On Saturday, June 24th at 7:30 at Royal Albert Arms, the TD Winnipeg International Jazz Festival will present Aline’s Étoile Magique. Led by Canadian jazz violinist Aline Homzy, Étoile Magique will present a show that will be sure to be entertain audiences and showcase some of Toronto’s finest Jazz musicians.
Aline Homzy herself is one of Canada’s greatest Jazz violinists. She has worked with the likes of David Occhipinti, Amanda Tosoff, Jake Sherman, and Ed Sheeran. She’s performed at venues such as Koerner Hall, Massey Hall, and the Glen Gould Studio in Toronto, and has been on the Jazz Festival circuit performing at such festivals as the Toronto, Montreal and of course the TD Winnipeg International Jazz Festival.
The Winnipeg Jazz Festival is just one of the many stops Aline’s Étoile Magique will make over the next few weeks. Throughout the months of June and July, they will be touring the Jazz Festival circuit throughout Canada. This year however, is extra special for Homzy. “This is going to be my first time leading a band through this tour…so I’m really excited about that,” explains Homzy.
Jazz is something that Aline Homzy came by naturally and really took in through osmosis. Her Dad was a long time Jazz Studies teacher at Concordia University in Montreal, so jazz was always around her, but in addition to that Homzy wanted to explore new possibilities. “I think I had a curiosity growing up playing classical music…with different possibilities of being able express myself through my instrument… which happened to be the violin. Finding a way to do that through improvising led me to jazz music.”
Homzy’s band Étoile Magique is a hand selected group of some of Toronto’s best Jazz musicians. The lineup consists of Thomas Gill on guitar, Dan Fortin on Bass, Marito Marques on drums and Michael Davidson on vibraphone.
The show on Saturday June 24th will consist of music from Aline’s Étoile Magique's amazing CD called "Eclipse," plus some other great surprises that they have lined up.
The group does not adhere to the traditional forms of a jazz tunes that you would find is a fake book. As Homzy explains, “I think a lot of us in the band are attracted to different kinds of forms. Not the typical head in...verse--chorus thing… but really a development and unexpected directions. That’s one of my favorite things in music. I love it when a song takes you on an adventure, and there is this really unexpected turn that happens, and you are in this different world all of sudden. I think that is really fun as a listener. There are some things that are totally written out… harmonies, counter melodies and really specific chord voicings… and then there are other parts where there are chord symbols where we’re improvising solos…and then there are also some parts that have no structure at all where we are just creating galaxy of sounds in the movement.”
This fusion of rigidity and fluidity in structure makes for tunes that are really a feast for the ears, while all the while staying very firmly in the jazz vein. The timbres of vibraphone, violin and guitar create a wonderful palette of colors and textures for the listener which is enhanced further by bass and drums. Aline’s Étoile Magique is a truly innovative project that needs to be heard and taken in. The show on Saturday is sure to be fantastic.
Aline’s Étoile Magique performs on Saturday, June 24th at 7:30 at Royal Albert Arms. Tickets are available at the door or by going to Jazz Winnipeg’s Website.
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