Sean Dowhaniuk Group at Artword Artbar October 17

I’m going to be honest with you: the Sean Dowhaniuk Group is one of my favourite acts at this year’s festival. I don’t mean to pick favourites, and I’m being honest when I say that every show in our lineup offers something unique and exciting. But I’ve had the opportunity to see the Sean Dowhaniuk Group in multiple configurations over the last couple years and the music is always exhilarating, thought-provoking and fresh. So if you like you can chalk it up to habit, but this is one show I’m particularly excited about.

Sean is a guitarist, composer and, like so many of the performers at the Steel City Jazz Festival, a graduate of Mohawk College’s jazz program. I’ve heard him play straight-ahead and free-form jazz at different times, and often his own compositions fall somewhere in between. Sean’s music expertly blends atmosphere and texture with rich, beautiful melodies to create a sound that surrounds and absorbs you. I could keep trying to describe the music but really it’s best to listen for yourself. Here’s Sean with Mike Rajna, Josh Smiley and Ethan Tilbury at Artword Artbar last year:

The Sean Dowhaniuk Group, featuring Mike Rajna on drums, Riley Keller on alto sax, Josh Smiley on piano and Ethan Tilbury on bass, perform at Artword Artbar with the Aaron Zukewich Trio on October 17th. The show starts at 8pm, tickets are $10/$5 for students and reservations can be made by emailing artword@artword.net.