Elizabeth Shepherd

Velvety-voiced pianist Elizabeth Shepherd arrived on the international scene in 2006 when her debut album ‘Start To Move’ was voted one of the top jazz albums of the year by listeners of the influential Gilles Peterson Show on BBC Radio Worldwide. Since then, the Montreal-based soul-jazz innovator has established herself as one of the most alluring and imaginative artists on the scene today. A classical pianist who came to jazz through her love of old-school hip-hop, it’s perhaps no surprise that this globetrotting talent has developed such a distinct and unique voice. 

Elizabeth has been hailed as “a jazz virtuoso blessed with a pop sensibility” (The Globe and Mail ) and praised by critics worldwide for her arrestingly original writing and soulful delivery. Alongside Esperanza Spalding and Robert Glasper, she is among the new wave of jazz-influenced musicians bringing the art form to a younger generation of music fans. The six-time JUNO nominee and two-time Polaris-Prize nominee has released seven widely acclaimed records, featuring collaborations with such musicians as Lionel Loueke and UK producer Nostalgia 77.  She has toured extensively in North America, Europe, Japan and Mexico, selling out shows from the Cotton Club (Tokyo) to The Jazz Cafe (London, UK) to the North Seas and ELBJazz Festival. She has shared the stage with such great diverse acts as Christian MacBride, Victor Wooten, Spankie Wilson, the Quantic Soul Orchestra, the Five Corners Quintet, Bonobo, and was also personally invited to open for Jamie Cullum at a sold-out Hollywood Bowl show.  

Her newest project is the result of 3 years of collaborating with different artists remotely due to Covid restrictions and stay-at-home orders. It is a celebration of hope in the face of darkness, grace in the face of the unknown, and the tenacity of the creative forces that carry us through it all.

“Wholly unique and unclassifiable style that blurs the boundaries between jazz, R&B, pop and hip hop, Elizabeth Shepherd is perceived by some commentators as a distaff equivalent to Robert Glasper. The truth is, though, that her music is deeper and more cerebral than Glasper’s … she’s more like an intellectual Esperanza Spalding” – MOJO (UK)

“Soulful coolness” – USA Today