Fishtank Ensemble
Thursday June 3, 8:30pm
A different flavor of jazz will be gracing the stage at Moody’s the first week of June, courtesy of Fishtank Ensemble. It’s tough to fit Fishtank into a musical box, as a brief listen to their upcoming third album ‘Woman in Sin’ (scheduled for a May release) offers notes of gypsy jazz, Romanian folk tunes, flamenco, and tango woven in a delicate tapestry. Three surly looking men stand on stage and surround a delicate, dishwater blonde with a tidal wave of sounds exploding from a violin, upright bass, guitar, and musical saw that could be mistaken for the voice of its player, Ursula Knudsen.
Knudsen (saw, vocals, violin), flanked by Fabrice Martinez (violin, violintromba) met in Venice at a masked ball and spent some time traveling and playing music in a mule-drawn caravan with the group Croque Mule. After coming to the states, the two met Doug Smolens, an accomplished guitarist, and Djorde Stijepovic, a Serbian wonder on the bass well known in world music circles. They met at a performance space in Oakland called ‘The Fishtank’, which has served as an unlikely inspiration for the band’s moniker. When I spoke to a dismissive Knudsen to dig into the band’s multi-cultural history she said, ‘We’ve been together for three years. I met my husband in Europe, we came back to the states and the rest is history.’ I guess traveling Europe in a mule-drawn wagon isn’t as Shrek-like and awesome as I thought it might be.
During our speedy conversation we also covered the weather in New Orleans, where Knudsen is currently on vacation, and what to expect when the group hits Truckee on June 3. ‘We’ll be playing a lot of new stuff. We may have a belly dancer, and we might have a guest, Dan Cantrell — he’s got a big spot on this new album,’ Knudsen said. The new album sways a bit heavier to the Serbian-influenced side, due to it being Stijepovic’s homeland. ‘It’s a lot of fun, and a lot of Serbian music is gypsy music anyway,’ Knudsen said.
Don’t miss the opera-trained Knudsen for the chance to check out her amazing range paired with the three Gypsy gents. Thursday, June 3 at Moody’s Bistro, 8:30 p.m., free, Truckee, moodysbistro.com
__________________________________
Quartet Minus One Covers Stevie Wonder
May 21 at Moody’s and May 22 at Bite
They call themselves Quartet Minus One, but for a couple nights of Stevie Wonder tribute shows the Truckee jazz band will be a musical misnomer.
At Truckee’s Moody’s Bistro and Lounge and then at Bite in Incline Village, the sax- keyboards-drum trio will invite in a number of guests to help them play the songs of one of their strongest influences.
Truckee’s stalwart saxaphonist Brian Hess — think Downbeat and Truckee Tribe — intertwined 1960s jazz, 1970s funk and roots reggae to form the group in 2006. Joined by Alaska native Todd Holway and fellow Truckee music veteran Steve Saturno, Quartet Minus One has been playing shows at local hangouts like Moody’s and planning an upcoming album of original music.
The back-to-back Stevie Wonder tribute shows will be a chance for the band to honor one of their musical idols, and invite enough fellow musicians onstage to become Quartet Plus One for the night.
Quartet Minus One plays their Stevie Wonder Tribute at Moody’s Bistro and Lounge (10007 Bridge St. Truckee) from 8:30pm To 11:30pm on May 21 and at Bite (907 Tahoe Blvd Incline Village) from 9pm to midnight on May 22.
