sweet tunes, good times....

Interesting and entertaining music played by skilled and talented musicians: that's how we'd describe May 25th at The Park Theatre with Steve Kirby's Oceanic Jazz Orchestra performance of The Longitude Project. The closer to Jazz Winnipeg's Nu Sounds Series was worth the wait bringing together an unusual instrumentation in a unique programme. The audience was treated jazz performed b strings, flutes, oboe, bassoon, vibraphone along side the more standard jazz ensemble. And Mr. Kirby on bass, of course! Throughout, each member of the orchestra contributed stirring solos. Hats off to Derrick Gardner playing the role of a throat singer on trumpet.

Check out Steve Kirby as well as other members of the orchestra (Neil Watson, Shannon Kristjanson, Larry Roy, Will Bonness) are all appearing in shows in the 2014 Winnipeg International Jazz Festival June 12-22.

... and it keeps comin'!

The Mariachi Ghost at Folk'n Word at West End Cultural Centre on May 30
"Winnipeg bands (one of which is Mariachi Ghost) join forces with six of the city’s most celebrated slam poets to present Folk ‘N’ Word, a spoken and sung performance showcase Friday May 30th at the West End Cultural Centre. Pop-folk singer/songwriter Matt Moskal hosts the night of collaborative adventure. "
http://www.wecc.ca/site09/performers/Folk_N_Word.html


Souled Out May 31 at Frame Arts Warehouse (318 Ross)
"A high-caliber live art event with a mint selection of some of Winnipeg's best RnB, hip hop, funk, reggae, and soul music connoisseurs.  Arrive dressed to i L L . "
https://www.facebook.com/events/271730139672442/?ref=br_tf

Soul Station (just a trio this time) will be appearing at Finn McCue's (The Forks in Winnipeg) on May 31st.

And stay tuned to Check Ca next Friday (June 6) to hear a special elusive guest dj on the 1's & 2's!

What to do, what to do...

Hey folks! Hope you have been enjoying the fun programmes on Check Ca this month: on a 'jazz tip' latin mix-up, hip hop grooves... We've having tonnes of fun spinning for you! And we always love to hear from listeners if you want to chat music or give us a tip about an artist/group or tell us about a funky show coming up, so feel free to e-mail checkca@ymail.com or phone us on air @ 204-774-6877 during the show Friday nights.

Speaking of tips, Check Ca favourites The Mariachi Ghost will be at Shannon's Irish Pub (175 Carlton St, Winnipeg) on May 23, if you're in the mood for modern Mexican-flavoured music. RasTamils are also on the town that night May 23 at Times Change(d) (234 Main St, Winnipeg) for those craving Reggae with a message. Pride Daze: the official Queer Hip Hop Party is going down at Union Sound Hall )110 Market St, Winnipeg) on May with DJ Co-Op, Angelfire, ScissorSisters, featuring Cakes da Killa.

For those who prefer jazz in the unconventional, check out The Longitude Project in the Nu Jazz Sounds Series on Sunday May 25 at The Park Theatre (698 Osborne St, Winnipeg) presented by the Winnipeg Jazz Festival. The show will be performed by Steve Kirby's Oceanic Jazz Orchestra and will highlight several original compositions by Mr. Kirby, featuring musical styles tracing from South to North America from Peru and Brazil, to Mexico, to Nunuvut in Canada. We even had the opportunity to speak with the composer/conductor and this performance promises to be interesting and entertaining. Check it out!

Check Ca show is working on a feature of local brass band jazz players The Dirty Catfish Brass Band, in preparation for their CD release party @ the West End Cultural Centre on June 28th. Keep tuned to the show for more details!

See you on the dance floor!

1, 2...

you know what to do!

Looks like May will be a busy month for live entertainment. Hope y'all will venture into the wild and check out some of the fabulous and CheckCa-friendly shows.

In case you are not already aware, there is band out there playing funk, soul, neosoul, R&B, jazz, and other goodies on the Winnipeg scene called Soul Station. Hmm, that music list sounds very much like Check Ca! The core members of the band are jazz up-and-comers Joanna Majoko, Jocelyn Gould and Karl Kohut, though Soul Station has also had amonst its rank Curtis Nowosad, Kevin Waters, Julian Bradford, and other talented folk. In case you want a taste of what these cats can do, check out Joanna Majoko's jazz gig at The Current Lounge (at the Inn at the Forks hotel) on May 9 (Friday) from 9-midnight.

... and you definitely want to check out Check Ca friends from Balanced Records, a local record label that features some of Winnipeg's (and Canada's) hottest electronic deejays. May 10 (Saturday) is the Balanced Records 13th Anniversary Party at the Fox & Fiddle in the Exchange area. Promised on the bill are deejays Kasm and Redworm (who also host Quadrafunk right after Check Ca on Friday nights!), the happily-awaited return of Solidaze, and recent Montreal transplant The Seed Organization. Balanced will also be around for MEME later this summer too!

Check out the 1st edition of 'Hip Hop Karaoke' hosted by Union Sound Hall (110 Market Street, Winnipeg) on Thursday, May 15, 2014. Check Union Sound Hall's Facebook page for more details on the event and the register for hip hop domination (well, at least in karaoke ).

Saturday, May 17, 2014 will see the latest edition of '1001 Nights' at the Pyramid Cabaret hosted by MEME. Check out DJs CHRIS KOMUS, NATHAN ZAHN, THEO TZU and KASM. Should be a fun and interesting night.


More to come...