Sunday, June 19, 2011

oct 16 | mavis staples

One night at Christmas Presence, buddy Rick Colhoun introduced me to an amazing tune: You Are Not Alone, by Mavis Staples. Wow. An instant favourite. Now it turns out she'll be here in Vancouver in four short months! Here's a stripped-down version of the track: check out the full studio version on iTunes as well.



Mavis Staples with Special Guest Allen Toussaint
Chan Shun Concert Hall
Sun Oct 16 7pm
Presented by the Chan Centre

"Mavis Staples is the most underrated diva of the century. She has an almost superhuman ability to implant the pure power of passion and emotion." - Rolling Stone

Soul and gospel legend and civil rights activist Mavis Staples won a 2011 Grammy Award for her best-selling album You Are Not Alone, produced by Wilco's Jeff Tweedy. Perhaps best known for her role in The Staples Singers, since the 1960s Staples has since established a highly successful solo career and continues to wow audiences with her power house talent.

Starting the show will be singer/songwriter, pianist, arranger and producer Allen Toussaint, a hugely influential figure in New Orleans R&B. Toussaint has crossed many paths in his illustrious 40 years plus career in music. He has produced, written for, arranged, had his songs covered by, and performed with music giants Paul McCartney, Paul Simon, Elvis Costello, The Rolling Stones, Etta James and countless others.

Don't miss this very rare chance to see two of America's greatest musical treasures in a concert featuring new hits mixed with well-known favourites.

Okay, I can't resist. My favourite Staples track. Bob Dylan: "Pops Staples with his dreamy, underwater sound of the tremelo guitar. That's one of the hardest things to master if you're a singer. It's hardly ever used, you won't hear anybody use it because it's very hard to control. But when you use it the right way, it can be a very beautiful effect. As we can hear from Pops Staples and the Staples Singers, singing "Uncloudy Day." For some reason it's not working to provide a link, so you'll just have to cut and paste: www.youtube.com/watch?v=i7V7OMw7tg8

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