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Join us at St Mary’s for a unique blend of exceptional jazz rooted in the context of meditation and prayer. This month we welcome the John Lee Trio!
Multi-instrumentalist John Lee brings a trio composed of his most recent protégés to Jazz Evensong for an afternoon of swinging and elegant Jazz. Featured are 13 year old bassist Charlie Shrimpton and 18 year old drummer Jack Lawrence. The repertoire will include Great American Songbook Standards as well as compositions by Jazz luminaries Ahmad Jamal, Cedar Walton and Horace Silver.
A collection will be taken in support of this ongoing series. Suggested donation $20.
Check out the full series here
About the Musicians
Raised in Nanaimo, BC, multi-instrumentalist John Lee has emerged as one of Canada’s most acclaimed jazz artists. Demonstrating a deep passion for music from an early age, Lee developed into a virtuoso by his late teens. In 2010, he moved to Boston to attend Berklee College of Music, where he studied under the mentorship of Ralph Peterson Jr., Terri Lyne Carrington and Dave Santoro.
Lee's experience as a sideman reaches far beyond his years. Growing up on Vancouver Island, he cut his teeth performing with notable Canadian musicians including Phil Dwyer, Christine Jensen and Ingrid Jensen. At just 19, he made his U.S. debut with Cyrus Chestnut at Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola (Jazz at Lincoln Center) in New York City. Throughout the early 2010s, Lee was a prominent figure in the Victoria jazz scene, performing alongside visiting artists such as Larry Fuller, George Colligan, and Misha Piatigorsky. In recent years, Lee has built a strong association with saxophonist and Jazz impresario Cory Weeds which has opened the door to performing alongside many of today’s jazz luminaries. His appearances in Vancouver have included performances with Eric Alexander, Peter Bernstein, Joe Farnsworth, Mike LeDonne, Terell Stafford, Dick Oatts, Jeremy Pelt, Ralph Moore, Seamus Blake, Joe Magnarelli, Grant Stewart, Michael Weiss, Jim Rotondi, Roy McCurdy, Jerry Weldon, John Webber, Benny Benack III, Lucy Yeghiazaryan, Nicole Glover, Sarah Hanahan, Brian Charette and Alexander Claffy.
With the support of the Cellar Music Group, Lee released his debut album The Artist in 2021 on the Cellar Live label, featuring Carl Allen. His sophomore album, Second Wind—featuring Peter Washington and Kenny Washington—was released in July 2024. In addition to his own projects, Lee appeared as a guest artist on Carl Allen’s 2025 album Tippin’ featuring Christian McBride and Chris Potter, as well as Mike Clement's 2024 release Hittin’ It featuring Herlin Riley. Lee can also be heard on several of Cory Weeds' albums, including Just Coolin’ and With Strings: What Is There to Say?
Lee has been an educator and clinician for over a decade and remains a prominent mentor within the Canadian jazz scene. A rare talent, he continues to push boundaries as a multi-instrumentalist, regularly performing both as a bandleader and an in-demand sideman on five different instruments.
Charlie Shrimpton is a 13‑year‑old jazz musician from Arbutus Global Middle School. He first experimented with the double bass at age nine and has been studying jazz with John Lee for the past year and a half. Charlie also plays saxophone, a bit of piano, bass in the Summit School jazz band, and bass with the UJam Young All-Stars.
He loves playing jazz because he enjoys improvising and not having to follow a strict set of notes. Plus, it’s simply fun to play. Some of his favorite jazz musicians are Christian McBride, Ben Wolfe—both bassists—and pianist Cedar Walton.
In the future, Charlie plans to pursue a jazz career and attend a university jazz program. In his spare time, he also enjoys playing hockey and going fishing with his dad.
Jack Lawrence is an 18-year old drummer from Oak Bay High School. He first began playing flute in middle school then later switching to drums at the start of high school. Jack performs drums in the Oak Bay High Senior Jazz Band, as well as the Ujam Young-All Stars band.
Jack has learned under many mentors such as, John Lee, Louis Rudner, Rhys Batstone and Jeff Weaver. Knowing all of these people have granted him incredible opportunities such as playing in the West Coast Jazz Festival, the Surrey Jazz Festival and playing at the Delta Hotel Fathom Lounge.
Jack has aspirations to build his future in jazz and to meet jazz greats such as Christian McBride and Joe farnsworth and to attend post-secondary at either Berklee College of Music, or Capilano University.
About Jazz Evensong
Evolving out of two ancient services of prayer as the sun is setting—vespers and compline—the service of Evensong is an opportunity to put the events of the past day into perspective, to ground one’s body, mind and spirit in preparation for the restorative night of sleep, when in our dreaming, our subconscious will continue the creative work of making sense of our experiences.
Jazz, as Ken Burns says, is “a profound intersection of freedom and creativity”. So, whether you are a seasoned jazz lover or a newcomer to the genre, you will be sure to find something to speak to you at this unique and moving experience of making sense of your day. Don’t miss your chance to be a part of this inspiring and intimate celebration of faith and music. All are welcome!