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| Top: Doug Wilde,
Rich
Greenspoon, Bob
Cohen Below: David Woodhead, Colleen Allen |
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David Woodhead digs
deep
for some inspired music and - John Apice / No Depression magazine / August 2018 Plenty of new territory is covered here - with compositions ranging from rambunctious romps to contemplative minimalism, with a long list of notable instrumentalists. |
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The "Tunnels and Visions" CD Listen and Purchase at CDbaby.com here with many thanks for the support of the Ontario Arts Council! |
| For
the new Tunnels and Visions CD, Confabulation
ringleader David Woodhead has turned over a lot of
stones to develop a unique voice, with compositions
ranging from rambunctious romps to contemplative
minimalism, plus stops at vintage song and
contemporary parlour music on the way. Evolving the playful Confabulation project was a natural move for Woodhead, combining key players and ideas from the various worlds he inhabits to fuse the inviting feeling of community found in the folk festival and coffeehouse scene with the wide musical palettes available in jazz and classical music. The album naturally features Woodhead's trademark melodic electric bass playing, with an expressive touch on the fretless, but there's also a long list of notable instrumentalists. Band members include keyboardist Doug Wilde (Manteca), reeds player Colleen Allen (Molly Johnson, Holly Cole), guitarist Bob Cohen (Jesse Winchester) violinist Anne Lindsay (Jim Cuddy Band) and drummer Rich Greenspoon (Betty and the Bobs, Stewed Tomatoes). Guests on the recording include early-music keyboardist Kate Clark, violinists Jaron Freeman-Fox (The Opposite of Everything) and Yellowknife's Andrea Bettger. Members of Rebecca Hennessey's FOG Brass Band fulfill Woodhead's goal of blending the timbres of brass instruments with fretless bass. Flute wizard Anh Phung contributes to the opening track, “Carnival For The Clocks,” which features only wind instruments with snare drum and bass, and Woodhead breaks out the gourd banjo for an intimate rendition of “Windy Apples.” While there are plenty of cut-loose solos on the CD, the players are clearly listening to each other and you can hear the ideas bouncing back and forth. The Confabulation is a unit with a tight core but flexible attitude! |
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This is an impressive and ambitious project - I'm playing the CD and talking up the gig. - Jaymz Bee, JAZZ-FM
Clever usage of brass/reed sections, strings and rich solos make the Baker’s Dozen of pieces rich in variety and delivery…All the while Woodhead’s bass does some nice dolphin dances, creating misty droplets… - George W. Harris, The Jazz Weekly
…elements
of folk and classical, funk and fusion and another
dozen guest soloists are woven into its soaring
pastoral soundscapes… The leader's rubberized fretless
bass packs a recurring shot of momentum to this
dreamy, exotic journey.
….impeccable playing throughout, which is the main reason to pay attention to anything Woodhead lays his hands on. - The Waterloo Record
A fabulous band playing challenging and engaging compositions. - Howard Gladstone, artistic director, Winterfolk festival
Why be satisfied with a 24 pack of Crayolas when you can get the 64 pack with a sharpener? Tunnels and Visions is an imaginative palette of musical colour. - Shelley Gummeson, Jazz On The Rocks, CFBX Kamloops
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| Confab’ul/ate,
v.i. 1: engage in conversation: talk. 2: fabricate imaginary experiences as compensation for loss of memory... It’s all about interplay - musical conversations and fabrications from an imaginary coffeehouse late one night in a distant past, or an imminent future... |
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The
Confabulation CD  To order, just send $20 Cdn to David Woodhead at: 133 Albany Ave, Toronto, ON, M5R 3C5, Canada Cheque or money order, postage included, no boxtops necessary... Purchase at CDbaby.com here |
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Confabulators have included:
David Woodhead Doug Wilde Anne Lindsay Colleen Allen Bob Cohen Rich Greenspoon Richard Underhill Jaron Freeman-Fox Emilyn Stam Cedric Smith Walter MacLean Al Cross Ben Whiteley Christine Bougie David Celia David Balser Tara Davidson Rich Brown Terry Jones Noah Jones Joaquin Hidalgo Rebecca Hennessey John David Williams Fern Lindzon |
Confabulations
have occurred at:
TD Toronto International Jazz Festival The Kensington Market Jazz Festival The Mariposa Folk Festival, Orillia, ON The Vancouver Folk Festival The Jazz Room, Waterloo, ON Livewire series, Octave Theatre, Kingston, ON Drom Taberna, Toronto, ON Stewart Park Festival, Perth, ON The Vancouver Island Music Festival, Comox, BC Hugh's Room, Toronto The Supermarket, Toronto Rasputin's concert series, Ottawa, ON Hillside Festival, Guelph The Tranzac Club, Toronto The Folk Music Ontario Conference, Ottawa, ON The Vital Spark Folk Club, Brooklin, ON The Gladstone Hotel, Toronto The Dominion on Queen, Toronto The London Music Club, London, ON Summerfolk Festival, Owen Sound Blues Skies Festival, Clarendon, ON Eaglewood Folk Festival Shelter Valley Folk Festival, Grafton, ON Sunfest World Music Festival, London, ON Musideum, Toronto Canterbury Folk Festival, Ingersoll, ON Haliburton Forest Festival, Haliburton, ON Home County Folk Festival, London, ON C'est What, Toronto The Crooked Stovepipe, Villa Nova, ON The Wee Folk Club, Toronto Silence, Guelph, ON Royal Canadian Horse Artillery, Kingston, ON The Moonshine Cafe, Burlington, ON The Pearl Company Theatre, Hamilton, ON Distillery District Music City Summer Series, Toronto |
