Chelsea McBride's Socialist Night School

Biography

Chelsea McBride’s Socialist Night School is an 19-piece big band led by composer and multi-instrumentalist Chelsea McBride. The band is a collective of emerging & established Toronto musicians, including William Carn and Colleen Allen. Described as “a fresh new voice on the Canadian jazz scene ” by saxophonist and composer Andy Ballantyne, the band completed their first ever cross-Canada tour in the summer of 2018. The Twilight Tour took them to 11 cities in 5 provinces over 5 weeks.

The Socialist Night School drifts away from the typical swing charts in favour of a more contemporary sound. The Socialist Night School is influenced by artsy, everyday stuff like politics, nature, city living, but also by ECM-style jazz, Maria Schneider, Bob Brookmeyer, and Darcy James Argue. Bandleader Chelsea McBride writes and arranges much of the music, but other band members get a chance to write and solo for the band – it is socialist after all.

Chelsea McBride’s Socialist Night School released their first full-length album, The Twilight Fall on Chelsea’s 25th birthday (January 15, 2017) at Toronto’s Lula Lounge. Their first self-titled EP is available on Bandcamp, or wherever you purchase and stream music online.

You can find the Socialist Night School on Facebook here, and at #socialistnightschool wherever hashtags are used.