The True Jive Pluckers Join RSO in Concert

jazz concerts, Canada

The True Jive Pluckers
with Regina Symphony Orchestra
Saturday, Jan 17 at 8pm
Conexus Arts Centre, Regina

Concert Pays Tribute to Frank Sinatra, James Brown, Bob Marley

On Saturday, Jan 17 at 8:00 pm, the Regina Symphony Orchestra (RSO) resumes its 2008-09 Shumiatcher Pops Series with ‘Jive Alive’, an eclectic pairing of the RSO with The True Jive Pluckers, a trio of Saskatchewan performers with Eduard Minevich (violin), Jack Semple (guitar) and Stephen McLellan (upright bass). The concert will take place at the Conexus Arts Centre in Regina.

For Saturday’s concert, The True Jive Pluckers join the RSO to create a musical smorgasbord featuring masterful renditions of Jazz, Classical, Gypsy, Tango, Klezmer and Blues. The evening’s repertoire will also pay tribute to musical icons like Frank Sinatra, James Brown and Bob Marley.

The True Jive Pluckers perform music based on swing of the late 1930s as well as a vast and varied repertoire. The trio’s eclecticism arises from its members’ very different backgrounds. Minevich and McLellan are both classically trained, but Minevich loves jazz, gypsy, Klezmer and tango, and McLellan started out playing rock, rhythm-and-blues and jazz. Semple is a blues guitar virtuoso.

Currently the Concert Master of the Regina Symphony Orchestra, violinist, composer, arranger and educator Eduard Minevich was classically educated at the prestigious St. Petersburg Conservatory in Russia. HIs musical career has taken him around the globe as a soloist and music director, playing for such eminent state figures as President Putin, and the British Royal Family. Minevich and Canadian fiddle champion, Frank Leahy, wrote and arranged the shows ‘Bending The Bows’ and ‘Road To Carnegie’, which they’ve performed with numerous major North American orchestras. A valued member of The True Jive Pluckers, Minevich also arranges music for the trio.

Juno Award-winning guitarist, composer and singer Jack Semple has performed across the nation at major clubs and venues such as the Vancouver and the Montreaux Jazz Festivals, released seven CD’s and shared the stage with international artists including Martha Reeves, k.d. lang and Ronnie Hawkins, to name but a few. In 1992 Semple was the national winner of the Much Music “Guitar Wars” competition. Jack recently won a Western Canadian Music Award for his acoustic solo CD, Qu’Appelle, and is heralded as a blues guitar virtuoso. Semple is an acclaimed composer, listing numerous movie scores and television theme credits, including the film ‘Guitarman’, in which he also played the leading role. Born and raised in Saskatchewan, Jack makes Regina home.

Bassist, Stephen McLellan studied with the legendary Thomas Monohan at the University of Toronto. His beginnings as a bass guitarist saw him playing Rock, R&B and Jazz in a number of Toronto bands. McLellan has performed in Broadway musicals Phantom of the Opera and Grease, and with the touring company of Forever Plaid, while his tours with the National Ballet of Canada and the Royal Winnipeg Ballet that have taken him all over the continent. He played bass guitar for the late, great Chet Atkins and has worked as a studio musician for performers like Anne Murray. He has recorded widely with the CBC, and recently appeared (playing his bass) in the film ‘Youkali Hotel’. Stephen is the Principal Bassist with the Regina Symphony Orchestra.

for more info visit www.reginasymphony.com