Throughout the past decade, the Don Berner Big Band has played some of the hottest professional jazz in western Canada – everything from Count Basie and Ella Fitzgerald to the classic Motown sound filled with soul and funk.
The 18-piece brass band is back under the lights with its third concert of the season, Brass Fantasy. It’s an exploration of the trumpet highlighting the music of traditional big band jazz notables Miles Davis, Kenny Wheeler, Freddie Hubbard and many more.
Of special interest is guest trumpeter Lina Allemano. Raised in St. Albert, she now works at an international career splitting her time between Toronto and Berlin. Not only is Allemano, a trumpeter, improvisor and prolific composer.
As a woman she is also a rarity as a jazz band leader. Her projects range from Lina Allemano Four and the Berlin based power-trio Ohrenschmaus to the electric improvising quartet Titanium Riot and the trumpet duo Bloop.
With 13 albums on the market since 2003, the Canadian trumpeter is releasing Pipe Dream later this year with Lina Allemano Four under her label Lumo Records.
Brass Fantasy is on Saturday, Feb. 25 at 7:30 p.m. at Ottewell United Church, 6611 – 93A Ave. Tickets range from $30 to $36 and are available at Tix-on-the-Sqaure, www.tixonthesquare.ca.
