Argentinian singer/songwriter Maria Volonté of the Blue Tango Project along with guest Kevin Carrell Footer brings her talent to the Heritage Playhouse in Gibsons on Friday, Aug. 25 at 8 p.m.
“I enjoy artists that bring the music of their culture,” said producer Paul Hood. He’s the go-to guy for sound on the Coast and has a long connection with folk and jazz music. He’s held house concerts for up to 40 people and he has hosted Volonté before.
“People still stop me in the street and tell me they enjoyed her music,” he said.
Since he moved to a small cottage, he now misses the house concert contact with touring musicians. When Astrid Sars in Vancouver told him that Volonté would be touring, he seized the chance to not only bring her to the Coast, but to start a series of musical events to highlight ethnic music in the intimate setting of the theatre.
Hailing from the colourful and gritty La Boca neighbourhood of Buenos Aires, Blue Tango Project is a ground-breaking exploration of the emotional and musical crossroads where tango and the blues embrace. It is a collaboration between Argentina’s María Volonté and California harmonica player Kevin Carrel Footer. Volonté is an Argentine singer, guitarist and songwriter who is a Carlos Gardel Prize winner (Argentina’s Grammy), a Latin Grammy nominee and member of the Tango Hall of Fame.
She has been described as a singer who combines the “earthiness of Edith Piaf with the sassiness of Eartha Kitt” (Jazz Perspectives). Volonté is also a restless musical innovator.
Kevin Carrel Footer plays harmonica and is an artist deeply inspired by the intense passions of tango and Buenos Aires. He is the author of the book A Tango Before I Die (2013), a collection of short essays on tango and Buenos Aires.
Sounds Good Productions in collaboration with Part of the Tribe are the joint presenters for this concert. In the future, Hood hopes to bring in the Balkan musical group Tambura Rasa.
Tickets for the tango music are $20 at WOW Gallery, MELOmania, Strait Music or online at: artspoints.com. More info is at 604-886-5930 or 604-836-9943 or on Facebook at Maria Volonté Blue Tango Project.
