Entertainment

SolarFest 2010
Entertainment Lineup
Friday Night
Shear Jazz

Shear Jazz is a quintet in the famous George Shearing mold: vibes, guitar, piano, bass, and drums.  The group is led by Shoreline resident (and Arts Council President) Keith McClelland.

The group’s music favors the classic jazz repertoire of The Modern Jazz Quartet, Dave Brubeck, Gene Harris, and Horace Silver.  The group also plays a variety of original materials.

The players are veterans of many types of musical experiences and ensembles who enjoy trying new approaches to well-known tunes.

Saturday
9:30 to 11:00
Around the Sound Community Band
http://www.aroundthesound.org/

Where Love of Music Combines with Community Service

The purpose of any band is to give enrichment and joy to life. We hold that live music is enriching, exciting, and exhilarating to both performers and audience. It should be available to all people to either play or listen to as they desire. We see our dual mission as creating an environment in which adults with little band experience can enjoy the benefits of playing while bringing live music to people in the community who may not otherwise have it to enjoy. Our program is designed to meet these two needs and they are the foundation for our further development.


11:15 to 12:45
Northwest Gospel Jazz
http://www.myspace.com/308274155

Our band is comprised of 16 instrumentalists and a vocalist that would knock your socks off!!! From the variety of backgrounds in music with both young and seasoned players we bring a unique blend of music to any occasion. It's our hope that we can share music with audiences in a manner that brings benefits to both the players and our listeners. Nothing makes us happier than seeing people tapping their toes to our music or dancing the night away. We have over 1000 charts of music to choose from. Everything from Jazz standards to ballroom classics, with contemporary arrangements of popular songs as well as old favorites. We're available to play many venues; parties,weddings,special occasions and concerts. Special arrangements can be made for smaller groups as well. For booking details email djinlim@netscape.com


2 to 3:30
Critical Mass
The 18-piece jazz orchestra Critical Mass got its start about ten years ago.  Then as now, the players are almost entirely accomplished amateur and semi-professional musicians who have continued playing since high school and college.  The band rehearses weekly, which is typical of “rehearsal bands.”

The band’s library of orchestrations has grown substantially through purchases and donations.  Although the “play list” varies from time to time, the style of the material remains fairly constant: some jazz classics from Duke Ellington, Count Basie, and Maynard Ferguson; some material from more contemporary composers such as Pat Metheny, Gordon Goodwin, and George Stone.  Overall, the band’s material may be described as “contemporary big band swing.” 

Keith McClelland has been the Musical Director of Critical Mass for over seven years.  He has been an arranger, conductor, and performer for over fifty years, and he has provided Critical Mass with a variety of orchestrations that have given the band a unique sound.

Critical Mass performs several times a year at Tula’s in Seattle, the major venue for Puget Sound jazz performers.  The band has been the headliner for the North City Jazz Walk since its inception four years ago.  Within the past year, Critical Mass has featured jazz vocalist Greta Matassa and vibraphonist Susan Pascal.



5 to 6:30
The Howdy Boys
Honky Tonkin' Bluegrass

http://www.myspace.com/thehowdyboys

The Howdy Boys are four musical brothers on a mission to bring the
 hard driving honky tonk sounds of early Bluegrass music into the 21st
century. Doug Bright's fiddle screams and moans with emotion at one
moment, then sweetly gallops through an old breakdown the next. Bill
Scott's banjo dances nimbly in and out of the mix, charging ahead to
set the pace on a barnburning number, then providing a swinging
backbeat to a country weeper. Rob Bulkley hits solid rhythm guitar,
punctuating the music with surprising runs and coaxing bluesy melodic
lines from his ancient instrument. Jeff Brohier's bass playing powers
the band to new heights, and his infectious energy lights fires
everywhere. The vocals are heartfelt and true to the spirit and sound
of traditional bluegrass. The material ranges from hard core
traditional bluegrass to dance hall country to ancient instrumental
tunes to brand new old-time sounding compositions, all delivered with
style, passion, and humor.

6:30 to 8
Jimmy Holden Band
http://www.myspace.com/jimeholdenmusic

Jimmy Holden was born in Seattle (USA) in October 1947 in a family of musicians. His father, Oscar Holden, a native of Nashville, who had started his career as a pianist with Louis Armstrong and the young musicians in New Orleans, was the "patriarch" of jazz in Seattle as mentioned in the Paul DeBarros book -"Jackson Street After Hours". Now Jimmy Holden, who many remember as a Seattle keyboardist soul of the Scarlet Tree house band 'THE REPUTATIONS, worked with artists such as Etta James, Albert Collins, Ray Charles, Tim Scott, the Temptations, Hiram Bullock, Big Joe Turner, Tiny Tony, Johnny Rusk, Jimmy's older brother Ron Holden (who was headed to the U.S. charts with his hit "I love you so"), Big Mama Thornton, Lowell Folsom, Billy Preston, Aaron Neville and many others. Jimmy has worked for many years in Asia with the "CC Ryders" he remains a legend in Hong Kong and is remembered in Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines, Taiwan and China. I have heard some say they were "like The Beatles" over there. Jimmy Hoydens career now continues in the US and Europe, where he is proposed as a pianist, keyboardist and solo singer whose repertoire ranges from rhythm & blues to funk to neo-soul to pop and he does ballads like nobody's business.
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