Hi all! I'm going to keep the preamble short. I had a draft of this newsletter I was hoping to send out yesterday but with my internet being spotty yesterday, I lost the draft while it was still in progress. A reminder to myself to save the work as you go!
So I'll start from scratch here and give a brief mention of the different hats I've been wearing, between teaching piano again now that the fall is here, and arranging the music for a Peggy Lee themed show coming up in a few weeks. (More on that below.) I'll be part of the lineup at The Cameron House for their 45th anniversary month, and bringing my trio to The Ganaraska Hotel in Port Hope. And this Sunday I'll be returning as a special guest at The Artful Dodger! Here's a look at all of that in more detail!
This Sunday at The Artful Dodger
I'll be the featured guest on Sunday (tomorrow) at The Artful Dodger, joining the house band of Steve Briggs on guitar and John Adames on drums! And depending on the weather tomorrow, there's a chance we'll still be on the patio. But if not, the show will still go on indoors, upstairs at The Dodger. Sunday, 4-7 PM!
Celebrating 45 Years of The Cameron House
A shout out and big congratulations to The Cameron House on celebrating 45 years of being such a vibrant part of the Toronto music scene on Queen St! While it's safe to say you can always hear fantastic music there on any night of the week any time of the year, this month The Cameron is keeping the anniversary celebration going all month with lots of amazing music on the calendar, and I'm honoured to be a part of that calendar. I'll be there with my trio with Nicholas Campbell and Matt Greco for the early set on Wednesday, October 14 at 6 PM!
Here's a group shot of the three of us posing at the Cameron's patio in the summer last year:
And one of the outtakes…
See the full calendar at The Cameron for this month here. (Click the photo to visit the Cameron's website.)
At The Ganny in Port Hope
I mentioned last month how I stopped in at The Ganaraska Hotel in Port Hope, mixed in with a family visit after coming back from a weekend on the road. And by chance, I happened to see Wendell Ferguson's poster on the door and stopped in to hear Wendell's set. I'll re-share that photo here.
Running into Wendell Ferguson at the Ganny, who wore it better?
I also stuck around and sat in with Wendell and the house band. Everything from the odds of seeing Wendell there without looking anything up, to both of us wearing white shirts, that all happened by chance. And full disclosure, while the end goal of stopping in there wasn't to book a gig, I did follow up with the Ganny after. And that's how I'll be bringing my trio there on Saturday, October 17! I'll be there with Steve Briggs and Matt Greco. If you're in or near Port Hope or know anyone that way, feel free to spread the word!
Ganaraska Hotel, 30 Ontario St, Port Hope, ON Saturday, October 17, 8-11 PM
Peggy Lee's “Mirrors” at The Old Mill
Aria De Castro will be performing a show at The Old Mill, with a cabaret performance of Peggy Lee's album “Mirrors” (1975). I hadn't heard the album before joining this project and the album is fascinating. The songs were written by Leiber and Stoller, and the album features some very vivid songs with full orchestral arrangements. Over the last month and a bit I've been taking these arrangements and condensing them for a piano trio, which is always one of my favourite challenges as an arranger, taking parts from a big band or an orchestra and making it work for a small band. The show will be mix of songs and storytelling from Aria, and the band will feature Michael Herring on bass, Daniel Barnes on drums, and myself on piano. Friday, October 16 at The Old Mill, 8 PM!
Thanks for reading! Here's the full calendar for the coming months, both for my own dates and all the great artists I'll be backing up. And you can find my dates on my website. Until next time!
