Born on October 22, 1956 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, multiple Juno Award winner Mary Bunnett is an Afro-Cuban jazz musician specializing in soprano saxophone, flute, and piano. Initially focused on a career as a classical pianist, at the age of 20, Bunnett switched her focus to jazz and playing the flute and soprano saxophone. Her first album as a leader was 1988’s In Dew Time. She formed the Jane Bunnett Quintet and released the Live at Sweet Basil album in 1990. She won a Juno Award for 1992’s Spirits of Havana. Other albums as a leader include The Water Is Wide (1994) Rendez-Vous Brazil Cuba (1995), and Jane Bunnett and the Cuban Piano Masters (1996). Bunnett later recorded two albums with The Spirits of Havana: Chamalongo (1998) and Ritmo + Soul (2000). Her 2001 album Alma de Santiago was nominated for a Juno and Grammy Award. 2002’s Cuban Odyssey was also nominated for a Juno and Grammy. Bunnett was appointed and Officer of the Order of Canada in 2004, the highest civilian honor given to a Canadian. She won Juno Awards for her albums Radio Guantanamo Blues Project – Vol. 1 (2006) and Embracing Voices (2009). In 2014, Bunnett formed Maqueque, a group comprised of brilliant Cuban female musicians. The group released two albums: Jane Bunnett & Maqueque (2014) and Oddara.
