Jeremy Ledbetter and CaneFire

"If Dizzy Gillespie were still with us, he would love CaneFire." — Vancouver Sun "CaneFire is sweeter than Caroni brown sugar and don't doubt me." — Trinidad Guardian Toronto-based Caribbean jazz powerhouse CaneFire is not your grandfather's jazz band. One of the most explosive and energetic ensembles on the planet, CaneFire delivers a rollicking, high-octane show that fuses the white-hot fire of Cuban rhythm, the blinding musicianship of modern jazz, and the unbridled joy of the music of the Caribbean — all built around its signature and utterly unconventional use of the steelpan. Led by Canadian pianist and composer Jeremy Ledbetter, the band features steelpan virtuoso Mark Mosca, Alexis Baró on trumpet, Braxton Hicks on saxophones, Chendy León on drums, Yoser Rodríguez on bass, and Alberto Suárez on percussion. With two albums and a passport full of stamps — from BC to Newfoundland, across South America and the Caribbean, and three years running at the Trinidad and Tobago Jazz Festival — CaneFire has earned its reputation on stages around the world. Their latest album, Pandemonium, carries all the sizzle and twice the sophistication of its predecessor, with guest turns from Trinidadian calypso superstar David Rudder and Brazilian jazz legend Hermeto Pascoal, and ranges from a Latin jazz piece in 27/4 time to the church-fired frenzy of "gospelypso." Come ready to move: this is Caribbean Latin jazz at its most joyful, most virtuosic, and most alive.