A can’t-miss collab between bright lights of the Vancouver scene and a giant of Scandinavian jazz!

Carrying the torch for the next generation of Canadian large ensembles, Stranger Friends Orchestra plays the warm, spontaneous, and dynamic compositions of bandleader Dean Thiessen. Inspired by musical friendships, literary works, colour theory, and the unique voices of each ensemble member, Thiessen’s 2024 album LIVE at The Fox Cabaret captures what makes the 15-piece jazz orchestra great: soaring melodies, spontaneous improvisation, and collective humanity.

They’re joined by Swedish saxophonist/clarinettist Fredrik Ljungkvist. Part of the game-changing ensemble Atomic, whose aesthetic “draws as much on brash US avant-jazz as it does on contemplative European chamber improv” (Jazzwise), Ljungkvist has worked with Wadada Leo Smith, the Fire! Orchestra, and Lina Nyberg, and won the “Jazz Kannan” as musician of the year from the Swedish Jazz Society.