The Pearl Company

The VOC Silent Film Harmonic:  Live Music Accompaniment  to 5 Classic Buster Keaton short films: Saturday, March 30, 8:00 pm. $15 /$10 students/all artists: The VOC Silent Film Harmonic, under the direction of Ted Harms, is a group dedicated to performing live soundtracks to silent movies. The group takes its inspiration from how many silent movies were originally presented, taking themes and using them as the basis for improvisation.  The music reflects, enhances, and supports the movie; it does not overtake or distract. And, of course, when it comes to comedies, Buster Keaton has few peers!  With his porkpie hat, floppy shoes, and stoic expression, Keaton consistently astounds with the pure physicality of his acting.  The five short films presented are classics and unforgettable comedies! VOC is: Ted Harms, bass; David Hunsberger, clarinets, Steve Lederman, percussion & brass: Bradford Nowak, drums; Wade Whittaker on guitar.

Oh Susanna: Saturday, March 23, 8:00 pm. $15 /$10 students/all artists: Oh Susanna has garnered critical acclaim and loyal audiences around the world. When she first dreamed of making music, she wanted to create songs that would stand the test of time. With the release of her sixth album, SOON THE BIRDS, she has again achieved this dream with a collection of enduring songs that resonate deeper and deeper upon each listen. Her voice, a breathtakingly effortless countrified alto, is a haunting, expressive instrument that she uses to stunning effect on SOON THE BIRDS, a beautifully rendered album by an artist who has realized the full power of her voice as a narrative songwriter.  “Whether it’s the large canvas or the tiniest but oh so important fragment of a life, every word is carefully chosen and delicately placed. The singing – it is like an angel when it needs to be, and sobs with pain when that is what the song requires. The playing throughout is uniformly excellent – whether it be all acoustic, or featuring some restrained electric guitar and drums. It’s a joy of an album.” AMERICANA UK  http://www.ohsusannamusic.com

The Jazz Connection Big Band: Friday, March 22. Doors at 8:00, Jazz at 8:30. $15 /$10 artists/students.  The JCBB is a powerful, well-established 17-piece jazz ensemble comprised of professional and semi-professional musicians from the Hamilton/Toronto area, performing only the best modern big band charts from the books of Goodwin, Martin, Menza, Rich, Basie, and many other great contemporary composers. Jazz Connection delivers high energy, uncompromising, straight ahead jazz performances combining the highest level of musicianship and great charts in an entertaining show that equally engages the jazz enthusiast and the casual listener. The incredible acoustics at The Pearl easily accommodate their very cool (and uh, hot…) surround-sound. Another great evening!  http://www.jazzconnection.ca

Riverrun: Thursday, March 21. 8:00pm. $15 /$10 students/all artists: Riverrun is a quartet made up of some of Toronto’s strongest musical personalities. Their sound has been described as “electro-chamber-jazz” and “minimalist-avant-garde-pop”. Cinematic, delving, and disciplined, Riverrun cuts across stylistic boundaries and goes deep into the moment. In March of 2013, Riverrun takes to the road in celebration of their new release, Unravel. Recorded live and mixed/transformed by the visionary Peter Lutek, Unravel escapes the confines of conventional parameters in a torrent of adventurous and at times heart-breaking sound.
In a break with tradition, Unravel is being released on USB flash-drive, packaged alongside bonus material including video, images, text, and remixed audio prepared by Scott Peterson. Quoting from the band, “Riverrun returns to Hamilton to perform at one of Ontario’s best-sounding venues, The Pearl Company.” If you go to their site, you can hear one of their compositions delivered from the stage at The Pearl:  http://www.insoundmusic.com/weblog/errunriv/

Elizabeth Shepherd: CONCERT CANCELLED DUE TO ILLNESS! Rescheduled to June 8. Friday, March 15. 8:00 pm. Admission: $20.00. CBC Radio will be here recording this concert for their “Canada Live” concert series! Elizabeth is the only jazz vocalist/pianist to ever have been long listed for the Polaris Prize – Canada’s most prestigious music prize. The two-time JUNO nominee has received widespread praise for her original compositions, but on her fourth album ‘Rewind’ Elizabeth showcases her skills as an arranger and interpreter, breathing new life – and soul – into songs both familiar and forgotten. Some of them are well-known standards; others are obscure songs or French tunes that Elizabeth heard and fell in love with when growing up in Paris.   The Toronto-based soul-jazz innovator has previously released three widely acclaimed records and toured extensively in North America, Europe and Japan. She has sold out legendary clubs from Tokyo to Detroit, and played festivals like Montreal and North Sea Jazz Festivals. www.elizabethshepherd.com “Stunning…. original and exciting” -Seattle Post (US) “Extraordinary talent” -RBBKulturradio (GER) “A hugely original musical mind at work” -Toronto Star (CAN)

Tannis Slimmon with Katherine Wheatley: Saturday, March 9. 8:00pm. Admission: $15.00/$10.00 students/artists. Tannis Slimmon has been performing, songwriting and recording for over 30 years, at one point as a member of the critically acclaimed Bird Sisters. Her exceptional voice “full of gentle grace and unobtrusive dignity” can be heard on more than 80 albums (including those by Willie P. Bennett, Valdy, and Rheostatics). Highly regarded for her compelling live performances, enchanting melodies, and strong lyrics, Tannis’ third album “In and Out of Harmony” is being featured at this album release concert. She will be joined by her talented partner /producer /co-writer /multi-instrumentalist Lewis Melville. “A breathtaking vocalist with a bright, angelic disposition, Slimmon is a favourite folk attraction whose harmonies are as warm as her smile.” – Exclaim www.tannis.ca
Katherine Wheatley tours as a solo singer-songwriter, she is a member of “Betty and The Bobs”, and she plays guitar in WendellFerguson’s band. Her music has been used for TV series, documentaries, and films. This geologist-turned-musician recently released her 3rd CD, “Landed”, a recording that reflects the grace, power and emotional impact of her live performance. “She turns pebbles of everyday life into dreamy mountains of song.” (The Toronto Star) www.katherinewheatley.com

Susie Arioli: Thursday, March 7, 8:00pm.  $20 advance/ $25 at the door. This Jazz vocalist from Montreal has six albums on her track record, three of which were Juno nominated, and all of which are bestselling jazz titles in Canada. Recognized for the gentle, warm voice that she brings to her authentic interpretations of jazz and blues numbers, the charming and talented Susie Arioli has carved out a solid reputation for herself in Canada and on the international scene enjoying an ever-widening popularity in France, Japan, and the U.S. On the heels of the success of her album, ‘Christmas Dreaming’ (a critically acclaimed disc, gone gold in Canada) she’s taken another step in her rich and inspired career with a new album appropriately titled ‘All the Way’. It finds her at the peak of her art, bringing her singular touch and finely modulated voice to thirteen songs from the enduring repertoire of the Great American Songbook. On this seventh studio recording, Arioli explores an emotional and vocal range that reaches further than ever and yet never strays from the unique sensibility that has captivated an ever-growing public for many years now. www.susiearioli.com “Intensely warm and supremely cool simultaneously – nice trick.” — Jamie O’Meara, Montreal Gazette “Susie is unerringly right in what she chooses to sing and unrivalled in how she sings it.” – Peter Goddard,Toronto Star.

Chloe Charles: Saturday, March 2: 8:00pm. Admission: $15.00/$10.00 students/artists. Glenn Macdonald opens for Chloe. (Glenn is a local songsmith/poet, and a riveting performer). The press have likened Chloe Charles to everyone from Björk to Billie Holiday, Amy Winehouse to Adele, Alicia Keys to Joni Mitchell. Her unfathomable range defies all straitjackets of classification. She sings with the voice of an angel; she’s a spellbindingly different singer-songwriter, a self-taught classical guitarist, and her blossoming career is about to go off the scales with the release her first full-length CD, Break The Balance. Charles reinvents every spoke on the songwriters’ wheel, then wraps them up in riveting choruses, with sumptuous strings and percussive precision.  “Julian Lennon’s stepsister sings unique and colourful songwriter-pop songs with an introverted beauty of surprising clarity.” Rolling Stone (Germany) “Somewhere Billie Holiday rests secure her work was not in vain.” ?Blue Indian, USA “Poised, charismatic and quirky…” National Post www.chloecharles.com

Ambre McLean & Tara Holloway: Friday, March 1: 8:00. Admission: $15.00/$10.00 students/artists. It’s a Whirlwind Tour and they’re coming to Hamilton! Ambre McLean (Busted Flat Records) “Ambre’s voice, is an instrument itself: gorgeous, sometimes with a rich, bluesy feel, other times a sweet mellow sound, alternatively soft and ferocious, always carrying these tunes straight to your musical heart.?” (David Yazbeck, CKCU FM).  It doesn’t take long for her talent to make her seem larger than life, filling the room with the kind of songs that make you remember lost loves and abandoned dreams. www.ambremclean.com And Tara Holloway (Light Organ Records) Somewhere in the sonic vicinity of Liz Phair and Susan Tedeschi lie the tunes of Tara Holloway, whose debut Sins to Confess exhales and thrashes in equal measure. But whether Holloway belts or bawls, rocks or ruminates, the blues is ever present, and she’s at her best whenshe sets foot into its darker haunts. www.taraholloway.com They will be joined by Steve Vincent (Busted Flat Records, The Baudelaires), also a member of the Ragged Bankers.

The Pearl Music Collective Presents: Spanjazz!: An evening of Original Jazz Compositions: Saturday, February 23. 9:00pm. $15.00/$10.00 students/artists. Inspired by world beat rhythms and composed by Gary Santucci; with Jordan Abraham – Keyboards; Steve Wilson –Drums; Sal Roselli- Saxophone; Troy Dowding – Trumpet; Clark Johnston – Bass; Gary Santucci – Guitar. The Pearl Music Collective encourages the creation, performance and presentation of new instrumental music drawn from the influences of Jazz, Classical and World Beat Music. Post performance reception to celebrate the launching of this new initiative!

Barney Bentall with Eric Reed: Friday, February 22, 8:00pm. $15 at the door.  Eric Reed will join Barney on guitar, mandolin and vocals. Vancouver-­based Barney Bentall has been creating music since 1978.  In the late eighties, Bentall formed The Legendary Hearts  and their self-­titled debut reached Platinum status in Canada, featured three hit singles, and garnered a Juno Award. During the past decade Bentall has transformed personally and musically to emerge as one of Canada’s prolific folk/roots singer/songwriters. His new studio album titled Flesh & Bone, is a collection of elevens songs produced by Bentall himself. Influenced by an array of genres from folk to roots, blues-­rock to pop, and even a hint of Celtic, the album reflects Canada from coast to coast. Flesh & Bone is haunting and beautiful with vocals that are pure, truthful and full of emotion. Bentall’s lyrics and melodies marry well together, woven with a storytelling quality that transcends generations. The leader of Barney Bentall and The Legendary Hearts is still at the top of his game; he delivers proof that he is a Canadian musician who has paid his dues and deserves the recognition he receives from the music industry, his followers, listeners and peers. www.barneybentall.com

Keeping the Dream Alive! Support The Pearl! Saturday, February 16. 7:00p.m. Give What You Wish. (From a Toonie to a Tune.)  To the numerous well-wishers and supporters who sent love and offers of help, who passed on their dismay, distress and outrage and who have asked us what they can do, we have never needed your support more. This particular event, being pulled together by ‘Allies of The Pearl’, will be a mini-support-and-funds-raiser to help us get past both the trauma of the horrendous events last week (we need lots of hugs and hand-holding…), and to help get our feet back under us financially. Feb.16th was to be DJ (former VJ) Michael Williams’ Dance Party and Michael has graciously agreed to still be here with the dance music, but this is the only possible date we have until the end of March and we need to use it. Much will be added over the next while; art, music and contributions of… (do you have something you would like to share?) If Gary can manage it, he too will play. We would normally have food, but we are looking for help with that as well. It would be great to have a potluck!  We are inviting all who can to drop by for 5 minutes, an hour, the entire evening, just to show your support and concern for a plight that was as bizarre as it was violent.

Over the years we have put our heads and our hearts on the line. We have insisted on keeping a wonderful, ambiance-laden structure that seems to have been built for powerful acoustics and warm gatherings, and the dream has been to keep it as a voice for the arts! The Pearl Company has filled a number of necessary roles in its neighbourhood and its community. It is a stage for budding, mid, and realized talent in the music, theatre and visual arts fields; it is a place for community gatherings and celebrations; it fosters numbers of creative undertakings from gutsy new ideas to rehearsal space to festivals.  And, it could be so much more!

There is another simple answer if you can’t make it on the 16th: Continue to support by coming to events; tell your friends, your neighbours, your co-workers.  Thank you so much. Hope to see you soon, Barbara and Gary

Dean Hollin; “Love and the G.A.S.”: Friday, February 15. 8:00pm. $15 / $10 students/artists.  We love Dean’s sparkling “Musical Biographies” of beloved songwriters of the past!  And for this performance he celebrates the music of the Great American Songbook which is chock full of songs celebrating that sentiment of the season – “LOVE”.  So, for this, the month of love, Dean Hollin brings us his latest program — “LOVE and the GAS”.  Love, realized…Love, lost…Love, imagined…Love, suggested…Love, gleefully expressed — all sorts of love will grace this lovely program.  Cole Porter, Jerome Kern, George & Ira Gershwin, Rodgers &Hart, Rodgers & Hammerstein, Harold Arlen, Hoagy Carmichael — they’ll all be part of the evening — all that talent and a bunch more!  We’ll chat…we’ll sing…a casual, musical and informative evening to be had by all!  He’ll be accompanied by Michael Barber who worked at The Stratford Festival this past season, as Musical Director/Conductor for “42ND STREET” starring Cynthia Dale. “Hollin’s warm, smoky voice and his exquisite charm and enthusiasm radiate affection for his material and his audience” Gary Smith, Spectator.  http://www.deanhollin.com

See the “The Plays” tab for all the information re what’s playing!

Week One:

Thursday, Jan. 31   7:30 pm – Actionable: Bob Wiseman
Thursday, Jan. 31   9:00 pm – Trashmen’s Dilemma: New Fangled Stages 
Friday, Feb. 1   7:30 pm – 11 Times: Krista McNaughton
Friday, Feb. 1  9:00 pm – Actionable: Bob Wiseman
Saturday, Feb. 2   7:30 pm – Trashmen’s Dilemma: New Fangled Stages
Saturday, Feb. 2   9:00 pm – 11 Times: Krista McNaughton

Week Two:

Thursday, Feb. 7   7:30 pm – Trashmen’s Dilemma: New Fangled Stages
Thursday, Feb. 7   9:00 pm – 11 Times: Krista McNaughton
Friday, Feb. 8  7:30 pm – 11 Times: Krista McNaughton
Friday, Feb. 8  9:00 pm –  Actionable: Bob Wiseman
Saturday, Feb. 9  7:30 pm –   Actionable: Bob Wiseman
Saturday, Feb. 9   9:00 pm –  Trashmen’s Dilemma: New Fangled Stages

“Eclecticism”: Five Diverse Women: Opening Saturday, January 26 @ 7:00 ‘til 9. No charge. Grace Loney, Sandi Ewasiuk; Renate Min-Oo; Callie Archer, Ruby Lockett. These talented local women have it all.  Colour, texture, variety; it’s a visual feast of acrylic, encaustic, fabric, found objects, decoupage. Grace Loney uses acrylic, oil pastel, water colour, and painterly mixed media to create depth in abstract expression. Her paintings are intuitive and alive with colour and rhythm. http://www.graceloneystudio.com; Sandee Ewasiuk specializes in exploring everyday scenes turning them upside down, backwards and sideways. Vibrant reds, yellows, and blues are used to create tongue in cheek landscapes populated by puckered lips and gravity-defying hair where fantasy and reality merge. http://www.s-ewasiuk.ca; Renate Min-Oo is an award winning textile artist who combines geometric forms, colours, contrast and different fabrics to create new designs. As an equally accomplished potter she also brings Raku and textile together to enhance and complete her highly original works. http://www.renate.ca Callie Archer paints with watercolour and acrylic; she’s a colourist with a loosely representational style, who is particularly sensitive to the shapes and textures of landscape, capturing the light, the calm and the ambiance. Ruby Lockett is a local landscape artist painting in acrylic and specializing in waterfalls; her work pulls the viewer directly into the composition.

Opening followed at 9:00 by “Down The Rhodes“ A musical and visual tribute to the Fender Rhodes electric piano.