++ WINTER 2008 NEWS ++

Ξ CONCERTS IN SOUTH INDIA Ξ Successful performances in January 08 resulted in a true east/west fusion of Canadian and Indian international talents, creating beautiful new versions of my songs. With partial assistance from Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade and hosted by Alliance Francaise the concerts were very well received by both audiences and press: full houses; lots of new fan sign ups; pre and post print features; radio and TV coverage; and best of all, invitations to return and expand the tour. Photos, live sound clips and press reviews to be posted online soon.

Musicians performed with the kind of presence and energy that only comes from the spontaneity of minimal rehearsal at sound check and performing a few hours later to full houses. Gracious, big-eared professional players I was honoured to work with were: Rahul Pophali on Tabla and Prakash on Bass (Bangalore) and Navin Iyer on Flute, Keith Peters on Bass and Venkata Subramanian on Mrdangam & Tabla (Chennai). Gratitude also goes out to Darbuka Siva for connecting me with the right musicians and Sudhin at ProMusic for impeccable sound.

Ξ ALBUMS IN PRODUCTION Ξ

* Melissa Laveaux *
Melissa Laveaux's re-release of Camphor & Cooper is nearing completion. With the support of Melissa's new Paris-based label No Format!, we've re-recorded all Melissa's guitar and vocal parts, adding new songs and new players and instrumentation. It's fulfilling to not just be engineer this time round but also have the full creative producer role - we're excited about how it's shaping up.

We're honoured to work with some of Canada's top players: multiple Jazz award-winning Brownman on Trumpet; Luisito Orbegoso (Eliana Cuevas; SalsAfrica) on Cajon; Brandi Disterheft on Bass (Laila Biali) who was just nominated for 2 national Jazz awards; Dennis Mohammed (Jesse Cook) on Bass; Ferruccio Sardella on Accordian; Kousha Nakhaei on Kamenche; Anita Katakkar on Tabla (Toronto Tabla Ensemble).
melissalaveaux.com | Listen on mySpace

* ROAM *
With support from Canada Council for the Arts, Alex and I are selecting and preparing tunes for our debut duo album to begin recording late March. We anticipate completion by summer and releases in Canada and Europe in Fall 08 with support touring.
ROAM | Listen on mySpace

* MEDICINE SONG WOMAN *
MySpace's number one Canadian roots artist Brenda MacIntyre's newest solo project is underway with myself at the helm as both engineer and producer/arranger. Watch for this album to bring together Brenda's Aboriginal vocal/drumming talents with fuller arrangements, straying into her past influences of Reggae and R&B.
brendamacintyre.com | Listen on mySpace

Ξ EUROPEAN SINGLE RELEASE Ξ Following up on strong charting of tracks off my Rough Trade Records distributed album, a world-wide release of new song Silver Lining is slated for late March beginning with the Benelux territory. Silver Lining is an emotional testament to the hidden blessings in loss. This song is near and dear to my heart as it was written through the personal experience of losing my mother to breast cancer last year.
listen

Ξ OLIFIDDLE - Benefit Concert for Oliver Schroer Ξ Canadian fiddle maestro Oliver Schroer has been battling Leukemia for over a year. It's important that we as a community rally to help a generous, talented composer, performer and educator in his time of need. I invite you to participate in supporting Oliver by attending one of the upcoming fundraisers, buying his recent release or through private means. To read his personal blog and more info, please visit: www.olivershroer.com

Ξ February 18 & 19, 2008 - HUGHS ROOM, TORONTO Ξ
Host Mon: Stuart Maclean
Host Tues: Shelagh Rogers
Featuring James Keelaghan, Ben Grossman, October Browne, Anne Lederman, Jaime RT, Ian Bell, Steafan Hannigan, Saskia Tomkins, Anne Lindsay, Stewed Tomatoes, Two Left, Casey Sokol.
$35 / $40
www.hughsroom.com