Join us for some Christmas cheer Sunday, December 11th at 4pm, where the spirit meets jazz. Featuring The Leading Ladies Christmas Vespers with The Hot Mammas
The Leading Ladies Little Big Band
The Leading Ladies Little Big Band is an all-female, 10-piece jazz band based out of Vancouver, BC and directed by Casey Thomas-Burns. Founded in 2019, this dynamic group of young women met while studying music at university. After performing their first show together as a part of a school concert series, ‘The Ladies’ have stuck together ever since.This band mixes the beloved classics of the big band era with modern-day compositions and focuses on featuring original music and arrangements by local and emerging composers. The band has most recently performed at the West Coast Big Band Festival and the Fort Langley Jazz & Arts Festival and regularly performs at swing dances, vespers, and other events throughout the Lower Mainland. In addition to being a performing ensemble, The Leading Ladies recently launched their community outreach program “LADIES’ NIGHT: Jazz Jams for Women” in the Spring of 2022. Femme-identifying and non-binary musicians of all ages and skill levels are invited to come and jam with the members of the band in a safe, female-led environment that focuses on learning and community building for the next generation of women in jazz.
Dynamic, contemporary jazz vocal trio The Hot Mammas make magical music brimming with crystal-clear harmonies, rollicking rhythms and saucy, sweltering sound. The group is ignited by the larger-than-life personalities and synergy of seasoned entertainers and long-time friends Georgina Arntzen, Julie Brown and Mary Ella Young. Together, they channel divine, infectious joy into fearless live performances that feature glamorous outfits and the same intricate arrangements of favorite standards and original tunes that make their recordings shine. Often accompanied on stage by a band fully stocked with Vancouver’s most talented instrumentalists, the trio’s members use their songs to share their personal experiences as mothers, wives, sisters and lovers keen on celebrating the story of strong women in all their glory through song. Inspired by the energy and artistry of trailblazing ladies like The Boswell Sisters, Ella Fitzgerald and The Andrews Sisters; The Hot Mammas are the whole shebang – a delicious, all-you-can-eat feast for the eyes and ears.
