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BIO
Big Space is an instrumental trio featuring guitarist Grant King, bassist Ian Murphy and drummer Ashley Chalmers.
Formed in 2013 and based in St. John's, Newfoundland, Big Space plays an original mix of progressive jazz fusion, instrumental rock and immersive soundscapes. They have built a reputation as an exciting live act, with festival performances at Sound Symposium, Lawnya Vawnya, Wreckhouse Jazz & Blues Festival, Brokestfest, and Music at Harbourside.
In 2016 Big Space released Live at The Levee, a live audio-visual album available on Bandcamp and Youtube. The release earned the band local media attention and in the following years they continued developing their sound through live performances, becoming fixtures in the St. John's music scene.
Their 2021 studio debut In Relation To won ECMA Jazz Recording of the Year, awarded to the best jazz album in Atlantic Canada. It was recorded live in the studio to capture the dynamic interplay between the three musicians. The album's unique alternative/jazz crossover style garnered praise from rock and jazz media in Canada and abroad.
The band's next album The Pendulum Effect will be released on June 5, 2026. The record expands on the jazz/rock hybrid sound of their debut, featuring both their most high-energy driving material and their most lyrical, ballad-oriented writing.
Mixed by Brett Bullion (The Bad Plus, Low) and mastered by Nate Wood (Kneebody, Tigran Hamasyan), pre-orders for vinyl, CD and digital downloads are open on Bandcamp. First single "The Watching" is streaming now.
"Big Space takes listeners on a
dizzying jazz-rock journey"
- Dominionated
EXTENDED BIO
Formed in 2013, Big Space is a genre-blending band that mixes jazz improvisation with rock instrumentation, incorporating the sounds of instrumental post-rock. Guitarist Grant King is a graduate of Berklee College of Music and the Longy School of Music, who also studied privately for years with legendary jazz educator Charlie Banacos. Bassist Ian Murphy is a longtime musical collaborator of Grant's with a background in indie & alternative music, while drummer Ashley Chalmers also studied jazz at St. FX. Each member contributes a broad range of experience in varied musical settings to the band's collaborative approach.
Reflecting their cross-genre sound, Big Space has performed festivals spanning jazz, indie, metal, and more including Lawnya Vawnya, Sound Symposium, Music at Harbourside, Brokestfest, HeavyNFLD Fest, and Wreckhouse Jazz & Blues. In 2016 they self-released a live album, Live at The Levee, which also included live videos for each song. In 2018 they filmed two live-in-studio performances for CBC Television's Parkway Sessions series.
In 2021 Big Space released their studio debut In Relation To. It received praise from both jazz and alternative media in Canada and abroad, with the UK’s Jazz Journal praising it as “a brilliantly original album” and DOMINIONATED calling it “a dizzying jazz-rock journey”.
In Relation To won an East Coast Music Association award for Jazz Recording of the Year, awarded to the best jazz album in Atlantic Canada. In 2022, band was awarded the Gerry Porter Award for Creative Improvised Music at Sound Symposium XX. Big Space has also performed as a showcasing artist at MusicNL's Music Celebration Week.
The band's follow-up album The Pendulum Effect expands on the sound of the debut. Moving between high-energy fusion, lyrical ballads and immersive soundscapes, it was mixed by Brett Bullion (The Bad Plus) and mastered by Nate Wood (Kneebody). The album will be released on vinyl, CD and digital streaming platforms on June 5, 2026.