Gold Sounds
Gold Sounds is the latest project of multi-instrumentalist, singer and songwriter Gina Sobel and drummer/composer Joey Antico. Inspired by Sobel’s 2018 residency at the Strathmore Music Center, the group has crafted a sound that grows naturally from the way its members approach contemporary improvisatory music. The core of Gold Sounds revolves around Sobel and Antico, who brings a melodic flare into what is often approached as a purely rhythmic instrument. The ensemble is filled out by their close collaborators from the Virginia and DC music scene, including: Ian Dansey (guitar/pedal steel), Garen Dorsey (keys), and Matt Wood (bass). Gold Sounds is breaking boundaries by combining equal parts jazz, funk, hip hop and American folk music, but does so in a natural and easy way that reveals that each of these genres have been connected from the start.
Choose Your Own Adventure is a live-composed funk collective from Central Virginia made up of jazz musicians who love funk, hip hop and R&B. They build tunes on stage from the drums up, creating a constantly evolving live experience that’s both viscerally and mentally exciting. CYOA wants to make sure that no matter what, the groove is the golden standard.
Gina explores fingerstyle playing and genre bending in her solo set, featuring her stratocaster channeled through a world of reverb and delay, built into a wall of sound with vocal effects. In this way she creates an entire soundscape with a one-person ensemble.
Minnush plays living Sephardic music. They incorporate contemporary influences and give traditional songs new life featuring improvisation, storytelling and virtuosic musicianship by members Susan Gaeta, Gina Sobel, Trevor Pietsch and Kevin Johnson. The group had its beginnings in Gina’s Virginia Folklife apprenticeship to Susan, who was apprenticed to the great Flory Jagoda ten years earlier. It grew out of an urge to do what folk music has always done – to naturally incorporate new influences and reflect the world around it. In this way, Minnush adds elements of American folk and jazz, while shedding light on the immigration and refugee stories that the songs carry. Minnush is serious, joyful, forward moving and eminently fresh.
Gina Sobel and the Mighty Fine
Most of this band has alter-egos as jazz musicians, but when they play as Gina Sobel and the Mighty Fine, they rock. Original tunes, burning solos, soaring vocals, great grooves. Gina leads the group on flute, sax and vocals, with Dave French lending his blues-soaked strat and raspy voice to the mix. Ryan Lee is Dave’s foil, cutting through with cerebral tele solos that make you wait for it. The rhythm section might as well be one person – Simon Evans and Pat Hayes have been playing together since they were kids. Simon’s bass playing is defined and acrobatic in turn, but always locked in. Pat is the most sensitive rock drummer you’ll ever meet, clean response, subtle syncopation and funky funky grooves.
Original, high-energy, responsive jazz featuring:
Gina Sobel /// flute, bass flute, vocals
Jonah Kane-West /// organ
Kris Monson /// bass
Daniel Richardson /// drums
Incognito
High energy duo, shrouded in mystery. One part blues, one part folk, one part Beatles.
Wytold layers percussive bowing and melodic finger-picking on bodyless, shoulder-strapped, six-string electric cello. He records these sounds live on both electric and acoustic cellos to create his own rock-orchestral accompaniment on stage, blended with an ensemble of Ethan Foote on bass, Chelle Fulk viola/violin, Jerry Tolk on guitar/banjo/percussion, and Gina Sobel on flute and saxophone. The two extra strings on his electric cello allow him to capture the depth and power of a stand-up bass, the rich tonal timbre of the acoustic cello, and the bright crispness of violin solos and harmonies, all interwoven with Gina’s soaring jazz melodies and agile improv.
Residencies
Strathmore Artist in Residence
A flagship program of Strathmore’s Institute for Artistic and Professional Development, the Artist in Residence (AIR) program was created more than a decade ago to support artists as they transition to professional careers. Since its inception in 2005, the program has mentored 76 musicians ages 16-32. Every year a class of six is chosen after a competitive selection program. Strathmore Artists in Residence benefit from the support of mentor musicians, participate in professional development seminars, and are offered extensive performance opportunities throughout the 10-month program. (Photo by Jonathan Timmes)
Virginia Folklife Apprenticeship Program
The Folklife Apprenticeship Program pairs an experienced master artist with an eager apprentice for a one-on-one, nine month learning experience, in order to help ensure that a particular art form is passed on in ways that are conscious of history and faithful to tradition. Since 2002, the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) has provided funding to support more than 100 pairs of masters and apprentices in all forms of Virginia’s traditional, expressive culture—from decoy carving to fiddle making, from boat building to quilt making, from country ham curing to old-time banjo playing, from African Merican gospel singing to Mexican folk dancing. Gina is paired with master Susan Gaeta studying Sephardic Ballad Singing. (Photo by Pat Jarrett)
Associated Acts
Live, Doug Appling (Emancipator) builds his songs with the help of his Emancipator Ensemble. “We expand on the album versions of the songs, taking them to higher dimensions. We play live instruments, along with tracks and samples cued up from the laptop.
Technicolor, dreamy funk rock and neo-soul, channeling a pastel, bright and bold retro past, all wrapped up with Jersey sass and Virginia charm.
Wistful garage rock that crashed in your backyard from a meteor.
United in the heart of Richmond, Virginia in 2015, Jouwala Collective blends Gnawa music, traditional African and spiritual songs characterized by trance inducing chants and rhythms, with modern influences of funk, jam, jazz, rock, soul, reggae, blues, chaabi and electronic. Erie synth notes create a soft background over which are laid tribal tones of instruments from a world away resulting in an atmosphere of spiritual healing. Incredibly fast, dynamic drum rhythms keep your feet moving while the overall sound holds you in a dreamlike trance. Electric guitars and rock themes interweave so that the mood, and the room, can be transformed immediately and without warning. Set to release their debut album in early 2018, Jouwala Collective is a unique musical force soon to be reckoned with.
The meeting of Chris Dammann’s Chicago connexions with his Charlottesville crew. They come together to make Chris’ version of club thumping hits. The music is honest, visceral, and straight from the heart.