This week I’m looking forward to catching up with Roots music industry folks at the 32nd annual Folk Alliance International conference in New Orleans.
I’ll be offering a sneak peak ‘n listen of my soon to be released recording, Calm In The Eye of The Storm. This project looks at the personal, political and spiritual dimensions of finding peace in these turbulent times.
My official showcase is Saturday at 4:30pm in Maurepas 3rd Floor. Joining me on stage will be fiddler extraordinaire Rosalyn Dennett and the stellar guitarist/banjoist Rob McLaren. There are also 3 private showcase opportunities for you to catch me unplugged & up close.
The 19th anniversary of Ken Whiteley’s Sunday Gospel Matinee @ Hugh’s Room Live on January 19th will be special indeed. With Juno award winning vocalist and founder of the Faith Chorale Sharon Riley, award winning Americana-Bluegrass musician Claire Lynch, FMO Songs from the Heart winner Gathering Sparks and bassist extraordinaire Gord Mowat, the first show of 2020 will bring together an incredible afternoon of music.
Sharon Riley is truly one of Canada’s pre-eminent African Canadian gospel singers and long time leader and soloist with the Faith Chorale. She has an incredibly rich and powerful voice that comes from a very deep place. With Faith Chorale Sharon has won 2 Juno awards, appeared in feature films, television shows and stage musicals.
Claire Lynch is a pioneer who continually pushes the boundaries of the bluegrass genre. She’s been decorated with 3 GRAMMY nominations, 7 International Bluegrass Music Association awards and the prestigious United States Artists Walker Fellowship. “One of the sweetest, purest and best lead voices in the music business today.”—Dolly Parton
Gathering Sparks is the graceful collision of Eve Goldberg and Jane Lewis. They blend tight harmonies, write finely crafted songs, and share a love of participatory singing to create an intimate and uplifting experience. Their inclusive approach embraces folk, pop, blues and gospel influences tastefully played on acoustic guitar, piano, accordion, and ukulele.
Gord Mowat plays string bassist with Ken Whiteley and the Beulah Band among many others. Gord’s own band Skeleton Crew plays his original compositions for 3 horns, bass, and drums. Gord has the technique of a great jazzer and the feel of a solid roots player with a composer’s sense of harmonic interplay.
Here in Toronto, once again I’ll be with Amoy Levy and David Wall at the Roncesvalles United Church for the Christmas Eve service. Arrive early to get a seat as the Church is always full for this beautiful candlelight service.
Meanwhile I’ve been putting the finishing touches on a new recording of my own to be called Calm In The Eye of the Storm. That will be released in the new year, and I’ll be doing shows at Hugh’s Room, New Orleans and the Interfaith Festival of Devotional Singing in the Bahamas. Check my calendar for more details.
Here in Toronto, we’re into the darkest time of year but we’re also looking beyond that. I’m going to be doing a couple of seasonal concerts with the fabulous Sultans of String (in Brantford, Dec. 13 and Oakville, Dec. 14). On the 15th I’ll be at the Sivananda Yoga Centre on Harbord St., leading singing for the annual celebration there. Once again I’ll be with Amoy Levy and David Wall at the Roncesvalles United Church for the Christmas Eve service.
Meanwhile I’ve been putting the finishing touches on a new recording of my own to be called Calm In The Eye of the Storm. That will be released in the new year, and I’ll be doing shows at Hugh’s Room, New Orleans and the Interfaith Festival of Devotional Singing in the Bahamas. Check my calendar for more details.
Jackie Washington was born on November 12, 1919 in Hamilton, ON., the second oldest of 13 children. He began performing at age 5 and over his almost 90 years gave untold happiness to thousands of people across Canada. Right after the Second World War he became Canada’s first black disc jockey. He had a repertoire of over 1,256 songs as well as a remarkable memory for people, places, birthdays and trains among many other things. His song “Alone In The Dark” from the Juno nominated recording he made with Mose Scarlett and Ken Whiteley, was selected by the Canada Council as one of the songs honoured to mark 100 years of recorded music in Canada. He was a living connection to early African Canadian music, the swing era and much more. He received many awards and honours including an Honorary Doctorate from McMaster U., but it was his positive attitude to life that really made him so loved.
Jackie earned a Juno nomination and was inducted into Hamilton’s Gallery of Distinction in 1995 and the Canadian Jazz and Blues Hall of Fame in 2002. Join us at the musical celebration of the Hamilton-born Jackie with Ken Whiteley, Jackie’s niece Shawn Washington-Purser, Luckystickz and the Stewart Memorial Church Choir on Thursday, November 14, 12pm-2pm at the Hamilton Public Library, Hamilton Room.
We’ll also be celebrating Jackie’s life and music with a special afternoon concert with Sneezy Waters, Chris Whiteley, John Sheard, Victor Bateman and Ken Whiteley on Sunday, November 17 at Hugh’s Room Live. This concert will celebrate the release of “The World Of Jackie Washington”, a new cd of 22 unreleased performances with contributions from Colin Linden, Cathy Fink & Marcy Marxer, Mose Scarlett, Graham Townsend, Reg Schwager and producer Ken Whiteley, and the package also includes the documentary DVD, “I Want To Be Happy”.
The legendary Sneezy Waters is another national treasure. From his early years performing with the likes of Bruce Cockburn, Susan Jains and many others to “His Excellent Band” with which he toured to every province and territory in the 1970’s. He is perhaps most well known for his title role in Hank Williams – The Show He Never Gave, which toured across Canada, the United States and Europe. He won the Best Actor award at the 3e Festival du Film Musical in Grenoble, France for his role in the film version of the Hank show. An expression of his long friendship with Jackie Washington including getting Jackie to appear in the film and sing “Mind Your Own Business”.
Chris Whiteley has carved a unique path playing trumpet and swing music in the folk world, making a mark as a songwriter in the blues world and is most often seen performing these days with his wife, the wonderful singer Diana Braithwaite. Chris has won multiple Maple Blues Awards as a horn player, songwriter and winner of the Blues With A Feeling Lifetime Achievement honour. He played with Jackie Washington many times, including on most of his recordings and embodies that positive attitude to life.
John Sheard was one of Jackie Washington’s favourite piano players with his imaginative sensitivity, his profound knowledge of older jazz styles, his technical expertise and his good humour. For most of Stuart MacLean’s long run with the Vinyl Cafe, John was the musical director and band leader and in that role performed hundreds of radio shows and live concerts in every part of Canada. John is an accomplished record producer and session musician. Look for the twinkle in his eye as he tinkles the ivories.
Victor Bateman is a highly accomplished string bass player. He has led his own contemporary jazz ensembles, large improvised music groups and along with the late Justin Haynes and David Baxter, Another Country, a wacky group that pushed the envelope of country music. He’s recorded with many people including the Whiteley Brothers and he currently tours with Murray MacLachlan. Victor plays bass on most of the tracks on “The World Of Jackie Washington”.
Thursday, November 14, 12pm-2pm at the Hamilton Public Library, Hamilton Rm with Ken Whiteley, Shawn Washington-Purser, Luckystickz and the Stewart Memorial Church Choir. The Hamilton-born Jackie Washington earned a Juno nomination and was inducted into Hamilton’s Gallery of Distinction in 1995 and the Canadian Jazz and Blues Hall of Fame in 2002.
Sunday, November 17, 2pm-4pm at Hugh’s Room Live with Sneezy Waters, Chris Whiteley, John Sheard, Victor Bateman and Ken Whiteley in Toronto. This concert will celebrate the release of “The World Of Jackie Washington”, a new cd of 22 unreleased performances with contributions from Colin Linden, Cathy Fink & Marcy Marxer, Mose Scarlett, Graham Townsend, Reg Schwager and producer Ken Whiteley, and the package also includes the documentary DVD, “I Want To Be Happy”.
Here’s hoping that in this crazy world of ours we can all find some gratitude. I was at the Dufferin Grove Organic Farmer’s Market yesterday, the bounty of the harvest was in and already most of the farmers had had frost. Lots to be thankful for.
I’m busy working on a new recording project that should be out on Borealis in the new year. In the meantime, here’s a track on thanksgiving from my 2012 Light of Christmas cd.
So much to be thankful for, so today I’m going to be thankful for my daily bread.
Hello folks and welcome to my brand new website. It’s the best place to discover about the music I make. I hope you enjoy perusing it and seeing what I’m about. Many thanks to web guru Trevor Mills for the creation and development, and to Selena Mills for the creative design.
This weekend Sept. 27-29 I’m sharing music and stories at the annual Folk Music Ontario conference. I’m sitting on the Solidarity Forever! workshop panel, Saturday at 3:30pm in room Ontario B. My only showcase is in the wee hours of Saturday from 12:40am to 12:55 in the MusicOntario suite 225-227. Then Sunday morning at the Awards Brunch we’ll be celebrating the late Jackie Washington.
Later in the fall there a couple of special concerts honouring Jackie Washington’s 100th birthday and the release of a new recording, The World of Jackie Washington. On the afternoon of Nov. 14 I’ll be at the Hamilton Public Library and 2 p.m., Nov. 17th at Hugh’s Room Live in Toronto with Sneezy Waters, Chris Whiteley and John Sheard. More on the new recording later. I hope to see you soon.
Finally here’s a new song that’s one small contribution to the societal shift we need for our planet. It’s called “Greed Is A Flawed Organizing Principle” and it’s a sing-a-long!
Mose Scarlett, who died just over a month ago, after a few months of illness and many years giving pleasure through his music, his singing, his generous nature and his stories, will be memorialized in song and story at the Tranzac Club (292 Brunswick Avenue, south of Bloor, Toronto) on Wednesday, August 7 starting at 7:30pm. Doors open at 7pm. A partial list of people confirmed to participate at this point include (in no particular order) Dave Barrett, Victor Bateman, Jackson Delta, Bill Garrett & Sue Lothrop, Eve Goldberg, Hotcha!, Big Rude Jake, Magoo, Doc McLean, Tony Quarrington & Zoey Adams, Mr Rick, Margaret Stowe, Anne Tenner, Brent Titcomb, David Wall & Rebecca Campbell and yours truly, Ken Whiteley. Tony Quarrington will deliver a brief eulogy. Victor Bateman will be playing string bass, as he did on a number of the Scarlett, Washington & Whiteley tracks. It’s open to all who wish to and are able to attend. There is a suggested donation of $20 to cover the hall and ongoing expenses. We hope to see some of you there.
Ken Whiteley with Sacred Steel phenomenon, Nikki D. and The Sisters of Thunder
Upcoming Summer Engagements:
July 10-12 Experience the joy and release of singing gospel music with me at the Sivananda Ashram Yoga Retreat on Paradise Island, Bahamas. For more info, visit www.sivanandabahamas.org
August 9-11 Bassist Gord Mowatt and I fly up to Thunder Bay, Ontario to share stories and songs at the Live From The Rock Folk Festival. For more info, visit www.livefromtherockfolkfestival.com
August 17 Ken Whiteley & Friends – sacred steel guitarist Nikki D and the Sisters of Thunder, bassist Gord Mowatt and drummer Bucky Berger in concert at Freedom Fest, Stewart Park, Perth, Ontario. You will not want to miss this exciting time of music, fellowship, and family fun! For more info, visit www.freedomfestperth.com
Here in Toronto, we’re into the darkest time of year but we’re also looking beyond that. I’m going to be doing a couple of seasonal concerts with the fabulous Sultans of String (in Brantford, Dec. 13 and Oakville, Dec. 14). On the 15th I’ll be at the Sivananda Yoga Centre on Harbord St., leading singing for the annual celebration there. Once again I’ll be with Amoy Levy and David Wall at the Roncesvalles United Church for the Christmas Eve service.
