Meredith Hall, La Nef, Sylvain Bergeron and baroque ensemble “Apollo’s Fire” come together to perform A Celtic Christmas Vespers on period instruments as Jeannette Sorrell conducts.  This is a CD and DVD set.

“The ancient Celts celebrated the Winter Solstice and the coming of light and hope.  Echoes of paganism still resounded in the 13th century, when faithful Scots sang the Vespers of St. Kentigern, Patron Saint of Glasgow.  This colourful celebration of Celtic artistic traditions interweaves selections from the medieval Scottish Vespers with ancient pagan carols, joyous fiddle tunes, and Irish dances.”

– Liner Notes

“Listening to Memphis Slim sing and play the blues on BBC radio when I was sixteen was a revelation.  It led me down the levee to many other bluesmen and women.  The passionate expression that these artists bared inspired me greatly.  The songs on this CD are a tribute to those artists.  Since settling in Newfoundland I have been embraced by the people and the land on which we live.  There are songs on this CD that I have lived with for a long time, and some that are recent compositions.  ‘Snowman Blues’ is a work of contrasts, hot and cold, black and white, home and away.  I am fortunate to have met and played with some great spirits, and a few of them are present on this recording.  I sincerely hope you enjoy listening to these songs and that they can take you to a better place for a while.  The blues is a healing. ”

– Denis Parker

The Early music group “La Nef” play the songs of Robert Burns with Newfoundland soprano Meredith Hall.

Local Hip-Hop artist collaborates with musicians such as Damian Follett, Sherry Ryan, Chris Kirby, Radar, Lorina Carroll, Dave Walsh and more.

“Newfoundland musician and visual artist Scott Goudie has played guitar since the mid-60s when he took an interest in blues and jazz.  While studying fine art in Vancouver in the early 1970s, he met Mississippi Delta Blues man Johnny Shines, a contemporary blues legend of Robert Johnson.  Goudie then moved to Alabama and studied and played with Johnny Shines, specializing in acoustic slide guitar.  He later met and played with John Hammond Jr., Muddy Waters and Albert Collins to name a few.

In St. John’s, Scott met fellow blues musician Denis Parker and started playing with him over thirty years ago, during the early 1970s. Scott released his critically acclaimed album ‘Renata’ in 1982.”

– www.rowdyblues.com

“In creating ‘Saltwater Jazz’, – their third CD as The Dogberries – Charlie Barfoot and Jack Daw have continued pursuing their characteristically unstandard jazz music.
Focused on a layering of instrumentals, the pair at times push at the boundary of  ‘what is jazz’, presenting a mix that includes Latin or folk bars as soon as it includes something akin to a thread from a Coltrane, Davis or Monk.”

– www.thetelegram.com

Performers:

Jason Hayward – Alto Saxophone

Romano DiNillo – Drums, Percussion

Jack Daw – Double Bass, Acoustic Guitar, Fretless Bass, Classical Guitar

Charlie Barfoot – Acoustic Guitars, Guitar Synth, Electric Guitars

Criag Follett – Tenor Saxophone

Patrick Moran – Fiddle

Don Boland – Piano and Synth

Rob Lee – Percussion, Guiro, Clave

Dave Reid – Trombone

Greg Bruce – Alto Saxophone

Bill Brennan – Piano

Patrick Boyle – Muted Trumpet

Gene Hardy – Tenor Saxophone

Countertenor Richard Michael Fox Sings Baroque pieces with The Atlantic String Quartet and harpsichord.

Husband and wife duo Meredith Hall and Bernard Farley play songs by Schubert, Sor, Giuliani, Moretti and Carulli.

Christopher Bowman (Baritone) and David Chafe (Piano) play songs of Ralph Vaughan Williams and Gerald Finzi.