Jazz

Aslam grew up with Jazz. His Dad, Shaukat Husain, and Uncle, Demis Tsimon, ran Victoria’s only jazz vinyl store, Sweet Thunder Records. Shaukat and Demis still run B.C.’s longest running Jazz Radio show Straight No Chaser on CFUV 102FM. It’s been on the air over 35 years.

When they were kids, Aslam and his brother would run around the back office after school sneaking bites of spare donuts while Kind of Blue was spinning in the background. When the store was quiet, they would flip through iconic Blue Note covers, drawn to the eye catching art of Francis Wollf’s inimitable black and whites and Reid Mile’s groundbreaking typography. Those images and sounds are pressed into his memory of home, and Aslam’s photography is always inspired by his Dad and Uncle, their love of Jazz and the community they built through Sweet Thunder.