TIME TO RING SOME CHANGES… Nothing is permanent, nothing is real… After the end of July, Zula Productions and Rime will be parting ways to pursue different visions. It’s been a fun, bumpy ride! For future Zula events elsewhere, keep checking zulapresents.org . Feel free to get on email lists on both websites. Big hugs & thanks to the artists, who continue to create magic and beauty in face of adversity! Many thanks to you, a most faithful & adventurous audience, for your continued support of live music in your community!
ZULA Presents
JULY 2006 at RIME (1130 Commercial Drive, Vancouver, BC)
(Click here to download calendar in PDF)
Artist In Residence at Rime – Tuesdays in July 2006: STEVE SMITH
Bassist/Composer/Bandleader Steve Smith is an active member of our jazz community and a prolific composer. Before moving to Vancouver in 2000, Smith resided in San Francisco. A native of California, Smith received a Bachelor of Arts in Music from the University of California. After studying privately with Bertram Turetzky and Bob Magnusson, he was contracted for a series of performances in Western Canada where he met jazz pianist and contemporary classical composer, Lisa Miller. The two moved to New York City where they participated in Greenwich Village sessions with artists such as Brad Mehldau, Larry Grenadier, Jacky Terrasson, David Sanchez, and Roy Hargrove. His debut recording as a leader, Chantal’s Way on Double Time Records (www.doubletimejazz.com), features ECM recording artist Richie Beirach and Miles Davis’ sideman Billy Hart. Smith has been busy writing, performing and recording with his quintet Five, called “one of the most vibrant bands on the burgeoning Vancouver jazz scene,” and now his latest project, Steps, featuring some of the finest players in our city. Steve Smith & Lisa Miller now reside in East Vancouver’s Commercial Drive Community with their son Caden.
Monday, July 3/ CHRIS DAVIS QUINTET (9 pm, $5) Chris Davis Quintet‘s performance will be focused on the sounds of the Blue Note Era with concentration on the lesser known compositions of Cedar Walton, Lee Morgan, Joe Henderson, and Wayne Shorter. This ensemble is led by recent US import/Vancouver resident, a most welcome addition to the city’s music community, trumpeter Chris Davis and features Terry Deane on sax, Paul Keeling on piano, Tommy Babin on bass, and New York City drummer, John Davis.
Tuesday, July 4/ Artist In Residence: STEVE SMITH – HOME (9 pm, $5-10) After recently recording for the CBC’s Hot Air and Jazz Beat programs, this trio (Miller/Smith/Foster), joined by special guest guitarist Bill Coon, will perform music from Steve Smith‘s debut cd Chantal’s Way released on Double-Time Records ( www.doubletimejazz.com ) featuring Richie Beirach and Billy Hart. Lisa Miller piano; Steve Smith bass; Tom Foster drums; with guest Bill Coon guitar
Wednesday, July 5/ AUDIO-LAVA & BLIND GOD (9 pm, $5-10) Moody, groove-based, jazz influenced trip-hop, results in the lush Audio-Lava sound out of Brent Cross‘ programmed drum loops, keyboard samples, spaghetti western guitar and vocals with the sultry, emotive vocals (& Roly sound module) of Lisa Butel plus Lorri Dar on bass, vocals & Jenny Beech on drums, vocals. www.audio-lava.com
A raw & powerful urban roots unit with a huge New York sound a la Morphine… Vampire-Delta blues… music you already know deep down…best band you may never have heard before! Dave Olajide steel guitar, banjo, vocals; Ray Garroway drums
Thursday, July 6/ TZIMMES (9 pm, $5-10) Original in concept and sound, Tzimmes occupies a niche of its own in Jewish Music. Over the 14 years of its existence, they have played in Canada, the U.S., Mexico, and England, at Folk Festivals and community events, for Jewish and non-Jewish audiences alike, committed to presenting Jewish Music in its many facets – everything from Middle Eastern (Mizrahi/Hebrew) to Eastern European (Klezmer/Yiddish) to Mediterranean (Sephardi/Ladino), and contemporary musical vernaculars. New settings of traditional repertoire alternate with completely original creations. To date Tzimmes has recorded 3 albums of music – Sweet and Hot, A Lid for Every Pot, and KlezMyriad. Moshe Denburg lead vocal, guitar, band leader; Yona Bar-Sever electric bass, guitar, vocals, hand percussion; Amy Stephen accordion; Saul Berson saxophone, clarinet, flute; Phil Belanger drums, percussion; Myrna Rabinowitz lead vocal www.tzimmes.net
Friday, July 7/ BEATS WITHOUT BORDERS with Guests (9:30 pm, $5-10) The Beats Without Borders Collective is made up of 4 established world beat djs, who spin the best dance music on the planet… from funked out afrobeat to sexy Middle-Eastern bellydance to bangin’ bhangra, they’ll rock the party, guaranteed. Tarun is a tabla player, dj, and producer from Montreal. Adrian is a producer, multi-instrumentalist (bass, electric guitar, laptop & the melodica) & dj. Tarun & Adrian spend much of their time organizing events with the Beats Without Borders Collective. www.beatswithoutborders.com
Saturday, July 8/ THE BREAKMEN & SLOW DRAG (9:30 pm, $10) Providing a refreshing take on traditional bluegrass, The Breakmen slide from smoky 1920’s Delta blues to swinging originals with ease. Archie Pateman banjo, guitar, vocals; Lee Watson guitar, vocals; Ben Rogalsky mandolin, vocals; Matt Lawson bass, vocals; Ivan Rosenberg dobro www.thebreakmen.com
“Not only have they listened carefully to their elders, they sound like they could have been there when the original 78s were recorded … (they) seem to have a magical affinity for times past. Slowdrag can make the older songs (and seven of the 13 pieces have dust on them) feel utterly alive and contemporary, with searing high harmonies, some heart-stopping picking, and the kind of raw, sparkling edge that’s there in the best music.” – Chris Nickson, fRoots Magazine, UK
Singer-songwriter, guitarists Koralee Tonack and Craig McKerron explore the roots of early country and bluegrass music. Their voices combine in a seamless and unique blend to recreate the powerful harmonies of a bygone era. Joining Koralee and Craig is Paul Bergman on upright bass, laying down a solid anchor for Slowdrag’s rural southern sound, plus special guest Ivan Rosenberg on dobro.
Sunday, July 9/ CASABLANCA COWBOYS (9 pm, $5-10) Three quarters of East-Van’s well-loved Gypsy-jazz unit, Stringfever manages to play very well even without violinist Stefan Thordarson’s incredible contributions…a pleasantly nostalgic journey of old swing standards, including some great vocal action. Violin & viola master Doug Thordarson and local swing greats Ron Thompson on guitar & Brent Gubbles on bass. www.stringfever.ca
Monday, July 10/ RUFUS CAPPADOCIA plus IAN FERRIER (9 pm, $5-10) Rufus Cappadocia is one of the leading voices of the modern cello. He lives in New York and plays a self-designed 5-string electric cello that extends the bass range of the cello and through amplification expands the tonal possibilities of the instrument. His rhythmic and sonic approach has led to collaborations with musicians from the Balkans, Ireland, West Africa, Greece and the Caribbean. His expertise in Near/Middle Eastern, African and American music forms informs his solo show creating a new and arresting voice that moves from deep polyrhythmic groove, into prayer, building to ecstatic peaks and back into soulful melody and blues. Cappadocia’s music has a timeless quality to it that reaches across boundaries. He has backed the great singers Aretha Franklin and Kasse Mady amongst others. Rufus’ cello was at the core rhythm section of Urban Tap, a company he toured with extensively. He can be heard on CD recordings with The Paradox Trio, Labyrinth w/ Ross Daly and Kif. www.rufusmusic.com
Montreal’s Ian Ferrier is one of the core writer/performers in the North American literature-in-performance scene. His work is a haunting mix of poetry and music, which he presents in Canada, Europe and the United States. His current focus is creating works for voice, acoustic guitar and choir. In 2000 Plan rebelle press released his CD & book Exploding Head Man. The CD & book present a collection of ballads for voice, live recordings with music, sound poems and solo studio collage. Rooted in the spellbound winters of his childhood, the pieces are a passionate look at love, sex and death against a background of the falling snow. They represent the best of three years of his collaborations with top musicians from Montreal and New York. Said the Montreal Gazette: “…heady, impassioned, sometimes hallucinogenic stuff that regularly makes nods to the Beat work he grew up with… Dreamy words soothe, lusty sentences steam, and with a delivery that’s often more gentle that the imagery it yields (even at its most volatile, Ferrier’s vocalizations, with their warm, cushiony and almost child-like diction, scream pseudo-innocence) his spoken word is a complex song in and of itself.” www.voices.e-poets.net/FerrierI
Tuesday, July 11/ Artist In Residence: STEVE SMITH – CIRCLE (9 pm, $5-10) Combine influences Mark Turner and Kurt Rosenwinkel with a pinch of James Brown’s Famous Flames circa 1960-1973, and you have this quartet formed specifically for Zula’s Artist In Residence Series at Rime. Jon Bentley saxophone; Daryl Jahnke guitar; Steve Smith bass; Bernie Arai drums
Wednesday, July 12/ FOLKFEST SAMPLER BASH (Night One) (8 & 11 pm shows, $10 each)
Vancouver Folk Music Festival and Zula Productions present at Rime on July 12th & 13th a mad mix of sounds, a generous sampler of the upcoming buffet of music and spoken word to be feasted on at Folkfest between July 14th and 16th at Jericho Beach Park. (Much of the copy below comes from the mighty pens of Folkfest’s “central scrutinizers” Dugg Simpson and Sarah Kim) www.thefestival.bc.ca
RHYMIN’ RIME (8 pm, $10) Toronto poet and journalist Clifton Joseph has authored a book of poetry, “Metropolitan Blues”; produced “Oral Trans/missions”, an album of poetry with music by the Livestock Band; a cd-single of the poem “Shots on Eglinton”; the video-poem “Pimps”; his work has been included in a number of spoken and written anthologies including Vehicule Press’ “Poetry Nation” and “Word Up”, Virgin Records’ compilation of North American spoken word poets. His video-poem “(survival) in the city” was aired by Muchmusic as part of their Video-poems series. Joseph has performed widely around Toronto, across Canada, in the US, the UK and the Caribbean. Clifton is also a founding member of the Dub Poets Collective. www.dubpoetscollective.com/cliftonjoseph.html
When Ari Up and her friends formed The Slits, the first all-woman punk band in the UK, few were ready for them. Their first road trip was the White Riot tour, opening for The Clash (Joe Strummer had taught her some guitar). They continued to tour, and released two albums that are still fresher and freer than any major music today. Their music was more tribal and yes, more dub-inflected, than their peers. Unsurprisingly, when The Slits called it quits, Ari moved on to the pioneer posse that became OnU Sound. Ari sang on the first single OnU released, and was part of a grouping known as The New Age Steppers. OnU poured punk and industrial music into the dub stew. Currently living in both Kingston and Brooklyn, her rhymes and her songs continue to reflect the world she lives in: motherhood, children, calling out politicians, ism-schisms, and guys acting like jerks. She is still a warrior for the right to simply be. www.ari-up.com
Originally from Jamaica, Lillian Allen is a writer (as well as a playwright, filmmaker & teacher) who moves easily from one artistic discipline to another, emerging with new work transformed and transforming. She is a leading exponent of dub poetry, a highly politicized form of poetry that has been set to music, including jazz, reggae, rock, and more. She has spent over a decade writing, publishing, and performing her work in Canada, the U.S. and England. www.dubpoetscollective.com/collective.html
AFRODIZZ (11 pm, $10) Guitarist and composer Gabriel Aldama, started this exciting project in 2002 leading this Montréal band to rapidly become a big sensation throughout Canada imposing itself as one of the best in its style. The eight piece band creates a festive and hypnotic ambiance, inviting everyone to dance, at times almost reaching a state of trance. Heavily influenced by Fela Kuti, they don’t just reproduce the sound of Nigerian Afro-beat music; they enrich the experience with contagious grooves and some heavy funk! Up to now, Afrodizz has realesed 2 CDs, including KIF KIF, the album which came out under the label DoRight for North America and FreeStyle for Europe. www.afrodizz.com
Thursday, July 13/ FOLKFEST SAMPLER BASH (Night Two) (8 & 11 pm shows, $10 each)
DUOS (8 pm, $10) While minimal in instrumentation – they use only cello and vocals – Bethany and Rufus are on the up and up in many musical circles for their deeply soulful and luscious groove sound. Hamilton native, New York City resident Rufus Cappadocia is becoming one of cello’s leading voices. Playing his self-designed five-string electric cello, Rufus has toured the world with various ensembles, musicians and vocalists, perhaps most notably Aretha Franklin and Odetta. The diversity of these experiences gives him an intimate familiarity with many different rhythms, genres, modalities and styles. Bethany Yarrow follows in the footsteps of her activist elders, she sings with passion and fervour, and brings a new generation of audiences to ‘listen up!’ Meeting seven years ago through a mutual friend, this duo is transforming American folk music with their captivating, haunting vocals and serene, addictive accompaniment. Their latest self-titled album is a gorgeous, modern incarnation of the folk classics. Peter, Paul & Mary approve, and so do we. www.bethanyandrufus.com
Ndidi Onukwulu & Madagascar Slim: Influenced by John Lee Hooker and Big Mama Thornton, Ndidi Onukwulu is the newest generation of roots and blues artists, writing and singing about modern-day trials and tribulations, a similar struggle to her predecessors singing for a better world. Of Nigerian heritage, now living in Toronto, she’s written blues songs since she was 13, and her struggles and pain shaped some of the most beautiful, heartfelt music coming out of this country. Playing alongside Ndidi, and no stranger to this ground, is blues guitarist Randriamananjara Radofa Besata Jean Longin, aka Madagascar Slim. Mr. Longin grew up in the capital city of Madagascar, Antananarivo, took up the guitar in his teenage years and was heavily influenced by Jimi Hendrix and BB King. He came to Canada in the late ’70s, and after college, immersed himself in the music scene and has been a tour de force ever since. They are a multi-talented group, with bassist Tom Sertsis and percussionist Rakesh Tewari rounding out the band. www.ndidi.ca www.madagascarslim.ca
Salt is two voices, four hands, ten instruments, and ears wide open. Still in their twenties, Vancouver based Awna Teixeira (former founding member of Barley Wik) and Allison Russell (founding member of Po’Girl) are already veterans of the international roots music community. With years of stories and collected wisdom from the road, and a long streak of dark theatrical humour, they hold honours degrees from the hobo college. Between them they play banjo, guitar, clarinet, accordion, gutbucket and electric bass, pennywhistle, bodhran, harmonica, washboard and kazoo. They play pretty much anything they can get their hands on, and everything they touch sounds distinctively like Salt. www.saltmakesmusic.com
NIGHT OF THE LIVING IMPROVISERS (11 pm, $10) GaGi, comprised of musicians Ganesh Anandan and Gibrán Cervantes, were already accomplished musicians on a wide variety of instruments, but none were capable of playing the music they could hear in their minds. There were always notes between the notes that couldn’t be played, and so the two began to build instruments that could. Gibrán created the urukonglo. Its departure point is the berimbau (mouth bow, as in arrow), one of the world’s oldest instruments. Ganesh works in a world of percussion instruments, many of which he built or modified: polytimbral frame drums such as the bodhran, bendir and daff; a metallophone (Indian mallet keyboard); kanjira and kanriqq tambourines; the cheng (Loation mouth organ); bansuri and kural bamboo flutes from north and south India respectively; the moorching mouth harp; and a Chinese reed instrument called the baou. His voice reflects the harmonic approaches and traditions he has studied around the world. Their music is a magic combination of composition and improvisation. They can scratch it up like a DJ or give a shape to the silence, take it down to a drone and then to a primal high.
“Fiery, joyous, highly improvisational music that is also quite mad.” “Loco techno… freaky mambo… Sorta folk-jazz-world-bluegrass-Brazilian-old-timey-blues-cowboy.” “…enchanted music for disenchanted times.” These are some of the attempts to describe the music Canadian guitarist Kevin Breit and Brazilian percussionist Cyro Baptista create as Supergenerous. Kevin also plays in The Sisters Euclid and Cyro leads a performance/percussion ensemble known as Beat the Donkey. Their musical lives also include serious road time and session work with Paul Simon, Cassandra Wilson, kd lang, Herbie Hancock, Laurie Anderson, John Zorn, Holly Cole, Trey Anastasio, Bill Frisell and Norah Jones, to name a few. Supergenerous is what you might call serious fun. In their own words: “In trying to make it big and full, we play totally different than we would if we were just adding a splash of colour. We’re more like a bucket of paint as opposed to a paintbrush. It is pretty intense.” www.kevinbreit.com www.cyrobaptista.com
Rufus Cappadocia is the master of a self-designed five-string cello that incorporates the bass and cello into one instrument. Please see July 10th for more info. www.rufusmusic.com
Friday, July 14/ FLATBACK & THE LUSCIOUS (9:30 pm, $5-10) Flatback is a new acoustic band inspired by David Grisman and Ry Cooder. Utilizing elements of rural blues, world music and jazz to forge their sound, they improvise over tunes that range from quiet lullabies to groovin’ sambas. This tight unit has been playing together for the last ten years in bands like Loose Acoustic, Bottleneck and Terminal Station. Jeremy Holmes mandolin; Scott Smith dobro; Gord Grdina oud; Liam Macdonald pandeiro
Angelic-voiced East Vancouver country diva Robyn Carrigan and brilliant new music composer/ guitarist Ron Samworth are The Luscious. Their programme will include original songs, music and interpretations. Hearts will be broken. Reviving refreshments served. “Hitch your wagon to a falling star”
Saturday, July 15/ GOLDEN WEDDING BAND (9:30 pm, $5-10) Infectious kitchen sink music from the 20’s through to the present by this swinging party band … covered styles include: country-swing, rumba, tango, calypso, Dixieland, jazz & blues with “Perfesser” Chris Dean tenor banjo, guitar, vocals; Andrew Burden trombone, baritone sax, sousaphone, vocals; Colin Maskell soprano sax; Clive “Pops” Jackson bass; Matt Belbin drums, percussion
Sunday, July 16/ KAREN FOSTER plus ORPHANS & DOGS (9 pm, $5-10) Karen Foster is a semi-pro, post-punk trio spaced in Vancouver. A polite external façade of caring and fostering, while within beats a maniac volatile heart ready to burst from skin and bone. Karen Foster is that Dionysian Shiva trapped in the bowels of Apollo. Chad MacQuarrie voice, guitar; Bryan McCallum bass, voice; Jason Dana drums www.myspace.com/fosterkare
Wherein Elizabeth Fischer, with much encouragement from band mates Paul Blaney on bass, Kevin Eluschuk on trumpet, Andre Lachance on guitar and Joel Lower on percussion, dares to sing the tunes of Billie, Bessie, Bob and Jesse and other societal misfits, these tunes being tunes that she’d never before dared sing but hey, Orphans and Dogs, Orphans and Dogs forever.
Monday, July 17/ CHRISTINE FELLOWS plus DAWN PEMBERTON TRIO (9 pm, $10) Christine Fellows lives in Winnipeg and writes stories, punches them full of holes, fashions them into songs using anything she finds lying around, scrapes them clean, and delivers them to us in a voice that is at once immediate and utterly original. Her work has often been described as filmic and sparse, carefully crafted “handmade folk” that would be as fitting performed in an orchestral setting as it would be on a rickety back porch. Christine Fellows piano, vocal; Leanne Zacharias cello, vocal; Greg Smith bass; Barry Mirochnick drums,vocal www.christinefellows.com
The Dawn Pemberton Trio will prove that Monday evening groove can get deep and nasty. James Brown, Janis Joplin and hits of the 80’s in a sweet soul marinade. Dawn Pemberton vocals; Jeff Younger guitar; David Marion bass www.myspace.com/dawnpemberton
Tuesday, July 18/ Artist In Residence: STEVE SMITH – ORBITS (9 pm, $5-10) Inspired by the lineage of the great ECM piano trios (Richie Beirach’s ELM, Keith Jarrett’s Standards, and Bobo Stenson’s Serenity), this trio of Chris Gestrin on piano, Steve Smith on bass, Dylan van der Schyff on drums will be joined by special guest trombonist Rod Murray.
Wednesday, July 19/ LEHERA (9 pm, $5-10) Internationally touring Indian musicians get together for a rare concert of classical and contemporary music – a genre defying sound at once virtuosic, energetic and contemplative. Soaring classical Indian vocalese intertwine with exquisite Hindustani slide guitar, violin, bamboo flutes, guitar and vocals driven by exciting Kannakol (Carnatic drum language) and Ghatam (Clay pot drum)…add to this mix a gifted guest tabla player, you have a very special evening with Lehera. Prakash Sontakke Hindustani slide guitar, violin, vocals; Karthik Subramanya ghatam, mridangam, percussion; Prashant John guitar, flutes, vocals; Sunny Matharu tabla
Thursday, July 20/ PETUNIA (9 pm, $5-10) “When Petunia yodels, the crowd just about levitateson a cloud of barely disguised hysteria. ” – Grand Forks Gazette “foot-tapping country and western laced with rock and jazz” – The New York Post Described variably as mesmerizing, haunting & dazzling, Petunia‘s voice is a big factor in the great sound of Petunia & the Hound Dogs‘ rock-a-hillbilly, yodeling, country-blues. Top notch band that Petunia put together has a distinctly modern and current air about it….at once transporting, strange, comforting and surreal. Petunia acoustic guitar, vocals; Steve Nikleva electric guitar; Jimmy Roy lapsteel guitar; Sam Shoichet double-bass www.petuniamusic.com
Friday, July 21/ TIPPY AGOGO, GILLES ZOLTY & WAYNE ADAMS (9:30 pm, $5-10) With organic sounds of mouth music (vocal percussion, jaw harps, bottles, and a many-octave voice), and with found objects and traditional instruments, the once Vancouver native, Tippy Agogo (Edmonton) is a “one-man orchestra”. Tippy plays everything absolutely live (no pre-samples) using natural abilities and minor sound effects to make the many-layered sound that he is known for. World-traveled to over 20 countries, he has compiled recordings globally for the fall release of his next album, recorded and compiled with the legendary Darryl Neudorf. Gilles Zolty (Saskatoon), known as the originator of Music Waste as a tonic to Music West and singer, songwriter and guitarist for Zolty Cracker from 1991 to 97. The band included core member Wayne Adams on percussion and vocals (as well as Annie Wilkinson on bass and vocals & others). Gilles & Wayne will join Tippy for the night’s happening, reuniting the 3 from their collaborations in Europe. www.tippyagogo.com www.myspace.com/gilleszolty
Saturday, July 22/ SARAH MACDOUGALL & HEADWATER (9:30 pm, $5-10) Guitarist, singer-songwriter Sarah MacDougall‘s music is best described as alt-country with a hint of noir. Her unique voice and lyrics carry the framework of her songs, recalling the music of Johnny Cash, Lucinda Williams, and Leonard Cohen. She proclaims that her music is about “goose bumps, closeness, realness, excitement and distress”… with Joanna Chapman-Smith clarinet, vocals; Tim Tweedale dobro, Weissenborn, pedalsteel; Pierre Lumoncel violin; Shawn Killaly drums; Rob Leishman bass www.sarahmac.net
Headwater consists of songwriters, string players Jonas Shandel and Matt Bryant from North Vancouver, and features a powerful rhythm section of Patrick Metzger on double bass and Dan Gaucher on drums. The typical Headwater set contains over half original material, and cover material including Gillian Welch, Bruce Springsteen and Nirvana. Headwater focuses their live energy on keeping the crowd moving with infectious rhythms, improvisational experimentation and their very apparent love of performing. www.headwaterband.com
Sunday, July 23/ SKANK CITY SHREDDERS & BERNARD BELANGER TRIO (9 pm, $5-10) Guitarist Ron Samworth is full of brilliant ideas. Here’s one of them: Music that filters the early jazz and blues repertoire through a blurry post-punk aesthetic. Employing a pseudo-Dixieland format, Skank City features a horny frontline, jumped up rhythm section, fuzz-tone banjo, and kamikaze drumbeats. Irreverent, groovy, skronky, swinging, non-toxic fun for the whole family, especially dysfunctional ones… Ron Samworth fuzz-tone banjo, guitar; Bill Clark trumpet, alpha male choreography; Rod Murray big bone; Graham Ord saxophone, effects/defects; Paul Blaney buzz-tone bass; Kenton Loewen drums, primal scream
Bernard Belanger Trio plays original acoustic music evocative of 60’s British Folk (Nick Drake) and 50’s bossa nova (Joao Gilberto) in the singer/songwriter style. Sparkling finger-style guitar, melodically & rhythmically rich acoustic bass, Chet Baker-esque vocals and soaring harmonies combined with strong and varied original songs produces a soft bittersweet nostalgia, innocent, yet cynical. Bernard Belanger on guitar and vocals, featuring Bernie Addington on acoustic bass and Kate Hennesey on vocals and percussion
Monday, July 24/ SHE WAS THE LAW (9 pm, $5-10) She Was the Law‘s music is a fine blend of Big Star-infused, country-tinged, popular-fashioned music. The Vancouver Province said our music is “full of subtle pleasures” and they gave the CD a “B”, which has to be the highest mark singer/songwriter Eric Cottrell has ever achieved. Always a crowd-pleaser, SWTL has performed hither and yon since forming in 2004 and they are currently working on their second full-length album due for release later in 2006. Eric Lowe and Vern Beamish fill out the musical stylings with drums and bass respectively. Both Erics share a long musical history having been in Victoria’s beloved and Monday Magazine’s “Victoria’s best band” 64 Funnycars with umpteen gazillion shows, cross-Canada tours and Much Music appearances under their belts. Vern, himself, has been in about every third band in Vancouver it seems. Their recordings, and most live shows, feature the mellifluous vocal vibes of Kim Stewart of Vinaigrettes, Parlour Steps, Magic Ass, July 4th Toilet, etc. fame. www.shewasthelaw.com
Tuesday, July 25/ Artist In Residence: STEVE SMITH – STEPS (9 pm, $5-10) This quintet is the answer to the question first posed by Steve Smith‘s Five, called “one of the most vibrant bands on the burgeoning Vancouver jazz scene”. Steps‘ music is “moody, swinging, and altogether modern.” Dave Say saxophone; Steve Fisk guitar; Lisa Miller piano; Steve Smith bass; Dave Robbins drums
Wednesday, July 26/ GRRRLS WITH GUITARS: THE FATES (9 pm, $5-10) Hosted by singer/songwriter Nadine Davenport, Grrrls with Guitars has been around for over 10 years, presenting over 500 women songwriters, including Kinnie Starr, Po’ Girl, Linda McRae. After Nadine’s solo set, The Fates will take the stage. Blending their individual styles, Lori Reid, Lin Elder and Jenny Allen have united as The Fates to create something magical – a veritable “super-group” of some of the best female singer/songwriters in Canada. Their debut CD, “’til We Have Faces”, explores a myriad of feelings and moods and is supported by signature harmonies and poetic sensibilities. www.thefates.ca www.grrrlswithguitars.com
Thursday & Friday, July 27 & 28/ THE CREAKING TREE STRING QUARTET with CLAIRE JENKINS (Thursday, 9 pm, $5-10) & TWILIGHT HOTEL (Friday, 9:30 pm, $5-10) “… as tight and polished as it is improvisational and exuberant. The music crackles with imaginative and sometimes manic instrumental interplay.” –Acoustic Guitar Magazine The Creaking Tree String Quartet performs acoustic roots music that combines intricate phrasing with imaginative rhythms. They made their Vancouver debut at 2004 Vancouver Folk Music Festival and followed it up with an unforgettable visit to Rime last summer with violinist John Showman, guitarist Brad Keller, mandolinist Andrew Collins, bassist Brian Kobayakawa. www.creakingtree.com
Claire Jenkins’ music sits comfortably in the roots with subtle flavours that surround her thoughtful and often left of centre version of the roots meets twang meets folk meets pop genre… Combining soft spoken odes and cowboy drinking songs, Jenkins is bringing the cool back to solo guitar and voice. www.clairejenkins.com
“Not since the heyday of Ian and Silvia 40 years ago has there been such a dynamic male/female duo on the Canadian Roots scene.” – Mike Youds, Kamloops Daily News Winnipeg’s Twilight Hotel leaves your average folk/roots music in the dust with Dave Quanbury & Brandy Zdan‘s powerful, duelling electric guitars, soaring vocal harmonies and the unexpected sound of the accordion. The songs are heavy set with passion and fuelled by guts; they tell the stories of life’s odds, sometimes harsh, sometimes sweet. Growing up in Winnipeg leaves its mark, Twilight Hotel give you the feeling of being behind the wheel and staring out at that endless horizon, but this isn’t the kind of wheel you fall asleep at… www.twilighthotel.ca
Saturday, July 29/ DOUNDOUNBA & SWANVISTA (9:30 pm, $5-10) Doundounba is a six piece band led by singer, dancer and instrumentalist Aboubacar Camara playing traditional West African Amasumba, as well as Afro-beat styles music. Featured in this band are Sekou Sylla on djembe and vocals, Craig McCaul and Chad MacQuarrie on electric guitars and vocals, Pete Schmitt on bass and Craig White on drums. Come join this band celebrate the release of their second CD. www.doundounba.ca
Swanvista is an exciting and eclectic trio that explores many different styles of music with equal conviction. Compositions, improvisation, instrumentals and singing with Chad MacQuarrie on guitar and vocals, Skye Brooks on drums and Tommy Babin on bass.
Sunday, July 30/ HEARTWARMONGERING & LSB 21 STRING TRIO (9 pm, $5-10) Heartwarmongering‘s compositions are interwoven with improvised passages into an almost narrative form, blending aspects of new music, jazz, and soundscape into a diffuse, impressionist whole. The acoustic/electronic instrumentation of the group allows for sounds and textures which range from diaphanous subtlety to complex, driving rhythmic structures. Stephen Lyons guitar, banjo; Meredith Bates violin; Katie Dey cello; Shane Krause clarinets; Todd Mason electronics, saw; Russell Sholberg double-bass, saw; Ben Wilson drums www.myspace.com/heartwarmongering
Finally, a string trio for the 21st century! LSB 21 compose most of their own material and improvise the rest. Free-bop fugues, folky atonal swing, abstract funk, and the harmonic series are just some of the places this trio of Joel Lower violin, Russel Sholberg bass and Shanto Bhattacharya cello, get to in their music.
Monday, July 31/ NADA & THE PIVOT (9 pm, $5-10) Nada plays improvised music influenced by (free) jazz and (post-) minimalist composition, blending the legacies of Erik Satie, Morton Feldman, Miles Davis, and the AACM with sensitivity and sardonic wit. Alfons Fear trumpet; Rachael Wadham piano, saw, percussion; Dave Chokroun bass
As a quartet, The Pivot attempts to mask the boundary between intent and accident. From chamberesque interplay to rampant and frenzied free improvisation, The Pivot maintains a rigorous collaborative and cooperative approach to their music. Stephe Flach vibraphone; Fabienne Lacroix clarinet; Dave Chokroun bass; Ben Wilson drums, electronics
ZULA Presents 