New Music: Steve Amirault Reinvents Himself as U-Bass Bandleader Diva Miro

Canadian Jazz Pianist Steve Amirault Reinvents Himself as U-Bass Bandleader Diva Miro…

Canadian pianist, vocalist, composer Steve Amirault has released Vanity Project, his first album as a bassist and bandleader, under the name Diva Miro.

After a career centred primarily on piano – and appearances on three JUNO Award-winning albums—Amirault took up the U-Bass approximately a year before recording the project. The instrument inspired a new set of compositions and an entirely different musical identity.

Vanity Project features nine original contemporary-jazz compositions combining song-like melodies, deep grooves, open improvisation and playful invention. Amirault leads the quartet on a fretted Kala Exotic Mahogany Acoustic-Electric U-Bass, joined by Erik Hove on alto saxophone, Chet Doxas on tenor saxophone and Richard Irwin on drums.

Recorded at Montreal’s Hotel2Tango, the album places the U-Bass at the centre of an original jazz ensemble—not as a novelty, but as the rhythmic and compositional foundation of the music. A complete contemporary-jazz album led from the U-Bass remains relatively unusual, making Vanity Project a surprising new chapter in Amirault’s established career.

Available online at divamiro.bandcamp.com/album/vanity-project