Maple Ridge Jazz & Blues Festival: Friday night show is shaping up to be an incredible evening of music

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For the first time in its nine year history, the Maple Ridge Jazz & Blues Festival has added a Friday night show to its exciting lineup of jazz and blues musicians. Opening night concert & reception - Friday August 5 - Arts Center Theatre - 7:00 pm: Simon Jarrett Band with very special guests Bill Sample, Tom Keenlyside, Glenda Rae, Scott Robertson Trio and The Peter Raszka Project,

The Friday night show is shaping up incredible. With a 7:00 p.m. reception in the lobby with the wonderful Scott Robertson Trio and cocktails, an 8:00 pm show with Peter Raszka Project, an amazing acoustic guitar player, a short intermission and a full night of jazz, fusion and more with The Simon Jarrett Band doing what they do so well.

It’s the festival's opening night, a kick off party and a reception to celebrate. And it’s one amazing night of music.Simon is one of the most respected, talented and acclaimed guitarist around. He is also known for running his very successful Kingsley Amplifiers, designing and hand building tube amps for players world wide.

The festival has also lined up some incredible special guests including the truly legendary Canadian Tom Keenleyside whose early work with BTO, Prism then Skywalk (5 albums for MCA, Juno nominations) launched a career that has included working with Tom Jones, Boz Skaggs, Dizzy Gillespie, Harry Connick, Dianna Krall, Natalie Cole and many others. Oh and he’s all over all those great Aerosmith albums that came out of Vancouver too. On top of that, Simon and company will also be joined by Bill Sample, one of Canada’s best known and most successful producers, arranger, composer, music director and keyboardist. We can talk about his work with David Foster, Leon Bibb, Sue Leonard, Jeff Hyslop, Jane Mortifee, Seal or Norman Foote or the thousands of TV and soundtrack credits (The Dirty Dozen, The Beachcombers, McGyver, Harmony Cats and Highlander) commercial work.

The next special guest is vocalist Glenda Rae. It would not be an overstatement to describe Glenda Rae's voice as one of the great instruments in Canadian or global popular music. Her gift is singular, and doesn't suffer for lack of commercial exposure. The delight in discovery is a real treat for expectant audiences. Glenda never disappoints. It is immediately apparent that her talent is nothing less than prodigious. Her passion for blues, soul, and gospel saturated by soulfulness is tied to a complete technical mastery of her voice. Velvet restraint in one instance and volatile passion the next are hallmarks of a Glenda Rae performance.

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