Chuck Copenace

For Chuck Copenace, Oshki Manitou is a decidedly personal musical expression, a gift to his family and community, and a means of sharing how ceremonial melodies have changed his musical outlook and united his creativity and spirituality. Oshki Manitou finds the Winnipeg-based, Ojibway musician expanding dramatically on his previous work as a trumpet player, arranger, and composer, fusing contemporary interpretations of sweat- lodge melodies with jazz and elements of dance and electronica.

The result is a collection of eminently groovy, haunting, and ethereal songs that display Chuck Copenace’s signature voice and substantial skills as an interpreter, composer, and performer as never before. But there’s a larger purpose behind his efforts, for which Oshki Manitou is just a starting point. “I’m committed to sharing my story and I want to introduce young people to jazz, but I also want to bring indigenous musicians together. And I think my music can be a platform to further that mission.”