The Pearl Company

Mimi Shaw & the HIGHNOTE RAMBLERS/Jessica Blake & The Dinner Club : Saturday, April 6. 8:00 pm. $15 /$10 students/all artists: Mimi Shaw is a down-home, angel-voiced, crowd favorite. She sings with the HIGHNOTE RAMBLERS, a Hamilton-based quartet that pays tribute to the sounds of old school country and rock.  This alt-country band’s roots music ranges from slow-burning torch songs to train-chasing rockabilly. Mimi’s voice can be both intimate and raucous as she leads the band through numbers that mix up retro twang ‘n grit to create a sound all their own. The Highnote Ramblers dig into their vintage stylings to create songs that infuse the soul with elemental rhythms of a bygone era. They are currently hard at work on material for their first album to be released this fall. Members: Jeff Griffiths – drums, Brian Hay – keys, Jeff Rosnick – electric, Orange McFarland – upright bass, Mimi Shaw – vocals & acoustic. http://www.reverbnation.com/thehighnoteramblers

Jessica Blake is a breath of fresh air – an exceptional singer-songwriter who willingly opens her heart and bares her soul with tales of truth and beauty, travel, discovery, and her spiritual journey. Honing her songwriting and performing over many years, her songs have evolved into thought-provoking and evocative stories. She was recently a featured artist at the Roy Thomson Hall’s Brewer’s Plate Festival, the Roncy Rocks outdoor music festival, C’est What, and at Toronto’s prestigious TIFF Lightbox venue. http://www.jessicablakemusic.com

Now for something completely different:
Just About Us Girls….. From a Man’s Point Of View: At The Pearl Company, Saturday, April 06. 9:30am to 3:00pm. $18 for the day (includes lunch). Join Drew, hair stylist and designer extraordinaire, who has opened a salon in The Pearl’s King Street property. (We met him first as a playwright/actor and he has become a wonderfully creative addition to our community.)
Drew invites you to: Share his expertise for your Personal Hairstyling Needs; Take part in Open Consultations about presenting the True You; Spend time discovering your Personal Style; Enjoy Guest Speakers discussing a variety of relevant topics.
Learn To: Get the most expert consultation; Make sure you are a part of the decision-making in deciding your new look or, how to enhance and style the cut you have; Be assertive with your stylist in order to get what you pay for, – a professional consultation and a finished look.
About Drew: Owner/Training Director of Andrews Advanced Academy; Previous Director of Training for Brunos Advanced Academy; Previous Director of Training for Eatons’ Elizabeth Arden Red Door Salons; Sassoon Trained; Stage and Platform Artist.
Looking for models of varying ages and sizes who are willing and excited to make a change. Two Gift Draws. Contact Drew at 289 698 7919 to book your place.

James Hill with Anne Janelle: Friday, April 5. 8:00 pm. $15 at the door.  SOLD-OUT!  James Hill, who has earned a reputation as Canada’s foremost – indeed one of the world’s foremost – players of the often-underestimated ukulele, stands poised and ready to take his place in the ranks of today’s best young songwriters. Barely into his 30s, he has achieved his technical prowess on ukulele through attacking the lowly folk instrument with the seriousness and nuance of technique usually associated with the highest levels of virtuosity. His entertaining and unpredictable solo concerts and his inspirational music seminars have made him something of a ukulele-based motivational speaker. And now, Hill’s latest album introduces us to Hill as singer/songwriter, a choice which is growing to rival his prowess as an instrumentalist. Man With a Love Song, brings the rock-solid musicianship of Hill and his collaborators, the clear strength of Hill’s singing voice, the poetry of the lyrics, and a playful breadth of the styles (from soulful big-band jazz through barrel-house bluegrass to spoken-word-and-junkyard-percussion). www.jameshillmusic.com Cellist/singer Anne Janelle (formerly Anne Davison) moves gracefully between classical and contemporary styles, experimenting deeply with free improvisation in both music and dance. Her songs, teeming with complexity and candour, are a special blend of influences that range from Nick Drake and Feist to Mozart and Vivaldi. Her musical mélange swirls with emotion, compelling imagery, diverse orchestration and her captivatingly sweet voice. Since 2006 she has performed widely with James Hill; their acclaimed collaboration True Love Don’t Weep won Traditional Album of the Year at the 2009 Canadian Folk Music Awards. http://www.annejanelle.com
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Amanda McIntyre: From Abstract to Figurative. On the walls now! We will have a “Closing Party” for this show, May 23.  Amanda is an emerging Hamilton Artist. She has an Honours Bachelors Degree in Fine Art, Studio Visual Arts, from York University and has made it her goal to show the world her art. For the past two years she has been part of 11 group shows and 10 solo exhibits. She has curated several group exhibits, commissioned to complete over 30 commissions and sold another 80 pieces. Amanda tends to dabble in all types of mediums from intaglio and woodcut printing, to painting of all sorts, and photography as well. The themes of her work change as often as her choice of medium, ranging from social comments, to contrasting religion and society, to pure abstraction. This exhibit, at the Pearl Company, will be a display of paintings from abstract to figurative. www.amcintyreart.ca

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