Aimee-Jo Benoit and The New Assembly Present Sophomore Album Horns of Hope
Aimee-Jo Benoit – Horns of Hope
Released Friday, March 29th
Barefoot (single) released Friday, March 8th
Release concert Saturday April 6th at Theatre 1308, Calgary AB
A deeply personal and heartfelt vocal jazz record that explores the duality of Hope, and its coexistence with struggle, pain and loss.
Featuring:
Aimee-Jo Benoit – Vocals
Carsten Rubeling – Trombone
Mark DeJong – Tenor Saxophone, Bass Clarinet
Andre Wickenheiser – Trumpet
Daniel Gaucher – Drums
Mark Limacher – Piano, Rhodes
Jon Wielebknowski – Upright Bass, Electric Bass
Track Listing:
(100% MAPL, focus tracks in bold)
- Barefoot (K.D. Lang / R. Telson)
- Bird on a Wire (L. Cohen)
- A Soft Place to Land (K. Edwards)
- Little Green (J. Mitchell)
- Moon at the Window (J. Mitchell)
- Where Will I Be? (D. Lanois)
- You Were Here (S. Harmer)
- Free (A. Benoit)
Praise for Benoit’s 2020 release BORJONER:
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- “Reshaping pop-rock material through a jazz aesthetic and improvisational flights results in sparkling gems throughout the band’s debut album… Benoit has planted the seeds for what one hopes will become a lengthy discography.” – Downbeat Magazine (Editor’s pick July 2020)
- “Benoit’s crystalline delivery is suffused with warmth and an emotional investment in the material” – JAZZIZ
- Peaked at #1 on the Canadian National Jazz Chart
About Aimee-Jo Benoit:
Renowned for her distinctive vocal style, articulate diction, and expressive phrasing, Calgary vocalist Aimee-Jo Benoit is recognized for her unwavering commitment to featuring the works of Canadian songwriters in her repertoire. Her performances guide the audience along the path of her emotional roots with the music of Daniel Lanois, Joni Mitchell as well as Leslie Feist, Michael Feuerstack and others. Benoit takes a classic approach to standards as well as interpreting well- known contemporary songs into a new sound, paying homage to the long-standing jazz tradition of creating a new canon.
Continually honing her craft, Aimee-Jo has studied privately with Tamara Beatty, Leon Leontaridis, Cheryl Fisher, Vivian Martin & workshopped with Jay Clayton. Her discography includes four studio albums with Woodpigeon from 2008-2012, has lent her vocal talent to recordings by Summerlad and Aaron Booth in 2005 and 2008 respectively, as well as Hermitess’ 2020 release, “The Tower.”
Independently released in June 2020, her debut album “BORJONER,” a improvisation led collaboration with TRIO VELOCITY, marked a significant milestone in her musical journey. On March29, 2024 her sophomore album HORNS OF HOPE will be released on boutique label Chronograph Records.
In addition to being a performer, Aimee-Jo has earned a Master of Arts degree in the academic study of religion, with a particular emphasis on examining the correlation between improvisation in religious contexts and its application to the study of religion in academic research. Committed to her local jazz community she volunteers as Secretary of the Board for Buckingjam Music Foundation, as well as maintaining a blog under MOTHER/MUSIC/HOOD. Through this platform, she shares her personal experiences of motherhood, striving to construct a supportive community for fellow creatives navigating the complexities of balancing artistic pursuits with motherhood. She hopes that her vulnerability will help to empower women to realize their own second acts in the realm of creativity.
Website: aimeejobenoit.com
Instagram: @aimeejobenoitmusic
Facebook: AimeeJoBenoitMusic
About Horns of Hope:
When the world stopped, our family’s identity was stripped away overnight, we were no longer who we thought we were. We embarked on a journey of wearing different skins, playing different roles, feeling generally out of place. These skins led me down a path I never thought possible, surrounded by warm hands, life and death.
What began as a project with a vastly different direction, Horns of Hope was born out of a need for a simple, uncomplicated gathering of friends that materialised in eight beautiful, heartbreaking, and hopeful songs. There was a sense of urgency in comparison to BORJONER which took nearly a decade to complete. Horns of Hope happened in a period of months – imagined in coffee shops and texts between myself and Carsten, it came to life in what seemed like only a few conversations.
The title “Horns of Hope” was brought on when I was contemplating the philosophical phrase, “the horns of the dilemma”, which is the choice between two things, and neither of them are desirable. The pandemic felt this way to me, for I could choose myself and my own freedoms or rights, or I could choose the rights and freedoms of others, keeping myself secluded and masked. This made me hopeless for a time. However, Hope exists in duality, for we cannot be hopeful without the existence of struggle, pain, and loss. We must accept the duality of our existence, be present in it when possible, and listen for the signs. To be in society, we must see the dualities of light and dark, hope and fear.
Why these songs? It’s both uncomfortable and important for me to say that I had specific moments, people, and experiences attached to each song on this album. It’s incredibly private and utterly public. I will most likely never mention to those people that it’s about them, but they might infer it.
– Aimee-Jo Benoit
