Mardi Jayde
When asked what kind of music we play, we say "liquid acoustic groove"... undulating vocals... ethereal chord progressions hovering over steady hypnotic groove... the fusing of jazz, r&b and middle eastern influences... and stream of consciousness lyrics that attempt to unite temporal with spiritual, inner and outer worlds, and pathos with humour.
We're deeply excited about our second CD, THE TELLING , releasing June 2008. It's a journey, rooted in who we are, where we've been and where we will be eternally going. It is our fused soul in music.
Recording THE TELLING was also a journey of time and distance. Tracks were laid in Toronto, then it was off to Tepoztlan, Mexico to record our magical world-wandering hand-drummer Jamie Hudson. I also got to record the lovely "Doney harp", an invention of our host, Jim Doney , which, together with Jamie on clay pot, was the base of the last track "Tepoz", a tribute to Mount Tepozteco, at whose awesome foot we recorded. Back home, we added the sweet harmonica of Maple Leaf Blues award winner Carlos del Junco to 2 tracks, a string quartet to indulge me in my Beatle-ish fantasy, we brought Downbeat alumni drummer Marty Frankel out of retirement for our jazz-waltz ballad, and made a rainstorm with drummer Nick Fraser (another indulgence, thank you). Add some heavenly voices on BG vocals, and THE TELLING was told.
Our first CD TRAPEZE featured a full band with bassist Glenn Olive, drummer Aaron Ferrera and guests John Ebata (keyboards) and violinist Hugh Marsh [Loreena McKinnett, Bruce Cockburn] on select tracks. The release in '97 captured radio play in Canada, Europe, Japan and Israel, as well as charting on Canadian campus radio. Later, the CD was revived by some folks on internet radio in the US.