The Ostara Project The Ostara Project

• 1 Delta Sky 04:39
• 2 Storms and Oceans 07:09
• 3 Little One 05:44
• 4 Lluviona 05:59
• 5 Tides Are Turning 05:39
• 6 Bye Bye (Interlude) 01:24
• 7 Bye Bye Blackbird 06:07
• 8 Rise 07:15
• Total Runtime 43:56

Info for The Ostara Project

Ostara, the Germanic goddess of the spring equinox, is the ideal icon for a group of powerfully creative Canadian female jazz musicians. The equinox marks a point of perfect balance: for a moment, the world is poised between day and night, light and dark. In spring, that moment tumbles into a season of promise and growth and it is that hope of rebirth and rejuvenation that has inspired The Ostara Project’s self-titled debut album.

Co-led by bassist Jodi Proznick and pianist Amanda Tosoff, The Ostara Project is a super-group of award-winning musicians. Membership is fluid: a core group provides continuity while the roster changes from project to project in order to showcase the creativity of a wide spectrum of artists. This debut album showcases an outstanding group of musicians who, collectively, hold nine JUNO nominations, three JUNO awards and many National jazz awards. Each artist is a bandleader and composer in her own right and the group represents the geographic, cultural and ethnic diversity of the Canadian mosaic: vocalist Joanna Majoko, trumpeter Rachel Therrien, alto saxophonist Allison Au, guitarist Jocelyn Gould and drummer Sanah Kadoura.

Group members met in person for the first time in February, 2022 when they performed two concerts, participated in the making of a documentary and music video, and recorded an album–all in four days. For the documentary, Proznick joined forces with Lisa Buck, the Executive Director of the BJP Music Foundation, a not-for-profit foundation in Calgary that hosts concerts and is committed to jazz education and promoting gender diversity. Change The Tune, funded by the Canada Council, features the artists on this first album candidly discussing the challenges faced by female jazz musicians, challenges that highlight the resilience and determination each artist had to develop to achieve her own level of excellence. Determination, hope, and celebration are themes that bind the individual compositions of The Ostara Project into a cohesive album.

The record kicks off with Au’s original composition “Delta Sky”, a tribute to the birthplace of jazz, New Orleans, a city that endured devastating challenges yet remains a powerful example of how music builds community. Joyful scatting from Majoko brings a lyrical lightness to the tune that is decidedly appropriate for this celebration of the power of the human spirit to rise above adversity.

Jodi Proznick’s “Storms and Oceans” is a compelling call to living a new truth, embodied by a woman lying in the moonlight, navigating the turmoil created by the need for change in her life. Flawless harmonies between Therrien’s trumpet blows and Majoko’s vocals offer a warm embrace for the listener that is emulated by each individual band member over the course of the track.

Within the struggle to find hope are fragile moments of peace. Joanna Majoko delivers resonant and deeply soulful melodic embellishments that glide effortlessly over a spirited groove in her arrangement of “Bye Bye Blackbird”, infusing this popular standard with a darker and deeper emotional tone. “Little One” with lyrics by Jodi Proznick and music by Amanda Tosoff, is a love song of hope and joy from a mother to her child, brimming with the wonder of new life and propelled by optimism.

“I’ve never actually played in a band with more than maybe one female artist,” Tosoff shares. “You feel so supported, just hopeful about the future, too, so it’s pretty inspiring.”

In a genre and industry where women have been severely underrepresented, The Ostara Project is a powerful example of perseverance, community and a deep love for music. New growth rising out of the darkness, stretching towards light and life, propelled by hope. This is the music of Ostara.

Joanna Majoko, vocals
Amanda Tosoff, piano
Rachel Therrien, trumpet
Allison Au, alto saxophone
Jocelyn Gouldm, guitar
Jodi Proznick, double bass
Sanah Kadoura, drums

Jodi Proznick
Multi-award winning bassist, composer and educator Jodi Proznick has received many awards including the Western Canadian Music Award for Jazz Artist of the Year, National Jazz Award for Bassist, Album and Acoustic Group of the Year, and two JUNO nominations for her CDs Foundations and Sun Songs. She has performed with many internationally recognized artists such as Michael Bublé, Phil Dwyer, George Coleman, Sheila Jordan, David “Fathead” Newman, Harold Mabern, Bill Henderson, and as has been featured on over 40 albums as bassist. Jodi is also a devoted teacher and is currently the Chair of the Jazz Department at the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra School of Music and Artistic Director of the Summer Jazz Workshop and Girls’ Jazz Day. Previously, she was on the music faculty at Capilano University and Kwantlen Polytechnic University. In 2019/2020, she was the Manager of Education and Community Outreach for the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra. She holds a BMus in Music Education (Jazz) from McGill University and a MEd in Art Education from Simon Fraser University.

Amanda Tosoff
is a British Columbia-raised pianist, composer, and educator based in Toronto with six albums to her credit. She has performed with internationally acclaimed artists such as Ingrid and Christine Jensen, Emilie-Claire Barlow, Chuck Israels, Phil Dwyer and many more. Amanda has received many awards, including the Montréal Jazz Festival Grand Prix de Jazz and the Toronto Arts Foundation Emerging Artist Award. Her recent album, Words, was nominated for a Juno award and was put forward for consideration for the Polaris Music Prize. In addition to performing and composing, Amanda is also a dedicated teacher. She teaches classes at Humber College and in her home and online studio, and workshops across the country, including the Sasktel Jazz Intensive in Saskatoon, the Courtenay Youth Music Camp, and the Canadian Jazz Summit at the University of Manitoba. She holds a BA in Jazz Performance from Capilano University and a Masters in Musicology (Music Theory) from the University of Toronto.

This album contains no booklet.