CONCER T SERIES
NEW ORLEANS: THE BIG EASY
New Orleans! The birthplace of jazz! And so much else. When I was a young buck in Prince Edward Island I was the frontman for a swing band called the Jive Kings (terrible name, I know). It was in this band that I was introduced to the true power of a horn section. So when we decided to do this New Orleans show the thing that had me most excited was the chance to bring that energy into this concert series. I was lucky enough to secure the talents of one of the most innovative and exciting bands on the scene right now – The Heavyweights. Their creative spirit and innate sense of theatrics fit right in with the work we do at Soulpepper. Throw in Michael Dunston, Saidah Baba Talibah, and the one and only Jackie Richardson for good measure and we’ve got the makings of a pretty wild party. Enjoy! Mike Ross, Slaight Family Director of Music.
PERFORMERS & PRODUCTION FEATURED PERFORMERS
CREATIVE
TECHNICIANS
Michael Bridge Michael Dunston Bill King Paul Novotny Jackie Richardson Mike Ross Joe Sealy Saidah Baba Talibah Performers
Mike Ross & Joe Sealy Musical Directors, Arrangers
Andrew Hillman Technical Director
Chris Butcher Rebecca Hennessy Paul Metcalfe Rob Teehan Lowell Whitty The Heavyweights Brass Band Tom Allen Host/Writer
Frank Cox-O’Connell Director Raha Javanfar Lighting Designer
Jason Browning Megan Burns Melissa Grandover Robin Johnston Technicians
Jason Browning Sound Designer Anahita Dehbonehie Projection Designer Kelly Read Concert Coordinator Lisa Li Producer
Projections sourced from: Smithsonian online photo gallery. New orleans Online photo gallery, Mardi Gras Youtube channel, THOMAS NEFF’s ‘HOLDING OUT AND HANGING ON: SURVIVING HURRICANE KATRINA’ (book). 2015 lead sponsors
SONGS PERF ORMED
NEW ORLEANS: THE BIG EASY
JUST A CLOSER WALK WITH THEE
BOOZE HOUNDS (Paul Metcalfe)
BABY PLEASE DON’T GO (traditional blues) + PLAYING WITH FIRE (Lil Wayne)
SLOW COMIN’
PEOPLE SAY
RIGHT PLACE, WRONG TIME
1812 OVERTURE (P.I. Tchaikovsky) + WHY CAN’T WE BE FRIENDS (WAR)
JAMBALAYA (Hank Williams) + TRIBUTE TO NEW ORLEANS PIANO
SAIL AWAY
THIS CITY (Steve Earle) + HOUSE OF THE RISING SUN (traditional folk)
(Traditional gospel) • The Heavyweights Brass Band
• Mike
Ross
(The Meters) • Michael Dunston
• The
Heavyweights Brass Band and Michael Dunston (Benjamin Booker) • Saidah Baba Talibah (Dr. John) • Michael Dunston
• M ichael
Bridge and The Heavyweights Brass Band
(Randy Newman) • Mike Ross
(traditional jazz) • Mike Ross
• Jackie
DO YOU KNOW WHAT IT MEANS TO MISS NEW ORLEANS
(Eddie DeLange and Louis Alter) • Jackie Richardson
Richardson
HIGHWAY TO HEAVEN
(Traditional gospel) • Ensemble
O SACRED HEAD NOW WOUNDED (H.L. Hassler / J.S. Bach) + IKO IKO
( James “Sugar Boy” Crawford) • Michael Bridge, Saidah Baba Talibah
LIKE WHAT YOU SEE ? JOIN US F OR THE SOULPEPPER CABARE T SERIES These intimate musical showcases take place every week and include established feature artists, fresh and exciting talent, as well as intimate groupings of artists from Toronto’s diverse musical community.
VISIT SOULPEPPER.CA /MUSIC FOR FULL DETAILS
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