Canada's Brandi Disterheft is a Juno Award-winning bassist, composer, and bandleader whose music straddles the line between ebullient, straight-ahead jazz and genre-bending original compositions. A native of Vancouver, British Columbia, Disterheft grew up in a musical family and first began playing bass alongside her mother, pianist and organist Fran Jarre. After high school, she earned a scholarship to Humber College in Toronto, where she furthered her musical studies under bassist Don Thompson. During this time, she also logged hours studying with such luminaries as Rufus Reid, Rodney Whitaker, Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen, Oscar Peterson, and others. Also while at school, she began gigging regularly on the Toronto jazz scene and appeared on several albums with pianist Richard Whiteman. In 2007, she made her debut with the aptly titled Debut, featuring Chris Gale, Alexander Brown, Nathan Hiltz, Adrean Farrugia, David Virelles, Sly Juhas, and Sophia Perlman. The album was a huge critical success, winning Disterheft the Juno Award for Traditional Jazz Album of the Year. She then followed up with Second Side, an adventurous album that found her expanding her stylistic palette to include contemporary jazz, big-band arrangements, and Latin rhythms. Around 2010, Disterheft relocated to New York City, where she ensconced herself in regular jam sessions and studied with legendary bassist Ron Carter. Her third studio album, 2012's Gratitude, reflected her growth with an all-star lineup, featuring trumpeter Sean Jones, alto saxophonist Vincent Herring, flautist Anne Drummond, pianist Renee Rosnes, and drummer Gregory Hutchinson. The album also showcased her vocals, with songs delivered in English and French. In 2016, Disterheft released her fourth solo album, Blue Canvas, featuring pianist Harold Mabern and drummer Joe Farnsworth. ~ Matt Collar, Rovi