Aaron Dolman

Aaron Dolman is a drummer, composer and bandleader born and based in Montreal who is rapidly establishing himself as an exciting voice in the city's diverse music scene. Having performed with many notable North-American Jazz musicians, including André White, Sasha Berliner, Jean- Michel Pilc, Kevin Dean, Mike Rud, Yesseh Furaha-Ali and Josh Rager, as well as members of Canada’s diverse folk music scene, such as Connie Kaldor and Folle Avoine, he is equally at home performing in contemporary Jazz and experimental contexts as he is in folk, blues and traditional music contexts.

Aaron leads the experimental trio "Dolman / Rossy / Jobin", in which he is joined by vocalists Sarah Rossy and Eugénie Jobin. Are You Here to Help?, The group's first album—Aaron's second as leader, composer, and now lyricist—was released on March 18, 2022. The album is a journey into the uniquely evocative qualities of drums and the human voice—brought into sharp focus by the group’s strikingly minimalistic instrumentation. Aaron’s compositions and original lyrics blur the line between notated and improvised performance, and probe the expressive power of taking and giving Space. In his own words: “This is music about space. The space between each note, each word, each breath. Between what was, what is, and what could be. The gentle potency of silence. This is music about the spaces that hold the ones we love and that are left empty when they are lost.”

Aaron released his debut album, “Nostalgia and Other Fantasies” in November of 2019. Inspired by the feelings of nostalgia that are stirred up when sifting through old family photos or driving through the Canadian prairies, Aaron weaves together two of his great musical loves – Folk and Jazz – to create songs that sway between evocative melodies, engaging improvisations and delicate soundscapes. The album features his 5-piece chamber-folk ensemble, which includes Caitlin Smith on viola, Zacharie Bachand and Marcus Savard-Lowry on acoustic and electric guitars, and Mathieu McConnell on bass.

Aaron has been the recipient of a number of awards and accolades, most notably the Lou Williamson Jazz Award (2017), The Schulich School of Music Award for Outstanding Achievement in Performance (2017) and three Schulich School of Music Scholarships 2016, 2017 and 2018. He also holds a Bachelor of Music in Jazz Performance from McGill University, where he was a member of the school's flagship ensemble - the Jazz Orchestra 1 - led by Juno-winning composer Christine Jensen. Alayne McGregor of ottawajazzscene.ca praised Aaron’s “powerful drumming” as a driving force of that “hard-swinging” and “vibrant” ensemble. In his final year of studies, he was invited to share the stage with McGill’s 2019 Catherine Thornhill Steele Guest Artist, acclaimed trumpeter and composer Ambrose Akinmusire.

Aaron was a member of the 2021/22 FOCUSYEAR ensemble in Basel, Switzerland, where he was one of 8 musicians invited from around the globe to work and perform with a remarkable roster of visiting artists, under the musical direction of the acclaimed Austrian guitarist Wolfgang Muthspiel . The 2021/22 visiting artists included Aaron Parks, Lionel Loueke, Ingrid Laubrock, Kris Davis, Jeff Ballard, Larry Grenadier, Guillermo Klein, Linda May Han Oh, Becca Stevens, Jorge Rossy and many other pre-eminent contemporary Jazz artists.

When home in Montreal, Aaron is also a coveted sideman and can be found playing regularly in many of Montreal's local Jazz clubs, cafés and performance spaces. When on the road, he performs at Jazz and Folk festivals across Canada, most recently the Montreal International Jazz Festival, the Toronto Undergraduate Jazz Festival, the Canmore Folk Music Festival and the Regina Folk Festival. Show less