Événement

Orville Johnson and Casey MacGill in concert

Casey MacGill performs music that swings. Nat "King" Cole Trio meets the Mills Brothers. Fats Waller meets Fats Domino. Slim Galliard meets Fred Astaire. It is American music of many decades and no decade in particular, all happening at the same time, woven into a seamless, beautiful whole. MacGill plays boogie-woogie, swing, and stride piano. He blows a lyrical jazz cornet, and his most unique instrumental voice is a 6-string tenor ukulele. He has been singing and arranging vocal harmonies for over 40 years, and it shows in his sweet intonation and smooth phrasing.
Orville Johnson was born and raised in the southern Illinois heartland. He acquired his love of singing as a youth in the fundamentalist Pentecostal church he attended and, when he later began playing guitar and dobro, responded to the roots music that surrounded him by learning to play the blues, bluegrass, rockabilly, and country music that are all part of the mosaic that characterizes his own mongrel music. He is a singer, instrumentalist, record producer, songwriter, session player, teacher, the top dobro player on the West Coast of America and, above all, an instinctive and sensitive musician.
Casey and Orville were having a conversation about music one day, as they are wont to do. Casey waxed poetic on the virtues of Hapa Haole music, a style of 1930s jazz featuring swing rhythms, Hawaiian guitar, and island themes, such as hula girls, canoes, and coconuts. He mentioned having created a collection of these tunes and some originals in the style that he would love to record some day. Orville quickly recognized the opportunity to play a lot of sweet Hawaiian guitar riffs and exercise his studio recording skills and said, "Casey, let's do it! You play the uke and sing, I'll play slide guitar and record us, and we'll get Matt Weiner to add some bass!"
Casey replied, "I like the way you think!"

As simply as that, Hawaii of My Dreams was born. Songs from that new disc will be on tap for April 4th, as well as the swingin' blues, rockin' piano and slide guitar, and hurricane vocals that make up the rest of their entertaining repertoire. You won't want to miss it!