Career
Proznick began playing double bass when she was 13 and was taught by her father, musician and educator David Proznick. [1] While attending Semiahmoo Secondary School, she won the General Motors Award of Excellence in 1993. [2] She attended McGill University from 1993 to 1998, where she met future collaborators such as pianist Tilden Webb, drummer Jesse Cahill, and tenor saxophonist Steve Kaldestad. While in Montreal, she also worked with Christine Jensen, Kelly Jefferson, Ranee Lee, André White, Greg Clayton, and other prominent Montreal jazz artists. She was also a winner of the IAJE Sisters in Jazz Competition in 1998. [1] [3]
Proznick moved to Vancouver in 2000 and married jazz pianist Tilden Webb. [3] The two became leading members of the Vancouver jazz scene and the Cellar Live record label. Over the years, Proznick has appeared on and produced numerous records. She took a master's degree from 2004 to 2005 in Art Education at Simon Fraser University. [1]
In 2004, her Jodi Proznick Quartet received the Galaxie Rising Star Award at the Vancouver International Jazz Festival. Soon after, Proznick begun work on her first record as a leader, Foundations, alongside her quartet. The album released in 2006 to critical acclaim, and was nominated for Traditional Jazz Album of the Year at the 2009 Juno Awards. It also won Album of the Year and Acoustic Group of the Year at the 2008 National Jazz Awards. [4] [5] Proznick won Bassist of the Year at the National Jazz Awards in 2008 and 2009. [1]
Alongside Oliver Gannon, Proznick was the opening act for Oscar Peterson in 2004. [2] She has been a featured performer with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, the Vancouver Chamber Choir, and the Elektra Women's Choir. She accompanied Michael Bublé in the closing ceremonies and soundtrack of the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. [6]
In 2008, she co-founded Triology alongside guitarist Bill Coon and pianist Miles Black. The group has recorded two albums, Triology in 2014 and Stairway to the Stars in 2019. The trio is known for their impromptu arrangements of jazz standards. The group continues to play regularly. [4]
In 2017, Proznick released her third album as a leader, Sun Songs, which recounts the personal struggle that ensued after her mother's diagnosis of early onset dementia, as well as the arrival of her firstborn son. The album explores themes of life and death, polarity, and love. [7] The album features her husband Tilden Webb on piano, brother-in-law Jesse Cahill on drums, Steve Kaldestad on tenor saxophone, and Laila Biali on vocals. [7] [8] The album earned Proznick her second Juno nomination in 2019 for Vocal Jazz Album of the Year. [4]
Alongside pianist and educator Amanda Tosoff, Proznick formed the Ostara Project in 2022, an all-female jazz supergroup. The project released their self-titled debut album in 2022, and featured saxophonist Allison Au, trumpeter Rachel Therrien, guitarist Jocelyn Gould, drummer Sanah Kadoura, and vocalist Joanna Majoko. The album was nominated for Vocal Jazz Album of the Year at the 2023 Juno Awards, marking Proznick's third Juno nomination. [9] [10] The Ostara Project has toured Canada throughout 2022 and 2023, featuring other musicians such as Laila Biali, Shruti Ramani, Virginia MacDonald, Valerie Lacombe, and Marianne Trudel.
Proznick is a member of Four Jays, a contemporary chamber ensemble, and Jasmine Jazz, a collaboration with the Vancouver Chinese Music Ensemble, both of which have been nominated for Western Canadian Music Awards. She is a member of the Indo-Jazz fusion quartet Raagaverse led by Hindustani singer Shruti Ramani, as well as co-producing their upcoming debut album. [1] [7] [11]
Proznick has worked with the poet and dancer Celeste Snowber on the multimedia shows Woman Giving Birth to a Red Pepper in 2013 and Perfect Imperfections: The Art of a Messy Life in 2018. [12] [13]
In her career, Proznick has performed and/or recorded with musicians including Michael Bublé, Sarah McLachlan, George Coleman, Ed Thigpen, Seamus Blake, George Colligan, Eddie Daniels, Peter Bernstein, Eddie Henderson, Sheila Jordan, David "Fathead" Newman, Bill Henderson, Harold Mabern, Michael Feinstein, Ingrid Jensen, Ryan Kisor, Kitty Margolis, Charles McPherson, Byron Stripling, Bucky Pizzarelli, Jeff Hamilton, Mark Murphy, Eric Alexander, Lewis Nash, Houston Person, Jim Rotondi, Laila Biali, Brian Dickinson, Phil Dwyer, Kirk MacDonald, Celso Machado, Ian McDougall, Ron Paley, Don Thompson, Guido Basso, P. J. Perry, Dee Daniels, and Sal Fererras. [1] [3] She has been featured on over 40 recordings as a side person.
Proznick was involved in teaching early childhood music classes for over 15 years. Her methodology included a combination of Orff, Kodaly, Dalcroze, Montessori and Suzuki philosophies of music education. [1] Proznick has taught at Capilano University and Kwantlen Polytechnic University, where she taught improvisation, jazz theory, jazz history, popular music history, rudiments, jazz combo and bass lessons. From 2019 to 2020, she was the Manager of Education and Community Outreach for the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra. [1]
Proznick is currently the Jazz Department Chair at the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra School of Music. She has been a guest adjudicator and clinician at many festivals, colleges, universities, and conferences across Canada, such as the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity. [1] She is also the Co-Artistic Director of online music education platform Music Arts Collective , alongside educator and pianist Amanda Tosoff and arts administrator Francesca Fung. [14]
In 2022, Proznick became a recipient of the Lieutenant Governor's Arts and Music Awards for her contribution to the arts community and music education in British Columbia. [15]
