From festival stages and concert halls to raucous August nights at fiddle camp, the Flyers are here to make sure New England music has a seat at the table as a distinct and vital American tradition. All residents of the great state of Maine, Katie McNally (fiddle), Emily Troll (accordion), Benjamin Foss (guitar), and Neil Pearlman (piano) cut their teeth playing for contra dances and learning from the greats. Individually, they’ve toured the world playing Irish, Scottish, and Quebecois music and they bring this wellspring of knowledge and technical prowess to the American music that was born from these traditions.

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The band has received critical acclaim from NPR’s “Shuffle,” SWR2 in Germany, All About Jazz, Jazz Weekly, and Cleveland Magazine. From the specific dialects, stories and songs of Italy’s pre-industrial past spring Alla Boara’s dynamic and touching performances that inspire listeners of any heritage to treasure their ancestral roots and to revel in our shared humanity, which is as surprising, playful, mournful and tender as the songs themselves.

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They bring the best of many musical worlds together in their explorations of traditional music. Every one of their pieces is skillfully arranged and highlighted with influences from contemporary, classical, jazz and swing styles. Cécilia’s recent debut album Accent is an impressive offering full of vibrant rhythms and melodies, all resonating with a unique warmth and richness of expression.

Each performance by Cécilia is a call to come out and share – not only in the joy of three dedicated musicians making music together, but also in creating with Timi, Erin, and Louis an infectiously energetic and memorable musical experience. You’ll find yourself with a smile that lasts long after the final notes of Cécilia’s accordion, piano, and violin have melted away.

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​For more than 20 years, guitarist Christine Tassan has led her boat with brio, aplomb and an absolutely contagious dynamism. One of the rare female jazz guitarist and gypsy jazz soloists, also singer, composer, author, director and producer, she takes part in numerous musical projects in Quebec and on the international scene, both as a leader and as a guest musician.

In 2003, she founded her gypsy jazz and swing songs group, Christine Tassan et les Imposteures, which was immediately successful and became a must of the gypsy jazz scene. Unique in its kind, this feminine ensemble performed in more than 600 festivals and venues in Quebec, Canada, Europe, United States and China.

In 2020, alongside Les Imposteures, here she comes with this new quintet project, “Voyage Intérieur”, which brings together ten instrumental compositions. We can discover a new facet of the guitarist, with electric and bebop sounds.

2022 – Nominee JUNO Award, best jazz album

2022 – Nominee Prix Opus, best jazz album

​2021 Nominee FÉLIX/ADISQ, best jazz album

​2021 – Nominee GAMMIQ, best jazz album

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Yacouba exposes new audiences to the enchanting sounds of the kora—a 21-stringed instrument that is plucked and produces a distinctive sound that is quickly associated with West Africa. Throughout West African history, the kora was played as a solo instrument by djelys, or storytellers, whose roles in society were to perform for kings, nobility, and village chiefs. The songs sung by djelys were stories that had been passed down from generation to generation, and captured the oral history of the people and culture of West Africa describing social life, cultural identify and family backgrounds.

Yacouba also leads his own band, SIYA, meaning “source” in Bambara. The sound of SIYA represents the breakthrough of the past few generations of Western African musicians who have opened up this musical experience to new audiences, incorporating additional instruments and spanning musical genres. The other instruments of SIYA include the N’goni, a traditional guitar that was used by griots during the Manding Empire prior to the kora; the “talking drum”, a small drum held on the shoulder of the player and hit with a curved stick or the hand to mimic phrases of the human voice, requiring great dexterity by the player; the calabash, that is easily recognized by its deep resounding bass sound frequent to West African music; and an acoustic guitar and/or trumpet both of which adds to the more modern approach.

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In a world where almost everyone appears to have their public image and hashtags in order, Barbra’s latest album (2023) Imposter Syndrome, explores instead an identity still in flux. Equal parts playful and sombre, these songs flip unapologetically between genres, tempos, and production styles in search of what it means to be a flawed human with big dreams, bigger feelings, and a verifiably awkward social presence.

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Also Available — Barbra Lica: Songs with Orchestra, featuring repertoire from some of Barbra’s most popular works arranged for chamber orchestra, accompanied by her 4-pc rhythm section (available with the Toronto Chamber-Pop Orchestra or in collaboration with local chamber orchestras).

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