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Two for jazz fans

Art Beat
mimosa
Mimosa performs April 21 at Sunshine Coast Arts Centre.

The Jazz Series at the Gibsons Market continues on Saturday, April 21 at 7:30 p.m. with Just Enough Guitar, a guitar duo with National Jazz Awards Guitarist of the Year and Juno-nominated guitarist, composer, arranger Bill Coon performing with local jazz aficionado Steve Giltrow. They will perform songs from the great American songbook and originals. Cocktails 7 p.m.; music at 7:30 p.m. (a pre-concert dinner at the Market is also an option). See: billcoon.com or stevegiltrow.ca for more on the musicians. Tickets for $20 are at One Flower One Leaf Gallery, Gibsons Public Market, The Medicine Shoppe and Strait Music, online at gibsonspublicmarket.com and at the door. For more information, see www.stevegiltrow.ca.

Mimosa

On the heels of their year-long Canada 150 project, the musical group Mimosa is broadening their search for female jazz composers.  On Saturday, April 21 at 8 p.m. they will be presenting their own new originals as well as music by Esperanza Spalding and Jane Bunnett at the Sunshine Coast Arts Centre (corner Trail and Medusa in Sechelt.) The quintet draws on jazz, Brazilian sambas, French ’60s pop and cabaret music to concoct their own unique sound. The band is made up of Rebecca Shoichet, vocals; Anna Lumiere, piano and accordion; Karen Graves sax, flute and vocals; Adam Thomas, bass; and Bernie Arai, drums. They will also be doing a live recording of this special evening. Seating is limited so get your tickets early. Tickets are $20 at Strait Music, MELOmania, WOW Gallery, share-there.com or at the door. Show is presented by the Sunshine Coast Jazz and Entertainment Society. See www.mimosamusic.com for more.

LIFT

All are welcome at the LIFT talks at the Arts Building, 464 S. Fletcher in Gibsons, this Friday, April 20 at 7 p.m. The theme is The Wisdom Years: Inspiring the Second Half of Your Life. The evening will be the usual combination of inspiration and information with some interesting topics presented in prose, motion and poetry styles by members of the local community. It’s free.

Swing Dance

On Saturday, April 21 you can swing dance at Swing Out with the group Martini Madness playing live at the Davis Bay Hall. It starts at 8 p.m. and costs $10 at the door. Doors open at 7 p.m. for a dance lesson. Beginners are welcome. 

Banksy Film

Exit Through the Gift Shop, the third in the Sunshine Coast Arts Council’s Art and the Documentary Sunday Film Series, screens Sunday, April 22 at 10:30 a.m. at the Sunshine Coast Arts Centre. Released in 2010, it is the first film made by the renowned graffiti artist Banksy. He has a global reputation and his work can be seen on walls from post-hurricane New Orleans to the Palestinian segregation wall in the West Bank. Fiercely guarding his anonymity to avoid prosecution, Banksy has so far resisted all attempts to be captured on film. This film tells the story of how an eccentric shop keeper turned documentary maker attempted to locate and befriend Banksy, only to have the artist turn the camera back on its owner. Special guest speaker for this event is local muralist Dean Schutz. Free muffins and coffee provided courtesy of The Bakery. Admission is a suggested donation of $10. The documentary runs 87 minutes and is rated PG.

For Carole King Fans

Erin Costelo sings Carole King’s Tapestry on Saturday, April 21 at 7:30 p.m. at the Heritage Playhouse, Gibsons. Halifax based soul singer/songwriter Costelo gives an incredible presentation of one of the most loved albums of all time. She will perform the entire album in addition to songs of her own. Tickets are $20 at www.share-there.com or at the door. 

Italian Film

The SC Film Society presents Call Me By Your Name, a film from Italy with English subtitles. This award-winning portrait tells of a brief romance between a young man and the graduate student who comes to stay with his family. It screens in Sechelt on April 21 at 2 p.m. at the Raven’s Cry Theatre and in Gibsons on April 23 at 7:30 p.m. at the Heritage Playhouse. See www.scfs.ca for more or phone 604-886-2965. 

Concert with Van Django

The Pender Harbour Music Society presents Van Django on Sunday, April 22 at 2 p.m. at the Pender Harbour School of Music in Madeira Park. Van Django closes the season with their high energy gypsy jazz played by four polished musicians who are very serious about their craft, but still delight in its joyous nature. Drawing their inspiration from Django Reinhardt and Stephane Grappelli in Depression era Paris, Van Django whisks us back to a time when social conventions and music were in flux. By 1939, the world had changed forever and so had music. Tickets at Harbour Insurance in Madeira Park, the Sechelt Visitor Centre or penderharbourmusic.ca.

Art Series

The In the Gallery art series continues on Sunday, April 22 at 2 p.m. at the Raven’s Cry Theatre in Sechelt with Cézanne – Portraits of a Life from the National Portrait Gallery London, Musée d’Orsay Paris and National Gallery of Art, Washington DC. Exhibition on Screen is thrilled to present one of the most talked-about exhibitions of the year. Dedicated to the portrait work of Cézanne, the exhibition opens in Paris before travelling to London and Washington. The film takes audiences to the places Cézanne lived and worked and sheds light on an artist who is perhaps the least-known of all the impressionists – until now. Phone the Raven’s Cry for more: 604-885-4597.

Songwriters

Singer/songwriter Lowry Olafson presents Trans-forming Poems into Songs: What You Need to Know at the Sechelt Library on Thursday, April 26 at 7 p.m. Olafson is a performing songwriter and keynote speaker who has released nine albums and toured the globe. The event is free, but please register at the library by calling 604-885-3260.

Coffee House

This month’s Artesia Coffee House is on Friday, April 27 at the Sunshine Coast Arts Centre in Sechelt at 8 p.m. with doors opening at 7 p.m. As April is poetry month, two very special guests will read from their latest works: Theresa Kishkan, whose latest book Euclid’s Orchard was short-listed for the Hubert Evans Non-Fiction Prize, and poet John Pass, author of over 19 books of poetry and Governor General’s Literary Award recipient. The evening will also include music from the senior group of the fiddlers Bad to the Bow, Anna Lumiere on grand piano, Kaia Nielson on double bass and the Reflections Choir. Come early and enjoy kitchen treats by Trish, view the latest show in the Doris Crowston Gallery and the slideshow of the coffee house performers. Tickets are $10 at the door.

Spring into Harmony

Nikki Weber presents Spring into Harmony featuring the vocal quartet Sh-Boom on Sunday, April 29. This talented, often zany group of men features Boyd Norman, Ken Gustafson, Colin Maley and Mike Weber singing music of a variety of genres from jazz to rock n’ roll in close harmony. Java Jazz Nouveau, a six-member vocal group of women, under the direction of Patrice Pollock, will also be on the programme with a variety of musical genres from jazz to pop. Special guest is the talented young vocalist Maddy Weber and all will be accompanied by the awesome band of Miles Black, piano; Sacha Fassaert, guitar/bass; and Regan Haydu, drums. Show is on April 29 at 2:30 p.m. at St. Bart’s Church in Gibsons. Tickets are $22 advance or $25 at the door at Strait Music, The Blackberry Shoppe, or from Joy at 604-886-4930.

Message Me

My new phone number is 604-741-9360. You can send notice of your arts and entertainment events to my email: jandegrass@dccnet.com. Items go into the Art Beat column one day to one week ahead only, depending on space. Deadline is Tuesday noon for Friday’s paper.