March 2018 will see a vanload of adventurous musicians from both sides of the 49th parallel travel from Montréal through Southern Ontario in celebration of the late guitarist Ken Aldcroft (1969 – 2016), a long time leading figure in Canada’s creative music community.

Two Hours Early, Ten Minutes Late

saxophone and guitar duo music by Ken Aldcroft

Jason Robinson & Eric Hofbauer (USA)

A celebrated international figure in American jazz and experimental music (“rugged and scintillating,” New York Times), saxophonist Jason Robinson has teamed with acclaimed guitarist Eric Hofbauer (“a significant force in Boston’s improvised-music scene,” Stereophile) to perform and record a collection of sophisticated and virtuosic original music for guitar and tenor saxophone that Aldcroft and Robinson worked closely to develop through numerous performances over seven years throughout Canada and the U.S. “Two Hours Early, Ten Minutes Late,” a title drawn from an Aldcroft composition, is a celebration of Aldcroft’s music for saxophone and guitar and a culmination of the project the two began together.

Mars People

music by & for Ken Aldcroft

Emily Denison, Daniel Kruger & Joe Sorbara (Montréal/ Toronto)

Riding shotgun is Canadian trio, Mars People—which also draws its name from an Aldcroft composition. Trumpeter Emily Denison, acoustic guitarist Daniel Kruger, and drummer Joe Sorbara—all long-time Aldcroft friends and collaborators—will perform “Music By & For Ken Aldcroft” as an extension of an ongoing series in celebration of Ken’s life and music that takes place monthly at The TRANZAC, the de facto home for Toronto’s creative music scene for many years.

Of course, once five creative souls begin talking about spending time together, those souls can hardly resist imagining the possibilities inherent in making music as a quintet. We all look forward to hearing where that journey will take us as well.