Biography
Canada's Brandi Disterheft has earned a Juno Award as a bassist, composer, and bandleader whose work bridges exuberant straight-ahead jazz with inventive original pieces. Born in Vancouver, British Columbia, she was raised in a household steeped in music and took up the bass alongside her mother, pianist and organist Fran Jarre. Following high school she received a scholarship to Humber College in Toronto and continued her training with bassist Don Thompson, while also working with luminaries that included Rufus Reid, Rodney Whitaker, Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen, and Oscar Peterson. During those student years she performed regularly on the Toronto jazz circuit and contributed to several recordings by pianist Richard Whiteman.
Her first album, the aptly named Debut, appeared in 2007 and assembled Chris Gale, Alexander Brown, Nathan Hiltz, Adrean Farrugia, David Virelles, Sly Juhas, and Sophia Perlman; the project earned widespread praise and secured Disterheft the Juno Award for Traditional Jazz Album of the Year. She next issued Second Side, an exploratory set that broadened her approach to encompass contemporary jazz, large-ensemble charts, and Latin grooves.
Around 2010 she moved to New York City, where she immersed herself in nightly jam sessions and took lessons from bassist Ron Carter. Gratitude, her third release, arrived in 2012 and documented this development through an ensemble that united trumpeter Sean Jones, alto saxophonist Vincent Herring, flautist Anne Drummond, pianist Renee Rosnes, and drummer Gregory Hutchinson; the record also highlighted her singing in both English and French. In 2016 she delivered her fourth album, Blue Canvas, which featured pianist Harold Mabern and drummer Joe Farnsworth.
Her first album, the aptly named Debut, appeared in 2007 and assembled Chris Gale, Alexander Brown, Nathan Hiltz, Adrean Farrugia, David Virelles, Sly Juhas, and Sophia Perlman; the project earned widespread praise and secured Disterheft the Juno Award for Traditional Jazz Album of the Year. She next issued Second Side, an exploratory set that broadened her approach to encompass contemporary jazz, large-ensemble charts, and Latin grooves.
Around 2010 she moved to New York City, where she immersed herself in nightly jam sessions and took lessons from bassist Ron Carter. Gratitude, her third release, arrived in 2012 and documented this development through an ensemble that united trumpeter Sean Jones, alto saxophonist Vincent Herring, flautist Anne Drummond, pianist Renee Rosnes, and drummer Gregory Hutchinson; the record also highlighted her singing in both English and French. In 2016 she delivered her fourth album, Blue Canvas, which featured pianist Harold Mabern and drummer Joe Farnsworth.
Albums
Singles
