The Monik Nordine Quartet is performing a special concert reflective of the experiences of the pandemic year which brought the world to a standstill and changed us all forever. It is also a farewell to Monik who will be spending the fall in Sweden studying composition with Anne-Sofi Soderquist in Stockholm, returning in 2022 to present with the Victoria Jazz Orchestra. Joining the Monik Nordine Quartet is saxophonist Rowan Farintosh, who spent two years in Toronto studying music before the pandemic brought him back to Victoria. Members of the Monik Nordine Quartet are Miles Fuller (drums), Phil Albert (bass), Rob Cheramy (guitar) and of course Monik on alto and soprano saxophones and voice.

Saxophonist Monik Nordine has received several prestigious arts awards and performed on the Juno Award nominated album Cruel Yet Fair (1997) with John Korsrud’s Hard Rubber Orchestra. She has toured with Hugh Fraser’s band VEJI and performed with many Canadian greats such as Pat Coleman, Tommy Banks and Rob McConnell.

The Monik Nordine Quartet is heavily invested in Canadiana from Sonny Greenwich to Oscar Peterson and band originals, with each member of the quartet being a composer in their own right. Nordine and Cheramy have worked together for many years and Phill Albert recorded with her on the album Departures (2010). Miles Fuller is new to the scene and a fresh voice on jazz drums. He too was returned to Victoria thanks to the pandemic and spent four years in Toronto working on a degree in music at the University of Toronto.

“…facile in her execution and fluid in the spinning out of her melodic ideas.” - Jazz Improv Magazine
“… solid performance and writing chops.” – Downbeat Magazine http://www.moniknordine.ca