It’s a long way from Buenos Aires – The Gabriel Palatchi Band

Posted on 2015-09-13 by Rod Wilson

CENTRE 64 FALL CONCERT SERIES – THE GABRIEL PALATCHI BAND, September 5, 2015, 8pm

Yes, it is a long way from Buenos Aires, Argentina to the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia. But the Argentinean Gabriel Palatchi has made the trip with many stops along the way to sharpen his musical skills and soak up the some interesting musical vibes. Gabriel plays piano and keyboard. Along the way he also managed to pick up the crack-a-jack rhythm duo of Tony Ferraro on drums and Doug Stephenson on 5 string electric bass. Now most people know my aversion to loud drummers but for Tony I more than make an exception. He is loud, sure, but he works so hard at being musical that the loudness is not a factor. It seems that everything he plays ends up in the perfect sonic space. He is probably one of the best drummers I have come across in recent years. On bass Doug doesn’t appear to work as hard but that is probably an allusion because he looks like he is having way too much fun and how could that possibly be work? Both of these master musicians reside in the West Kootenays and the question that must be asked is why are they hiding away in the jungles of British Columbia? Their answer is that it is purely a life style choice. Sure, they could make it in the big smoke but at what cost? The music they played on Saturday night can only be described as high octane improvised jazz with many overlays of Latin, Funk, Tango, Reggae, Klezmer, Brazilian and whatever else Gabriel manages manages to pull out to the air. With the exception of Juan Tizol’s Caravan and Ahmad Jamal’s Poinciana most of the compositions played where originals. Caravan was an absolute tornado of variations on the original classic jazz tune plus quotes from all across the American Song Book. Even Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue appeared in the mix. Caravan was written in the late thirties by Duke Ellington’s valve trombone player Juan Tizol and there must be a million interpretations out there. Think about it; a tune that has been around for over 70 years that can still be fresh and exciting. I have yet to hear a version that does not work. At the bottom of this page there is a link to a couple of Gabriel’s YouTube performances. Once again the production team at Centre 64 has come up with another winner. They don’t seem to able to come up anything less than the exceptional. Although Gabriel resides in Mexico he does a tour through this part of the world every summer and hopefully we will see him back here next year. Here are some images from the evening.

So once again a big thanks must go to all the volunteers and sponsors – The Burrito Grill, Mountain Spirit Resort and Ray’s Music. Mike Redfern finished up the evening with the wonderful news that Jim Webster and Anita Iacobucci have donated $3,000 dollars towards the installation of professional theater lights in the Centre 64 Studio. The money comes from the proceeds of the recent Music on the Mountain event. As a photographer I am very excited at the prospect of the difference enhanced lighting will make to my photos.

Here are some YouTube clips……..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DDZgT44Hsas

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Music behind the Green Door – Sophiella Watt and the Huckleberry Bandits

Posted on 2015-09-03 by Rod Wilson

On Saturday, August 22, 2015 the Green Door in the Platzl in Kimberley continued with their policy of live music by presenting Sofiella Watt and the Huckleberry Bandits. The opening act on the patio at 7pm was Rod Wilson on vocals, 12 String Guitar and Cittern. At around 08:15 Sophie and her crew kicked off their portion of the evening by performing a couple of songs out in front of the Green Door in the platzl. The weather quickly got chilly so they issued an invitation to everybody to move inside for more music, food and good cheer. That was the beginning of a night of unique music. The musicians are all, at the moment, residents of Nelson and, true to the Nelson norm, their music was outside the box. It is essentially acoustic based but not BlueGrass, not Old Timey, not Country, not exactly folk and certainly not pop/rock. In a nutshell this was “Sofiella Watt and the HuckleBerry Bandits and this is what they do”. Members of the band included Sophie Watt on vocals, open back banjo, guitar and washboard percussion; David Reid on back up vocals, mandolin, harmonica and guitar; Jimmy Mayer on vocals, open back banjo and guitar; Jakob Simek back up vocals and upright bass and tucked way in back on drums Lee Campese. Out side in the platzl Lee hauled out a magnificent Gon Bop Cajon to provide the appropriate percussive rhythm.

In their own words “If we were a wanky wine label, we would read something like this: …a motley mix of winsome folk, bruised with blues and infused with banjo. A full bodied country blend, with heady jazz notes, and spicy gypsy undertones”. Sofiella Watt and Huckleberry Jim are an independent folk duo hailing from the East Coast of Australia. 2013 marked the release of the EP “To Friends Of The North Wind”, and saw these two huckleberry nomads commencing a 20 show tour over four Australian states, from Melbourne to Darwin! Since relocating their guitars, banjo and washboard to Nelson, BC, the duo have formed Sofiella Watt and the Huckleberry Bandits; with Lee Campese on drums, Jakob Simek on upright bass, and David Reid on mandolin. The group recently received ‘Best Folk/Country/ Roots Act’ in the Kootenay Music Awards, and have been getting many feet stomping across BC and Alberta with their unique brand
of gypsy folk-a-billy-blues. The troupe will be touring throughout the summer, promoting their fresh off the press self-titled EP. ! Here they are outside the Green Door in the Platzl enticing patrons to come on inside for more good times, good food and very interesting sounds.

Once inside the light was warmer and the fun continued unabated with a whole bunch of homespun originals that included Old Man Trouble, Junkyard Betty, Gypsy Green Eyes, Mama’s Got a Secret, and a cover of Tom Waits’ Chocolate Jesus.

This was a night of very entertaining music. So much so that the organizers of Cranbrook’s Summer Sounds and Kimberley’s summer festivals should take a note and add Sophellia and the Huckleberry Bandits to their “must have” list for next year’s music scene.

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Caitlin McCaughey in Recital at the Knox

Posted on 2015-08-26 by Rod Wilson

CAITLIN McCAUGHEY IN RECITAL AT THE KNOX PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH Caitlin is one of a number of young Cranbrook performers who take their music very seriously. To prove the point Caitlin presented the following program at the Knox Church on Monday August 17, 2015 at 7pm.

Here are some images of Caitlin and her accompanist Ellen Ortega performing. @@@@@@@@@@@@

Words become Images / Silence becomes Songs

Posted on 2015-08-13 by Rod Wilson

PROSE, POETRY & PROVOLONE AT THE KIMBERLEY KALEIDOSCOPE FESTIVAL, Wednesday August 5, 7:30pm at Studio 64 in Kimberley.

It was the promise of an evening of Harp Music that got me out of the house. But it was the evening of Poetry and Prose that was my unexpected reward. I have never been a great one for poetry and that is probably the fault of my faulty education. In my youth there was a notion that Poetry was a “girly” thing – guys did Literature and the girls did Poetry. Over the years I have tried to overcome that educational deficient but still, to this day, any attempt to read poetry causes my eyes to glaze over. I can’t seem to invest the written word with any real life. Every now and then that changes when I actually hear some one else evoke images with the spoken word. On this particular night that was very much the case when members of the Kimberley Writers group, Mike Whitney, Lori Craig, Sharla Smith, Bob McWhirter, Jill Christine and Jeff Pew invested their written words with lots of imagery and life. There was a lot to appreciate but my personal favorite was Jill Christine’s Tin Roof. It may have been about her own memories of Scotland and Kimberley that inspired the piece but for me, coming from Australia, the land of the “Corrigated Tin Roof”, it evoked many images and memories that had largely faded into my past. Jill, I thank you for bringing those images back to me. The icing on the cake was the the poetry and music of Dawna McLennan. Dawna is a performer from Kaslo who writes, sings and plays possibly one of the most magnificent Celtic harps that one is likely to see up close. This beautiful hand crafted instrument was built by Dusty Strings in Seattle and would have looked very much at home in the stately houses and halls of olde Scotland and Ireland. Ever since I attended a concert of Celtic Harp Music in an old church in Australia many, many years ago I have had a soft spot for the folk harp. That concert, although billed as a concert of Celtic Harp music it turned out to be much more than that. The real knockout punch of the evening was delivered by a Chilean refugee who played a huge South American Harp, first as a solo instrument, then in ensemble with Quena, Pan flutes and percussion. To this day I can still hear the lopping bass passages that he used to invest his indigenous melodies with such dance like potential. Unknown to most of us the folk harp was introduced into South America by the missionaries in the early days of the Spanish conquest and to this day it is a major instrument in the indigenous music of the Andes. That’s all bye the bye in a trip down memory lane. Back in the present Dawna’s mission in life is to rock the world with her poetical images and that she did as “Harp Pixie” in her portion of the evening. The images were there and so was her voice in song. I always hesitate to compare contemporary performers to those of the past. I think it does a disservice to the performers own special uniqueness. But having said that there were qualities in Dawna’s vocal performances that reminded me of a young Joni Mitchell. Sorry about that Dawna. You deserve to be accepted on your own terms rather than as a ghost of days from the past. Here are some images of a wonderful evening of poetry, prose, music and song.

And I almost forgot to mention the wonderful wine, cheese, meats and fruits that was more than a nice touch for the evening of poetry and music. Who ever made the food choices needs to be congratulated.

And here is a bonus from YouTube

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Music behind the Green Door – Corinna Rose, Leah Dolgoy and Wizard Lizard

Posted on 2015-07-26 by Rod Wilson

Music behind the Green Door, July 22, 2015, 7-10 pm

The opening act on this particular night was another nod to Cranbrook’s cadre of youthful performers. This time it was the duo Wizzard Lizard. Kyle Albrecht was the guitar wizard and I guess Maddi Keiver is supposed to be the lizard in this organisation. That is most unkind. No lizard I have ever come across looked as pretty nor sang with such a strong voice. In fact I have never heard a lizard sing. Kyle kicked off the evening with an unnamed slide guitar blues in open E. Throughout the evening , with the exception of one cover tune, Van Morrison’s Moon Dance, it was mostly original songs that seem to have been written mostly by Maddi Keiver. She has an exceptionally strong voice that she uses to deliver her musical messages with great confidence. Kyle is no slouch either. His guitar playing is very smooth. I am constantly amazed by the number of outstanding musicians in this area that emerge from the woodwork. Or more correctly the number of talented performers who can probably trace their origins back to Evan Bueckert’s excellent music program at the Mount Baker High School. Here are some images of Wizzard Lizzard’s performances behind the Green Door in the Kimberley Platzl.

And now, all the way from Montreal, we have Corinna Rose (vocals, open back banjo, guitar) and Leah Dolgay (vocals, Autoharp, and Harpsicle). I like music that is different so these two ladies made my day. Once again for the evening the music was mostly original material performed in a highly original way. With her open back banjo, Corinna was the front “man” of the duo. I hesitate to describe the banjo and her style of playing as clawhammer because, apart from a couple of instances, she did not go very far down that road. Rather she used a more full blown finger picking approach using the standard G banjo tuning. There were some nice dissonant chords in there now and again that added to the uniqueness the the music. From time to time she picked up the Larivee guitar that she has had since she was seventeen years old. Like most small body Larivees it was beautiful to look at and a pleasure to hear. Leah Dolgay played an autoharp built by the luthier George Orthey . Leah manipulates the EQ of the instrument so that, when played in tandem, with Corinna’s banjo they end up with the banjo’s sound floating on top of the Autoharp’s melodic picking, strums and very solid bass runs. Leah is a recent convert to the rather large Celtic Harp, but while traveling she has to leave the full sized instrument at home. Instead she uses a more airline friendly “Harpsicle”. In reality the Harpsicle is a small lap harp that can just fit in the overhead compartments of the average airline. Here are some images of their performance:

The duo did mostly original material that seem to draw inspiration from broken relationships. That included the cover tunes they did. Although Shady Grove was done in an upbeat hoe down clawhammer style but it was out classed by their cover of the Hank Williams classic I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry. I loved the textures of the interpretation.

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Dave Prinn and Friends at Perry’s

Posted on 2015-07-26 by Rod Wilson

Perry’s Pizza and Grill present Dave Prinn and Friends, Friday July 17, 2015 6-10 pm.

Our gracious host and supporter of live music – Perry Levoe of Perry’s Pizza and Grill

As always this was another evening of fine acoustic music performed by Dave Prinn, Gerald Dalum, James Neve and Tom Bungay. Unfortunately the light was less than optimum and, with the exception of the above photo of Perry and Dave’s Hawaiian print shirt the resulting images were sub-par so I am reluctant to put them out there. Better luck next time.

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Ornette Coleman – “He changed everything” (Lou Reed)

Posted on 2015-07-10 by Rod Wilson

1959 was a pivotal year in the history of Jazz. It was the year that Miles Davis recorded the ground breaking modal jazz master piece Kind of Blue; It was the year that Dave Brubeck and Paul Desmond launched their experimental album Time Out that explored the potential of unusual time signatures in Jazz; It was also the year that Charles Mingus wrote his anthems for the civil rights movement that was immortalized in the album Mingus Ah Hum;

Last, but not least it was the year that Ornette Coleman exploded onto the scene with his album The Shape of Jazz to Come. It wouldn’t be too hard to arrive at a majority consensus on the first three albums but Ornette Coleman’s contribution to the jazz lexicon and the innovations of The Free Jazz Movement was controversial in 1959 and here over fifty years later the dust has not yet settled.

Randolph Denard Ornette Coleman (March 9, 1930 – June 11, 2015) was an American jazz saxophonist, violinist, trumpeter and composer. He was one of the major innovators of the free jazz movement movement of the 1960s, a term he invented with the name of an album. Coleman’s timbre was easily recognized: his keening, crying sound drew heavily on blues music. He was awarded a MacArthur Fellowship in 1994. His album Sound Grammar received the 2007 Pulitzer Prize for Music …….. From the beginning of his career, Coleman’s music and playing were in many ways unorthodox. His approach to harmony and chord progression was far less rigid than that of bebop performers; he was increasingly interested in playing what he heard rather than fitting it into predetermined chorus-structures and harmonies. His raw, highly vocalized sound and penchant for playing “in the cracks” of the scale led many Los Angeles jazz musicians to regard Coleman’s playing as out-of-tune. He sometimes had difficulty finding like-minded musicians with whom to perform. Nevertheless, Canadian pianist Paul Bley was an early supporter and musical collaborator. In 1958, Coleman led his first recording session for Contemporary, Something Else!!! The Music of Ornette Coleman….. Wikipedia. In 1959 he followed that up with a series of albums and engagements in New York that literally hit the jazz world like a tornado.

Coleman was never really accepted by the mainstream jazz world. Most patrons and a significant percentage of musicians shied away from his music. There were exceptions of course. John Coltrane, John Lewis, Pat Metheny, Charlie Haden, Lou Reed, The Grateful Dead and Don Cherry were among his champions. However, they were the exceptions. However his influence and statue continued to grow throughout his career.

Coleman died of a cardiac arrest at the age of 85 in New York City on June 11, 2015. His funeral was a three-hour event with performances and speeches by several of his collaborators and contemporaries.

Here is probably his most famous composition Lonely Woman

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QSmYTc1Jv7w

and now played by Pat Metheny

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kdOrMjZIA-4

and here is what all the fuss was about…. FREE JAZZ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=swJ-BZyCIh8

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Summer Sounds on Canada Day

Posted on 2015-07-04 by Rod Wilson

FISHER PEAK PERFORMING ARTISTS SOCIETY PRESENTS A CANADA DAY CELEBRATION, July 1, 2015: featuring the roots music sounds of Joshua Burning

The featured band for the day’s festivities was Joshua Burning whose style of music is basically funky country roots music. They also feature original material and covers of music that may not be usually associated with country music. The name of the band,“Joshua Burning”, is a nod towards the legendary country singer Gram Parsons who, upon his death, wished to have his ashes spread over the landscape in California’s Joshua Tree National Park. When he died, as we all must do eventually, his body was stolen from L.A.X. international airport by his best buddy, Phil Kaufman and taken to Joshua Tree Park where it was incinerated with a jerry can of high test gasoline. Of course all of this was illegal and against park policy and for his efforts Kaufman was fined $750 for the theft of the coffin. Now that’s something that should be in the movies. The band features the guitars, vocals and song writing skills of both Garnet Waite and Keith Larsen. Garnet is an especially fine singer, guitar picker and song writer. Keith is a crackerjack acoustic guitarist with some solid rock credentials on electric guitar. He also doubles on mandolin and blues harp. The band is anchored by the electric bass playing of John Gerlitz. John is well known for his classic acoustic interpretations of old time finger picking blues. Together they are an especially fine ensemble who are a step above your average country guitar strummer. These guys are guitar pickers rather than strummers. During the afternoon they strolled through some of Garnet’s original tunes that included Lucille, Daybreak Number 3, Angelina, and High Water Channel. For variety they thew in Keith Larsen’s Best Laid Plans. They also did a few covers including a Lyall Lovett tune, Lucinda Williams Drunken Angel, Peter Rowan’s Midnight Moonlight, Steve Goodman’s Banana Republics, a Marshall Tucker tune, the Grateful Dead’s Tennessee Jed, and to soothe my Celtic ancestors they covered The Pogues If I Should Fall from Grace. Here are some more images from a fine afternoon in the sun at Rotary Park in Cranbrook.

So, thanks Louie, James, “BBQ Bob”, Janice and all the volunteers and sponsors of the Fisher Peak Performing Artists Society that made it possible for the rest of us to kick back, enjoy the sunshine, burgers and the fine music of Joshua Burning. Thanks and more thanks.

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Music in the Great Outdoors

Posted on 2015-06-28 by Rod Wilson

Ravens Roost Open Mic Session, hosted by Bill St Amand on the deck of the Kimberley Golf Club. Friday June 19, 6-9 pm.
This year’s RAVENS ROOST session got off to a great start with flawless weather, responsive patrons, friendly staff and some fine music. As usual Bill St. Amand was on deck, setting up the sound system, organizing the musicians, performing and acting as MC for the evening. Naturally he was first on stage with his signature small body Martin guitar and his unique interpretations of some fine old tunes. Rod Wilson joined him with some back up percussion on a Peruvian Cajon (box drum). Alphonese (Fonzy) Joseph ran though his blues tinged repertoire before the Blarney Pilgrims (Rod Wilson Wilson on Cittern and vocals with Wally Smith on Accordion, Irish Whistle and Darbuka) did their little Celtic trip. The Blarney Pilgrims have not performed often over the last little while and this was an opportunity to trot out some old favorites such as Ben’s Lament, Dimming of the Day, The Black Velvet Band, The Boys of Blue Hill / Harvest Home, etc. It was also their first opportunity to try out their latest venturing into the uncharted waters of Bulgarian / Macedonian music with the Sarajevo Set that included a Balkan Tune, Richard Thompson’s Will I ever Be Simple Again and The Belgarth Waltz. From where I was sitting Wally Smith’s Middle Eastern rhythms on the Darbuka (Turkish drum) sounded outstanding. One of the great things about these events is when a new, unknown musician steps onto the stage and surprise fellow musicians. Maigan Jayde did just that. Maigan is new to the area and it was real treat to hear her magnificent strong voice run though a few songs including the classic blues In the Pine, in the Pines. Here are some images from the evening:

(Another great session – thanks Alphonse for the grabbing up the camera and taking the extra shots).

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Wednesday June 24, 2015, 6-8 pm: Fisher Peak Performing Artists Music and Vendors Market, Open Mic Session hosted by Ferdy Belland and Jamie Neve – Performances and vendors in the Rotary Park in Cranbrook.

James Neve (guitar, vocals), Ferdy Belland (guitar, vocals) and Colin Righton (hand percussion) were well into a set of tunes when I walked into Rotary Park on Wednesday evening. So is this the next local “super group”? I suspect this was just a pickup group and we may never hear them again in this configuration. That would be a shame because as a trio they offered up something that was new and different and I liked it. The weather held and the evening was pretty low keyed with only a few performers and a small crowd in the park. Here are some images from the evening:

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That’s the beginning of the SummerSounds Program in Cranbrook’s Rotary Park. Check the poster below for more coming events

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Amanda Weatherall at the Knox

Posted on 2015-06-05 by Rod Wilson

Amanda Weatherall in recital at the Knox Presbyterian Church in Cranbrook, May 30, 2015, 7pm. This is a benefit performance to raise funds for Amanda’s trip to Italy to study and perform at the Accademia Europea Dell’Opera (AEDO).

I find it somewhat incredible that there is such a vibrant community of serious vocal musicians in Cranbrook. Evan Buekert’s music program at the Mount Baker High School may have something to do with it and undoubtedly Chuck Bisset and his choir are also part of the equation. But they are only two factors in a community that seems to have a multitude of singers and organizations involved in vocal music. When you consider the size of the community and the distance from major big centers the depth of the local vocal tradition is extraordinary. It is easy to understand why European educators and audiences have been awe struck when our local choirs tour Europe. A comment that was passed around was “….. and all this talent comes from one small community in the Rocky Mountains of Canada? Unbelievable”. Another aspect of the scene is the focus on Opera and foreign languages. How does one explain Amanda Weatherall’s convincing vocal renditions in German and Italian? Amanda is one of several local singers off to Tuscany in the very near future to participate in a vocal music program. To offset the cost of her adventure Amanda displayed her talents in a recital at the Knox Prebyterian Church last Saturday evening. As Amanda explains….

Aided by Arne Sahlen on piano and fellow vocalist Mary Pickering, Amanda presented the following program…

Amanda’s and Mary’s repeat performance of The Flower Duet from Delibes Lakme was outstanding. They switched it around from past performances by trading parts. In the past Amanda sang the Soprano and Mary sang the Mezzo part. This time Amanda sang the Mezzo part (“real woman sing Alto”) and Mary the Soprano part. Between the vocal performances Arne Sahlen played Chopin’s Prelude in Db Major Op.28 #15, “Raindrop” and Brahms Intermezzo in A Major Op. 118 #2.

It was an evening of elegant ladies, classy piano music and serious vocal music in probably one of the finest Chamber Music spaces in the Kootenays – the Knox Presbyterian Church … great sights, great lights and a great sound. What more could one want? Here are some images from the evening….