Saxophonist, pianist, composer, and educator Vincent Stephen-Ong's unique approach to music stems from a constant search for honesty, originality, and emotional expression within an artistic musical concept. Starting at the age of 10 by teaching himself the piano, he soon began taking formal instruction and discovered jazz and the saxophone at the age of 13. As of result of his stylistic versatility, immediately-identifiable voice, pointedly-engaging teaching approach, professional attitude, and deep musicality, he has become an in-demand musician on the Montreal scene.
His debut album, "Winding Path", was released in 2008, thanks to a "Jeunes Volontaires" grant. The recording featured a diverse yet grounded mix of passionate boundary-pushing original music, written for the core Stephen-Ong/Eliosoff jazz quartet with an added string trio. In 2006, the quartet advanced to the semi-finals of the Jazz en Rafale contest and in 2009, his group the Certified Organic Jazz Quartet placed as finalists in the Montreal International Jazz Festival competition. It was at this time that he also became part of the acclaimed improvisation ensemble Kalmunity Vibe Collective. In 2011, he participated in the improvised dance/poetry/music show "Body Slam" at the Montreal St-Ambroise Fringe Festival and garnered multiple awards including Best Multi-disciplinary Show. In 2012, he became part of multilingual hip-hop super-group Nomadic Massive, performing with them in New York, Los Angeles, and Toronto. Also in 2012, it was under his direction that Kalmunity Vibe Collective held down 3 consecutive nights of residency to full houses at the Montreal International Jazz Festival. In that same year he also joined hit songwriter Paul Cargnello's band. In 2013, his performances take him to France, Brazil, Haiti, the USA, and across Canada.
In addition to his performances, Vincent also teaches extensively, in private lessons, workshop and group contexts. In 2008-2010, he was the head organizer of the Montreal Academy of Music's yearly student recital, held at Place-des-Arts, and featuring over 100 student performances. In 2008, he received the Outstanding Teacher Award from the Montreal Academy of Music. In 2010, he completely revamped and redeveloped the curriculum for the Kalmunity Vibe Collective's weekly improvisation and artist development workshop series, becoming its head organizer and teacher. In 2011, he began assisting francophone rapper and slam poet MC June in poetry and music workshops in elementary and secondary schools through Quebec and Calgary. In 2013, the ever-popular Kalmunity Workshops series expands with specialized workshops and student concerts and Vincent goes on to develop and teach a series of improvisation workshops for tap dancers at the Legends of Rhythm Tap Festival.
Today, Vincent performs and teaches with Nomadic Massive, Paul Cargnello, Kalmunity Vibe Collective, Vox Sambou, Certified Organic Jazz Quartet, MC June, Emrical, and :::alter egos:::.