MIMOSA

If Cleo Lane, Jobim and Serge Gainsbourg all got together one night and jammed, they might sound like what Mimosa has to offer: gorgeous melodies, quirky lyrics, incredible groove and sky-high improvisations.  The Vancouver quartet draws on Jazz, Brazilian Sambas, French 60ies pop and Cabaret music to concoct its own unique sound.

With three critically acclaimed Cds and festival appearances all over Canada (including the Vancouver and Montreal Jazz Festivals), they have become CBC darlings, selected first as the subject of  a one-hour long documentary and most recently as one of four Western bands featured on television, radio and the web, in the popular “Mai de la chanson d’ici”.

The band is usually a quartet, though for bigger festival shows, they often add a vibraphone/percussion player and a stand-up bass player.    The members are:

Rebecca Shoichet: an amazing vocalist with a solid background in performance – from musical theatre to voice acting to playing with many of Vancouver’s most established bands (Soulstream, Famous Players, Kia Kadiri, Johnny Ferreira and the Swing Machine, Lache Cercel, etc..).  Her rich and full voice and her beaming stage presence make her a pleasure to watch and hear.

Karen Graves: a virtuoso sax and flute player, Karen brings passion and incredible improvisations to the combo.  She is a highly in-demand player in B.C. (Soulstream, Ta Ki Ta, Out of the Woods, The Hitmen) and has studied and played with many jazz greats (Maynard Ferguson, Chucho Valdez, Kenny Wheeler, etc..). 

Anna Lumiere: the main driver behind the wheel of the band, Anna plays left-hand bass and right-hand keyboards and writes most of the music for the band, as well as lyrics in French, Spanish and English.  A lot of her music is played on CBC, and some of her compositions have been used in film.  She also co-leads a modern jazz band called Anagram. 

Bernie Arai: as a performer, recording artist and educator, Bernie spans styles from jazz to electronic music to Japanese taiko.  He works regularly with some of Canada’s most accomplished musicians and has performed across the country with various ensembles. He has also toured Europe, the USA and Japan. 

Mimosa will have you hooked by the first tune and they will take you on an unforgettable journey into time and sound.