Jennifer Louise Taylor & Born in Cities (formerly called Auto Jansz & Andrea June) 7:30 pm, Saturday, May 4 Spiral Cafe, Victoria, 418 Craigflower Road Suggested $7-12
Join us for an evening of folk, jazz and indie-pop originals–and your old favourites to sing to!
Jennifer Louise Taylor has toured Canada and the US, and been a guest studio musician for CBC national radio. From the acoustic roots tradition, her songs weave a tapestry, both fun and meaningful. Focus Magazine describes Jennifer Louise Taylor’s “velvety contralto [as] magical.”
With a combination of guitar, piano, accordion, and precise and powerful vocals, Born in Cities plays a fresh new sound they call “Cabaret Folk,” one that made them 2012 Vancouver Island Music Awards nominees (Auto Jansz — Female Songwriter of the Year; Andrea June — Female Vocalist of the Year). These lively performers have impressed audiences from BC to Germany.
Everyone welcome. Invite friends on Facebook here.
Hodaya! (Various Victoria artists) Sunday, March 23, 2013 Alix Goolden Hall
Reviewed by Jennifer Louise Taylor
Hodaya! was an evening of musical entertainment which spanned the globe, flooding back to our small city in waves of joyous sound. The concert was a truly remarkable evening in aid of Congregation Emmanu-el’s much-needed roof repair plans. Victoria’s only synagogue (that beautiful brick building at the corner of Blanshard and Pandora) is the oldest house of worship in B.C., as well as the oldest synagogue in continuous use in Canada.
Hosted by Jo-Ann Roberts of CBC’s All Points West, Hodaya, which means gratitude, celebrated community building through culture. Diverse artists offered a smorgasbord of world-class samplings from spoken word, classical and jazz to Indian tablah, Portuguese Fado, new-world Celtic and traditional Persian music.
Victoria’s third Poet Laureate, Janet Rogers, began the evening with a beautifully composed piece written in honour of the evening and its spirit of gratitude. Ex-cop and former Pennsylvanian, jazz super-star, Louise Rose then entertained with captivating piano and vocals. From there, Niel Golden and Vinod Bhardwaj transported the audience to the tea fields of Darjeeling, switching to a clever transition from Classical Indian music into Hava Nagila (Bhardwaj pointed out that the same scale, using all flats, is common to both traditional Indian and Israeli music).
Violinist Mark Lupin and pianist Walter Prossnitz treated the audience to three pieces written by Max Bruch. The three pieces, Vidui (Contrition,) Nigun (Improvisation,) and the Simchas Torah ( Rejoicing,) fit in beautifully with the theme of the evening. The Darya Ensemble, which includes Douglas Hensley and Faraidoun Akhavan, brought us to the break with a great sampling of traditional Persian music.
The Sarah Marreiros Quartet opened the event’s second half performing traditional Portuguese Fado. Next, Daniel Lapp performing solo was a real treat. A truly dynamic entertainer, Lapp was engaging from his extemporaneous instrumental musings to his fabulous rendition of Richard Thompson’s Beeswing, played with his bow literally wrapped around his violin. The evening culminated with the Yiddish Columbia State Orchestra waltzing up the middle aisle in a fine Klezmer procession. Their energy had the audience singing along and dancing through the aisles.
Rabbi Harry closed the evening by thanking the organizers of Hodaya! (Isa Milman, Annie Weeks, Barbara Pelman, Zelda Dean and Frances Aknai), saying this is what happens when five strong women get together. “Tikkum Olam,” says Rabbi Harry Brechner, “is the act of repairing the world and leaving our part in better condition than we found it.” Hodaya indeed!
Jennifer Louise Taylor is a Victoria-based musician and former world traveller who enjoys the sound of west-coast rain on a cold tin roof.
Ghost Lights Saltwater EP (2012) Produced by James Finnerty
Reviewed by Jennifer Louise Taylor
Ghost Lights is the debut musical project of a former west-coaster now living in Montreal, Noah Cebuliak, who sings and plays most of the parts on the EP. He’s supported by a wide cast of equally talented folks, including producer James Finnerty. The result is a well-produced and artfully arranged collection of songs that reflect a wide variety of influences. Saltwater has elements of folk for the folkies, R&B for the soul-minded, stimulating lyrics for the intellectually curious and enough ambient sound and jazzy bass riffs for those just wanting to sit back and enjoy the ride.
The album is inspired by Cebuliak’s west coast wilderness travels: if you have ever found yourself with feet in sand, a hot cup of coffee warming your hands as you watch the fog roll in off the water on a “soft” west coast morning, then you already have a sense of what this album evokes in the listener. Saltwater works because the lyrics, instrumentation and vocals are thoughtfully crafted, giving the listener a cohesive, intriguing musical experience.
In the second track, “A Train is Coming,” smooth vocals offer a musical onomatopoeia of an oncoming train; the song creates an R&B/old-time feel, applied to sentiments of love and loss that leaves you feeling joyfully lonesome. The album’s fourth track, “Babble from a Beehive,” reminiscent of California artist Brett Dennen, has a fabulous acoustic dynamic with plucked strings and breezy horns contrasting with the rich, soothing vocals of Cebuliak. The only track on Saltwater that left me sitting musically confused and lyrically dusty, was Thundercloud with its retro 70s rock feel. For me, it does not hold the same rich, ambient, melodic feel of the other five tracks. That being said, five gems out of six songs, is stellar for any album, let alone a debut EP.
Cebuliak says his melodies often come to him “while walking or sitting outside in nature.” As a songwriter, he has the unique ability to melodically distil the essence of the outdoors without lyrically watering down the complexity of human experience. What is more, the lyrics are clearly enunciated and beautifully presented for the listener–always a boon, but particularly with lyrics worth hearing.
Ghost Lights’ Saltwater is a musical example of a journey well taken– like that memorable summer spent with your wisest and most eclectic elderly uncle. In this case, the purveyor of the experience happens to be at the beginning of his journey. If this is just the start, then I truly look forward to seeing where Cebuliak’s future musical musings will take him and us.
A Train is Coming:
Jennifer Louise Taylor is a Victoria-based musician and former world traveller who enjoys the sound of west-coast rain on a cold tin roof.
