By Dawn Pemberton|2026-07-07T15:35:01-07:00December 9, 2015|
Today I got to hang out with the raddest bunch of people!!! I am extremely honoured to work with these folks. This is Dysfunctional a wicked group of students at New Westminster Secondary who created their own funk band. I’m […]
By Dawn Pemberton|2026-07-07T15:35:01-07:00December 6, 2015|
Canadian alto saxophonist Dylan Cramer found music at a transformative time in his life. He was 13 years old when he initially heard a Sonny Criss recording and knew that he wanted to study with him. Six years later Cramer […]
By Dawn Pemberton|2026-07-07T15:35:01-07:00November 29, 2015|
“…Have I lived to see the milk and honey land where hate’s a dream and love forever stands or is this a vision in my mind?” I like to believe that Stevie Wonder has written a song for every moment. […]
By Dawn Pemberton|2026-07-07T15:35:01-07:00November 22, 2015|
This week’s Sunday Slow Jam features a classic tune called, “A Remark You Made” by the prodigious Weather Report. This highly influential band was stacked with monster musicians who liked to seek out the in-between spaces and just hang there. […]
By Dawn Pemberton|2026-07-07T15:35:01-07:00November 15, 2015|
Today’s Sunday Slow(ish) Jam features the spunky and creative Scott Amendola Band. A little bit funky, a little bit sideways and outside the box, always stretching and searching, This band is bold and fearless. It features some really great musicians […]
By Dawn Pemberton|2026-07-07T15:35:01-07:00November 8, 2015|
The Mike Allen Quartet is one of Vancouver’s shining gems and an undeniable musical force that plays everything from heavy hitting originals to beloved standards. Check out this great tune “Walk in The Rain” from the quartet’s 2007 release called […]
By Dawn Pemberton|2026-07-07T15:35:01-07:00November 1, 2015|
You know you’re a bad mamajama when you can give yourself the designation of “Doctor” and no one protests. Dr. Lonnie Smith is that heavy of a musician and character. People have been calling him “Doctor” for more than forty […]
By Dawn Pemberton|2026-07-07T15:35:01-07:00October 25, 2015|
This week Vancouver’s music community lost its sparkle as we heard about the passing of the wonderful, Bob Murphy. He was a generous, kind hearted, inspiring and thrilling musician, one of Canada’s best. A fantastic “piano giant” who was deeply […]
By Dawn Pemberton|2026-07-07T15:35:01-07:00October 11, 2015|
“Speak softly love and hold me warm against your heart.” Sounds like a perfect way to start a Sunday to me. “Speak Softly Love” was written by Larry Kusic and Nick Rota and is best known as the theme from […]
By Dawn Pemberton|2026-07-07T15:35:01-07:00October 4, 2015|
Steve Kaldestad is one of Vancouver’s musical treasures! He is a fearless player with three fantastic albums of his own and is also featured with notable groups such as Jesse Cahill’s NightCrawlers and the Jodi Proznik Quartet. This week’s Sunday […]
By Dawn Pemberton|2026-07-07T15:35:01-07:00October 2, 2015|
Check out the fun The Harpoonist and the Axe Murderer and I had while making a raucous at the Toronto Star! Big thanks to Ben Rayner
By Dawn Pemberton|2026-07-07T15:35:02-07:00September 27, 2015|
This Sunday’s jam is coming from the soulful side of things. “Day Dreaming” is one of Aretha Franklin’s breakout hits off of her 1972 Grammy Award winning album, “Young, Gifted & Black”. This track coos from start to finish and […]
By Dawn Pemberton|2026-07-07T15:35:02-07:00September 23, 2015|
I am very happy to announce that Say Somethin’ won the 2015 Western Canadian Music Award for Urban Recording of the Year!
The Harpoonist & The Axe Murderer also won awards for […]
By Dawn Pemberton|2026-07-07T15:35:02-07:00September 20, 2015|
“Oh Lover Man, where can you be…..?” pours out of Chet Baker’s trumpet like sweet honey. His beautiful lyrical interpretation can’t help but keep the listener hooked to the emotional content of this song, making it a favourite of mine. […]
By Dawn Pemberton|2026-07-07T15:34:47-07:00September 13, 2015|
Louis Hayes’ musical career spans over four decades and has helped to shape the sound of jazz forever. His brand of drumming is driving, evocative and really swings. From a young age he has played with jazz greats such as […]
By Dawn Pemberton|2026-07-07T15:34:47-07:00September 6, 2015|
I have three words for you: Cécile. McLorin. Salvant.
Don’t let the glasses fool you. Cécile McLorin Savant is a fantastic, serious student of music. You can’t not hear that when you listen to her new album “For One To Love”. […]
By Dawn Pemberton|2026-07-07T15:34:47-07:00August 30, 2015|
Hiromi Uehara has been stunning audiences with her impeccable musicianship for years. She may look quiet and demure, however, she is as fierce as it gets. I believe that she is the best kind of musician; gifted with extreme heart, […]
By Dawn Pemberton|2026-07-07T15:34:47-07:00August 23, 2015|
There is something I find incredibly beautiful about the standard, “In Your Own Sweet Way”. I can’t decided if it’s the quirky and lovely melody or if it’s the crafty tonal shifts that happen throughout the piece or the dear […]
By Dawn Pemberton|2026-07-07T15:34:47-07:00August 16, 2015|
Two masters, one song…Joe Pass and Ella Fitzgerald recorded together often as a duo. This particular version was recorded in 1973 on their album called “Take Love Easy” which is a beautiful collection of standards that I highly recommend checking […]
By Dawn Pemberton|2026-07-07T15:34:47-07:00August 9, 2015|
This summer I’ve had the privilege to tour across Canada and make music with some mighty fine people. There is something about being on the road that is fantastic and invigorating, especially during the summer. However, there is always a […]
By Dawn Pemberton|2026-07-07T15:34:47-07:00July 26, 2015|
I recently watched a documentary about Nina Simone called “What Happened Miss Simone?”. It highlighted Nina’s beautifully complicated, brilliant mind and fiery presence. Simone’s personality is as deep, multi-faceted and moving as her music. In a way it seems music […]
By Dawn Pemberton|2026-07-07T15:34:47-07:00July 15, 2015|
Photos from the Saskatchewan Jazz Festival with The Harpoonist and the Axe Murderer 🙂
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By Dawn Pemberton|2026-07-07T15:34:47-07:00July 12, 2015|
Today’s offering makes me think of raindrops, warm sunshine and rainbows reflected on walls. There is something special about this ballad “Blue in Green” that makes me feel warm and fuzzy. For me, hearing Kenny Werner play it takes it […]
By Dawn Pemberton|2026-07-07T15:34:47-07:00July 5, 2015|
Wow, we made it. The 2015 Vancouver International Jazz Festival is officially over and what an inspiring, creative and jam-packed time that was. I find myself savouring the shows that I was lucky enough to see and pining over the […]
By Dawn Pemberton|2026-07-07T15:34:47-07:00June 28, 2015|
Tower of Power is the funkiest and tightest band that you will ever have the pleasure of hearing. Known for their wall of sound, virtuosic solos, percolating bass lines and bubbling grooves they have perfected their brand of Oakland funk […]
By Dawn Pemberton|2026-07-07T15:34:47-07:00June 23, 2015|
The gloves are off when East Van Soul Quartet What It Is challenges World Music Heavyweights Trivo to an Acapella Rumble. Join your host Wayne “Sound Off” Stewart ringside for a knock down drag out acapella bloodbath. Featuring, on team […]
By Dawn Pemberton|2026-07-07T15:34:47-07:00June 21, 2015|
Listening to the first 10 seconds of this track you may already notice that Eric Revis likes to colour outside the lines. This rendition of Jelly Roll Morton’s ‘Winin’ Boy Blues’ immediately evokes New Orleans with its swampy beat, big […]
By Dawn Pemberton|2026-07-07T15:34:47-07:00June 14, 2015|
It’s summer time in Vancouver which signals the beginning of The Vancouver International Jazz Festival! This year’s festival is stacked with some of music’s BEST! This week I’d like to feature a tune by the skilled composer, arranger, collaborator and […]
By Dawn Pemberton|2026-07-07T15:34:47-07:00June 7, 2015|
The Roots have been considered hip hop pioneers since the release of their breakthrough album “Things Fall Apart”. Fifteen years later, they are now easily recognized as The Tonight Show’s house band and have earned the right to be called […]
By Dawn Pemberton|2026-07-07T15:34:47-07:00June 3, 2015|
A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of hanging out with the fantastic photographer, traveller and human, Christopher Edmonstone! He is doing this amazing series called ‘Artist at Home’ and […]
By Dawn Pemberton|2026-07-07T15:34:47-07:00May 31, 2015|
It was Miles Davis’ birthday this week, he would have been 89 years old. I often like to wonder what sorts of things he would have done if he were still alive. Who would he have collaborated with…Hendrix, Run DMC, […]
By Dawn Pemberton|2026-07-07T15:34:37-07:00May 24, 2015|
A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of connecting with Chance Hayden, a great musician and performer based in Oregon. He was somewhere in Europe on tour with Jarrod Lawson and we were swapping albums and sharing stories via […]
By Dawn Pemberton|2026-07-07T15:34:37-07:00May 17, 2015|
Real, deep, humble…are just a few of the words that can be used to describe the great B.B. King. It’s hard to believe that he has played his last lick, sung his last riff and that Lucille will never sounds […]
By Dawn Pemberton|2026-07-07T15:34:37-07:00May 10, 2015|
This week’s Sunday Slow(ish) Jam does push the bpm a little to qualify as a true SSJ, but it’s too good not to share. It’s an intelligent, hip arrangement of the classic r&b tune, “Weak” by SWV as performed by […]
By Dawn Pemberton|2026-07-07T15:34:37-07:00May 3, 2015|
This week’s Sunday Slow(ish) Jam although almost 40 years old still manages to speak to the political climate in our world, in North America, in Ferguson, in Baltimore…This song reminds me that we still need music to express the rage […]
By Dawn Pemberton|2026-07-07T15:34:37-07:00April 26, 2015|
When I was going to music school my friend and I would marvel and sigh as we listened to “Together Again” (the second album featuring duets by Bill Evans and Tony Bennett). We’d often wonder just how the album could […]
By Dawn Pemberton|2026-07-07T15:34:37-07:00April 20, 2015|
I am so excited!!!
The video explores what happens when things like ego, pride, fear and selfishness prevent us from connecting with others in a genuine way. Lovers, strangers, first dates, the lonely, the seekers… all are struggling to find […]
By Dawn Pemberton|2026-07-07T15:34:37-07:00April 19, 2015|
Technical wizard, virtuosic and masterful are just a few words to describe Stanley Clarke. Check him out on “Spanish Phases for Strings and Bass” and you will hear why he is one of the world’s best musicians. I love the […]
By Dawn Pemberton|2026-07-07T15:34:37-07:00April 15, 2015|
By Dawn Pemberton|2026-07-07T15:34:37-07:00April 12, 2015|
Today’s offering is a study, a beautiful and subtle demonstration of containment and focus of groove and dynamics. No one over played, space was just as much a member of this trio and everything percolated in a satisfying way. I […]
