Three forces of nature meet in the Bop
Ensemble, a Canadian super-group of sorts featuring music legends Bill
Bourne and Wyckham Porteous and up-and-coming
singer-songwriter/bassist/dancer Jasmine "Jas" Ohlhauser. Combining Bourne's
grit, Porteous' warmth, and Jas' energetic devilry, the three manage to
catch lightning in a bottle. Bourne
compares the group's tight vocal harmonies to those of the Byrds. With the
addition of Jas' virtuosic dance theatrics, their shows verge on performance
art.
The trio first performed onstage in Vancouver to a reception that convinced
them to keep the collaboration going for more shows and recording sessions
that will be released this spring as Greatest Hits Vol. 3.
The multi-Juno award-winning Bill Bourne was raised in a musical
family in rural Alberta. When he was two years old, his parents played dance
music in community halls in farming country, and little Bill was known to
sleep behind the piano.
On his own, Bourne has been a staple of the international roots music scene
since first setting out on the road in the early 1980s with Scotland's
Tannahill Weavers. His ravaged poetry, powerful rhythms and soulful melodies
are steeped in world beat, folk, Flamenco, funk, blues and more.
Bourne has distinguished himself as much by the company he keeps as his
stellar solo work. More traditional collaborations with the likes of Alan
MacLeod and violinist/fiddler Shannon Johnson have given way recently to
world beat-tinged outings with Madagascar Slim and Eivør Pálsdóttir.
Of this Canadian folk shaman, one critic wrote, "While the traditional image
of a spiritual seeker does not usually conjure top hat, boots, shades and a
Gibson flat-top, like any living tradition, it's open to change."
Texas songwriting legend Tom Russell has called Bourne "a shining light in
the North American folk and roots scene. He sings, plays guitar and writes with
deep soul, and on the current musical landscape these talents constitute a
revolutionary act of art."
Like Bourne, Wyckham Porteous started out getting fired from gigs for
being unwilling, or unable, to play covers. His break came in the form of a
radio musical for the Canadian Broadcasting Company. Wyckham's first CD
charted Top 20 and led to a slot on the Kerrville Folk Festival in Texas,
which eventually led to Jimmy Lafave producing his ground-breaking
Looking for Ground.
Wyckham's most recent CD, 3 am, was produced by music legend Andrew
Loog Oldham and includes a revelatory version of the Beatles' "Please,
Please Me," slowed down to the speed at which it was originally written.
Oldham said Wyckham is "Leonard Cohen meets Harry Dean Stanton, a warm,
warm, performer whose voice is like a bottle of wine who has matured into a
friend."
Jasmine "Jas" Ohlhauser is the wild card of the bunch. An
exuberant
25-year-old who also plays with the Edmonton band Lilys On Mars, she says
she's “grateful and honored and privileged” to be playing with veterans like
Bourne and Porteous. Known both
for her wild hats, and her penchant for throwing on a hula hoop to
accentuate a song with a different kind of solo, the athletic young bassist
is always there, holding down the center with her solid bass lines and sweet
harmonies.
In short, each of these artists is great on their own ... together they are
something truly special. Fri Oct 2 |
8 pm CSPS | 1103 Third St SE | Cedar Rapids
$15 + fee in advance
| $18 at the door
