Spice, samba and all that jazz for the weekend
Musical vacation
Escape the chill with the warm embrace of sultry samba courtesy of Brazillustration, a local group with a deep passion for the music of Brazil.
Your tour guide is vocalist Regina Teixeira, who often requests the audience close their eyes and imagine strolling barefoot in the sand while she purrs the songs of her homeland.
"People say, 'Oh you make me feel so warm. I feel like I'm on a beach in Rio,'" said Teixeira.
Expect a balmy breeze of romantic bossa nova from the likes of Antonio Carlos Jobim and Astrud Gilberto, as well as original songs and some Leonard Cohen in a mix of Portugese, English and French.
Where: Black Sheep Inn, 753 Riverside Dr., Wakefield.
When: Saturday at 8:30 p.m.
Spicy comedy
"I want to make my own space. I want to start something."
Those are the thoughts of comedian Zainab A, who after a year and a half of gigging in local comedy clubs launched her own roving performance review last year called Spice.
Spice is a collective showcasing women of colour, LGBT, and other performers from marginalized communities who, according to Zainab A, are some of the funniest people on the earth.
"Comedians out there who'd never thought that they had a voice, that they had a space," said Zainab A.
Spice features live music, improv, spoken word poetry and a big dose of comedy hosted by Zainab A at the new food hall, Queen St. Fare.
"A lot of times comedy takes place in a bar or a traditional comedy club," said featured comedian Chelby Marie Daigle. "But now comedy has gone rogue, it's everywhere."
Where: Queen St. Fare, 170 Queen St.
When: Jan. 19 from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m.
Jazz in the hills
Ginny Simonds, a classically trained pianist, was inspired when she first heard a piece of music by Canadian jazz composer Joe Sealy on CBC Radio in 1997.
"It's full of life and love and hope," said Simonds. "That was the impetus for me for getting into jazz and for listening to it."
More than that, it led Simonds to track Sealy down with the idea of putting together a musical tribute.
Sealy approved, even handing over her his handwritten charts for Simmonds to work from.
Simmonds and her jazz quintet intend to sample many aspects of his musical career during a concert that includes, old jazz standards, instrumentals and gospel.
Where: Mill Road Community Space, 8 Ch. Mill, Chelsea QC.
When: Sunday 2 p.m to 4 p.m.
