ROMMEL RIBEIRO Live at Mercury Lounge Ottawa

Sara — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 20:59:47 +0000

Brazilian music, Afro, reggae, jazz, funk… Nothing is off limits for this incredible artist simply known as Rommel. Born in 1987 in São Luís, Northern Brazil, Rommel was destined to have close connections with music. Raised in a family of musicians, he grew up admiring his grandparents’, father’s and sister’s talents. Precociously gifted, Rommel won his first music festival competition at the age of 14 and since then participated in several other music festivals mainly in his hometown, São Luís.

Destiny then brought Rommel to Canada in 2006. Fate couldn’t have played a better trick. By bringing the young musician to a multicultural environment, life exponentially increased Rommel’s amazing artistic skills. The first musical encounter, with the People Project band,an inter-cultural, multi-lingual international musical collective exploring music from around the world, turned out to become an even greater synergic reunion. Formed by young artists from different parts of the Americas (Canada, Mexico, Brazil), the gathering resulted in an explosion of talents in which each one of the musicians greatly influenced each other. People Project and Rommel’s performances at Café Nostálgica (a cultural hot-spot in Ottawa known for its diversity, its warmth and its ongoing support for the arts) became legendary among the Ottawa’s musical scene. By mesmerizing the audience week after week, the artists succeeded in creating a small legion of fans who religiously attended the group’s performances. Rommel also has participated in People Project on a number of occasions and continues to do so. Among the more prominent performances, he was featured with the group at “FESTIVAL INTERNATIONAL DE JAZZ DE MONTREAL“, “OTTAWA INTERNATIONAL JAZZ FESTIVAL“, “GLOBAL GROOVES-TORONTO” and “OTTAWA BLUESFEST” among other festivals, where he collaborated on a mix of People Project and Rommel’s original material.

Rommel has just completed his month tour back home and is preparing to start at school in Montreal. He is gracing Ottawa’s Mercury Lounge stage for his return performance!

Friday September 19th 22:00 Mercury Lounge Ottawa

Kellylee Evans in profile: Fight or Flight?

Bambi Blue — Sat, 05 Apr 2008 10:12:53 +0000

2007 Juno and Gemini Award nominated singer-songwriter Kellylee Evans is a unique voice in the urban-jazz world, and many of today’s top musicians have taken notice. With a smooth style that slides through jazz, soul, R & B, blues and world music rhythms, Kellylee’s calming sound speaks volumes; Rich, soothing, robust and energizing, and with a songwriting talent being compared to Elvis Costello, Aimee Mann and Ron Sexsmith, this eclectic artist ignites inspiration. From the sultry “What About Me?” to the bluesy “I Don’t Think I Want To Know”, to the reggae-flavored “Let’s Call A Truce Tonight” and sexy poetical Spanish vibe of “Rapunzel”, Fight or Flight? is an eclectic and focused effort, held together by Kellylee’s rich, expressive, effortless vocal range.

Kellylee was born in Toronto, but is now based just outside the Canadian capital of Ottawa. With the help Chicago-born bassist Lonnie Plaxico (Art Blakey, Chet Baker, Dexter Gordon, Wynton Marsalis. Cassandra Wilson, Cyndi Lauper), Kellylee went to New York for a whirlwind two-day recording session at a Manhattan studio. Helping out on the album were keyboardist/pianist George Colligan (Cassandra Wilson, Ravi Coltrane), guitarist Marvin Sewell (Cassandra Wilson, George Benson, David Sanborn), drummer Steve Hass (Art Garfunkel, Billy Joel, The Manhattan Transfer), and percussionist Kahlil Kwame Bell (Erykah Badu, Roberta Flack). Trumpet player Alexander Norris and accordionist Rachelle Garniez also lent their talents to a track apiece. The recording resulted in 11 of her original compositions and as a bonus, an alternate recording of “What About Me?” Her talent has gained her the attention of many in the music industry. In 2004, Kellylee was awarded second place in the prestigious Thelonious Monk International Jazz Vocals Competition, held at The Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. The judges – Quincy Jones, Al Jarreau, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Kurt Elling, Jimmy Scott and Flora Purim chose Kellylee out of a pool of over 160 gifted vocalists from around the world. Since her win, she has performed with award-winning saxophonist Jane Bunnett and has been invited to open for Tony Bennett, Chris Botti, Derek Trucks and Maceo Parker. In 2006, she performed to two sold out shows at the Kennedy Center Jazz Club in Washington, D.C. In the summer of 2007, Kellylee embarked on her first tour of the major Canadian jazz and folk festivals, including the Vancouver, Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal International Jazz Festivals. Evans has also studied with bassist Christian McBride (Sting, Diana Krall) and vocalist Janis Seigel (Manhattan Transfer) at Jazz Aspen Snowmass Academy in Aspen, Colorado.

Since it’s release in May 2006, Fight or Flight? has been receiving significant airplay on the CBC, college and community radio in Canada. It has also received adds at commercial Jazz radio. The album has also been released in the U.S. and was available exclusively at Barnes and Noble for the month of July 2006 in all their stores, as well as on BN.com. The title was also selected as a Barnes and Noble Discover Great Music title from August to October, an impressive feat for an independent artist. In addition to being a 2007 Gemini Award nominee alongside Michael Buble and Measha Brueggergosman and a Toronto Independent Music Award nominee for Best Jazz, she is also the winner of a 2007 Canadian Smooth Jazz Award for Female Vocalist of the Year and nominee for a 2007 Juno Award for Vocal Jazz Album. Other nominees that year were Diana Krall, Molly Johnson, Lori Cullen and Elizabeth Shepherd.

“Who Knows”

04 – 07 June ART OF JAZZ TORONTO, ON
15 August OLD MILL ETOBICOKE, ON

TransCanadaRadio.com » Montreal International Jazz Festival

ROMMEL RIBEIRO Live at Mercury Lounge Ottawa

Kellylee Evans in profile: Fight or Flight?