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| Jimmy Gaudreau and Moondi Klein Bring Bluegrass to Loundoun County Multimedia production company Goose Creek Music and Entertainment opens its 2010/2011 season, featuring bluegrass duo Jimmy Gaudreau and Moondi Klein at the Franklin Park Performing and Visual Arts center in Purcellville, VA, on Thursday, September 16, at 8 p.m. Lead singer Moondi Klein's natural vocal talent was recognized even as a child when his parents enrolled him in the Metropolitan Opera Children's Chorus in New York City. "He's got great technique, knows how to breathe, got great pitch, and has a god-given voice to begin with, " his bandmate, Jimmy Gaudreau said, "So I'm really really fortunate to be hooked up with a guy that talented." Klein moved to the Washington D.C. area after college where he and Gaudreau crossed paths at a pickin' party at a friend's house in 1990. The bluegrass duo has been making music through a variety of outlets ever since, including playing with a Bethesda based Americana band called Chesapeake from 1992 to 1999. The other half of the bluegrass duo, is mandolin pickin' and tenor singing Jimmy Gaudreau. In the early 60s, Gaudreau jumped on the folk bandwagon, trading in his electric guitar for the acoustic variety. At a jam session, a fellow musician suggested he complement his tenor voice with a mandolin, in the tradition of the Father of Bluegrass, Bill Monroe. "I don't read music, so I picked up the instrument and started to play it. I transposed a lot of stuff and whatever worked stuck, " Gaudreau said. "Consequently over the last 40 years it's become kind of my style." In addition to the concert at Franklin Park on September 16, Gaudreau is preparing to release a new album with Goose Creek Music, tentatively named "Pieces and Bits." The "pieces" are fully instrumented production numbers, while the "bits" are bare bones versions of the some tunes Gaudreau has written. "It will represent my music in a good format, " he said. Stuart Martin, Goose Creek's chief sound engineer, worked closely with Gaudreau to get the right natural tone for the project. Through Martin's initiative, the project will feature a cameo by Frank Vignola, a notable jazz guitarist. "Frank listened to the tracks and got the chord changes in his head. On the third take he just absolutely burned it, " Gaudreau said. "If you listen to that tune, you will hear one of the most innovative guitar breaks you will ever hear in your life." Combining live performance events and audio/video capture, Goose Creek Music partners with Comcast, local venues, and local artists to bridge the gap between live and recorded musical experiences. Founded in 2008, Goose Creek Music publishes high quality multimedia recordings of rising regional musical acts performing live concerts. According to founder Mike Pugh, "Goose Creek Music's mission is to capture great performances by original artists and get their music out there for people to hear. We strive to be the go-to place for discovering new music in our area." write your comments about the article :: © 2010 Jazz News :: home page |