|
|
|
| | Arts Calendar / November 2 / Concerts |
|
|
|
20:00 | José González (Sweden) |
|
|
|
|
 José González is a Swedish indie folk singer-songwriter and guitarist (of Argentinian extraction). González grew up listening to Latin folk and pop music and has named Cuban singer-songwriter Silvio Rodríguez as a favourite artist. He said the first concert he went to was "The Wailers. I got their autographs and everything. I was about 12 or so. At the time, my favourite music was Bob Marley and Michael Jackson." In 2003, he released his debut album, Veneer, in Europe. The album has since been released in the UK, on April 25, 2005, and in the United States on September 6, 2005. González is also a member of the Swedish band Junip, along with Elias Araya and Tobias Winterkorn. The song Crosses, from Crosses EP and the later Veneer, appeared on the finale of the second season of the popular American television comedy-drama The O.C.. His cover of Heartbeats (also from Veneer) was used in a popular Sony BRAVIA TV commercial featuring coloured bouncing balls in San Francisco and an episode of Zach Braff's Scrubs. His trademark sound is solo acoustic guitar with soft melody. His work, although mostly original, does include acoustic covers of great hits such as Love Will Tear Us Apart, Born in the U.S.A., and Teardrop. His last album Vestiges & Claws was released in February 2015. It was critically acclaimed and received the IMPALA Album of the Year Award.
YotaSpace  |
|
|
|
|
19:00 | Sweet Baby J'ai (USA) |
|
|
|
|
 Few entertainers can command a stage like the indefatigable, Sweet Baby J'ai. She is a critically acclaimed singer, songwriter, producer, arranger and actress who has toured the world with her distinctive sound. Although J'ai is known for her energetic stage presence and powerful vocals, some critics describe her as a "jazz singer", others a "blues singer” but all agree that this versatile soulful, singer-songwriter is a "storyteller". She can't be contained by one genre of music. She has performed in many styles, from soul, R&B, folk, jazz, blues, pop, spoken word, and occasionally even the diva singer fronting the orchestra. She tackles diverse social issues, lost and found love and pays tribute to those who have inspired her and the art form. Talented both as a vocalist and musician, she takes unconventional instruments, the washboard and spoons, and claims them as her own special sound. As one critic pointed out, “This ain't no backyard hoe down…she will have you swooning before the concert is over.” Whether singing a soulful ballad or a rocking original, she weaves her special magic through songs seemingly tailor-made for her intimate style. J'ai Michel was first called Sweet Baby by her mother, claiming she was the sweetest child ever born, the name stuck. She was surrounded by music at an early age, often being serenaded by Miles, Bird, Ella or Billie, albums her father would put on to lull her to sleep. J'ai grew up in a city rich with musical history, Kansas City, home to legends like Big Joe Turner, Charlie “Bird” Parker and Count Basie. By age ten she had started classical piano studies, by twelve she had switched to violin. “I played a little bass in high school, some guitar in college until I got my hands on a 12 string and couldn't figure it out. It wasn't until I spent some time in Louisiana with relatives, and came across an old back porch band playing washboard, spoons, tubs, and combs, that I felt I had found home. All sorts of wonderful sounds were coming out of them. They were playing jug or Zydeco music, but I heard the transition to jazz!”
MMDM Theater Hall |
|
|
|
|
|
|
The virtual community for English-speaking expats and Russians
