Gaea Schell Quartet

Based in the Bay Area and hailing from Edmonton, Alberta, Schell had an early baptism in the Bay Area jazz scene at age six, taking recorder lessons from longtime Bobby Hutcherson drummer Eddie Marshall, a family neighbor.

Matriculation at Montreal’s McGill University and studies in New York with piano genius Richie Beirach solidified her technique, and dues paying with elders on the bandstand sharpened her instincts, leading to a rapid rise in her reputation along with grants from Canada Council for the Arts, Chamber Music America, and others.

Schell’s first two releases, 2004’s Dream Away and For All We Know from 2007 boast the inimitable drumming of 2021 NEA Jazz Master Albert “Tootie” Heath, and In Your Own Sweet Way was recorded by the quartet she brings to the JHL, including guitarist and bandleader Jordan Samuels, Bay Area jazz treasure John Wiitala on bass, and the rhythmic mastery of Greg Wyser-Pratte on drums.