Bank Group, Develop Nova Scotia, Stingray Music and funded by the Government of Canada, Province of Nova Scotia, Halifax, and the Craig Foundation.

ABOUT HJF:
Since 1987, Halifax Jazz Festival, presented by the non-profit organization Jazz East Rising Association, has organized a diverse range of musical, educational and charitable activities, including the annual TD Halifax Jazz Festival, the oldest and largest jazz festival in Atlantic Canada. The 33rd event will take place July 9-14, 2019. Follow Halifax Jazz Festival on Facebook and Twitter and Instagram @HFXJazzFest.