A Fraser Valley-based duo offering light jazz guitar and vocals is really worth a listen.
JAAZ takes full advantage of Rachel’s considerable vocal abilities in songs spanning the swing era to modern day. Edward provides strong guitar accompaniment and vocals to round out the sound. Some of the artists represented in their repertoire include Etta James, Doris Day, Peggy Lee, Norah Jones and Diana Krall. JAAZ provides a variety of jazz/swing/blues tunes and is equally at home as ambient background entertainment or headline performers.
Rachel Stewart graduated from UBC in 2008 where she studied opera. In her ‘opera life’, she is a coloratura soprano who has performed leading roles with companies in BC and Europe. When she is not doing this, she loves to sing the classic and beautiful songs of bygone eras. Rachel has always had an affinity for this style of music and has filled in for singers, performing with various swing and jazz ensembles. She is happy to be pursuing this avenue further.
Edward Pilkington has 30+ years of professional experience in various genres of music. For the last 7 years, he had been playing in the Chinguacousy Swing Orchestra, as well as the Hot Club de Brampton and is comfortable performing in any kind of setting. Edward taught music for 16 years at Lillooet Secondary School, and 7 in Brampton, Ont. He is currently a guitar/bass teacher at the Long &McQuade Lesson Centre in Abbotsford.
You can find JAAZ on Facebook.
You can listen to them on the YouTube page.