Way North is the best kind of musical collaboration, one born out of the joy of playing together. Way North was formed in Brooklyn in 2014 by three Canadians – saxophonist Petr Cancura (Down Home – JUNO nominee), trumpeter Rebecca Hennessy (FOG Brass Band/Women’s Blues Revue bandleader), bassist Michael Herring (Peripheral Vision – JUNO nominee) and one American, drummer Richie Barshay (Herbie Hancock/Chick Corea). The band brings together four musicians who love to use jazz and improvisation as a means of exploring folk and world music. They are releasing their second album, Fearless And Kind following their debut CD, Kings County, which was picked by the Ottawa Citizen as one of the best Jazz CD’s of 2015. You can hear the influences of a wide range of folk genres, including the blues, old-time, Balkan, Brazilian and Calypso. In January 2016, Way North was invited to perform and teach at Danilo Perez’s Panama Jazz Festival. While in Panama they were also invited to the Mamoni Reserve in the jungle where they performed and collaborated as part of the NGO Earth Train’s Geoversity campaign.