Winnipeg Jazz Orchestra & Sean Irvine Ready ‘Forgotten Stories Suite’

The Winnipeg Jazz Orchestra (WJO) joins forces with composer and multi-instrumentalist Sean Irvine for Forgotten Stories Suite, a deeply moving, large-ensemble concept album that amplifies the lived experiences of 2SLGBTQ+ individuals navigating identity, trauma, resilience, and healing. The record releases on Friday, February 6, 2026, via Chronograph Records (CR-118).

The WJO’s ninth album release, Forgotten Stories Suite, is structured as a five-movement work, with each movement introduced by poetic monologues and grounded in distinct personal narratives. Blending expansive orchestral jazz writing with lyrical vocals, spoken word, and evocative instrumental textures, the suite creates space for empathy, reflection, and connection.

Composed by Irvine and featuring vocalist Karly Epp and spoken-word narrator Quinn Greene, the album moves fluidly between intimacy and scale, pairing cinematic orchestration with deeply personal storytelling. Each movement invites the listener into a different portrait—stories that are often unheard, yet profoundly universal.

Irvine comments:

“I want this album to speak for itself—to amplify the voices of a community of people who take each day in stride and have lived lives of solitude, grappling for love and freedom. Much like walking through an art gallery, I hope listeners look deeply into these portraits and feel how each line and shade contributes to something larger: connection and empathy.”

Founded in 1997, the Winnipeg Jazz Orchestra is Canada’s first community-based, non-profit professional jazz orchestra and a cornerstone of Winnipeg’s cultural life. Under the leadership of artistic director and conductor Dr. Richard Gillis, the WJO has become a nationally recognized, artist-driven ensemble committed to commissioning, performing, and recording ambitious new works.

The Winnipeg Jazz Orchestra has earned international acclaim for its recordings and performances, with DownBeat Magazine noting, “the Winnipeg Jazz Orchestra also builds on the sturdy Jones/Evans cornerstones of modern orchestral jazz… The WJO is a potent reminder of the wealth of talent north of the border.”