The Pearl Company

C.R. Avery: Friday, December 2: 8:00pm, $15 door/$10 artists/students. Outlaw Hip-Hop Harmonica Player; Beatbox Poet; Punk Piano Player; String Quartet Raconteur; Rock & Roll Matador; Playwright.  He is a Canadian music sensation. His lyrics, vocal delivery, energy, and artistry have won him international acclaim. C.R. Avery is a unique, raw and dynamic performer. His genius lies in many genres – blues, hip-hop, spoken word and rock & roll. He is a one-man band, but one for this generation; with the rare ability to sing poetic verse while beatboxing simultaneously, pounding the piano, and adding harmonica like a plot twist. He has toured throughout Canada (including almost every major folk festival) the USA and Europe and garnered the attention of music peers the likes of Tom Waits (“…he’s blowin’ my mind”); blues harp trail blazer Charlie Musselwhite (“…no one plays harmonica like him… no one…”); and folk legend Utah Phillips (“…raw talent”).
His incredible live performances have been described as Bob Dylan in the body of Iggy Pop; colliding with Little Walter, the Beastie Boys and Allen Ginsberg.  Every show is all or nothing and his fearless approach to all genres of music both on stage and in the studio proves the longevity of this talented, astonishing creator has so much more to come. www.cravery.com

Jon Brooks: Saturday, November 26; 8:00pm, $15 door/$10 artists/students. CD Release. A songwriter dedicated to uniting folk song tradition with today’s stories, with an honest, gritty delivery and straight-shooting songwriting which honours the tradition of folk music without the earnest format.  Jon’s music is featured on Neil Young’s Livingwithwartoday website and he recently won both the coveted Kerrville New Folk Competition in Texas, and the International Songwriting Competition (Folk category). Jon’s music mandate is unequivocal: “I’m not interested in ‘happy songs’ – I’ve chosen to write healing songs and, for that reason, I’m obliged to reveal a wound or two now and then.  I’m even less interested in writing unhappy songs:  I want to write hopeful songs, inspiring songs and I expect I owe today’s listener some hopeful argument – some legitimate reason – as to why we should believe our present world could be improved, or healed.”  His 4^th collection of songs, DELICATE CAGES searches the defining issues of our time and looks at them from the perspective of freedom and enslavement.  The message is delivered gradually and gently over 43 unwasted minutes.  The message: the opposite of love is not hate, but is in fact, fear. Whether about the times we live in, its past or its future promise, Brooks’ songs are underscored throughout by his gently weather-beaten voice, the singular beautiful sound of hand on guitar, and his uncanny ability to press his ear against the heartbeat and the soul of the times we live in – transforming, inspiring and uplifting us as we bear witness. http://www.jonbrooks.ca

The Jazz Connection Big Band w Paul Hoffert: Friday, November 25. Doors at8:30, jazz at 9:00 $15 at the door: The JCBB is a well established 17-piece jazz ensemble comprised of professional and semi-professional musicians from the Hamilton/Toronto area. They perform only the best modern big band charts from the books of Goodwin, Martin, Menza, Rich, Basie, and many other great contemporary composers. Jazz Connection’s approach is high energy, uncompromising, straight ahead jazz. They combine the highest level of musicianship with great charts in an entertaining show that engages both the jazz enthusiast and the casual listener equally. Once more into that cool space of surround sound big band music. http://www.jazzconnection.ca Withrenowned jazz pianist Paul Hoffert! Paul has the soul of an artist and the mind of a scientist. By the time he was twenty-six, Mr. Hoffert was an established jazz recording artist, television performer, off-Broadway musical author, film composer, and had studied mathematics and physics at the University of Toronto. He co-founded Lighthouse, a rock band that sold millions of records, and toured the world.  Hoffert has parallel achievements in science and technology; he writes best-selling books: he has received the Order of Canada, Canada’s highest honour; he is a Fine Arts Professor at York University, and he is coming to The Pearl!  www.paulhoffert.ca

Matthew Barber & Louise Burns: Thursday, November 24. Doors 7:30. Concert 8:00 $15 advance / $20 at door. Singer songwriter, Matthew Barber is a seasoned songwriter and performer with five albums, numerous tours across Canada and around the world, a handful of record deals, a Juno nomination, and an award-winning musical to his credit.  His latest album is a simple, honest pleasure.  He’ll bring it to The Pearl with old friends  Julian Brown on bass and Dean Stone on drums. Both Stone and Brown have played with Feist and Apostle of Hustle.  These shows will mark Barber’s first Canadian tour with a band in over 2 years. The new album is a disarmingly honest record of appealing simplicity.  Melodic instrumental hooks weave in and out of the  spare arrangements, providing an engaging musical setting for Barber’s signature vocals and neatly-packaged lyrical turns about love, lust, longing, disillusionment, injustice, hope and the modern experience.  http://matthewbarber.com Louise Burns, already an industry veteran at the age of 24, also has a new album.  She plays nearly every instrument on ‘Mellow Drama’; It’s a pure expression of musicality and talent, for which she made the Polaris Music Prize Long List.  Mellow Drama has an honest, confessional quality about it; listening to it is like stumbling across someone’s (incredibly relatable) diary. And Louise’s performances come straight from the heart.  Her influences include – Neil Young, Nick Cave, Johnny Cash and June Carter, Harry Nilsson, Sam Cooke – but never at the cost of her own voice.  http://louiseburnsmusic.com

Jenn Grant with Amelia Curran: Tuesday, November 22. Doors 7:30. Concert 8:00 $15/$18 at door. Jenn Grant, an East Coast Music Award winner for Best New Artist, rose to attention with her intuitive songcraft and with her jazzy, Feist-influenced folk/pop. She’s a fine arts graduate with a voice like brushstrokes on a canvas. Her latest album, Honeymoon Punch, is a frisky concoction of spirited, synth-sweetened songs balanced with muted, natural elements; it drives the dark clouds away. Jenn and her album Honeymoon Punch are nominated for Female Recording Artist of the Year, SOCAN Songwriter of the Year, Recording of the Year, Video of the Year (“Getcha Good”), and Bell Alliant Entertainer of the Year at the Music Nova Scotia Awards www.jenngrant.com Amelia Curran: With a number of East Coast Music Award nominations and an extensive discography, over the past two years she has returned to Newfoundland to record with Don Ellis in various caverns in St. John’s, the city of legends, For Curran St. John’s captures the essence of her inner huntress. A songwriter by trade, but a writer at heart, Curran believes language is everything. She describes the craft of song-writing as an act of “expressing the inexpressible, …. describing the indescribable.” www.ameliacurran.com

Ben Caplan & The Casual Smokers with Charlotte Cornfield: Saturday, November 19: 8:00. $15 door. $10 artists/students. (Charlotte and Ben have just received a “Best Bet” from Graham Rockingham at the Spec!) Rugged, raspy, and roaring with charisma, former Hamiltonian, now living in Halifax, Ben Caplan delivers it all from poetic ballads to frenetic gypsy anthems.  Expressive percussion, upright bass, violin, sax, clarinet, flute, and terrific use of call and response sing-along choruses all help Caplan & The Casual Smokers stand out from the masses. In pace with the gypsy-inspired strings, amid the sultry tones of clarinet and saxophone, Caplan has marked his place in the Canadian music landscape with a growling spirit similar to that of Tom Waits. His tours have extended throughout the Commonwealth, the energy of his live show gaining attention around the world. www.bencaplan.ca Charlotte Cornfield writes some of the most emotionally raw, beautiful songs this country has heard in years. She has mastered her potent blend of soulful vocals and stylish guitar playing; (The Montreal Mirror has named her “The next it-girl of folk-rock.”). Her pop sensibility makes her tunes catchier than the new Justin Bieber single, always in the most surprising of ways. “Cornfield’s got something luminous about her,”: Maisonneuve Magazine. Seeing her perform or listening to her recordings, it’s hard to miss. Her latest album, ‘Two Horses’, just released, is a fleshed-out, conceptual tour de force, reflecting the duality of Cornfield’s musical influences: the deep lyricism and raw emotion of Mitchell, Dylan, and Young, mixed with the intense energy and hookiness of late-70’s New York rock and roll. www.charlottecornfield.com

In the Pearl Company Gallery: The Waterfall Show. Opening November 18. 7:00 – 10:00. Our unique
geography surrounds us with waterfalls; Artists find them irresistible! Paintings, sketches and photographs: The Tiger Group, Michael Babyn, John Davies, Rob Laffier. Also showing: Private Collection Sale: Prints, lithographs, some originals, featuring such well-known names as Benjamin Chee Chee, Ken Danby, James Fraser.  No charge. Through December.

Cam Penner: Thursday, November 17: 8:00. $15 door. $10 artists/students. In a complicated world, Cam Penner finds beauty in simplicity, with an honest, spare approach to folk music that is refreshing in an age filled with so much insincerity and irony. Singing uncompromising songs about redemption and truth, his is a voice for the disenfranchised, a storyteller for those who never reach their destination. Penner’s fiercely personal lyrics are complemented by a gentle acoustic guitar style, and the defiant heroes of his songs are weary, but they are never defeated. His new album, Gypsy Summer is full of hope. It’s full of love. It’s electrifying and provoking. It’s full of everything we should be looking for, not only musically, but in life.  Cam has shared stages with Richard Thompson, Fred Eaglesmith, Blue Rodeo, Blackie & the Rodeo Kings, John Prine, Glen Campbell, and Lyle Lovett.  http://www.campenner.com

Kaleidoscope Brown: ARECIBO: featuring: Brownman Ali – trumpet (Trinidad): With Paul Morrison – piano (Canada) Amhed Mitchel – drums (Cuba): Ben Miller – 6-string electric bass. Saturday, November 12. 8:00pm. $15 door. $10 artists/students. A brand new latin-jazz outfit delving deeply into both Cuban and Brazilian modern jazz traditions in the New York latin-jazz spirit of Jerry Gonzalez & The Fort Apache Band featuring some of Toronto’s most acclaimed jazz and latin music specialists. The group is named after the Arecibo radio telescope housed in Puerto Rico – the largest radio telescope in the world, responsible for the deepest exploration of space mankind has achieved to date.  http://arecibo.brownman.com Jazz writer Conrad Gayle writes: “Brownman Ali does it again being the great mastermind creating bands as vehicles for his creative output.   His unbridled versatility always pays huge dividends when he adapts and integrates his own unique jazz voice to straight ahead jazz, funk, hip-hop and Latin sounds, and ARECIBO is yet another example of his chameleon like abilities to fit into any mode of music.  In Arecibo he has assembled a great band that brings all 4 of those elements together into a sound that – like the trumpet player himself – is one-of-a-kind with it’s own special identity. “

The Art Bus is Sponsored by Judy Marsales Real Estate:

Next Tours: December 2 and 9

November 11: Off first to Ottawa Street to take in the multitude of galleries, antique stores and excitement now making this street one of the “best streets in Canada”.  Then for something completely different, we will stop at the Sheraton to catch the vibrant and transcendent artwork of Hamilton-born Toller Cranston who’s presenting his art as the ‘Artcracker’ part of the upcoming Nutcracker.   Then we’ll head for the James North Art Crawl for more excitement and blocks and blocks of artists studios and galleries!

•    Starting at 6:30 from ‘The Pearl Company’, 16 Steven Street @ King William.
•    Please reserve a spot via email or phone, and purchase your trip ($15.00/$10 students/artists) when you arrive
•    We finish up at The Pearl for an après-tour wind-down which includes a tour of the building or whatever event is  happening on the theatre floor

Rakish Angles: Thursday, November 10, 8:00pm. $15 door. $10 Artists/Students: The boundary crossing, genre-blending stringband, The Rakish Angles, weave an intricate tapestry of Newgrass, Latin, Gypsy-Jazz and Oldtime music.  The quartet’s members come from musical backgrounds as diverse as Classical, Bluegrass, Jazz, and Heavy Metal.  The Rakish Angles common influences include Django Reinhardt and Stephane Grappelli, Bela Fleck, and fellow Canadians The Creaking Tree String Quartet and Jayme Stone.  What makes the Rakish Angles unique is the collaborative spirit in which they put their pieces together –they recognize and encourage each other’s different strengths and backgrounds, which is heard both in the compositions and in the way each musician is given space to shine.  The quartet has been nominated for numerous prestigeous awards  and are beginning to garner Nation-wide attention and airplay and have even had music used for film.  They are: Boyd Norman (Bass), Serena Eades (Violin), Dan Richter (Guitar) and Simon Hocking (Mandolin)
“The Rakish Angles are pushing acoustic music into new directions. With impeccable taste, tone, timing and an all original repertoire, they are sure to be at the forefront of the Canadian Acoustic scene for a long time to come. Check ’em out!” – Andrew Collins www.rakishangles.com

Emm Gryner with Colleen Brown: Wednesday, November 9, 8:00pm. $15 door.$10 Artists/Students: Emm Gryner’s ferocious self- sufficiency has been recognized and rewarded by a broad spectrum of fellow musicians from David Bowie to Bono; in fact she sang and played keyboards in David Bowie’s band. She appears on Bowie at the Beeb, a live album. She has toured with Ron Sexsmith, Rufus Wainwright and Royal Wood.  She’s stuck it out as an independent artist for more than a decade, releasing records on both sides of the Atlantic (Ireland, in particular, likes its Emm) on her own ‘Dead Daisy’ label and delighting in the freedom to follow whatever musical whim strikes her fancy.  She has played Lilith Fair, playing either of the festival’s accepted roles — snarling rock chick or vulnerable piano diarist.  “I kind of pride myself on….that I’m the person who can open for Burton Cummings and then tour with Ohbijou….” www.emmgryner.com Colleen Brown has picked up support from the CBC, particularly DJ Rich Terfry (Buck 65), along with high profile fans such as Emm, Kathleen Edwards and Hawksley Workman. Brown was a finalist in last year’s Song Quest contest, and won the Alberta Emerging Artist Award for the song Western Fire, co-written with Edwards’ guitarist, Colin Cripps. Last summer, she grabbed the New Music West 2011 Songwriting Award. For the past few years, Brown has been at one moment jamming with members of Blue Rodeo the next, playing the folk festival circuit.  “As an artist I’m striving for the idea of a community, and that a performance, for me, is about give-and-take between the audience and the musicians. It’s not me up here and you down there.” www.myspace.com/colleenbrownmusic Both Emm and Colleen fit right in at The Pearl!

The Ernesto Cervini Quartet: Tuesday, November 8, 8:00pm. $15 door.$10 Artists/Students: Innovative and electrifying Toronto jazz drummer Ernesto Cervini featuring Joel Frahm (saxophones), Adrean Farrugia (piano) and Dan Loomis (bass).  Ernesto who has shared the stage with many legendary musicians such as Clark Terry, Benny Golson, Cleo Laine, Pat LaBarbera, Buddy DeFranco, and many others, has energy to burn, whether radiating it from behind his drums or working on any number of musical and educational projects.  Cervini’s diversity as a musician (he is also an excellent pianist and clarinetist) has allowed him to travel throughout the world, performing in some of the world’s greatest jazz venues such as, Birdland, The Jazz Standard, The Montreal Bistro, The Rex Jazz and Blues Club, and also many of the world’s most prestigious concert halls, such as Massey Hall, The Glen Gould Theatre, The St. Lawrence Center for the Arts and the Sugita Theatre in Yokohama, Japan.  www.Ernestocervini.com

Gary Santucci: Saturday, November 5, 8:00. $15 door.$10 Artists/Students.  Gary will put on another of his guitar seminars; a kind of show-and-tell involving guitar history, guitar-making, and guitar playing. There will be, of course, demonstrations of guitar technique from flamenco to classical and beyond. Gary may be joined by his long-time guitar and bouzouki partner, Dimitrios Doumas if he is able to be here.  Expect a guitar banquet.

The Andy Middleton Group: Friday, November 4, 8:00. $15 door.$10 Artists/Students: Jazz saxophonist and composer Andy Middleton with Canadian guitar legend Lorne Lofsky and the superb bass/drums team of Kieran Overs and Barry Romberg, with special guest Darcy Hepner on reeds.  Andy Middleton has long been considered by critics and his peers to be one of the world’s top-tier jazz saxophonists. While a technically masterful player, Middleton’s solos have rather been noted for their power of inspired imagination, rhythmic drive, lyricism and adventurous energy.  Likewise, his compositions are both harmonically modern and lyrical with a clear sense of the tradition.   Middleton’s unique voice as both a player and a composer/arranger has led jazz icons such as Dave Holland, Kenny Wheeler and Ralph Towner to record and perform with him.  He has also performed/ recorded with Renee Rosnes, Randy Brecker, Bill Evans, Lionel Hampton.  After nearly 20 years in the New York jazz scene, he now lives and teaches in Vienna, Austria.  Catch him in a rare return to North America! andy.middleton@chello.at
“A musician’s musician, just like it says in books.  This American living in Vienna spins fascinating webs of improvisation with long, drawn-out and intense melodies on the tenor saxophone that place him at the top of the international saxophone scene. Great music!”   Jazzthing (Germany)