françois houle . clarinet
joe sorbara . drums, percussion

François Houle and Joe Sorbara became a duo almost as soon as Sorbara’s plane landed in Vancouver in November of 2017. For the two years following, they explored different approaches to what would later become SoHo in private, while also playing together in a number of other contexts, including the trio Alien Radio with bassist James Meger, and in performance with guitarists Tony Wilson, David Blake, and Jared Burrows.

In 2019, Sorbara’s family returned to their home in Ontario after two years among friends and family on the west coast of Turtle Island. The duo were able to meet next in June, 2020, when François drove across Canada from Montréal to Vancouver. He made stops along the way to play in parks and backyards and raising funds for four distinct causes he felt to be intimately connected to our realities in the days of Pandemic. Closest to his heart was a fundraising effort to support cancer research via the BC Cancer Foundation in honour of his dear older brother, Yvon. On the 21st, he arrived in Toronto and SoHo made their first public appearance in the form of a short concert for a few cautious friends and neighbours in Joe's stifling Bloordale backyard:

Since, they have performed with Alien Radio at Something Else! -- by the good folx at Zula Presents in Hamilton -- along with tenor saxophonist, Ted Crosby; took part in a Temporary Ensembles Night together at Silence in Guelph; and appeared with pianist Tania Gill and alto saxophonist Naomi McCarroll-Butler at the Trazac in Toronto.

Their first recording as a duo was released on ezz-thetics by HatHut in November 2022 with liner notes by Art Lang. There is a lot more to come as the adventure continues.

Stay tuned. . .