The Pearl Company

Shari Vandermolen & David Brideau: Saturday May 5.  Doors: 7:30pm. Show: 8:00. Tickets: $20. Shari Vandermolen is a renowned vocalist and award-winning performer in Hamilton and the Greater Toronto Area who has been entertaining audiences for 15 years with her Quartet, Trio or 5-piece band Quarter to Nine.  She is also the lead vocalist for the 10-piece jazz combo SwingLine.  On May 5th Shari brings her powerful and impressive vocal stylings back to the Pearl Company for a more intimate evening of song with jazz guitarist David Brideau, James Gannett on bass and Vince Waters on drums.  “…hear Vandermolen make jelly of your emotions with her voice and her art… one example is Stormy Weather… I barely weathered that storm intact.”  – View Magazine
David Brideau is a Canadian jazz guitarist, composer, and teacher who has been an active musician for over 15 years. A Hamilton native, and honours graduate from the Mohawk Jazz program, David has played all around the GTA with his own group, the David Brideau Trio and Quartet, as well as being prominently featured in groups with Michael Morobito, Amber-Leigh Palka, and Lauren Perreira among others. He studied under jazz greats Bob Shields, Pat Collins, Kim Ratcliffe, and Mark Ucci and is currently continuing his studies at McMaster University. David often composes his own standards, and released the sold-out EP “Addicted To You” in 2016. He is a recipient of the Dave McMurdo Music Bursary, the Antony Roberts Music Bursary, and the Richard Newell Memorial Scholarship.
Ticets: https://www.ticketscene.ca/events/21098/

Light, Water, and Fantasy: Cora and Eric Brittan:  Opening: Sunday, October 26. 2:00 – 5:00pm. No charge. Cora and Eric spend their time between two worlds. From their homes here on Lake Ontario and in Mexico on the Pacific, they conjure their magical and compelling works celebrating nature, life, light, and fantasy. Cora and Eric are natural teachers lovingly passing on their passion for their art. They have enjoyed numerous solo, group, and two person exhibitions, with works in many private and corporate collections. We are honoured and delighted to be showing them on our walls.  They are local art royalty! www.brittanart.com

The 2014 Steel City Jazz Festival! September 23, 2014: The Steel City Jazz Festival is a Hamilton-based music festival celebrating the city’s talented and diverse jazz community. Now in its second year, the Festival kicks off on October 15 and runs until October 26 at two of Hamilton’s premiere jazz venues, Artword Artbar (15 Colbourne Street, James North area) and The Pearl.
Performances at Artword Artbar: Oct 15: The Hamilton Dixieland All-Stars. Oct 16: Chris Platt and Bob Shields; the Jason Jones Unit. Oct 17: The Aaron Zukewich Trio; The Sean Dowhaniuk Group. Oct 18: A Night of Latin Jazz. Oct 19: Adrean Farrugia and Sophia Perlman.

Performances: @The Pearl Company: 
Thursday October 23, at 8 pm, $20.  The Brad Cheeseman Group: Brad Cheeseman’s first release as leader, Mixed Messages, offers all the twists, turns and subtleties of the best modern jazz music, so it’s no surprise that it was awarded the 2013 Hamilton Music Award for Instrumental Recording of the Year.  Plus The Blank Quintet: a group of young Toronto musicians creating their own adventurous take on modern jazz. Max Forster trumpet & flugelhorn, Nick Marshal trombone, Sean Clary guitar, Nick Arseneau bass, Alejandro Luna drums.

Friday October 24, at 8 pm, $20. The Jazz Connection Big Band: a well-established 17-piece jazz ensemble delivering high energy, uncompromising and straight ahead jazz, funk, and Latin combining the highest level of musicianship and great charts in an entertaining show that equally engages both the jazz enthusiast and the casual listener.

Saturday October 25, at 8 pm, $20. Spanjazz: An evening of original jazz compositions inspired by world beat rhythms and composed by Gary Santucci: with Chris Bruder on keyboards;  Steve Wilson drums;  Brandon Walker multi-reeds;  Ian McGillivary trumpet;  Jillian McKenna bass; Gary Santucci guitar.

Sunday October 26, at 7:30 pm, $20. The Steel City Jazz Festival Closing Concert at The Pearl Company. Quarter to Nine: a musical act with Shari Vandermolen on vocals with a 5-piece band. Influences include Ella Fitzgerald, Nina Simone, Etta James, Billie Holiday and “big-band sound” bringing you Jazz Standards, risqué blues and torch songs peppered with just the right amount of showtunes for good measure. plus the Messore-Palka Quintet: featuring Thomas Messore vocals, Amber-Leigh Palka vocals, Scott Taplay guitar, Matthew Pullicino drums, Hope Bozzo bass.

Full concert listings,  can be found at www.steelcityjazzfestival.com/schedule. Tickets to all performances can be purchased at the door, and reservations can be placed by emailing steelcityjazzfestival@gmail.com or by contacting the host venues: Artword Artbar, 905-543-8512, http://www.artword.net/artbar or The Pearl Company.
The Steel City Jazz Festival is a grassroots festival made possible through donations from community members and our sponsor NLP Canada Training.
For more information  please contact: Chris Ferguson, Festival Director 905-616-5960  chris.ferguson5@gmail.com