Anna’s Ghost

Profile

The ensemble’s name, Anna’s Ghost, refers to the legend of Anna, the resident ghost of Vermont College of Fine Arts, whose story you can read about here.

Andy Milne (piano)
Ingrid Laubroc (saxophone)
Christie Dashiell (voice)
Yoko Reikano Kimura (koto)
Chris Torini (bass)
Kenny Ghrohowski (drums) – not pictured

Andy Milne, piano (top left)

For over 30 years, two-time Juno Award winning pianist/composer Andy Milne has demonstrated boundless versatility, collaborating with a range of artists spanning multiple genres. A fearless improviser and respected voice at the heart of New York’s creative jazz scene, he has recorded and toured throughout the world with Ravi Coltrane, Ralph Alessi, Carlos Ward, Carla Cook and Steve Coleman, and has collaborated with a range of artists including Andrew Cyrille, Sekou Sundiata, Avery Brooks, Bruce Cockburn, Fred Hersch, Ben Monder, Dianne Reeves, Jen Shyu and Tyshawn Sorey.

Milne has composed and produced multiple film scores, including seven Star Trek-themed documentaries for acclaimed actor/director William Shatner and the recent CBC Television series “Black Life: Untold Stories.” He has released 11 recordings as a leader or co-leader, is a Yamaha Artist, and is a full-time assistant professor of music at The University of Michigan. Milne has received numerous awards and commissions, including the prestigious Civitella Fellowship in Italy.

Ingrid Laubrock (MC ’23), saxophone (top middle)

Ingrid Laubrock is an experimental saxophonist and composer, interested in exploring the borders between musical realms and creating multi-layered, dense and often evocative sound worlds. A prolific composer, Laubrock was named a “true visionary” by pianist and The Kennedy Center’s artistic director Jason Moran, and a “fully committed saxophonist and visionary” by The New Yorker. Her composition Vogelfrei was nominated “one of the best 25 Classical tracks of 2018” by The New York Times.

Laubrock has performed with Anthony Braxton, Muhal Richard Abrams, Jason Moran, Kris Davis, Nels Cline, Tyshawn Sorey, Mary Halvorson, Myra Melford, Zeena Parkins, Tom Rainey, Tim Berne, Dave Douglas, Wet Ink and many others. Laubrock has composed for ensembles ranging from solo to chamber orchestra. Awards include Fellowship in Jazz Composition by the Arts Foundation, BBC Jazz Prize for Innovation, SWR German Radio Jazz Prize and German Record Critics Quarterly Award. She won best Rising Star Soprano Saxophonist in the ‘Downbeat Annual Critics Poll in 2015 and best Tenor Saxophonist in 2018.

Ingrid Laubrock has received composing commissions by The Fromm Music Foundation, BBC Glasgow Symphony Orchestra, Bang on a Can, Yarn/Wire, Grossman Ensemble, The Shifting Foundation, The Robert D. Bielecki Foundation, The Jerwood Foundation, American Composers Orchestra, Tricentric Foundation, SWR New Jazz Meeting, Jazzahead, Wet Ink Ensemble, The Jazz Gallery Commissioning Series, NY State Council of the Arts, Wet Ink, John Zorn’s Stone Commissioning Series and the EOS Orchestra.

She is a 2022/23 Artist-in-residence of The Wet Ink Ensemble. She is a recipient of the 2019 Herb Alpert Ragdale Prize in Music Composition, the 2022 Herb Alpert Ucross Prize in Music Composition and the 2021 Berklee Institute of Gender Justice Women Composers Collection Grant. Ingrid Laubrock is part-time faculty at Columbia University and The New School. She holds an MFA in Music Composition from Vermont College of Fine Arts.

Christie Dashiell, voice (bottom middle)

Christie Dashiell is a chart-topping, award-winning vocalist. She twice received recognition in DownBeat Magazine’s Student Music Awards as Outstanding Soloist and Best Vocalist in the Graduate College Division. She was also selected as a semifinalist in the Thelonious Monk Institute International Vocals Competition. In 2016, Dashiell released her debut solo album, “Time All Mine,” which debuted on Billboard’s Jazz Album and Contemporary Jazz Album Charts at No. 13 and 22, respectively. She has appeared as a featured artist on a number of jazz albums including “The Ever Fonky Lowdown” with Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra. A graduate of Howard University and the Manhattan School of Music, she was a member of Afro-Blue, Howard’s premier vocal jazz ensemble that appeared on NBC’s “The Sing Off.” Dashiell is on faculty at Howard University and the University of the District of Columbia.

Yoko Reikano Kimura, koto (bottom left)

Yoko Reikano Kimura is one of the most captivating artistic voices of Japanese koto and shamisen consistently praised by critics for her musical elegance and versatile repertoire. Based in New York and Japan, Kimura has concertized around the world including prestigious venues such as the Warsaw Autumn Festival, Israel Festival, The University of Cambridge, John F. Kennedy Center, Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Metropolitan Museum, Kabuki-za and various World Heritage Sites. Kimura has also performed Daron Hagen’s Koto Concerto: Genji with the Wintergreen Music Festival Orchestra conducted by Mei-Ann Chen and worked with renowned artists and organizations such as Heiner Goebbels, Wiener Solisten Trio, American Symphony Orchestra, and Basil Twist. Her awards include the First prize at the prestigious 10th Kenjun Memorial National Koto Competition, the Kyoto Aoyama Barocksaal Award, and a scholarship from the Agency of Cultural Affairs of Japan. Kimura is a founder of Duo YUMENO, with cellist Hikaru Tamaki. yokoreikanokimura.com

Chris Tordini, bass (bottom right)

Chris Tordini is an in-demand bassist in the international jazz and creative music scene. He regularly records and tours with world-class musicians, such as Becca Stevens, John Hollenbeck, Chris Speed, Theo Bleckmann, Miguel Zenón and many others. Chris has written two method books for upright bass, and he is an active educator in the realm of jazz and improvised music. Christordini.bandcamp.com