Don't miss cellist extraordinaire, Eugene Friesen (from Vermont), and former child prodigy and internationally acclaimed pianist, Joel Martin (from New York), live in Perth, Saturday May 25, 7:30 PM in the beautifully renovated sanctuary of St. Paul's United Church (25 Gore Street West). Opening will be the splendid 19-voice, 4-piece Lanark Offbeats jazz ensemble and also to be featured will be a talented young cellist from Perth, Beth Misener, with accompaniment on piano by Brad Mills, Music Director at St. Paul's.
Tickets ($28) for Eugene Friesen and Joel Martin, live in Perth!, on sale via Tickets Please (613-485-6434)
Eugene Friesen is a long-time member of the great world music troupe, the multi-Grammy Award-winning Paul Winter Consort. He has performed worldwide with numerous other celebrated musicians (e.g., Dave Brubeck, Toots Thielemans, Will Ackerman), is an artist-in-residence at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in Manhattan (the world's largest Gothic church), and is a faculty member at the renowned Berklee School of Music in Boston. Read more about Eugene's musical journey by cello, and watch/listen to a cello virtuoso play his arrangement of Bela Bartok’s Dances of Rasputin.
Joel Martin is the founder of Jazzical®, described as an “explosive union of classical composition and jazz innovation ignited with a fresh spirit all its own.” In 1985 he became the youngest pianist ever and the first African-American to perform in the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition. He has performed widely internationally and with a tremendous diversity of artists, from Brazilian jazz masters to top gospel singers to the great soprano, Kathleen Battle. Read more about Joel's journey by piano, and watch/listen to Joel playing live improvisation on some folk tunes from Kyrgyzstan.
“Brothers from different mothers,” Eugene Friesen and Joel Martin offer “an intimate, joyful, and emotional musical conversation that is both original and authentic.” Their first recording is the 2018 CD, A Perfect Sunday, featuring original music and interpretations of great composers, all in the Jazzical® vein. In concert, Friesen and Martin "are energetic, free-wheeling and improvisational while also showcasing the respect for musical tradition that each has mastered.” Listen to their playful, delightful The Blonde by the Pond, the third track on A Perfect Sunday (click the link and scroll down to the play button).
Tickets ($28) for Eugene Friesen and Joel Martin, live in Perth!, on sale via Tickets Please (613-485-6434)