Malcolm Aiken

Arts Educator | Music Producer | Festival Director

Malcolm Aiken is a multidisciplinary musician, educator, and producer whose work bridges academic research, community engagement, and artistic innovation. He holds a Master of Arts in Ethnomusicology and a Bachelor of Music from the University of British Columbia, as well as a Music Diploma from Vancouver Community College. His academic focus lies in jazz, improvisation, Afro-Caribbean music, and popular music studies, supported by fieldwork in Cuba, Mexico, Ecuador, and Uganda.

Malcolm currently serves on the music faculty at Kwantlen Polytechnic University, where he teaches courses in music business, entrepreneurship, and ethnomusicology. His pedagogical approach draws on nearly two decades of teaching experience at institutions including Simon Fraser University, the University of Veracruz in Mexico, and the West Vancouver Youth Band. He has also held Artist-in-Residence roles with the Vancouver School Board and international programs.

Malcolm is the founder and director of TrebleFive Music, a multi-facility production studio, digital arts and performance hub, home to 25 full-time artists in residence. Through this platform, he oversees artist development, music production, and interdisciplinary projects. He is also the co-creator of The Hargrove, an emerging cultural hub for concerts, workshops, and installations featuring partners such as The Vancouver Jazz Festival and Emily Carr University.

As a producer and curator, Malcolm has led major initiatives such as the Candlelight concert Series (2021–present), where he has written and starred in 5 productions with over 250 performances nationwide. He served as Artistic Director of Carnaval del Sol (2017–2023), programming over 50 national and international acts annually. His performing ensemble Mazacote, which fuses jazz and Afro-Caribbean music, has toured extensively across Canada and was nominated for the 2021 JUNO Award for World Album of the Year.

Malcolm's discography includes several albums released on Justin Time/Nettwerk Music Group and TrebleFive Records, as well as interdisciplinary media projects filmed across Latin America, the Caribbean and East Africa. His written work includes a chapter in Salsa in the Pacific Northwest (Salsaneo Publications, 2021) and his UBC thesis “BC Salsa: Identity, Musicianship and Performance in Vancouver’s Afro-Latin Orchestras” (2009). He has presented at international conferences including NAMM, Sonar Barcelona, and the BCMEA, and has served on juries for the Canada Council for the Arts, FACTOR, and the BC Arts Council.

As a trumpet player, Malcolm has shared the stage with a range of artists including Chucho Valdés, Jimmy Bosch, David Hidalgo (Los Lobos), Leila Forouhar, Liam Gallagher (Oasis), Jim Byrnes, John Hammond Jr., Steven Page (BNL), and Steve Dawson, as well as in performances for global figures such as the Dalai Lama and Archbishop Desmond Tutu.