The Rakish Angles, four Coast musicians, charmed a crowd at last September's Pender Harbour Jazz Festival with their entirely instrumental compositions and some gypsy jazz.
The band, made up of violinist Serena Eades, mandolinist Simon Hocking, bassist Boyd Norman and guitarist Dan Richter, has two reasons to celebrate this year.
They recently released a CD entitled The Rakish Angles that blends stringband tradition and contemporary composition. This latest work has landed them an unexpected nomination for best instrumental group of the year at the Canadian Folk Music Awards, which will be handed out in Ottawa on Nov. 21.
"We applied. Put it in the mail and thought that we'd never see that application again," said Eades.
Much later, one of her music students congratulated her on the nomination before the group had even received official word. The band will fly to Ottawa at their own expense because it's an opportunity for scouting out the future folk festival scene and because it's a Rakish Angles adventure, added Eades.
The fifth annual awards will be hosted by the CBC's Shelagh Rogers and Juno-winning Quebec musician Benoit Bourque. It will feature performances by Quebec traditional music stars Les Charbonniers de l'Enfer and songwriting legend Valdy, among others. The theme of the awards is Focus on the Fiddle, and it somehow seems appropriate to the group's style. The music is difficult to define: mostly original, mostly instrumental, perhaps a combination of oldtime-Latin-gypsy-bluegrass.
Their debut album consists of 13 tunes all written, arranged and produced by the band, which capture the creativity of their live show. The first track, Madrona (Spanish for arbutus tree), is a flamenco-esque odyssey with Brazilian musician Celso Machado on percussion. Breakwater gallops off in an entirely different direction, driven by the mandolin and violin, and features a blistering dobro solo by guest Steve Dawson. The album's last track, Sabine, is a lullaby with solos from guitar and violin. The album was recorded at Strait Sound Studios and is available at www.rakishangles.com. It can also be found at a few retail outlets: 101 Office Supply, MELOmania and Coast Books.
On Nov. 28 the musicians celebrate by holding a CD release party at 8 p.m. at the Heritage Playhouse in Gibsons. Guests include Small Wonder (Jenny Groves - bass/vocals, Fab-rizio Alberico - guitar/vocals, Ian McLatchie - slide guitar); Doug Cox (slide guitar), Anna Lumiere (piano and accordion) and Celso Machado (percussion).
Wine and appies by Shining Sage Catering will be served. Tickets for this gala event are $15, available at Gaia's Fair Trade Gifts in Gibsons, MELOmania in Roberts Creek and WindSong Gallery in Sechelt. For more information, call 604-886-0803.
