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Born: October 23, 1975
Surrey BC
Current home: Burnaby BC
In 1993, after winning the General Motors Award of Excellence
as one of the top young musicians in Canada, bassist
Jodi Proznick moved from her native White Rock, B.C.
to Montreal, P.Q. where she obtained her B. Mus. from
McGill University under the tutelage of Michel Donato,
Eric Legace and Alec Walkington. Jodi was awarded a
performance scholarship in 1997 as a member of the McGill
Big Band. She performed extensively in Montreal, appearing
in club and concert venues as well as on local television
and radio programs. In Montreal, Jodi performed with
Juno nominated Ranee Lee, Bryn Roberts, Kelly Jefferson,
Michel Cusson (of Uzeb), André White, Steve Amirault
and many others.
In 1998, Jodi was the winner of the IAJE “Sisters
in Jazz” Competition which brought her to New
York to perform with Ingrid Jensen and to Detroit to
open for Geri Allen. She has been a panel guest at the
International Association of Jazz Educators Conference
on issues surrounding women in jazz. Jodi has also been
asked to present a workshop at the BCMEA conference
in 2005. She has performed on CBC Radio’s Jazzbeat
(with her own ensemble), Hot Air, Silence en Jazz, the
Early Edition and West Coast Performance.
Since moving to Vancouver in 2000, Jodi has become
a top call bassist. She has played with international
jazz stars such as David “Fathead” Newman
(of Ray Charles fame),Ed Thigpen (Oscar Peterson Trio,
Ella Fitzgerald), Charles McPherson (Charles Mingus),
Seamus Blake, Ryan Kaisor (Lincoln Center Orchestra),
Eddie Henderson, Eddie Daniels, Mark Murphy, George
Colligan, Kitty Margolis, Patience Higgins, Jim Rotundi,
Houston Pearson and Ingrid Jensen as well as Canadian
greats P.J. Perry, Ian McDougall, Denzal Sinclaire,
Oliver Gannon, Brad Turner, Kirk Macdonald, Phil Dwyer,
Mike Allen, VEJI, Hugh Fraser, Campbell Ryga, Dee Daniels,
Karin Plato, Brian Dickinson, Kate Hammett-Vaughan,
Bill Coon, Jean-Francois Groulx, Ron Paley, Celso Machado,
Kia Kadiri, the Vancouver Chamber Choir and many others.
She has been featured on over a dozen recordings including
a recent recording with the legendary David “Fathead”
Newman.
Recently, Jodi had the opportunity to play a concert
series with VSO concertmaster Mark Fewer and Grammy
nominated classical pianist, John Novechek for CBC’s
West Coast Performance.A highlight for Jodi was opening
for Oscar Peterson with the Oliver Gannon Quartet at
the Orpheum in the summer of 2004. Also In 2004, Jodi
won the Galaxie Rising Star Award of the Vancouver International
Jazz Festival with her own group, the Jodi Proznick
Quartet.
Jodi on faculty at Capilano College, at the CYMC Pacific
Jazz Workshop and at the New West Summer Jazz Workshop.
She has adjudicated at the Envision Jazz Festival and
at the Nelson Jazz Festival and has given clinics at
various colleges and high schools including Grant MacEwen
Community College and Western Michigan University. Jodi
also teaches early childhood music classes in the community
and is working toward her Master’s degree in Art
Education at Simon Fraser University. |
