Brownbag Concerts | Program Notes
Program Notes
November 12, 2003
The Susie Arioli Band exploded on the Montreal music scene in July '98, wowing Montreal Jazz Festival organizers and public alike during their near-flawless set -- one that garnered them a last-minute invitation to open for Ray Charles! Up until then Susie Arioli was known to many as a 'musician's singer` who evoked an earlier sound in the way that she used her voice...and as a lady who could certainly swing (she's the timekeeper with brushes and snare). A local jam session appearance led to her meeting the multitalented Jordan Officer, the band's lead guitarist and arranger and her musical soulmate. Already a busy sideman in his own right (Stephen Barry Band) his playing has been heard on the soundtrack of the Quebec film "l'Homme Ideal". Shane McKenzie is the current upright bassist. Occasionally a fourth member is added on rhythm guitar, the celebrated bluesman Michael Jerome Browne. They have also expanded to up to eight pieces with horns, creating special arrangements, yet still retaining the intimate small-combo swing style.
No longer just the darlings of the underground set, the Band performs for a wider audience: they were the first artists to sell out a show at the 2000 edition of the Montreal Int'l Jazz Festival...and their subsequently added second and third shows also sold out! Their Toronto album launch during the JVC Jazz Festival at the Top of the Senator totally impressed the local media in attendance: Susie is "unerringly right in what she chooses to sing and unrivalled in how she sings it" said Peter Goddard of the Toronto Star; Mark Miller of the Globe & Mail found Susie's brand of swing to be "played in a manner free of the jive and posturing associated with the recent swing revival" and called it "charming". Their date-book is now filled with festivals, concerts, clubs, parties and TV & radio appearances, in Can-ada and elsewhere as word continues to spread. Performances include the legendary Bird-land Club (NY) where they impressed a seasoned crowd, the Django Reinhardt Festival (Paris), and the Royal Festival Hall (London). Touring has included Canada, the UK, France, Belgium, and the US, with upcoming dates in China, France, the UK, Canada and the US planned for 2002.
The group plays swing music from the 30's and 40's, mainly: from small bands (Maxine Sullivan, Jack Teagarden...), big bands (Count Basie, Benny Goodman), blues swing bands (Memphis Slim, Jimmy Rushing) and even Western swing bands (Bob Wills...), as well as from the great composers (Duke Ellington, Cole Porter..). Occasionally a '50's tune slips in, or a hitherto-little-known Canadian gem. Jordan's heavy country-swing roots are evident in his guitar playing and contribute to their unique sound. Their original style has aptly been described by one critic as "minimalist swing" and by another as "real music for real people" ! In Susie's own words, "Every song tells a story and I get my thrills telling each one with passion."
