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Upcoming Concerts:
Saturday, February 11th, 2012 – 7:30 p.m. The Tom Corbett BandTom Corbett is a mandolin and guitar playing singer songwriter who has toured and recorded with some of the best musicians in the folk and roots musical world. Best-known in recent years for backing up artists like former Nitty Gritty Dirt Band member John McEuen, Jennifer Warnes, and Robin and Linda Williams, Tom first gained attention in West Coast music circles during his three-year residency as mandolinist with the acclaimed Acousticats, whose smooth blend of folk, bluegrass and acoustic swing was a hit on the festival circuit. Always, Corbett continued to write his own music, and the fruit of those efforts can be heard on his CDs, Upstairs at Charlie’s and Tonight I Ride. As a player and singer, Tom is known for his gift for listening and for finding just the right parts to serve the song. As an artist, he eschews showboating and puts the music first, with delightful results. Tom’s band will include Bill Knopf on banjo and David Ferguson on guitar. Bill has been playing banjo and guitar since the folk revival days of the early 1960s, leading his own bands and performing everywhere from Disneyland to the Superbowl, with everyone from Donna Douglas (Elly May Clampett of “The Beverly Hillbillies") to Doc Severinsen. He has recorded five banjo albums, as well as working as a session player on countless other recordings PLUS a long list of television and film soundtracks. Guitarist David Ferguson is equally at home playing Chet Atkins style, classical, swing, country or jazz, and has been a featured bluegrass guitarist with Tom Corbett. In 1986 Hal Leonard published David’s first book, Country Fingerpicking, and followed the next year with Fingerstyle Blues. David is currently working on a series of books demonstrating his considerable skill as an arranger and spotlighting the best composers of the ’30s and ’40s. For a sample of Tom Corbett’s music, click here. Admission to this concert is $15. Kids under 16, free. Tickets are available now. Co-sponsored by Live Oak Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Goleta. 
Saturday, March 10th, 2012 – 7:30 p.m. Tom Ball and Kenny SultanTom Ball and Kenny Sultan are two of Santa Barbara’s musical treasures. These guys put on a great show – fun, personable, and just a LITTLE irreverent… They’ve been bringing their unique blend of guitar and harmonica blues, rags and good time music to widely diverse audiences for more than 27 years. Their live performances include concerts, clubs and festivals all over the world, and they were the only musical act in America to play all four venues of the 1984 Olympic Games. Together and separately they have worked on countless film scores, TV soundtracks, commercials and sessions. They’ve appeared on television internationally, were featured on the “Levi’s 501 Blues” commercials, have played for audiences of 300 million via Voice of America and are frequent guests of National Public Radio. Their eight duo albums have garnered much critical acclaim throughout the world, and their music from the film “Over The Edge” won the duo the prestigious Telly Award in 1994. Because their music is a blend of American roots styles, they are regulars overseas, drawing rave reviews wherever they go. To hear what they sound like, click here. Tom has been on the cover of both American Harmonica Newsmagazine and Harmonica World. Blues Revue called his playing “stupendous.” Meanwhile he has carved out a secondary career as a solo guitarist and “kills time” writing both music books and fiction. A noted blues historian, he has written countless articles on the music for various publications and has taught harmonica at the university level. In addition to working with Kenny, Tom has also played on over 165 CDs, performed and sung on countless film soundtracks, TV shows and commercials, recorded two solo guitar CDs, written five instructional books and authored a couple of novels. His solo projects include “Guitar Music” (Kicking Mule/Fantasy 3906-2) and “18 Pieces for Solo Steel String Guitar” (Talk-O-Phone 922.) Kenny has been playing guitar since the age of seven. Confirming his love for music and the blues, he graduated with honors from the University of California at Santa Barbara, where he majored in Music/Ethnomusicology. He has taught music, guitar and music history at the university level and has conducted countless workshops and seminars. His published instructional works include three books and three videotapes for Centerstream/Hal Leonard, the latest being “The Blues Styles of Kenny Sultan.” In addition to recording with Tom, Kenny has also appeared as a sideman on numerous recordings by other artists, and has two widely acclaimed solo guitar CDs with Solid Air Records. In 2001, Kenny released his first solo CD, titled “West Coast Blues.” It was so well received that Kenny followed it up with “Guitar Blues”, also on Solid Air. His most recent solo project is the newly released instructional/concert DVD “Kenny Sultan – Guitar Blues” for Warner Brothers/Solid Air. It’s been called “a virtual encyclopedia of blues licks and patterns!” The accompanying book “Guitar Blues” has now also been released. And for those of you who know and/or love Martin guitars, you should know that the Martin Guitar Company paid Kenny a HUGE tribute by releasing the “Martin Kenny Sultan Signature 000-18” Custom Edition guitar. Now, THAT doesn’t happen every day! Admission to this concert is $15. Kids under 16, free. Tickets are available now. Link to Tom Ball and Kenny Sultan’s web site Co-sponsored by Live Oak Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Goleta. | |
