Spring is in the air, the garden is planted, and plans are underway for a terrific summer. I am delighted to be introducing Rachel Leslie of Fortune River Productions to my creative team. Rachel will be managing the jazz part of my catalogue and will be working closely with me on the upcoming release of my new jazz recording.
It’s been a wonderful year so far. In January, I played shows in London, Halifax, Belleville, Oakville, Antigonish, Montreal and Quebec City where I received the Victor Martyn Lynch Staunton award. The award goes to one musician and artists in six other disciplines to recognize artistic achievement in mid-career. I am busy spending the $15,000 on a new jazz recording. We have the bed tracks done and are looking forward to recording some smokin’ solos and horn sections. We’re having a great time in the studio and working with engineer David Rashed is fabulous.
The Late Night Parlour Recording Project
The Late Nite Parlour project features some wonderful jazz musicians. Guitarist Ian Toms, bassist Ross MacDonald and I form the core group and do the arranging. Joining the trio for the bed tracks is drummer Alan Dowling. David Rashed of Haywire fame is the engineer on the project. Mike Murley is recording some saxaphone parts in early July and October Browne and Ben Grossman will add some tracks in late summer.
This recording is a collection of some snappy tunes from the swing and Latin era together with some original pieces that I penned including the title track. The Late Nite Parlour is an outdoor bar in Tobago where I was invited to play in March. Our trip to Tobago was very inspiring for song writing and a terrific opportunity to work on Latin rhythms. I had the good fortune to get some one-on-one coaching with local Soca musician, Junior Simon.
This project is very exciting for me. During the past two decades I’ve performed and recorded a variety of music—Celtic, jazz, Renaissance and three highly acclaimed children’s’ recordings. I spent seven years on the jazz scene in Montreal in the eighties performing at the Montreal Jazz Festival with my own trio. My last release, Summerfly, with the late Doug Riley marked my return to jazz. Since the release of that recording I’ve has been working hard on my jazz chops, studying jazz guitar, beginning to write jazz and starting a trio with Ian Toms and Ross MacDonald. Last summer Toms and I represented P.E.I. at the Jazz and World Music showcases hosted by the St. John’s Jazz Festival in Newfoundland. This summer our trio will perform every Wednesday at The P.E.I. Preserve Company River Theatre in New Glasgow. Other summer dates include The Silver Glen Resort in Antigonish, Nova Scotia, The Trailside Café in Mount Stewart, Prince Edward Island, The DeCoste Centre in Pictou, Nova Scotia, and I am hosting a series of house concerts at our own Rock Barra Retreat.
Looking ahead to fall we will be on tour in Quebec and Ontario, attending the Ontario Council of Folk Festivals conference, returning to the Silver Glen Resort for a performance and voice workshop…and sometime soon I really need to carve out a week for a return trip to Ireland. In February 2009, I will be performing at the Confederation Centre of the Arts with The Prince Edward Island Symphony Orchestra. We have not set a release date for Late Nite Parlour, but stay tuned!
Cheers,
Teresa
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