JB Pumped Arkestra is an instrumental fusion ensemble led by jazz singer, composer, choral director and bandleader Jeri Brown. Initially formed in 2011 for the Montreal Jazz Festival’s tribute to iconic artist Paul Simon as part of Brown’s duties as Artistic Coordinator for the event, the JB Pumped Arkestra has had separate roles as a non-classical show choir and jazz sextet referred often as Spiritica in films for CBC, Vision, World Vision and BET. In 2013 Brown decided to put the two ensembles together. The artists of the group perform a variety of instruments including brass, woodwinds, percussion, keyboards, piano, guitars, strings and vocals. Many of the orchestra members are educators in Montreal, Quebec with the exception of U.S. members Avery Sharpe and Woody Woods, both educators and world renowned artists. The group is committed to big, beefy sounds, crossing music genre songs and education of vocal music.
Joining Jeri Brown and her arkestra this year the group will feature the wonderful voice of Johanne Desforges, along with Montreal talented artists including:
Piano - Chris Tauchner
Bass - Serge Agoshkoff
Guitar - Félix Tellier Pouliot
Drum - Louis-Étienne Drouin
Alto sax: Benjamin Deschamps
Trumpet: Scott Bevins
Trombone: Gabriel Gagnon
Liselyn Adams: Flute
Mark Corwin: Sound Coordinator
Mark Johnston: Videography