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Photo: Vincent Lim

Hi, I’m Will Chernoff! I live in Metro Vancouver, BC. I play bass, play guitar, and sing. I've been fortunate to play for the Vancouver International Jazz Festival, Frankie's Jazz Club, Infidels Jazz, Tyrant Studios, and several more venues and presenters in recent years.

My latest recording is an EP called Queen's Park. In addition to some other digital releases, I've made two studio albums on CD: Maybe Eventually and Aim to Stay. All of these recordings feature my original instrumental music.

What I've been up to recently is playing in guitarist Madeleine Elkins' trio (check out her album!) plus working on my current band, Western Red Cedar.

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William Chernoff is a Canadian musician from New Westminster, BC who is active in folk, jazz, and improvised music scenes. Will is best known for playing electric bass and additionally performs on acoustic guitar and vocals.

Will's current band is Western Red Cedar, a creative ensemble that plays Celtic-based original music, incorporating Irish, Scottish, Quebecois, and more traditions. Western Red Cedar draws inspiration from artists like Bill Frisell, Martin Hayes, Sam Amidon, Sam Wilkes, Matt Carmichael, and Fergus McCreadie.

Most recently, Will has been a supporting musician with Madeleine Elkins, a guitarist who released her debut album Brighton Train in 2025. Elkins' trio with Will and drummer Kevin Romain was named one of "10 Vancouver music acts to watch in 2026" by the Vancouver Sun and has been featured on CBC Music / Radio-Canada.

As a leader, Will's latest recording is an EP titled Queen's Park, released in 2024. Will previously released his first studio album of original instrumental music, Aim to Stay, in 2020 and his second, Maybe Eventually, in 2022. Critics describe his music as welcoming and accessible; journalist Chris Wong writes that "swing and melodicism" are "at Chernoff's artistic core". In his compositions, Will renders locations and memories as moods, often referencing specific places in his titles and implying links across time. His show history has included feature performances at the Vancouver International Jazz Festival, Khatsahlano, Frankie's Jazz Club, and Tyrant Studios.

Will began his professional career in 2016 playing with violinist Gabriel Dubreuil. They were members of the folk-rock band Early Spirit, which toured the Canadian folk scene and made two albums: Unrelated (2018) and The Hollow Tree (2022). Will has also been noted for his work as a multi-instrumentalist with The Celtic Ensemble, as well as his community performances and presence in his hometown of New Westminster.

A bit about my background

  • I started a website called Rhythm Changes to cover artists, events, and recordings in Canadian creative music. Rhythm Changes is best known for "the gig list", a curated live music listing service.
  • I've hosted and produced several podcasts, audio and video. I learned how to do it from scratch starting with the Rhythm Changes Podcast, my first-ever show. I currently co-host a monthly music, tech, and business show called Upsample (YouTube / audio links) with my friend Carson Tworow.
  • Chernoff Music is the name of my own business. Through it, I do services for record labels, live music companies, and non-profit arts organizations in the U.S. and Canada. That's the work I do to pay the bills.

It’s great to have you here!