Jodi Proznick - Bassist, Composer, and Educator

In 1993, after winning the General Motors Award of Excellence as one of the top young musicians in Canada, bassist Jodi Proznick moved from her native White Rock, B.C. to Montreal, P.Q. where she obtained her Bachelor of Music from McGill University under the tutelage of Michel Donato, Eric Legace and Alec Walkington. Jodi was awarded a Performance Scholarship in 1997 as a member of the McGill Big Band I. She performed extensively in Montreal, appearing in club and concert venues as well as on local television and radio programs. In Montreal, Jodi performed with Juno nominated Ranee Lee, Joel Miller, Christine Jensen, Kelly Jefferson, Michel Cusson (of Uzeb), André White, Steve Amirault, Greg Clayton and many others. In 1998, Jodi gained international recognition as a member of the IAJE Sisters in Jazz Quintet which brought her to New York to perform with Ingrid Jensen. The group toured together in the spring of 1998, including an opening performance for Geri Allen in Detroit.

Since moving to Vancouver in 2000, Jodi has become a top call bassist. She has played with international jazz stars such as George Coleman (Miles Davis, Herbie Hancock), David Fathead Newman (Ray Charles), Ed Thigpen (Oscar Peterson Trio, Ella Fitzgerald), Charles McPherson (Charles Mingus), Sheila Jordan, Seamus Blake, Eric Alexander, Ryan Kaisor (Lincoln Center Orchestra), Eddie Henderson, Eddie Daniels, Mark Murphy, George Colligan, Kitty Margolis, Patience Higgins, Jim Rotundi, Houston Pearson, Scott Hamilton, Ingrid Jensen, Frank Catalano, Darrell Grand as well as Carsten and Christina Dahl. Jodi has also performed with Canadian greats such as P.J. Perry, Ian McDougall, Denzal Sinclaire, Oliver Gannon, Brad Turner, Kirk Macdonald, Phil Dwyer, Mike Allen, VEJI, Hugh Fraser, Campbell Ryga, Dee Daniels, Karin Plato, Brian Dickinson, Kate Hammett-Vaughan, Bill Coon, Heather Bambrick, Jean-Francois Groulx, Ron Paley, Celso Machado, Kia Kadiri, Maestro Bramwell Tovey, Jennifer Scott, Melody Diachun, Dave McMurdo, The Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, The Vancouver Chamber Choir and many others. She has been featured on over a dozen recordings including a recent release with the Tilden Webb Trio featuring the legendary David Fathead Newman. She has performed on CBC Radio´s Jazzbeat, Hot Air, Silence en Jazz, the Early Edition, West Coast Performance and Sounds Like Canada.

A highlight for Jodi was opening for Oscar Peterson with the Oliver Gannon Quartet at the Orpheum in the summer of 2004. Also In 2004, Jodi won the Galaxie Rising Star Award of the Vancouver International Jazz Festival with her own group, the Jodi Proznick Quartet. The group released their debut CD Foundations on Cellarlive in October of 2006 which features many of Jodi´s compositions. She is a member of many critically acclaimed groups including the Tilden Webb Trio, the Joel Haynes Trio, the Jill Townsend Big Band and the Weeds/Minemoto Quartet.

In 2005, Jodi had the opportunity to play a concert series with VSO concertmaster Mark Fewer and Grammy nominated classical pianist, John Novecek for CBC´s West Coast Performance. In the winter of 2007, Jodi will be a featured performer with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra.