ARUNA ANTONELLA HANDA & MICHAEL BROADHEAD

GIG ALERT: SUNDAY AUGUST 16 7 PM - 8:30 PM. FREE TIMES CAFE, 320 COLLEGE ST. TORONTO. TIX $20.

 

Aruna Antonella Handa

jazz duo

Michael Broadhead

HANDA AND BROADHEAD

Aruna Antonella Handa, the songwriter of the duo, and Michael Broadhead, upright bassist, bring their shared love for jazz to the stage, in novel voice and bass settings of Aruna's material and jazz standards. Playing together for a few years, the duo is preparing to release an EP before year’s end. Ahead of their EP, a recording the pair made in a live-off-the-floor session at the Next Church in Kingston appears on the upcoming Aruna & the Sirens’ debut LP, Of Bones and Addicts, which drops in the fall of 2026. 

With a rich and agile contralto, Aruna Antonella Handa sings her songs about plastics, elephants, love, and addiction, in clubs and festivals, (Tranzac Club, Monarch Tavern, Musiikki, Canadian Music Week), and in theatrical presentations. A recording from her song suite on gender-based violence, Have You Seen My Sister?, which debuted at Nuit Blanche Toronto, earned a nomination for her band for Single of the Year (2024) at the Canadian Folk Music Awards. With Michael Broadhead on bass, Aruna leans into jazz settings of her songs plus a selection of standards. Aruna holds a BA in music and philosophy at McGill University, and has studied composition and performance in workshops/master classes with Yehudi Menuhin, Sheila Jordan, Odetta, Casey Sokal, Teatro Vivo, Tomson Highway, and Jane Siberry, among others. Of Bones & Addicts her LP of songs about addiction and recovery drops this fall. 

Michael Broadhead (upright bass) began studying upright bass with Doug Rooks at age 13, performing in orchestras, pit bands, and rock bands while still a teenager. He studied jazz at Toronto's Humber College under Neil Swainson and Mike Downes before returning to full-time playing in Toronto and Kingston, where in addition to Aruna, he plays jazz with Dave Barton and Chantal Thompson, and sits in with other bands including Princess Towers, and Funeral Lakes. Michael is a former president of the Kingston Jazz Society and currently serves as board member, arranging monthly jazz jams there.

 

Upcoming Performances

  • Sunday August 16/26 7pm Freetimes Café, 320 College St. Toronto, Canada TIX and Info TBA

  • Durham, UK July-August 2027, Details TBA.

 

Info, Bookings, Media, Collaborations

Please contact aruna@aruna.ca