Melford is an explosive player, a virtuoso who shocks and soothes, and who can make the piano stand up and do things it doesn't seem to have been designed for. — David Rubien, San Francisco Chronicle

Pianist, composer, bandleader and educator Myra Melford—whom the New Yorker called “a stalwart of the new-jazz movement”—has spent the last three decades making brilliant original music that is equally challenging and engaging. Culling inspiration from a wide range of sources including Cecil Taylor, the blues and boogie-woogie of her native Chicago, the poetry of Rumi, the AACM and yoga, she’s explored an array of formats, among them ruminative solo-piano recitals, deeply interactive combos and ambitious multidisciplinary programs. 

Since debuting on record as a bandleader in 1990, she’s built a discography of more than 20 albums as a leader or co-leader, and has collaborated with such luminaries as Dave Douglas, Marty Ehrlich, Liberty Ellman, Erik Friedlander, Ben Goldberg, Joseph Jarman, Leroy Jenkins, Ron Miles, Nicole Mitchell, Tyshawn Sorey, Chris Speed, Stomu Takeishi, Cuong Vu and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra. Melford’s teachers and mentors include Butch Morris, Henry Threadgill, Jaki Byard, Don Pullen and other icons of jazz postmodernism, and she has received some of the most prestigious honors available to an improvising musician: numerous DownBeat poll placings, a 2000 Fulbright scholarship, a 2012 Alpert Award in the Arts for Music and, in 2013, a Guggenheim Fellowship, the Doris Duke Performing Artist Award and the Doris Duke Residency to Build Demand for the Arts.

After having been an influential presence in New York since the mid-’80s, Melford relocated to the Bay Area in 2004, to join the music department at the University of California, Berkeley, as a Professor of Composition and Improvisational Practices. She continues to bring cutting-edge jazz and new music to the campus community via her teaching and as a guest curator for the Cal Performances organization.

Photo © Petra Cvelbar

Joe Fonda bass, composition
Michael Rabinowitz bassoon
Jeff Lederer flutes, clarinets
Harvey Sorgen drums

...a powerful group of musicians who have collectively been active within the New York Jazz community for over 40 years. The combination of bassoon and clarinet is a unique and compelling sound not utilized often in jazz. Joe Fonda's composing and arranging for this quartet is powerful, elegant, and complete... a band for today, tomorrow and years to come.

“How we found this sound?
I had hired this group of musicians to do a weeklong tour in the USA in 2022. I had written and organized the music months prior to the tour and sent it to everyone so they could check it out and look it over before the first rehearsal. So, when we got together for the first rehearsal everyone had had a chance to work on the music. I had thought that it would be tenor saxophone and bassoon as the front line, but at the first rehearsal Jeff Lederer who I had hired to play saxophone said, ‘Joe do you really want saxophone?’ and he went on to explain how when he was practicing the music he was not hearing it played on saxophone but on clarinet and flute and on one piece on piccolo. I was not so sure, but Jeff was persistent. He said that to him the written material sounded like Stravinsky or something more classical. So, we tried it and we all really liked the sound of the bassoon with Jeff’s clarinets and flutes. The sound became less jazz and more like a chamber ensemble. Jeff was right, it sounded great. While we were on tour playing 7 nights in a row the sound of the quartet developed into something quite unique. So sit back and enjoy the sound of something you most likely have never heard before”.
– Joe Fonda 2/24/2024

Thursday Early Show Ticket:
$25 advance / $30 door (1 event, 2 sets)

Thursday Evening Pass:
$38 advance / $45 door (6:00 + 8:30 pm shows, 2 events/4 sets)

Festival Pass:
$100 (7 ticketed events, 16 sets, up to $235 value)

Discounted Advance Tickets & Passes:
E-transfer (no fee) tix@zulapresents.org or EVENTBRITE (+fee)

Students, Seniors, Underwaged at the Door (cash/e-transfer):
$20/event, $30 day passes, $80 festival pass, in person w/ID

No one will be refused admission for lack of funds

In our 12th year of operation, as Zula Presents Something Else!, we are most grateful to Canada Council for the Arts, Department of Canadian Heritage, and The City of Hamilton for their financial support to make these festival events possible. We would also like to acknowledge and thank our partners Hamilton Public Library and Open Streets for their kind support and enthusiasm.

This duo began in 2016 as a series of residencies, rehearsals and performances in Ireland, and further evolved in 2018 in the context of a trio with bassist Barry Guy with the release of the recording “Illuminated Silence”. Both the duo and trio have since co-existed but it is the duo that has become a central platform for both players. There is by now a shared and well understood language between them that moves seamlessly between formal structures, spontaneous invention, as well as their unique interpretations of song. The release of “Kairos” in 2023 debuts this array of possibilities which continue to grow as a rich and varied performance platform for both musicians.

"Dublin based Japanese pianist lzumi Kimura and Connecticut born, Switzerland based percussionist/vocalist Gerry Hemingway have recorded previously with Barry Guy, but Kairos is their first duo effort. While each brought a piece to this session, most of it is jointly credited, but it does not sound like a product of free improvisation so much as an investigation in how each can support the other's strengths. Even in free moments, the pianist is inexorably drawn to melodies, which Hemingway abets with complementary tonal lines on his vibes and drum kit. And Kimura, who combines preparations with conventional keyboard sounds, uses a staccato attack to reinforce the drummer's intricate constructions. lt's a complementary partnership."
– Bill Meyer / Jazz & Improv - The Wire October 2023

François Houle clarinet, basset clarinet, composition
Gordon Grdina oud, guitars                                           
Myra Melford piano
Joëlle Léandre double bass  
Gerry Hemingway percussion

Canadian clarinetist, composer, and improviser François Houle leads a world renowned all star supergroup, presenting a suite of new compositions and arrangements inspired by British author Kassia St. Clair’s writing on colour. From ivory to obsidian, Houle explores the colour spectrum and its close historical connections to music, weaving a rich and suggestive tapestry of sounds.

“Reading these stories and historical facts surrounding colors made me think immediately about how colour play a significant role in the arts, and in particular ways musicians use them to describe music. The music for this project therefore draws from this symbiotic connection to convey a sense of what I hear and feel when I read these stories”.

French double bass player, improviser and composer Joëlle Léandre is one of the dominant figures of the new European music. Trained in orchestral as well as contemporary music, she has played with L’Itinéraire, Ensemble 2e2m and Pierre Boulez’s Ensemble intercontemporain. Joëlle Léandre has also worked with Merce Cunningham and with John Cage, who has composed especially for her — as have Scelsi, Fénelon, Jolas and Clementi. As well as working in contemporary music, Léandre has played with some of the great names in jazz and improvisation, such as Derek Bailey, Anthony Braxton, George E Lewis, Evan Parker, Irène Schweizer, Steve Lacy, Fred Frith and John Zorn. She has written extensively for dance and theatre, and has staged a number of multidisciplinary performances. Her reputation is international, and her work as a composer and a performer, both in solo recitals and as part of ensembles, has put her under the lights of the most prestigious stages of Europe, the Americas and Asia. Joëlle Léandre also has more than a hundred recordings to her credit.

Pianist, composer, bandleader and educator Myra Melford—whom the New Yorker called “a stalwart of the new-jazz movement”—has spent the last three decades making brilliant original music that is equally challenging and engaging. Culling inspiration from a wide range of sources including Cecil Taylor, the blues and boogie-woogie of her native Chicago, the poetry of Rumi, the AACM and yoga, she’s explored an array of formats, among them ruminative solo-piano recitals, deeply interactive combos and ambitious multidisciplinary programs.

Since debuting on record as a bandleader in 1990, Myra Melford has built a discography of more than 20 albums as a leader or co-leader, and has collaborated with such luminaries as Dave Douglas, Marty Ehrlich, Liberty Ellman, Erik Friedlander, Ben Goldberg, Joseph Jarman, Leroy Jenkins, Ron Miles, Nicole Mitchell, Tyshawn Sorey, Chris Speed, Stomu Takeishi, Cuong Vu and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra.

Juno award winning oud/guitarist Gordon Grdina with a unique sound combining mainstream jazz, free/improv and Arabic music. Haram, Peregrine Falls, The Gordon Grdina Quartet with Oscar Noriega, Russ Lossing, and Satoshi Takeishi, Nomad Trio w/ Matt Mitchell and Jim Black, Square Peg w/ Christian Lillinger, Mat Maneri and Shazad Ismaily, The Marrow with Mark Helias, Hank Roberts, Hamin Honari, and many more.

Gerry Hemingway has been creating and performing solo and ensemble music since 1974. He has led a number of quartet & quintets since the mid 80’s as well as being a member of a wide array of collaborative groups including BassDrumBone (whom celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2017), Brew w/Reggie Workman & Miya Masaoka, a trio with Georg Graewe & Ernst Reijseger, the Swiss based WHO trio with Michel Wintsch and Baenz Oester, Tree Ear with Sebastian Strinning and Manuel Troller, as well as numerous duo projects with Izumi Kimura, Marilyn Crispell, Samuel Blaser, Thomas Lehn, John Butcher, Ellery Eskelin, Jin-Hi Kim, a o. Mr. Hemingway is a Guggenheim fellow and has received numerous commissions for chamber and orchestral works. He is well known for his eleven years in the Anthony Braxton Quartet, his ongoing participation in projects with Reggie Workman including the collective trio Brew, along with his work with some of the world’s most outstanding improvisers and composers including Cecil Taylor, Mark Dresser, Anthony Davis, Derek Bailey, Evan Parker, Wadada Leo Smith, Frank Gratkowski, Simon Nabatov and many others. He currently lives in Switzerland having joined the faculty of the Hochschule Luzern between 2009 and 2022.

Thursday Late Show Ticket:
$25 advance / $30 door (1 event, 2 sets)

Thursday Evening Pass:
$38 advance / $45 door (6:00 + 8:30 pm shows, 2 events/4 sets)

Festival Weekend Pass:
$100 (7 ticketed events, 16 sets, up to $235 value)

Discounted Advance Tickets & Passes:
E-transfer (no fee) tix@zulapresents.org or EVENTBRITE (+fee)

Students, Seniors, Underwaged at the Door (cash/e-transfer):
$20/event, $30 day passes, $80 festival pass, in person w/ID

No one will be refused admission for lack of funds

In our 12th year of operation, as Zula Presents Something Else!, we are most grateful to Canada Council for the Arts, Department of Canadian Heritage, and The City of Hamilton for their financial support to make these festival events possible. We would also like to acknowledge and thank our partners Hamilton Public Library and Open Streets for their kind support and enthusiasm.

Cellist Matt Brubeck and singer Caylie Staples perform completely improvised songs. As the duo creates the music, Caylie makes up all of the words live on stage. Over the years they have developed a remarkable improvisational compatibility in this unique form of spontaneous song creation. Eschewing pre-existing lyrics, melodies, or traditional song forms, their music is a celebration of serendipity, whimsy, and the creative potency of any given moment. Each performance is like a musical trust exercise; going with what the other is giving and committing to keep the balloon up! Their first album of improvised songs,“The Lily”, was released in 2021 to positive reviews.

“Both have impeccable instincts and exercise insight and restraint here as they uncover these vignettes.” – Nick Storring, Riperian Acoustics Newsletter

This innovative Melbourne based ensemble is composed of players with great chemistry, including cellist Peggy Lee, saxophonist Julien Wilson, guitarist Theo Carbo, and drummer Dylan van der Schyff. Their recent album weaves together anthemic melodies, diverse rhythmic structures, and a broad range of improvised soundscapes, delivering a unique blend that is both idiosyncratic and reflective of their wide-ranging musical influences. The project showcases each member’s original compositions alongside improvisations to create a unified group sound.

"This band is about the creation of a group sonic palette from which compositional and improvisational ideas can play and flourish," says Dylan van der Schyff. The inception of Open Thread was sparked by Peggy Lee's move to Melbourne and her desire to connect with local musicians. This led to a magical gathering of talents, culminating in an improvised performance at Bar 303 in Melbourne, that hinted at the rich possibilities of their collective sound.

"The joy we have had in making this music is something we hope listeners will feel, finding it both challenging and rewarding upon repeat listens, " explains Lee. "Each musician's deep vocabulary of extended techniques on their instrument, combined with a shared love of melody and song forms, creates an intriguing juxtaposition," explains van der Schyff.

Friday Early Show Ticket:
$25 advance / $30 door (1 event, 2 sets)

Friday Evening Pass:
$38 advance / $45 door (6:00 + 8:30 pm shows, 2 events/4 sets)

Festival Weekend Pass:
$100 (7 ticketed events, 16 sets, up to $235 value)

Discounted Advance Tickets & Passes:
E-transfer (no fee) tix@zulapresents.org or EVENTBRITE (+fee)

Students, Seniors, Underwaged at the Door (cash/e-transfer):
$20/event, $30 day passes, $80 festival pass, in person w/ID

No one will be refused admission for lack of funds

In our 12th year of operation, as Zula Presents Something Else!, we are most grateful to Canada Council for the Arts, Department of Canadian Heritage, and The City of Hamilton for their financial support to make these festival events possible. We would also like to acknowledge and thank our partners Hamilton Public Library and Open Streets for their kind support and enthusiasm.

The electric bass has been Farida Amadou’s main instrument since 2011. A self taught bass player based in Brussels, in 2013, she started to play across many genres, including blues, jazz and hip-hop. Then Farida discovered improvised music, a style and community she quickly embraced. In 2017, after spending a year playing bass for Belgian punk band Cocaine Piss, Farida decided to focus on her solo improvisation practice and collaborations. Since then, she’s played with folks like Steve Noble, Thurston Moore, Peter Brötzmann, Julien Desprez, Dave Rempis, Chris Corsano, Andy Moor, Pat Thomas, Lukas Koenig among other occasional features such as Jerusalem in My Heart and Moor Mother.

Photo © Niclas Weber

Composer, saxophonist, and flutist Anna Webber has been collaborating with bandmates John Hollenbeck on drums and Matt Mitchell on piano as Simple Trio since 2013. The music of Simple Trio highlights what The New York Times called the “range of the group members: fulminous, intense collective improvisation” in songs that feel like living things and lead the audience in different directions on each listen.

Their fourth album, simpletrio2000 (Intakt Records), is an exploration of polyrhythm and a celebration of a decade of working together; it additionally functions as a follow-up to their critically-acclaimed release Idiom, which earned Webber the accolade of being named the top composer of the year by JazzTimes in 2021. The band’s other prior releases are Binary (Skirl Records, 2016) and SIMPLE (Skirl Records, 2014). Webber is originally from British Columbia.

“…few working bands in improvised music have served up such fizzy technical rigor and reflected an adventurous spirit on par with Anna Webber’s Simple Trio”. 
– Peter Margasak

Photo © Des White

Friday Late Show Ticket:
$25 advance / $30 door (1 event, 2 sets)

Friday Evening Pass:
$38 advance / $45 door (6:00 + 8:30 pm shows, 2 events/4 sets)

Festival Weekend Pass:
$100 (7 ticketed events, 16 sets, up to $235 value)

Discounted Advance Tickets & Passes:
E-transfer (no fee) tix@zulapresents.org or EVENTBRITE (+fee)

Students, Seniors, Underwaged at the Door (cash/e-transfer):
$20/event, $30 day passes, $80 festival pass, in person w/ID

No one will be refused admission for lack of funds

IIn our 12th year of operation, as Zula Presents Something Else!, we are most grateful to Canada Council for the Arts, Department of Canadian Heritage, and The City of Hamilton for their financial support to make these festival events possible. We would also like to acknowledge and thank our partners Hamilton Public Library and Open Streets for their kind support and enthusiasm.

More than twenty years ago these two artists started playing duets together. Being neighbours made it easy and fun to get together in their backyards and in local bars and play their instruments, including cello, bass, guitar, banjo and fiddle, while sharing their favourite songs and beverages. Both musicians have gone on to make numerous recordings and continue to play eclectic music that is informed by jazz, folk and world music. Andrew Downing’s most recent project is Utopia Ontario and Tim Posgate is part of the acoustic roots collective So Long Seven. He also performs with Ronley Teper’s Lipliners, Cluttertones and his Jazz Banjo Project.

The electric bass has been Farida Amadou’s main instrument since 2011. A self taught bass player based in Brussels, in 2013, she started to play across many genres, including blues, jazz and hip-hop. Then Farida discovered improvised music, a style and community she quickly embraced. In 2017, after spending a year playing bass for Belgian punk band Cocaine Piss, Farida decided to focus on her solo improvisation practice and collaborations. Since then, she’s played with folks like Steve Noble, Thurston Moore, Peter Brötzmann, Julien Desprez, Dave Rempis, Chris Corsano, Andy Moor, Pat Thomas, Lukas Koenig among other occasional features such as Jerusalem in My Heart and Moor Mother.

Photo © Niclas Weber

Counterstasis is a collaborative improvising trio formed by Toronto pianist Bill Gilliam in 2016 featuring Glen Hall (woodwinds, electroacoustics) and Joe Sorbara (drums, percussion). The group works to counter stasis, to foster change, to create a music in which individual voices can be bent by and refracted through the sounds of co-conspirators. Since 2019, they have performed in Montréal with guest Lori Freedman and locally as a trio as well as with guests such as Doug Van Nort and Christine Duncan. Along with bass clarinetist Kathryn Ladano, Gilliam, Hall, and Sorbara offered an exceptional performance at Kitchener 's Registry Theatre for Open Ears 23 festival. This performance for the 2025 Something Else! Festival will be the second appearance by this special edition of Counterstasis.

“Gilliam, Hall and Sorbara play with maturity, confidently committing themselves to the realization of a shared musical vision that privileges communication over individual athletics”. – Colin Story, The WholeNote, Sept 2019

Dr. Kathryn Ladano is a Canadian bass clarinetist and music educator recognized for her contributions to contemporary and experimental music. She holds a PhD in Musicology from York University. With mentorship from musicians like Lori Freedman and Casey Sokol, Kathryn has developed a unique approach that blends traditional techniques with experimental soundscapes, expanding the bass clarinet's role in modern music.

Bill Gilliam, originally from London UK, studied jazz and film composition at Berklee. His Gilliam, Milmine, Pottie trio was featured at the Toronto Jazz Festival, Something Else! Festival and the Ontario Place. He is currently active in improvising electroacoustic collaborations with Eugene Martynec, with his jazz ensemble Confluent Motion with Kayla Milmine, Rob Clutton and Joe Sorbara and also with Marbyllia, an improvising duo with cellist Margaret Maria.

Glen Hall has an international reputation as a composer, improviser and multi-instrumentalist, has studied jazz at Berklee College of Music and composition with Gyorgy Ligeti and Mauricio Kagel in Germany, did artistic residencies in live electronics at STEIM in Amsterdam and Kyma Symbolic Sound at the Electronic Music Foundation in New York, and Matralab at Concordia University in Montreal. He recorded with Joanne Brackeen, Cecil McBee and Billy Hart, legendary composer/ arranger Gil Evans, trombonist Roswell Rudd, has also played with Sonic Youth guitarist Lee Ranaldo.

Canadian drummer and percussionist Joe Sorbara has spent decades developing a reputation as a dedicated and imaginative performer, composer, improviser, collaborator, organiser, listener, writer, and educator. A consummate sonic adventurer, Sorbara’s music draws on a vast array of influences, most notably the African American Creative Music tradition. Currently serving on the board of directors of local Guelph artspace, Silence, Sorbara has recently become the Artistic Director of the Guelph Jazz Festival.

In our 12th year of operation, as Zula Presents Something Else!, we are most grateful to Canada Council for the Arts, Department of Canadian Heritage, and The City of Hamilton for their financial support to make these festival events possible. We would also like to acknowledge and thank our partners Hamilton Public Library and Open Streets for their kind support and enthusiasm.

Susie Ibarra is a Filipinx-American composer, percussionist, and sound artist. Her sound has been described as “a sound like no other’s, incorporating the unique percussion and musical approach of her Filipino heritage with her flowing jazz drumset style” (Modern Drummer Magazine) and her compositions are sometimes described as “calling up the movements of the human body; elsewhere it’s a landscape vanishing in the last light, or the path a waterway might trace” (New York Times).

Susie Ibarra will perform pieces from her upcoming new solo project, Forest Birds, which draws upon her research and field recordings of rhythms and songs of birds across continents and changing migration patterns. Some of these forest birds are in high altitude mountains with bamboo, and others nestled in migrating trees next to seashores, while some are familiar friends in a backyard.

Recent commissions include Kronos String Quartet’s 50 for the Future Project Pulsation, PRISM Saxophone Quartet + Percussion’s Procession Along the Aciga Tree, Talking Gong trio with pianist Alex Peh and flutist Claire Chase, film score When the Storm Fades directed by Sean Devlin, and a multimedia game piece Fragility: An Exploration of Polyrhythms for Asia Society. Ibarra actively composes and performs music as a soloist, collaborator, with and for ensembles that are instrumental, vocal and interdisciplinary.for maintaining the freshness of improvisation.

She is a recipient of the Foundation For Contemporary Arts Award in Music/ Sound (2022), a National Geographic Storytelling Fellowship (2020); United States Artists Fellowship in Music (2019); the Asian Cultural Council Fellowship (2018); and a TED Senior Fellowship (2014).

Photo © Troi Santos

Lina Allemano trumpet
Rob Clutton bass, composition
Ryan Driver human voice, analogue synth, piano
Tim Posgate banjo, guitar

Bassist Rob Clutton’s chamber jazz quartet that exquisitely synthesizes his diverse interests – song, long-form composition, lyricism, extended improvisation, extreme textures, and more – through his seasoned bandmates. Cluttertones music reveals itself slowly, making countless subtle, mysterious insinuations in place of bold declarations. Disarmingly gorgeous melodies emerge from the fog of thorny group playing, often evoking the simplicity of folk music.

The group has been playing together for over a decade, and each of the members have long associations with the others in various projects. This music plays at the edges between known/unknown, concrete/abstract, solo/group, expression/process. Drawing from a broad range of experience—which includes jazz, European classical music, electronica, improvisation, folk, singer-songwriter, experimental—the Cluttertones play what some have called “otherworldly chamber music.

Photo © Jeff Tessier

Master percussionist, sound artist, composer, nature lover, and explorer Susie Ibarra will guide us on our first nature walk. Ibarra will integrate her performance skills and birdsong activity, and her knowledge thereof, into this special experience. We will depart as a group from St. Cuthbert’s right after the Cluttertones performance and meet at the stunning Cootes Paradise (3 minute drive), to explore flora, fauna, and nature sounds revealed, interpreted and absorbed with Ibarra and crew.

Her book Rhythm in Nature: An Ecology of Rhythm was released in March, 2024, which accompanies her course and mentorship program teaching concepts of rhythm, math equations, field recording and sound ecology in natural and built environments.

Recent honors include a 2025 Creative Capital Artist Award, 2025, Callie’s Studio Residency in Berlin,  2024-2025 DAAD Artists-in-Berlin Program fellowship, for which she is based in Berlin, and 2024 Charles Ives Fellowship with the American Academy of Arts and Letters. She is a Foundation for Contemporary Arts 2022 Music Fellow, United States Artists 2019 Music Fellow, TED Senior Fellow 2014, and National Geographic Explorers Storyteller 2020.

Saturday Late Afternoon Ticket:
$33 advance / $40 door (1 event, 2 sets + nature walk)

Saturday Pass:
$50 advance / $60 door (4:00 + 8:30 pm, 2 events/5 acts)

Festival Weekend Pass:
$100 (7 ticketed events, 16 acts, up to $235 value)

Discounted Advance Tickets & Passes:
E-transfer (no fee) tix@zulapresents.org or EVENTBRITE (+fee)

Students, Seniors, Underwaged at the Door (cash/e-transfer):
$20/event, $30 day passes, $80 festival pass, in person w/ID

No one will be refused admission for lack of funds

In our 12th year of operation, as Zula Presents Something Else!, we are most grateful to Canada Council for the Arts, Department of Canadian Heritage, and The City of Hamilton for their financial support to make these festival events possible. We would also like to acknowledge and thank our partners Hamilton Public Library and Open Streets for their kind support and enthusiasm.

8:30 pm | JOHNSTON/BATES/FRASER featuring JON IRABAGON

This Canadian composers’ collective with members, spread to Brooklyn, San Francisco and Toronto, has enough shared interests to form a cohesive group sound, with enough divergent musical backgrounds to steer them in just about any direction. Wild experimentation meets a grounded and masterful approach steeped in multiple musical traditions. Expect unique compositional ideas, surprising and thoughtful group interplay, deep grooves, hard swing, and a great time for all.

They have played together as just a trio, but tend to play as a quartet with featured guest artists. Past guests have included Tony Malaby, Peter Hess, and Jon Irabagon, all on tenor sax, and Anna Webber (also a Canadian playing the festival) on tenor sax and flute.

In the case of Irabagon and Webber, both guest artists were invited in recent years to bring their compositional voices into the group, which they explored together during four-night runs at Toronto’s iconic Rex Hotel. They're thrilled to be in Hamilton for Something Else!, and equally excited to be reuniting with the incredible Chicago-based saxophonist and composer Jon Irabagon.

Jon Irabagon tenor saxophone
"…never fails to bring the sound of surprise to his albums, no matter what the format."
– Tim Niland, Jazz and Blues

First-generation Filipino-American Jon Irabagon (b. 1978, Chicago) has been influenced by the self-empowering and individualistic philosophies and aesthetic of the great AACM (Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians) ensembles as well as the historic world-class tenor saxophone lineage from his hometown. Equally adept at composing for rising stars in new music and the most intricate modern jazz ensemble, Irabagon builds on this foundation by adding modern classical and late-period John Coltrane to his compositional base, focusing primarily on mixed chamber ensembles to take advantage of hand-chosen musicians' voices and attitudes.

Irabagon was the winner of the 2008 Thelonious Monk Saxophone Competition, winner of the Rising Star award in Downbeat Magazine for both alto and tenor saxophones and the recipient of a Panama Filipino Presidential Award, which is the highest civilian honor an overseas Filipino can receive in commemoration for their contributions to the perception of Filipinos worldwide.

Darren Johnston trumpet
“a resourceful improviser who writes vivid, episodic themes.”
– Downbeat Magazine, “25 Trumpeters for the Future.”
“Someone to watch, on trumpet of course, but as a composer and bandleader as well.”
– John Corbett, Downbeat Magazine

Canada-born trumpeter/composer/educator Darren Johnston’s interests rotate primarily between performing all styles of jazz, purely improvised music, new music, and various other traditional musics, especially that of the Balkans, Greece, and Macedonia. He is especially drawn to music that tends to defy categorization, and is also generally open to further suggestions.

After twenty one years in the Bay Area, Johnston recently relocated to Brooklyn, NY in 2019. In the time since moving there, he has played and/or recorded withChes Smith, Dayna Stephens, Carmen Staaf, Michael Formanek, Tony Malaby, Michael Attias, Slavic Soul Party!, Raya Brass Band, The Peter Hess Quartet, Michael Vatcher, and many more.

Michael Bates double bass
“Bates manages to navigate that most difficult and rarely traveled road leading to accessible experimentation….always forward–thinking but also beautiful and within the grasp of even the most casual jazz fan.” – Chris Watson, “The View”

“Bates demonstrates his rock solid composing skills and enviable technical faculties….Simply put, Bates has the ability to make a huge impact on the existing state of modern jazz!” – Glenn Astarita

Canadian-born bassist, bandleader, and composer, Michael Bates is also a curator and educator who thrives in many musical worlds. Drawing upon his experience in jazz, classical, punk and hardcore, Arabic, and improvised music, he has composed and recorded a catalogue that often defies categories. A New Yorker for over twenty years, Bates can be found in the heart of several music scenes as both a bandleader and sideman. A prolific and unflinching advocate of all things creative, he has composed 100’s of works for string quartet, chamber orchestra and every combination of jazz ensemble imaginable.

Nick Fraser drums
“Fraser is a deft and sensitive percussionist with a hint of an enigmatic streak, a feeling for economical gestures, and an innate sense of form.” – Mark Miller, The Globe & Mail

Nick Fraser has been an active and engaging presence in the Toronto new jazz and improvised music community since he moved there from Ottawa in 1995. He has worked with a veritable “who’s who” of Canadian jazz and improvised music including Justin Haynes, Mike Murley, Rich Underhill, P.J. Perry, Phil Dwyer, Michael Snow, John Oswald, Andrew Downing, Jean Martin, Christine Duncan, Lina Allemano, Quinsin Nachoff, Dave Restivo, Jim Vivian, David Braid, Ryan Driver, David Occhipinti, William Carn, Nancy Walker, Kieran Overs, Kelly Jefferson, John Geggie, Scott Thomson, Marilyn Lerner, David Mott, Lori Freedman, Jean Derome, Ron Samworth and Kirk MacDonald.

In addition, he has had the opportunity to perform and/or record with such international artists as Tony Malaby, Michael Moore, Bobby Shew, Donny McCaslin, Marilyn Crispell, Anthony Braxton, Joe McPhee, William Parker, Jean-Luc Ponty, Bela Fleck, Dave Liebman, Joe Lovano, John Scofield, Wynton Marsalis, David Binney, Steve Turre, Matt Welch, Bill Carrothers and Bill Mays. Nick’s recorded works as a leader include Owls in Daylight (1997), Nick Fraser and Justin Haynes are faking it (2004) and Towns and Villages (2013).

Photo © Ryan Lash

Ibelisse Guardia Ferragutti voice, synthesizers, guitar, percussion, performance
Frank Rosaly drums, percussion, electronics
James McClure trumpet, percussion, synthesiser
Ben Boye synthesizers, autoharp
Nate McBride electric bass 

MESTIZX is Bolivian-born singer and multi-medium performer Ibelisse Guardia Ferragutti and renowned Chicago expat jazz drummer Frank Rosaly's debut project as co-composers, arrangers and musicians.

Partners in both marriage and art, the Amsterdam-based Ferragutti and Rosaly dove into the sounds of their respective ancestral roots in Bolivia, Brazil, and Puerto Rico to create a deeply personal meditation on decolonization and the defiant power of ritual and protest. They chose the title MESTIZX – a non-gendered version of the sometimes slurred Spanish colonial word for a “mixed person” - as a means of both challenging and embracing the liminality of their identities and artistic practices.

Rosaly says: “I grew up quite Puerto Rican in my home, but was taught to mask it outside my home. I wasn’t allowed to speak Spanish, so the drums eventually became my language, secretly tying together my own feeling of connection to mi tierra. This record is the first time I actively give voice to the nuance within myself, allowing me to take ownership of this in-between, which is what this album communicates for me… There is this unusual place that exists between these two cultures, of which I am both. There is a complex story in that sliver of in-betweenness, worthy of giving voice to all of us that live in-between.”

Ferragutti adds: “My personal understanding is one that stems from being placed in between lineages that carry the colonizer and colonized, the oppressor and oppressed, the demon and the angel… thus by definition is tied to post-colonial social constructs which we as Bolivians have to step in, like a 500 year novel that goes on and on… We have access to many memories and traditions, but not really, because we don’t fully belong to any of those… This makes us feel we're in a constant state of being the “visitors” and “outsiders.” On one hand, we are never truly part of one lineage. On the other hand, it makes us a travelers of worlds, storytellers in between multiple languages, cultures, and worldviews. We chose MESTIZX for this work as an act of recognizing the mixed state of being as a difficult and yet powerful one.”

Ibelisse Guardia Ferragutti is an Amsterdam-based mutli-medium artist who has worked as a performer, theatre maker, vocalist, visual artist, musician and teacher. Raised in Bolivia within Bolivian and Brazilian families, Ferragutti describes their work as “deeply interwoven in post-colonial justice, the paradox and beauty between grief and celebration, Andean Cosmology as a source of reclamation, resistance and resilience. Embodiment embedded in sonic fabrics while speculating myths through word oracles. I am a neo-mestiza, a spiritual activist, a femme defender and a Moon lover.” Her notable musical collaborators include: Alabaster DePlume, jaimie branch, Ab Baars, Wilbert de Joode, Eric Boeren, Mary Oliver, Paul Koek, and The Paper Ensemble. Along with her partner Frank Rosaly, Ferragutti founded the DIY arts/music space MOLK FACTORY in Amsterdam in 2017. 

Frank Rosaly is a Puerto Rican drummer, composer, and sound designer with several decades of touring, performing, recording, and creating to his name. Born and raised in Arizona, Rosaly was known for his fifteen years of creative work on the Chicago jazz and improvised music scene, before moving to his current residence in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, in 2016. He has been featured on over 150 recordings, and is in constant collaboration. Artists he has worked with include: Fennesz, Joan of Arc, Jeff Parker, Thurston Moore, Nels Cline, Joshua Abrams’ Natural Information Society, Colin Stetson, Rob Mazurek, Ryley Walker, jaimie branch, and many others. Since 2005 Rosaly has self-released recordings under the MOLK label, and in 2017 co-founded the DIY arts/music space MOLK FACTORY with his partner Ibelisse Guardia Ferragutti in Amsterdam. 

Saturday Evening Ticket:
$28 advance / $35 door (1 event, 2 sets)

Saturday Pass:
$50 advance / $60 door (4:00 + 8:30 pm events, 5 acts)

Festival Weekend Pass:
$100 (7 ticketed events, 16 acts, up to $235 value)

Discounted Advance Tickets & Passes:
E-transfer (no fee) tix@zulapresents.org or EVENTBRITE (+fee)

Students, Seniors, Underwaged at the Door (cash/e-transfer):
$20/event, $30 day passes, $80 festival pass, in person w/ID

No one will be refused admission for lack of funds

In our 12th year of operation, as Zula Presents Something Else!, we are most grateful to Canada Council for the Arts, Department of Canadian Heritage, and The City of Hamilton for their financial support to make these festival events possible. We would also like to acknowledge and thank our partners Hamilton Public Library and Open Streets for their kind support and enthusiasm.

6 pm | PANTAYO featuring SUSIE IBARRA

Pantayo are queer Filipinx kulintang gong punks based in Tkaronto, Canada. The ensemble combines traditional Kulintang music from the Philippines with contemporary influences and experimental sounds derived from their experiences as queer diasporic Filipinxs in Turtle Island.

In addition to the kulintang, the band also incorporates vocals, drums, synths, and other instruments into their music and performances. Their unique sound blends traditional elements with modern styles like R&B, pop, punk, and electronic music.

Eirene Cloma synth, guitar, vocals
Michelle Cruz agong, vocals
Joanna Delos Reyes sarunay, vocals
Kat Estacio electronics, vocals
Katrin Estacio kulintang, vocals

Pantayo's music is not only a reflection of their cultural heritage but also a testament to the creativity and diversity of the Canadian music landscape.

“deconstructing Filipino kulintang music with a punk sensibility and gorgeous synth pop melodies.” – Consequence

“Blending atonal traditional percussion, electronic production, and Western influences including synth-pop, R&B, and punk, these eight tracks are joyful, resilient, and wholly contemporary.“ – Pitchfork

“Pantayo is a sampler of the sound of the Filipino diaspora, and a field guide to finding defiant happiness even (or especially) as the world burns.” – Bandcamp

Our featured artist in residence at this year’s festival, master-percussionist, composer Susie Ibarra will perform with Pantayo for the first time, both on some of her songs, some Filipino traditionals, and Pantayo material. Definitely one of the exciting highlights of the festival… something to write home about!

Photos © Yann Garcia & Ryan Lash

7 pm | CHIK WHITE featuring NAOMI MCCARROLL-BUTLER

Performing for a second time today at our festival, Darcy Spidle adopted the stage name chik white in 2004 when he became the vocalist for the Halifax crust-punk band The Hold. That project lasted five years, resulting in two full-length albums, multiple singles/EPs, and several tours. Spidle kept the chik white name for other noisy projects, including Vennt, Attack Mode, and Shitcook. He also uses the pseudonym for his work as an actor (Lowlife, Tin Can, The Sinner). 

While best known for his work with the jaw harp, his practice has expanded to include voice, nose flutes, horns, harmonica, guitar, and video. He has released numerous albums on international labels such as Kraak, Notice, Feeding Tube, Full Spectrum, and Sound Holes. His collaborators include Bill Nace, Xuan Ye, Colin Fisher, Daniel Tapper, Naomi McCarroll-Butler, and Bekah Simms. 

On this occasion, he will perform a solo set followed by sharing with us an ongoing dialogue in the form of a duet with simpatico collaborator, fiercely talented multi-instrumentalist, especially on saxophones and woodwinds, Naomi McCarroll-Butler.

Saxophonist Peter Van Huffel’s latest project is a bass-less quartet that skews the line between composition and improvisation. Featuring Peter on baritone saxophone and electronics, Canadian trumpeter Lina Allemano, Greek pianist and electronics artist Antonis Anissegos, and German drummer Joe Herstenstein, CALLISTO offers a unique and profound approach to modern jazz with their debut album, “Meandering Demons”… innovation meets tradition and sonic landscapes are painted with bold strokes of creativity.

Peter’s innovative compositions serve as the backbone for this project, weaving intricate tapestries that combine structured elements with the spontaneity of free improvisation. Some pieces are expansive and suite-like, taking the listener on a journey of musical adventure and surprise, while others offer a slow build which develops gradually through subtle harmonic twists and layering of sound. The absence of bass in this ensemble offers the piano an extended space in which to explore the vast range of the instrument while trumpet and baritone highlight frequencies at opposite ends of the spectrum, giving the four-piece band an almost orchestral presence. With the addition of electronics subtly incorporated into the sound of the piano and blended at select moments with the resonance of the acoustic horns, CALLISTO is a captivating musical experience that transcends genre and resonates with jazz enthusiasts and adventurous listeners alike.

CALLISTO’s inaugural album “Meandering Demons” is slated for release in March 2024 on the renowned Portuguese avant-jazz label Clean Feed Records. This carefully selected collection of tracks showcases the quartet’s unquestionable chemistry, pushing the boundaries of the jazz tradition and inviting listeners into a realm of sonic exploration.

Photo © Manuel Miethe

Sunday Evening Ticket:
$33 advance / $40 door (1 event, 3 sets)

Festival Weekend Pass:
$100 (7 ticketed events, 16 acts, up to $235 value)

Discounted Advance Tickets & Passes:
E-transfer (no fee) tix@zulapresents.org or EVENTBRITE (+fee)

Students, Seniors, Underwaged at the Door (cash/e-transfer):
$20/event, $30 day passes, $80 festival pass, in person w/ID

No one will be refused admission for lack of funds

In our 12th year of operation, as Zula Presents Something Else!, we are most grateful to Canada Council for the Arts, Department of Canadian Heritage, and The City of Hamilton for their financial support to make these festival events possible. We would also like to acknowledge and thank our partners Hamilton Public Library and Open Streets for their kind support and enthusiasm.