Elizabeth Shepherd

Elizabeth Shepherd is a Canadian pianist, singer, songwriter, and producer. Born in 1977, Shepherd is the daughter of two ministers of The Salvation Army. From an early age, she grew up on choral music, brass bands, and classical music. She studied classical piano at conservatories in Canada and France, then came to jazz through old school hip-hop, to eventually complete a degree in jazz piano from McGill University in Montreal. In 2004, Shepherd moved to Toronto and worked as a waitress at a piano bar. She began performing and became a regular entertainer at the restaurant. She formed The Elizabeth Shepherd Trio with Scott Kemp on bass and Colin Kingsmore on drums. In 2006, she recorded her debut album "Start to Move," which was voted among the top three jazz albums of 2006 by the listeners of The Gilles Peterson Show on BBC Radio 1. With Robert Glasper, Esperanza Spalding, and Jose James, Shepherd is credited with invigorating the vocal jazz song and bringing jazz-influenced music to a younger audience. Shepherd has performed at jazz clubs internationally, spanning Japan, China, Europe, North America, and Central America, from Tokyo's Cotton Club to London's Jazz Café and Detroit's Cliff Bell's. She has appeared at festivals on both sides of the Atlantic, including Montreal Jazz Festival, ELB Jazz, and the North Sea Jazz Festival. She has been nominated 6 times for a JUNO Award (Canada's Grammy Awards), was recipient of the SOCAN songwriter award (2017) for her song "Seven Bucks" (produced by Japanese DJ Mitsu), has been twice long-listed for the Polaris Prize (Canada's most prestigious musical award). Real Detroit Weekly has called her "a jazz virtuoso blessed with a pop sensibility," while Mojo Magazine has described her as "an intellectual Esperanza Spalding.

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