Johnson, Miller & Dermody
Tickets: $15 in advance, $20 at the door.
Sorry, this show is completely sold out! No tickets will be released at the door.
Johnson, Miller,& Dermody have played together for over a decade and have been one of the Pacific Northwest’s best-kept secrets until now. All three have busy solo careers but have found time to gather together to play this rootsy, bluesy, soulful music that they love. Finally they sat down at David Lange’s studio and played the music found on Deceiving Blues all together in the same room, in real time, no headphones, no studio gimmicks, and no attempts to fix things later. Honest, immediate, heartfelt and real, in the tradition of the artists and music that inspired them.
They first played as a trio when all three were on staff at the Centrum Blues Workshop in Port Townsend, WA. They are known among aficionados of country blues as three of the finest teachers as well as players. With the release of this CD the rest of the world should soon find out what a select group already knows…these artists are three of the finest interpreters and creators of acoustic blues working today.
Orville Johnson was born and raised in the southern Illinois heartland. He acquired his love of singing as a youth in the fundamentalist Pentecostal church he attended and, when he later began playing guitar and dobro, responded to the roots music that surrounded him by learning to play the blues, bluegrass, rockabilly, and country music that are all part of the mosaic that characterizes his own mongrel music.
He is a singer, instrumentalist, record producer, songwriter, session player, teacher, and, above all, an instinctive and sensitive musician. As his entry in the Encyclopedia of Northwest Music (Sasquatch Press 1999) states, he has become a vital figure on the NW music scene in the twenty-some years he’s lived there, appearing on over 200 CDs, movie and video soundtracks (most recently the film “The Wooly Boys” with Peter Fonda and the PBS series “Frontier House”), commercials, producing 15 CDs for other artists, hosting a roots music radio show, and appearing in the 1997 film Georgia with Jennifer Jason-Leigh and Mare Winningham, on the Prairie Home Companion radio show and on Jay Leno’s Tonight Show.
Orville is also known as a patient and insightful teacher of music and has taught often at the Puget Sound Guitar Workshop as well as the International Guitar Seminar, Pt. Townsend Blues Workshop, Sound Acoustic Music Camp, Greater Yellowstone Music Camp, B.C. Bluegrass Workshop and others. He has several instructional DVDs and CDs of his own music available including Blueprint for the Blues, Slide & Joy, Freehand, and others.
John Miller has enjoyed a varied career as a professional guitarist, composer and teacher since he started 35 years ago. John recorded five solo albums while still in his twenties, focusing first of all on country blues in his releases on Blue Goose records, First Degree Blues, How About Me, and Let’s Go Riding, and transitioning to jazz standards for Safe Sweet Home and Biding My Time, a collection of George Gershwin songs, both released on Rounder Records.
John has a reputation as an excellent teacher, having founded two music camps and produced 6 instructional DVDs on country blues guitar for Stefan Grossman’s Vestapol Videos, focusing on the music of Mississippi John Hurt, Elizabeth Cotten, Robert Wilkins, Furry Lewis and Bo Carter.
In recent years, John has recorded collaborative CDs with the acoustic jazz trio, Catwalk, the French cabaret ensemble, Rouge, and in duos with vocalist Rebecca Kilgore, mandolinist John Reischman and violinist Ruthie Dornfeld. John recently released his first solo recording in twenty-five years, Hey There, which is a collection of jazz standards.
Grant Dermody (pronounced DER muh dee) is a harmonica player and singer known for his rich tone, tasteful solos, and solid rhythmic playing. Grant moves through a variety of musical styles while maintaining his own distinctive sound.
A sought after accompanist, Grant has appeared on several Jim Page recordings, plays on Dan Crary’s new album, Renaissance of the Steel String Guitar; and has also recorded with Robin Dale Ford, Scott Law, MichaelGrey (of Pearl Django) and Michael Gettel. Grant has performed with Cephas & Wiggins, Big Joe Duskin, JohnDee Holeman, Robert Lowrey, and Honeyboy Edwards. He was a featured artist with Orchestra Seattle playing the harmonica part in Huntley Beyer’s Symphony, Romantic Lines. He is a member of the blues influenced old-time band, The Improbabillies, whose self-titled CD on the Yodel-A-Hee label is a fine example of Grant’s innovative playing and recently released his first solo CD, Crossing That River.
Grant teaches harmonica at the annual Port Townsend Country Blues Festival and at The Augusta Heritage Center in Elkins , West Virginia.
Zumbido
Tickets $12 advance, $16 at the door
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Zumbido matches instrumental prowess with a deep affinity for the traditions of Brazil. While paying homage to Caetano Veloso, Rosa Passos, Tom Jobim and many other Brazilian composers, John, Ginny & Joel play their arrangements with their own voices, their own harmonies, their own kick, bringing fresh vitality to every performance. No strangers to outdoor summer festivals, jazz clubs, house concerts, weddings, restaurants, intimate cafes, stages large and small, each member of the band has individually logged decades of professional playing around the country and abroad.
John Miller has been a professional guitarist and guitar teacher for 40 years. He began his recording career as bass player with the trail-blazing bluegrass band, Country Cooking, and went on to record five solo albums of country blues and Jazz Standards while still in his twenties. Since then, John’s work has balanced performing and teaching. He has had long teaching stints at Puget Sound Guitar Workshop, Port Townsend Country Blues Workshop, B.C. Swing Camp and the European Blues Association’s Blues Week, and has released 9 instructional DVDs for Stefan Grossman’s Guitar Workshop. In the past 18 years, John has released CDs with the acoustic Jazz trio, Catwalk, singer Rebecca Kilgore, in duos with mandolinist John Reischman and violinist Ruthie Dornfeld, the Finnish-American quartet, Freshet, the French cabaret group, Rouge, the country blues trio, Johnson, Miller & Dermody, singer Ginny Snowe, and two solo CDs.
Ginny Snowe’s musical training includes a Bachelor’s degree in piano and vocal performance from Albion College and a Masters degree from Catholic University in piano pedagogy. She has maintained a private teaching studio for over thirty years, both in Washington D.C. and in Bellingham, Washington, and her teaching practice continues to flourish. Ginny is a well known bassist in the international contradance community, and has played as a charter member of such bands as Uncle Gizmo, the Reckless Ramblers with Larry Unger, Sam Bartlett and Nat Hewitt and Funhouse with Ruthie Dornfeld and Forrest Gibson, touring extensively from coast to coast. She has taught at such music camps as Puget Sound Guitar Workshop, Smithsonian Folklife Festival, the American Festival of Fiddle Tunes, Lady of the Lake Dance Camp, and Pinewoods Camp English and American Dance Week, and for years was a fixture at the Augusta Swing Week, where she served as an accompanist for Frankie Manning’s Lindy dance class. Ginny’s discography includes CDs with Uncle Gizmo, the Reckless Ramblers, two Waltz Time CDs with Larry Unger, her collection of original solo piano pieces, “Traveling Home”, and “You Fascinate Me So”, with John Miller on guitar.
Known for his creative and innovative style, Joel Litwin is a favorite drummer/percussionist among acoustic artists and regional bands in and around Seattle and the West coast. His credits include projects with some of the most innovative artists on the West coast, including Tucker Martine, Amy Denio, and Michael Manring. Joel performs and records with many top acoustic artists in Seattle and the West Coast, including Erin Corday, Hand to Mouth and Incendio. Born in Detroit, Michigan, Joel grew up playing jazz in downtown clubs. He lived on the East Coast for several years, where he studied African rhythms with master drummer Richard Hill and jazz drums with Bob Moses. Joel then found a home on the West coast, where he developed a love for Brazilian music and began applying traditional rhythms to non-traditional instruments. His style has made him a favorite in the Northwest acoustic music scene, and his creative use of hand-made and found instruments (including a slightly battered briefcase) makes for some unique sounds on stage and in the studio.
John Reischman & John Miller
Tickets: $20 advance / door.
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John Reischman
Mandolinist John Reischman and guitarist John Miller combine in an instrumental duo that specializes in Latin Jazz, with forays into boppish original numbers and Celtic-influenced originals, all played with gorgeous tone and intense listening. The duo has performed internationally, in England, Japan, and Canada, as well as the United States. Their two CDs have received international acclaim.
John Reischman and John Miller’s debut CD, The Singing Moon (Corvus Records CR004) offers a beautiful musical journey, from Reischman’s Choro For Shadow, through Jacob do Bandolim’s Noites Carioca, and Miller’s haunting title cut to it’s soulful conclusion, Damien Miley.
John Miller
The Singing Moon is an increasingly rare instance of melody holding its own with harmony and rhythm.
-Scott Nygaard
John Reischman and John Miller’s The Bumpy Road (Corvus Records CR009) continues in the vein established by The Singing Moon, with hits like Kenny’s Gone, Danza, The Three Lions and Snake Eyes, but with some notable differences. John Miller steps forward more often into a soloing role, and singer Koralee Tonack joins the duo for the eerie The Path Downhill. John Reischman expresses himself with the sumptuous tone and grace we’ve come to expect from his playing.
