Anna-Lisa moved to Winnipeg with her family in 2003 after her husband, Steve Kirby, accepted the post of Director of Jazz Studies at the University of Manitoba. She has since taken on the position of Jazz Vocal Instructor and Assistant to the Jazz Department Coordinator. She is extremely proud of the talented and hard working students at the University of Manitoba Jazz Program and all of their projects and performances. They are well on their way to becoming professional Jazz musicians who will be making signifigant contributions to the Jazz world not just in performance, but also in Jazz education.Anna-Lisa is also the Managing Editor Manager of the monthly Jazz periodical, dig! Magazine. Anna-Lisa's husband, Steve Kirby is the Editor and creator of dig! Magazine. It is a lively monthly publication which promotes an awareness of the jazz culture in Winnipeg. Articles about local, national, and international jazz musicians appear alongside information about upcoming performances and workshops, CD reviews and recommendations, interviews, and letters.The first issue of dig! appeared in the summer of 2004, and already the effects are far-reaching. Concert attendance at the city’s many venues has increased, new weekly performance and jam session series have been established, a new jazz show—dig! Radio—is thriving, and courses for the general public in jazz appreciation and improvisation are booming. Much of this is thanks to dig!’s presence on the scene in Winnipeg—the community has more jazz to attend, and they know where to find it! At the same time, the articles and interviews offer readers a deeper appreciation for the art form and build a more informed audience. dig! has galvanized jazz lovers in this city, giving them a sense of belonging to a thriving art form.dig! is available all over the city—look for copies at any Starbucks location in the city, at the Osborne Freehouse (home of the Cool Monday Night Hang), at Artspace, and on the city’s campuses. Or subscribe and have one arrive in your mailbox!You can see Anna-Lisa performing around town at The Cool Jazz Winnipeg Festival, Mardi Jazz, The Current Lounge, The Cool Monday Night Hang and also as special guest with The Winnipeg Jazz Orchestra and featured on the U of M Summer Jazz Camp concerts every August along with guests like: Stefon Harris, Terreon Gully, Miguel Zenon and Steve Turre.As a teenager, once she experienced the sound of Ella Fitzgerald, Anna-Lisa was on the road to Jazz. She moved to New York in the fall of 1990, soon to enter the prestigious Manhattan School of Music to pursue her degree in Jazz Performance. In the Jazz clubs of New York, Anna-Lisa received another kind of education: on the bandstand. She became a fixture at such legendary hangs as Augies, Cleos Needle, Smalls, The Iridium, Dean Street Café and Birdland, performing with her own ensemble at Metronome, Sign of the Dove, Match, The Soul Café and The Jazz Standard. She has toured in Italy, Denmark, Slovakia and Turkey, performing with some of Europes foremost jazz musicians.In 1996, Anna-Lisa recorded Pretty Blue with pianist, Cyrus Chestnut, bassist Steve Kirby, drummer Alvester Garnett, and alto-player, Myron Walden. Kirby and Garnett were featured on Anna-Lisas first solo recording venture, Shades of Blue in 1997, which also featured Xavier Davis.Anna-Lisa was the featured vocalist with the swing band: Andy Farber and His Swing Mavens, performing at New York venues Swing 46, Windows on The World, Lincoln Centers Midsummer Nights Swing, Makor, Irving Plaza and Pier 25. On the 2001 release, Bluesectomy, legendary jazz vocal artist Jon Hendricks said of her interpretation of Sometimes Im Happy: she executes effortlessly every singers nightmare: a no-bar modulation, into a well improvised and second chorus.Layout made by WeebleWooble 15
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