The Pearl Company

Week One (Oct 21 to 25) of the 2015 Steel City Jazz Festival is at Artword Artbar. http://www.artword.net/artbar/  Week Two (Oct 29 to Nov 1) is at The Pearl Company. The artist-in-residence for this year’s festival is jazz pianist Adrean Farrugia.   http://steelcityjazzfest.com/

Schedule: 2015 Steel City Jazz Festival @The Pearl

The Koopa Troop: October 24, 2pm FREE. Your favourite videogame hits from Mario Kart to Metroid, played with serious jazz chops! Featuring Tom Altobelli on bass, Chelsea McBride on saxophone, Chris Bruder on keys, Wilson McLeish on guitar and Tyler Goertzen on drums.
The Chris Bruder Quintet play Speak No Evil: October 29   8pm $15/$10 for students/seniors. One of Hamilton’s most exciting and talented young pianists leads an all-star quintet playing the entirety of Wayne Shorter’s classic 1964 album Speak No Evil. Featuring Mike Malone on trumpet, Clark Johnston and bass, Adam Fielding on drums, Scott Neilson on saxophone and Chris Bruder on piano.
The Jazz Connection Big Band: October 30, 8pm. $15/$10 for students. The baddest big band in town, the Jazz Connection are a powder-keg of funk and swing, playing everything from Ellington classics to Janelle Monae, all in their distinctive, powerful style (with a healthy dose of humour on the side). With years of experience under the belts and lauded performances at the Beaches Jazz Festival, Uptown Waterloo Jazz Festival and the Rex Hotel, a Jazz Connection performance is always a high-energy, must-see affair.
Terry Clarke with Adrean Farrugia and Neil Swainson: October 31, 8pm $15/$10 for students. The 2015 Steel City Jazz Festival Artist-in-Residence series concludes with a very special performance from Canadian jazz luminary Terry Clarke. Over a career spanning the past five decades Terry has played all over the world with many of the best players in jazz, including time spent with jazz legends Jim Hall and Oscar Peterson. Terry is a Juno and National Jazz Award-winning drummer and a member of the Order of Canada, and will be joined by Steel City Jazz Festival Artist-in-Residence Adrean Farrugia and bassist Neil Swainson.
Intercurrents: Roy Patterson and Brian Dickinson. November 1, 2:30pm. $15/$10 for students. Guitarist Roy Patterson and pianist Brian Dickinson join forces to explore the music of one of jazz’s most famous guitar and piano duos: Jim Hall and Bill Evans, as recorded on their albums Undercurrent and Intermodulation. Roy has played guitar around the world and is an adjunct faculty member at York University, as well a new Hamiltonian! Brian Dickinson is a two-time Juno Award winning pianist who has recorded on over sixty albums, including ten of his own.

Hammer Hoppers Presents The Solomon Douglas Quartet: Wednesday, October 28. Doors: 7:00/Lesson: 7:30/Show: 8:00. $15 / $10 with a MacSwing membership card…  Hammer Hoppers is very excited to offer a special night of dancing to the live musical offerings of the Solomon Douglas Quartet. Musician and dancer, Solomon Douglas is currently based out of New York City and Seattle, and has played in Asia, Australia, and across North America for lindy hoppers at hundreds of dance events. Come find out for yourself why his music is sought after by dancers worldwide. The theme this night is Halloween; come in costume! Hammer Hoppers offers dance instruction and socials for vintage swing dances, Lindy Hop, Charleston, Authentic Jazz, and Balboa
7:30-8:00PM Drop-In Beginner Lesson
8:00-11:00PM The Solomon Douglas Quartet
info@hammerhoppers.com  http://www.hammerhoppers.com

Ariana Nasr chante PIAF! Friday, October 23, 8:00pm. Tickets: $20/$15 students/seniors. Ariana Nasr’s astounding vocal performance accompanied by Andy Flinn has been delighting audiences all over the Maritimes this summer. It began in 2014 with the addition of a French song to the primarily English repertoire of Andy and Ariana.  In 2015 it has become a full-blown spectacle en français featuring the music of the world-renowned French singer, Édith Piaf.    Already the show has been part of the Halifax Jazz Festival, the Deep Roots Music Festival, Mosaiq Multicultural Festival and many sold-out theatres and music venues in Nova Scotia as well as Ontario. During the show, the songs are all sung in French, however, Ariana has been translating some of the lyrics prior to singing them for the benefit of non-French speakers. A CD “La Vie en Rose” including many of Édith’s hit songs (Non, je ne regrette rien, Hymne à l’amour, La Vie en rose, Padam… Padam) was released in April 2015. Ariana is a singer, multi-instrumentalist and recovering anglophone of Afghan/Canadian decent. She grew up in Wolfville, Nova Scotia where she now lives with her husband Andy Flinn. As the duo Andy and Ariana they have produced 8 CDs of original material and spent many years on the road performing.  www.ariananasr.com/  Listen: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kr_UsZleieY

Lenka Lichtenberg & Fray: Thursday, October 22, 8:00pm. Tickets: $20/$15 students/seniors. Czech-born Canadian chanteuse Lenka Lichtenberg creates aural soundscapes of mesmerizing grandeur and beauty. On this night she performs with her ensemble, comprised of the finest global fusion, jazz and traditional musicians from around the world. Singing in six languages, Lichtenberg seamlessly ranges from innovative expressions of Eastern European and Middle Eastern traditional music to her own compositions which forge her European roots together with North American jazz, Brazilian samba, Indian classical and more, into captivatingly soulful global grooves. Lenka’s odyssey and oeuvre as an artist, parallels her own fascinating journey. The only child of Holocaust survivors, she escaped from behind the Iron Curtain to a new life in Canada, discovering her roots and developing a richly diverse artistic palette along the way. Her ethereal voice can be playful and provocative, or spiritual and deeply introspective. As an instrumentalist, she ranges effortlessly from guitar and keyboards to percussion and harmonium. To date, Lenka has released nine full-length albums. She has toured in 15 countries across four continents and garnered radio play around the world. www.lenkalichtenberg.com/   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I30SvfjMpMU

brenda lennie’s WAM BAM COMEDY JAM – women’s improv show! 15 WOMEN, 10 WORKSHOPS AND THIS IS THE SHOW!! Sunday, October 18. $15. Doors 6:30. 7:pm start. Some have been on stage, for some this is their first experience. these ladies are brave, sassy, will take on anything, they’re smart, they surprise, they’re hilarious! you may know them, come see this side of them!! brenda lennie will coach them thru the process, she is assisted by co host, jim maxwell. the women will play games and do pure improv, hosted by brenda, and jim plays with the students in the show.. A FUN FUN NIGHT FOR ADULTS…ONLY. –
to reserve your seat, hit ‘going’ on the facebook event. it is limited seating, doors open at 630pm. show 7pm, cannot wait!!  brenda https://www.facebook.com/events/1627046334211825/

Dr Faustus: October 8 – 10, 15 – 17. Start time: 7:30pm. Doors 7:00. $20 admission. “Christopher Marlowe’s Doctor Faustus is the haunting, macabre tale of the man who sells his soul to the Devil for power and glory.  Its poetry and power have shaken generation after generation and now Make Art Theatre, winners of “Best in Fringe” at this year’s Festival, are bringing the show to life at The Pearl Company. John Faustus, a doctor and intellectual, finds himself frustrated with the frivolous nature of his studies: he cannot gain any real power.  He turns to Black Magic and summons the demon Mephistophiles, who offers Faustus twenty-four years of limitless power in exchange for his immortal soul. As the years go by, Faustus indulges every impulse.  Yet, always, he is tormented by his contract, and must decide between God and the Devil. A perfect outing for October, when Halloween looms large, Doctor Faustus presents a truly eerie story in a way which will delight as well as terrify.  Classical theatre at its finest!”  https://www.facebook.com/make.art.theatre

Kate Reid: Wednesday, October 14. 7:30pm. $15 /$10 students/arts workers. Kate Reid (currently combining her passions in a Master’s degree she is working towards at the University of British Columbia’s Institute for Gender, Race, Sexuality and Social Justice) refined her whipsmart songwriting and warm, wise-cracking stage persona while recording and touring behind three previously released, critically acclaimed independent albums. She is one of Canada’s funniest, sharpest talents – cited for her originality, topical songwriting and laugh-aloud humour. Her socio-political musings about identity, love and queer life are matched with an irreverent, often self-deprecating sense of humour. Reid’s fourth album, and her first for families, children and youth, carries her passion for inclusivity coast-to-coast on an express route to generation next. Queer Across Canada’s collection of groundbreaking tracks traverse a wide landscape of family scenarios as it sensitively addresses (with rootsy rock’n’roll verve) such contemporary realities as surrogate moms, donor dads, same-sex parents, out-of-the-closet fathers, blended families and queer-curious siblings.  “One woman. One guitar. Lots of attitude”. “Edgy, fun and brilliant” www.katereid.net

An Evening with Séan McCann: Monday, October 5.  8:00pm. $25 at the door. A founder of internationally renowned band, Great Big Sea, Séan has spent the last 20 years sailing around the world enamouring audiences from Copenhagen to California. Known as much for his intense sea shanties as his tender ballads, McCann decided it was time to leave the comfort of safe waters and set out on his own. His first post-GBS album, produced by Joel Plaskett, “Help Your Self” is the sound of a man facing his demons and ultimately overcoming them. Now touring the country as a solo artist in intimate venues where he can truly connect with his audience. Séan has also found himself using music as therapy, working with people who face physical, mental, and addiction challenges, and has become a sought after speaker trying to help others to help themselves.
Séan’s journey to find his own peace, love, and happiness continues through his new music. Produced once again by Joel Plaskett, and with an original piece of artwork per song by singer/songwriter Meaghan Smith “You Know I Love You” is a happy collection of songs sung by a man intent on sharing his joy directly with you. Through the years of technological advancement and subsequent social change, two universal energies remain constant— Music and Love. http://www.seanmccannsings.com/   https://www.youtube.com/user/greatbigsean

TUESDAYS WITH MORRIE: By Jeffrey Hatcher and Mitch Albom based on the book by Mitch Albom. September 24 – 26, Oct 1 – 3 @ 8:00. Oct 3 also @ 2:00 Tickets: $20/$15 students/seniors/artists. Classical Theatre Presents: A Dramedy About Life’s Greatest Lesson. Directed by Tyler Brent. Starring Steve O’Brien and Peter Anderson. “Take in as much joy as you can.” Tuesdays with Morrie is a play so touching, powerful and celebratory it may change your outlook on life. In this humorous and heartbreaking piece, career-obsessed journalist Mitch reunites with his past-teacher Morrie, who is battling Lou Gherig’s Disease (ALS). This reconnection soon becomes both a weekly pilgrimage and a life-affirming ritual that enables Morrie to teach his final and most important lesson – how to live. This hit story about friendship and the necessity of mentors is a rare gem that is both moving and entertaining.  “A touching, life-affirming, deeply emotional drama with a generous dose of humor.”  – New York Daily News  “Unforgettable! No matter how well you tell the story, the play makes it more vivid, more shattering, more humorous.” – New York Magazine

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/