Yardbird Virtual Series – AJD Trio

Aretha Tillotson, bass
Jamie Philp, guitar
Daniel Akira Stadnicki, drums

The AJD Trio features some of Edmonton’s most creative and versatile jazz musicians. With Aretha Tillotson on bass, Jamie Philp on guitar, and Daniel Akira Stadnicki on drums, the group has worked with one another in a variety of projects and ensembles. Making their Yardbird Suite debut on December 5th, they will offer a refreshing blend of original compositions, standards, and unconventional reimaginings of popular songs.

Aretha Tillotson is an Edmonton bassist who has studied at Grant MacEwan University and most recently, the University of Toronto. In Toronto, she studied with Dave Young and Jim Vivian, Linda Oh, Ben Street, and with David Bowie’s “Blackstar” bassist Tim LeFebvre. She has recently participated in Ralph Alessi’s SIM clinic in Brooklyn, and is now studying in a Master’s program at Berklee’s Global Jazz Institute. Some of the most notable musicians she has had the pleasure of playing with include Dave Liebman, Mike Murley, Charlie Austin and Norma Winstone. Aretha also works as a musical theatre musician, and she has performed at the Citadel Theatre’s “Hadestown” and “SIX”, and Theatre Calgary’s “The Louder We Get.”

Jamie Philp is a Graduate of MacEwan Music program where he studied 1977-1981. Jamie has been faculty at MacEwan University since 1983 and into the future. Instructing Music Technology, General Ensemble, Guitar, and Contemporary Combos over the three decades, Jamie’s life-long interest in multiple music genres has created an in-demand artist performing Jazz, Pop, Folk, Bossa, Hawaiian, and Early Music.

Daniel Akira Stadnicki is an award-winning percussionist, music scholar, and educator based in Edmonton. He has recorded on over two dozen albums and performed across North America and Europe, including the Stockholm Jazz Festival, the Dawson City Music Festival, WOMEX in Thessaloniki, Greece, and Sound Symposium in St. John’s, Newfoundland. Daniel recently completed his PhD studies in Music at the University of Alberta and is currently a SSHRC Postdoctoral Fellow at McGill University.