Bassist Karine Chapdelaine has led an active performance career that includes international performances in Europe, South America, Mexico, Africa, and Asia. She has shared the stage with artists such as McCoy Tyner, Bobby McFerrin, Sheila Jordan, Mary Halvorson, and Allison Miller. Additionally, she has opened concerts for artists such as The Brecker Brothers, The Maria Schneider Orchestra, Regina Carter, Donny McCaslin, and Pat and Joe LaBarbara.
In 2001, Karine was chosen for the bass position in the International Association of Jazz Educators “Sisters in Jazz” competition, which hand picks an international cast of all-female jazz musicians and sends them out to perform around the world. During this time, she performed at the North Sea Jazz Festival, The Pori Jazz Festival, and the Istanbul Jazz Festival.
In 2003, the Montreal International Jazz Festival awarded her the Galaxie Prize for best composition, and gave her a headlining spot at the next year’s festival. Karine has performed with the National Symphony Orchestra at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, with Paquito D’Rivera’s Latin Jazz Workshop at Carnegie Hall in New York, and at the 2011 Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Celebration at Constitution Hall in Washington DC.
Karine is a graduate of McGill University in Montreal, Canada, and in 2010, earned two Master’s Degrees from Howard University. In 2011, Karine was awarded the Outstanding Performance in Jazz at the Graduate College Level honor by Downbeat Magazine.
Karine is currently endorsed by Godin Guitars, and has served as the Professor of Jazz Bass Studies at James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia, and as the Professor of Double Bass at Mary Washington University in Fredericksburg, Virginia. Karine is a currently an active freelance musician in the greater DC area, as well as an educator in Fairfax County.
Learn more at www.karinechapdelaine.com.
Photo: basemint photography