Linsey Wellman Funeral Band

Linsey Wellman’s Wedding and Funeral Trio. Balkan style rhythms with a nod to John Zorn and free jazz. Oh yes – and original compositions too. Laughter and tears!

Linsey Wellman – saxophone, clarinet

Keith Hartshorn Walton – tuba

Mike Essoudry – drums

An active member of the Ottawa music scene, Linsey Wellman is known as a creative and spontaneous improvisor. He is a member of art-punk ensemble Fet Nat, Sun Ra tribute Rakestar Arkestra, the Craig Pedersen Quartet, JUNO nominated and Polaris Prize longlisted calypso outfit Kobo Town, and Gamelan Semara Winangun, all while taking part in countless improvised music and jazz ensembles. He has played and/or recorded with such artists as Scott Thomson, Nicolas Caloia, Yves Charuest, Ken Aldcroft, Jesse Stewart, Nonoko Yoshida, Yves Lambert and Ellen McIlwaine.

Dr. Keith Hartshorn-Walton continues to explore new sounds and venues for the tuba. An advocate for jazz and for improvisation on the instrument, he has played in a wide array of musical settings, including performances with Peter Turner, the Ratchet Orchestra, the Lemon Bucket Orkestra, The Boxcar Boys, Acid Brass, R. Murray Schafer’s outdoor opera “The Enchanted Forest” and his own small ensemble collaborations. Music exploration is the reason, tuba is the medium.

Mike Essoudry is known as a sensitive yet active and responsive drummer, with strong musical intuition. He received a Master of Music degree (Jazz Drumset Performance) from McGill University in 2003. Mike is a busy performer and composer on the Ottawa music scene playing with many projects in the funk, jazz, and improvised music scene such as Rakestar, Atlantis Jazz Ensemble, Weddings and Funerals, and Don Cummings Organ Sextet as well as leading his own groups like the Bank Street Bonbons and the Mike Essoudry Sextet. Mike is also an active drumset teacher and a dance accompanist/composer with Propeller dance.