Peggy Lee
Toronto-born, Vancouver-based cellist and composer Peggy Lee was trained in the classical tradition but has made a name for herself as a daring explorer of her instrument's rich sonic possibilities. Traversing various strains of lyricism, fiery complexity, and ever imaginable hue of noise her unique evocative playing enriches various collaborations including projects by Ron Samworth, Tony Wilson, Dave Douglas, Wayne Horvitz, Robin Holcomb, Veda Hille and Lisa Miller. She was also a key member of the New Orchestra Workshop, which went on to have interesting and fruitful collaborations with Butch Morris, Wadada Leo Smith, René Lussier, Barry Guy and George Lewis.
Lee plays a leadership (or co-lead) role in a number of her own musical projects: The Peggy Lee Band, Film in Music, Waxwing (with Tony Wilson and Jon Bentley) and Beautiful Tool (with Mary Margaret O’Hara). The All Music Guide praised her eponymous band's recording Worlds Apart stating that “even at its most vehement, Lee's music is never muscular or virtuosic. She focuses on moods, pretty yet challenging melodies, and cross-stylistic arrangements that evolve from within jazz but ooze out of its avant end.” In 2005, Lee received the Freddie Stone Award for integrity and innovation in music, while in 2010 her extensive work in theatre and dance culminated in a Jesse Richardson Theatre Award for outstanding composition.
Lee will be heard in several groupings throughout 2022 Something Else! Festival, Including projects of which she is a member such as Dave Douglas' Mountain Passages and Sick Boss, while also joining exciting Zula-concocted groups: a trio with Don Byron and Michael Vatcher and alongside Allison Cameron, Dave Rempis, Tyler Damon and fellow Vancouverite Cole Schmidt.