Shadows and Light

It has become a tradition for Tidal Funk to perform a fund raising concert for the Evergreen Theatre and the popularity of this event is evident by the full house they attract every year. They have been described as the “free-range” hens of the musical barnyard, with musical styles ranging from jazz-blues improv to alt-country and farther. See the photo gallery of the performance here or read on for my impressions of the performance.

They launched their show with what seemed a crowd of musicians on the stage and then they brought on the belly dancers with their elaborate draping and undraping of scarves, exotic, sinuous bodies and lithe movements. (This really worked astonishingly well considering that they were dancing to a a medley of Rock and Roll tunes including “Who Do You Love”! The colours of the dancers’ clothing gave this an oriental feel, combined as it was with the Persian carpet on the floor and the set they had brought with them.

Many of the songs we heard that night were composed by local musician Roger Ellis and you can hear a bit of the song “Home Improvements” recorded on the night on the photo gallery here.

Thank you all, including Willie Drennan, a guest performer from Ireland, for coming out and entertaining us in this exuberant and enthusiastic fashion to raise funds for the Evergreen. It was really appreciated.

Ellie

It is not necessary to travel farther than Margaretsville to get regular glimpses of exciting places in the world. The latest performance brought both Iceland and Newfoundland to our door in the form of renowned jazz guitarists Bjorn Thoroddsen and Duane Andrews. See the photo gallery of the performance here or read on for my impressions of the performance.

This virtuosic pair teamed up to bring us a wonderful program in the afternoon that Sunday, with music blending jazz and folk, Icelandic traditional tunes, Newfoundland music with its French, Irish, Portuguese and English influences and Manouche (Gypsy Jazz). Duane’s style is heavily influenced by the music of Django Reinhardt whose Oriental Shuffle followed hot on the heels of Georgia Brown to start the program. His “Les Yeux Noirs”- (Dark Eyes) was one of my favourites of the afternoon, along with Bell Island, one of Duane’s compositions. Pieces by by Emile Benoit, Duke Ellington as well as variations on traditional Icelandic tunes performed by them were exhilarating and delightful.

Sadly these two have not recorded together yet, but the photo gallery of the performance features a track from Duane’s newly released CD entitled ‘raindrops’ on the photo gallery of their performance that you can see here.

Thanks very much for dropping by the Evergreen Theatre on your way to Jazz East festival on that inspiring Sunday afternoon, Bjorn and Duane. You gave us a great performance!

Ellie

Black Umfolosi are five talented performers from Zimbabwe – Thomeki Dube and Sotsha Moyo founder members of the group, along with John Munzabwa, Alec Ncube and Zenzo Hlaseka. They perform a style of a Capella music called ‘Imbube’ which is is traditional to the Nguni speaking people of Southern Africa. See the photo gallery of the performance here or read on for my impressions of the performance.

The exhuberant performance took place on a hot night that evoked the atmosphere of their homeland which perhaps explains how they found their incredible energy in that heat. The singing in beautiful rich harmonies – that has been described accurately as ‘both uplifting and meditative’ – tells stories of the lives of the people from Southern Africa, and as they explained, they were bringing us the thoughts of their country that was so far… yet thanks to modern technology is so near. This music was combined with clicks, slaps, stamps and high jumps and kicks and the intricately choreographed dances they have created. Their trademark gumboot dance (see the photo gallery) was of course a highlight of the evening, transporting us deep into the mines we shall never see in reality. The appreciative mood of the audience was perfectly felt when all joined into Black Umfolosi’s version of “The Lion Sleeps Tonight”, all arms waving high and harmonizing along with them.

You can hear a track from their CD entitled ‘Mama’ on the photo gallery of their performance that you can see here.

We felt very privileged indeed to see these wonderful performers so far from their homeland. It was an experience we shall not forget.

Ellie