Lache Cercel & The Roma Jazz Ensemble
Originally from Bucharest, now in Vancouver, violinist Lache Cercel has created the new musical genre Roma jazz, by merging Eastern influences with western musicology. In celebration of his multi-cultural influence in music, this unique collaboration features a selection of highly regarded musicians, singers and dancers. He plays with the outrageous virtuosity found in contemporary European Roma recordings, and adds his own vision to this deeply rooted tradition, revealing the history of tragedy, struggle and ultimate survival that is part of Roma music.
Jeremy Ledbetter Trio
Forged in a cauldron of raging, inspiring, contemporary jazz, the Jeremy Ledbetter Trio pushes the boundaries of jazz and world music, providing an undiluted display of rampaging energy and captivating musicianship. Jeremy has been creating genre-bending original music since forming the Caribbean Latin jazz outfit CaneFire in 2004. Since then, he has worked closely with an international array of artists, including Harrison Festival alumni Eliana Cuevas and Okan. With his trio he has achieved new levels of recognition for his outstanding musicianship, winning Best Jazz Album at the 2025 Juno Awards. With Grammy-winning drummer Larnell Lewis (Snarky Puppy) and renowned electric bassist, Rich Brown, the trio creates a type of jazz that is incredibly groove-oriented, accessible, and emotionally captivating.
Bentall Taylor Ulrich
We are always delighted to have any of these three artists back to the festival, but to have them all here at the same time, blending their voices in harmony, is a treat indeed. Barney Bentall, Shari Ulrich, and Tom Taylor first played together at the songwriter concert on Bowen Island in 2007. They released “Live at Cates Hill” soon after, an eclectic mix of the work of these three distinctive yet complimentary voices. All three have very different backgrounds as performers – Barney of course is well known for his albums with the Legendary Hearts, Shari for her work with Pied Pumpkin and UHF, and Tom as a member of rockers She Stole My Beer – but if you talk to them about their songwriting influences they run deep and wide, from traditional folk and country to the great Texas songwriters.
