After last Thursday’s performance by one of the newest jazz combos in the Comox Valley, it’s time to return to some familiar faces at the Elks’ this Thursday when Déjà Blue takes the stage at 7:30.
Déjà Blue is Ralph Barrat on keys and vocals, Don MacKay on bass, and Bill Street on drums; all well known and respected jazz artists in our community. Formed here in the Comox Valley two years ago as the Ralph Barrat Trio, they have been playing around the upper Island in pubs, restaurants and at weddings and other functions.
Last winter, one of Bill’s many global connections got the group a gig in Bucerias, Mexico, for a three-month booking, playing 4 or 5 nights a week – where they became Déjà Blue. That was good for tightening the band up, especially after gruelling days on the beach, and many shots of whathaveyou.
At the Elks you will hear some Mose, Sinatra, Hancock, Corea, Gershwin and Mancini. An assortment of jazz vocal and instrumental standards, but certainly not any of the rock standards the group had to occasionally play to some enthusiastic imbibers in Bucerias!
To find out just how smooth and polished these fine musicians have become, plan on joining the flock of regular jazz enthusiasts who regularly rendezvous at the Elks’ Home on Sixth Street. Admission is by donation.
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Tickets will be available for the Oct. 16 concert by the Marc Atkinson Trio: $15 and $20 for Society members and non-members respectively. This is a rare opportunity to listen to one of the world’s finest jazz guitarists, so if this is your taste in music, don’t miss it.
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The Georgia Straight Jazz Society is committed to promoting live jazz performances, featuring local artists each Thursday between September and June; offering an opportunity to appreciate jazz in all its genres, and to encourage students of music to foster a greater involvement in jazz music.
— Georgia Straight Jazz Society
