JANE BUNNETT and MAQUEQUE has evolved from a project to support and honor the new generation of young women jazz players and composers, to a Grammy nominated, critically acclaimed band that is in demand internationally at major Jazz festivals. This all-female collective is led by veteran jazz icon, soprano saxophone player, flautist, composer and proud Canadian JANE BUNNETT. With five Juno awards, three Grammy nominations and an Officer of the Order of Canada (Canada's highest civilian award) JANE decided to dedicate herself to taking MAQUEQUE to the world. This double vinyl collection celebrates the 10th anniversary of this all women collective with their greatest songs from all four albums released to date. This is a momentous occasion. As Jane explains: We never could have imagined how this band would evolve over these 10 years. The idea for Maqueque came out of a jam session at the Cohiba Hotel in Havana (across from the Malecon). After meeting and hearing a couple of these very young Cuban women, we were inspired to take a detour from our regular band (Spirits of Havana) and create a project with some of the finest women musicians and composers that had recently graduated from the conservatories. Maqueque is a co-operative featuring not only women players from Cuba, and now includes brilliant vocalist Joanna Majoko (from Zimbabwe) and has had musicians from the Dominican Republic, Latin America, Spain and Lebanon. The band has won a Juno Award, a Grammy nomination and regularly tours Europe, Latin America, and North America. They have played all the major clubs and festivals including Newport, Monterey, Saratoga, and does a yearly weekly stint at the legendary Birdland in New York City. Downbeat Magazine picked this group as one of the Top Ten Touring Groups in the USA. NPR has created a feature titled The New Queens Of Afro Cuban Jazz for their award-winning series Jazz Night In America with Christian Mcbride. The group appeared on NPR's Tiny Desk Concerts.
