With influences ranging from Wayne Shorter to Levon Helm to J Dilla, The Worst Pop Band Ever is a Toronto based quintet that tries to combine a love of improvisational jazz and indie pop. The award winning members of the WPBE have worked with a who's who of Canadian and international musicians, including Feist, Blue Rodeo, Milosh and the Shuffle Demons. Together, whether it be blending acoustic bass with turntables or analog synths with the saxophone, the WPBE sets out to twist and bend both originals and covers, straddling genres and butting heads with expectation. The band has delighted audiences across North America in packed and festivals from Chicago to St. Johns to Vancouver Island. In fact, they were called “highlights of the festival ” at the 2012 TD Canada Trust Toronto Jazz Festival. They’ve also shared stages with the Bad Plus, Happy Apple, Jeff Parker, Elizabeth Shepherd, and Rich Underhill. Their first 3 CDs have met critical acclaim and were featured on All About Jazz, the Toronto Star, CBC, CKUA, CIUT, CFCR, Jazz FM, Something Else and reached as high as #1 on college radio charts. Their music has also been used for film and videos for the NFB, UN and even a Disney Pilot. Their latest album, “Blackout”, is their musical take on what transpired in Toronto during the Great Northeastern Blackout of 2003. “The [WPBE]'s title displays a sense of humor and frivolity, but in name only…. Street wise yet substantive, these compositions would appeal to fans of Vijay Iyer, Brad Mehldau, or DJ Logic…is hip enough and deep enough for jazzers and non-jazzers alike.” Mark J. Turner, allaboutjazz "The music's fresh, may appeal to pop lovers but assuredly to jazzers keen on a kind of driven fluency as genre stylings are examined, discarded and reworked." Geoff Chapman, Toronto Star "Of course Jazz isn't dead. The core idea of using pop music as source material for creative exploration is still very much alive…It is easier to appreciate (and follow) where these artists take the music when you already understand where they started… Snarky Puppy, Mehliana, The Worst Pop Band Ever…" Kevin Hurley, Huffington Post