JACLYN GUILLOU – (vocals, composition, lyrics, arrangement)
In 2009 Jaclyn was honoured to be the recipient of a CBC Galaxie Rising Star Award from the
Vancouver International Jazz Festival and has been setting good stride since then. She has
toured throughout Europe, Canada and the United States in some of the most recognized
jazz clubs, festivals and cities with sold out shows at Yoshi's San Francisco, Birdland Jazz
Club, Rataplan in Belgium, L'Inoui in Luxembourg, Yardbird Suite, Cory Weeds’ Cellar Jazz
Club, The Rex Jazz Club,Vernon Jazz Club, Beat Niq Jazz Club, Victoria Jazz Festival,
Medicine Hat Jazz Festival and Uptown Kitchener-Waterloo Jazz Festival. She has had the
pleasure of studying with some of the world’s best jazz singers which include American vocal
luminaries Nancy King, Sheila Jordan, Jay Clayton and Vancouver’s very own Jennifer Scott.
Jaclyn started her career at a young age performing in musicals as a triple threat performer,
being equally talented as a dancer, singer and actress. She had a successful professional
career of 15 years performing musicals worldwide and her former training as an award
winning tap dancer and classically trained opera singer gave her the undeniable skills and
stage presence that she brings to her current music career as a jazz vocalist. In 2011 Jaclyn
released her first album, To The City, a collection of original songs and unusual arrangements
of jazz standards. Jaclyn was invited to perform a tribute concert to Dinah Washington,
recorded at CBC Studios for radio and tv, which aired globally this summer on the CBC
Vancouver television program,“Absolutely Vancouver.” She is presently working on new
music, inspired by John Hollenbeck, Norma Winstone, and Theo Bleckmann, and has written
a collection of songs that will be produced into an album by one of Canada's extraordinary
talents, Brad Turner.
BRUNO HUBERT (piano, percussion, arrangement, musical director)
Born in Maniwaki Quebec, Hubert studied percussion and then moved on to the piano under
the influence of numerous music mentors. While studying music in Quebec, Hubert also
performed as the second piano player with various professional bands, including some that
opened for the young and then relatively unknown Celine Dion. After spending a total of
nearly 20 years studying music at Laval, the University of North Texas (where he spent 2
years accompanying Norah Jones) and Capilano College in Vancouver, and supporting
himself as a piano tuner on the side, Hubert was in his late 30's before he began to play
professional jazz. Hubert moved from Montreal to Vancouver in 1989. After spending five
years studying acoustic piano with Miles Black, Hubert signed on with Brad Turner's Quartet
and then became a bandleader himself, forming the Bruno Hubert Trio. In addition to opening
at the Orpheum for various jazz greats, and more recently opening for Wayne Shorter at The
Vogue, Hubert also got to perform on a recording for his long time idol Gino Vannelli. Earlier
this year a movie was released across Canada in theatres called “Bruno's Blues” a film about
Bruno's life as a jazz piano player. Among Hubert's musical inspirations are Keith Jarret,
Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea, Oscar Peterson, and the Russian classical composer Dmitri
Shostakovich. Recordings of the Bruno Hubert Trio include the 2002 release Get Out of
Town, 2004 release A Cellar Live Christmas and 2008 release The Bruno Hubert Trio, Live at
the Cellar.
DAVID BLAKE (guitar, composition, arrangement)
Guitarist and composer David Blake is an emerging talent born, raised and based in
Vancouver B.C.'s vibrant jazz scene. He has performed in venues across the country
including Vancouver's Cellar Jazz Club, Toronto's The Rex, Vancouver’s Vogue Theatre and
Montreal's Upstairs. As the guitar player in Jaclyn Guillou’s band, David has traveled to Haida
Gwaii, Hawaii, Portland, Seattle, and San Francisco where they performed at the famous
Yoshi’s Jazz Club. David has been privileged to share the stage with many highly
accomplished musicians including Don Thompson, Ernie Watts, Randy Porter, Brad Turner,
Phil Dwyer, Jim Lewis, Chad Makela, Evan Arntzen, Kevin Elaschuck and more. David has
studied with some of Canada's finest musicians, composers and improvisers. In Vancouver,
he has studied with Bill Coon, Ross Taggart, Bob Murphy and Ihor Kukurudza. David also
spent time in Toronto where he studied with guitarist and composer David Occhipinti as well
as with trumpeter Jim Lewis and legendary bassist Dave Young. David leads a successful
weekly jazz jam that supports jazz students and professional talent, and as composer he has
become a large contributor to the new music scene in Vancouver.
JAMES MEGER (bass)
Born and raised in Surrey, British Columbia, James began playing bass at the age of 14 and
was introduced to jazz music soon after. While still in high school he had the opportunity to
perform regularly around town with older musicians as well as play in many school combos
and bands. James spent his first few post-secondary years studying jazz at Capilano College
and collaborating with many local songwriters such as The Sumner Brothers and Diego
Zaragoza. At age 20, he moved out east to attend McGill University and began composing for
several groups shortly after. A few notable accomplishments with these groups include: a selfreleased album called ‘Acoustic Music’ as well as two Canadian tours with the saxophone trio,
Braveheart; a finalist nomination in the 2012 Effendi Jazz En Rafale contest with his quintet,
The Brilliant Ally; and the completion and recording of two pieces for a ten-piece ensemble of
woodwinds, brass, drums and electric instruments. In 2012 James was chosen to receive an
artistic residency at the Banff Centre for his group Braveheart. He has become a member of
the Bruno Hubert trio and is part of several collectives including 1067 which involves
established creative music composers in Vancouver.
ANDREW MILLAR (drums)
Andrew Millar's first encounter with music was guitar lessons at 8 years old. But it wasn’t until
he was given drumsticks a couple of years later that his passion really took hold. At 14,
Andrew was already winning awards while playing with the Penticton Pipe Band and small
jazz groups, earning him an invitation to perform with the world-champion pipe band at Simon
Fraser University and share the stage with jazz legend Lionel Hampton at the University of
Idaho’s jazz festival. He also began teaching and performing professionally in his teens. After
graduating from high school, Andrew relocated to Toronto to study at the renowned Humber
College Music Program. Having since built a reputation for his swinging and tasteful style,
Andrew has performed and recorded with some of North America’s greatest jazz musicians,
such as Mike Murley, Bruno Hubert, Steve Wallace, Brad Turner, Bill Coon, Ross Taggart,
Mike Allen, Reg Schwager, Ned Goold, Ian Hendrickson-Smith and Tom Wakeling. He was
recently featured on Jeff McLeod’s debut record “Double Entendre”, which was nominated for
a 2012 Western Canadian Music Award.