Saxophonist Chet Doxas brings innovation as performer and composer to CapU jazz ensembles, October 24

The Montreal-born musician has already had a storied career, but his star continues to rise

The CapU Jazz Series presents Chet Doxas With CapU Jazz Ensembles at the BlueShore at CapU on October 24 at 7:30 pm

HE’S ONLY 44, but Montreal-born saxophonist Chet Doxas has already set down a long, storied career that seems rooted in another era. The son of a musician and recording engineer, Doxas cut his teeth as a teenager playing dances, burlesque reviews, and nightclubs around his hometown in the 1990s. He followed this with two degrees from McGill University’s vaunted jazz performance program, and by his early 20s his playing was prominent on the Academy Award–nominated soundtrack of the 2003 film Les Triplettes de Belleville.

By then, he’d shown an interest in composing, and in the years since he has fronted a slew of projects, among them the Doxas Brothers Quartet, featuring his drumming sibling Jim, with whom Chet has toured the world alongside such luminaries as Carla Bley, Oliver Jones, and Joe Lovano. His catalogue totals over a hundred recordings and 14 albums as leader or coleader, stretching from experimental jazz to ambient, electronics-drenched variations on the music of Hildegard von Bingen.

In the midst of all this, Doxas has also found time to teach. This facet will naturally come into play when he leads CapU jazz ensembles both big and small at the BlueShore at CapU on October 24, in a program that promises an inspiring glimpse into the future of the form.

Featured

Brian Lynch

Brian Lynch has written and edited in West Coast arts and culture fields for many years. Music and hockey take up the rest of his time.

Articles

In Beatitude, Vancouver Cantata Singers launch season with Sherryl Sewepagaham's serene ode to land, October 24

The Cree-Dene composer’s new work joins a program aimed at instilling calm, bliss, and joy

In Death and Taxes, Brass Tax and Gerardo Avila celebrate life through music and clowning

As part of the Downtown Eastside Heart of the City Festival, the new show nods to Mexico’s Día de los Muertos and similar traditions from other countries

Early Music Vancouver hosts the Magic of Monteverdi with France's Les Arts Florissants, November 17

Baroque masters William Christie and Paul Agnew lead the vocal ensemble in a revelatory program devoted to the lauded Italian composer

Poiesis Quartet takes musical approach founded on artistic and social inclusion

Featuring contemporary and canonical pieces, the acclaimed ensemble’s program at the Kay Meek Arts Centre reflects dedication to creating space for emerging and marginalized voices

Myra Melford and her trio set to make a splash as part of VanJazz ’26 on October 25

The American pianist’s project is part of her ongoing engagement with the work of post-abstract expressionist painter Cy Twombly

At Vancouver Opera, Tosca reveals the full complexity of one of Puccini’s smartest women

Director Brenna Corner dove deep into history to flesh out the corruption that surrounds a tragic character who lives life on her own terms

Ghibli Jazz Orchestra pays a big-band tribute to beloved animation studio’s soundtracks

Isabel Leong and her 18-piece band play scores by Ghibli composer Joe Hisaishi—but they don’t simply re-create the music of the films

The Vancouver Bach Choir performs Christopher Tin's The Lost Birds, November 14

Grammy-nominated composition draws on poetry to honour species that have vanished from the natural world

Kuniko Kato uses Open Frequencies to bring new meaning to Steve Reich’s groundbreaking music

As part of Vancouver New Music’s festival, the acclaimed percussionist relies on a traditional Japanese spirit of harmony that allows Reich’s precise patterns to breathe

Songs for a New World brings an intimate concert to the Minoru Chapel, November 13 and 14

Gateway Theatre production follows four characters standing on the precipice of change

Vetta Chamber Music hosts violist Jacob van der Sloot and his musical family, November 13 to 16

Artists unite to perform soaring string sextets by Dvořák and Brahms

TAXA gives the silent horror classic Nosferatu a new soundtrack at the Shadbolt Centre for the Arts, October 17

F.W. Murnau’s 1920 German Expressionist film—an unauthorized adaptation of Dracula—was nearly lost thanks to a lawsuit launched by Bram Stoker’s widow

Chor Leoni honours Remembrance Day at The Soul Flies Away, November 11

Program features a world premiere, a new arrangement, and the return of Don Macdonald’s High Flight, which pays tribute to a Canadian airman’s journey

The Six String Nation Guitar Celebrates the Great Canadian Songbook at the Kay Meek Arts Centre, November 8

Four artists play iconic Canadian songs on an instrument made from pieces of national history

With new outfit Elephant, Adam O’Farrill’s musical language evolves into more direct expression

The composer and trumpeter moves from head to heart through the adventurous nature of the four-piece ensemble, coming to VanJazz ’26

Get your best salsa and cumbia moves on at VLACC's I Like It Like That! on October 10

Featuring live music, DJs, and dance lessons, the event is part of Latin Expressions 2026, hosted by the Vancouver Latin American Cultural Centre

BlackGate brings new sounds from Ireland to the Music on Main stage, November 3

Acclaimed double bassist Caimin Gilmore performs compositions from his debut album alongside cellist Kate Ellis and harpist Lavinia Meijer

Branford Marsalis and Dianne Reeves pay tribute to John Coltrane at the Chan Centre on October 13

In Coastal Jazz and Chan copresentation, the pair mark the centennial of saxophonist Coltrane’s birth by performing songs from his 1963 album with singer Johnny Hartman

For Mark Mothersbaugh, scoring a film means interpreting the language of the director

The DEVO member—coming to town as part of the Vancouver International Film Festival—has built a second career composing music for TV cartoons, Wes Anderson movies, and everything in between

Randy Raine-Reusch receives WOMAD award for “extraordinary vision and artistry”

The multifaceted Vancouver-based musician and composer has worked with everyone from Aerosmith and Raffi to Pauline Oliveros and the Cranberries

MUTEK x VIFF Live delivers cutting-edge electronic music and workshops, October 2 to 4

Presented as part of the Vancouver International Film Festival’s live-performance series, the event is a collaboration between MUTEK Montreal and Vancouver’s Chapel Sound Art Foundation