Emilia Dahlin checked in recently to report on a mini-tour taken in late January. Her Quartet hit, among other locales, Boston’s PA’s Lounge and NYC’s Pete’s Candy Store (gosh, that’s an awful lot of apostrophes making things possessive — makes us almost pine for a fine language like Latin which would just use the genetive case). Big news really, though, is confirmation that she’s got the dosh to start in on album number three, which “Sibilance” would peg for a late-fall release, if we were betting people.
Much sooner up is Local Nothing’s follow-up to 2004’s very good pop-punk debut, Do You Think We’ll Move Past This?. Actually, it’s in stores now. How this fact got past the “Sibilance” staff is unclear, but we’ll be taking a close look at it in the very near future. Anyway, it’s another odd-sized seven-song affair and we advise checking out their gig at the Nasson Gym, in Sanford, March 4. These boys work hard on stage for your show dollar, we’ll say that.
Are you aware that Cerberus Shoal’s Chriss Sutherland, Colleen Kinsella, and Caleb Mulkerin have officially joined forces with Tarpigh’s Tom Kovacevic in Threads? It makes sense, since we think they all live together out at the Tank Farm in South Portland, but it’s still pretty danged cool. You want artful music? Check them out February 17 at SPACE with the “indie rock opera from Philly” Extraordinaires and local alt-country heroes Harpswell Sound. That’s a fine lineup, that is. The Threads promise harmonium, acoustic guitars, banjo, al ud, Egyptian ney, accordion, percussion, and “lots ‘o singing.” “Sibilance” loves bands who play instruments that look like typos in our copy.
Jazz drummer of Maine note Steve Grover hits the half-century mark this month and it’s likely he didn’t have to do much cajoling to get Maine’s jazz luminaries to come out for a couple parties. Promoted by Paul Lichter’s still-breathing Dimensions in Jazz series, the shows will both go down at the Starbird Recital Hall, which seems to be the de facto good piano in town, on February 24 and 25. “The weekend is very exciting for me,” writes Grover in an e-mail, “because I get to play music with some of my closest friends and musical partners of the last 20 years or more.” And, as a professor at UMaine/Augusta and regular composer of great contemporary jazz albums for that time, he’s made a lot of friends. Among them is trombonist Tim Sessions, who’s returning to Maine from his gig in the pit orchestra for The Producers. He also sat in as part of Grover’s Friday night quintet — guitarist Tony Gaboury, bassist Chris Van Voorst Van Beest, and tenor saxophonist David Wells — for a recording session in January that Grover has plans to release later this year. As for Saturday, Grover’s bringing in vocalist Christine Correa and pianist Frank Carlberg to play selections from the Blackbird Suite that won Grover a BMI award years ago and Breath, an album the “Sibilance” staff like quite a bit from 2003. Wells, Gaboury, and Van Beest will again support. If you’re looking for a taste, check WMPG February 20 on Michael Atleson’s 9 pm jazz show or February 22 on Dave Wade’s 1 pm program.
