Twisted Folk Concert Series Presents: Mumbo
Gumbo
Where: Twisted
Oak Winery, 4280 Red Hill Rd at Hwy 4, Vallecito
When: Saturday,
June 29, 2013 – 7:30pm. Gates open 6:30pm
Ticket
Information:
Tickets
$20 advance ($18 Twisted Few wine club members), or $25 at the gate, if
available.
Children
12 and under are admitted free of charge.
For more
info, or to purchase tickets:
209-736-9080, twistedoak.com/concerts
Contact:
For
questions about featured musicians, contact:
Maria Camillo, maria@twistedoak.com
Twisted
Oak Winery
is pleased to announce that the third show of our 2013 Twisted Folk Concert
Series will feature the popular Northern California eclectic dance band Mumbo Gumbo.
“The concert series is off to a great
start with two nearly sold out shows,” said winery owner Jeff Stai. “We’re
looking forward to keeping the energy and momentum going with Mumbo Gumbo. They
play so many different styles – from zydeco to country to soul to rock – there
should be something for everyone to enjoy – and perchance to dance to -- at
this show.”
A special dinner of Arroz con Pollo (saffron
rice with chicken and bell peppers),
spicy vegetarian black beans, green
salad with lime vinaigrette, and cornbread (provided by Murphys Catering) will
be available for purchase, along with yummy Twisted Oak wine, popcorn, and soft
drinks. Concertgoers are welcome to bring their own picnics but we ask that no
outside alcoholic beverages be brought in.
Seating at Twisted Folk concerts is
outdoor festival style, first-come, first-served – bring a low beach-type chair
or a blanket. We’re on top of a hill and there is always an evening breeze – it
can get a little chilly after dark so please plan ahead.
Twisted Oak Winery is located in the
foothills of Calaveras County, and specializes in wines made from Mediterranean
varieties like Tempranillo, Viognier, and Petite Sirah. Our concert venue,
located at the winery in Vallecito, sits on a hilltop that commands a sweeping
view of the Sierra Nevada and the surrounding foothills, presided over by a
350-year old California Blue Oak that graces the label of every wine we bottle.
Mumbo Gumbo:
Mumbo
Gumbo blends many genres, from rock to soul, afropop to lush balladry, zydeco
to country, into a celebratory, danceable noise. Over nearly 20 years, on the
septet’s eight albums and during countless gigs around their native Northern
California, Mumbo Gumbo has created something that is less a specific style
than a particular feeling: The sound of sheer joy.
Or, as
one of the band's songs puts it, "That big life feeling."
Fronted
by two first-rate singer/songwriters, Chris Webster and Tracy Walton, the band
is anchored and driven by one of the longest-lived rhythm sections in Northern
California: drummer Rick Lotter and bassist Lynn Michael Palmer. With Reggy
Marks' sax, Jon Wood's guitar, and Steve Stizzo's keyboards fleshing out the
band's expansive sound, Gumbo has built a reputation not just for danceability,
but for creative depth.
It
starts with the songs. Moving back and forth between Webster's sly, sometimes
melancholy explorations of romance and individuality and Walton's ebullient,
unabashed celebrations of family and commitment, Gumbo weaves a rich tapestry
of sound and sensibility that transcends genre.
Songs
that started in Webster or Walton's straight-forward, acoustic-guitar-based
style become something more in the hands of the band. Lotter and Palmer's
rhythms add new dimensions that in turn inspire the singers, whose voices blend
at many points, then soar solo at others. And since both Walton and Webster also
play (guitar, saxophone, recorder and even washboard, between them), the
synergy quickly takes songs into broader, more complex arrangements.
But
unlike bands that strive for danceability, Mumbo Gumbo's songs always retain
their uniqueness. Songs like Webster's "Love Makes Me Stupid" and
"Opera Girl" or Walton's "Original You" and "Stuck On
You" - or such collaborations between the two as "Wonder of It
All" - stand on their own melodic and lyrical merits.
Coloring
the space between the kinetic rhythm section and the intertwined singers are
three veteran musicians: Marks, whose saxophone, flute, percussion and soulful
harmonies add a third voice to the sound; Stizzo, whose exquisit work on organ,
piano, and accordion add character as well as color; and Wood, whose guitar
playing weaves in and out, shading the rhythms and occasionally lending a
sharp, melodic solo.
The
result can be positively relentless, as the band's extended jams drive dancers
wild while giving non-dancers plenty to listen to.
Over the
years, the band has also provided the springboard for several other careers,
both by band members and by former members. Multi-instrumentalist Joe Craven
was a member of the band when it recorded its first album, and other successful
alumni include guitarist Michael Gregory. Of current band members, Lotter has
played with a variety of performers, from Maria Muldaur to avant jazz composer
Jessica Williams. Marks has played with a host of names, from soul stars Wilson
Pickett and Sam and Dave to jazz giants George Benson to Cal Tjader. Stizzo has
played with Freddy Fender and Percy Sledge, an appeared on Ted Mack's Original
Amateur Hour. Walton still performs occasionally with Craven and Bill Edwards
in Way Out West. Wood, who joined in 1999, had previously toured with Eric
Lindell.
Singer
Webster, who was a founding member of the band along with Palmer, has released
four albums under her own name, as well as an album of duets with her sister
Cassie, recording and performing as The Websters and Scott Nygaard. She has
also collaborated with Matt Rollings, Nina Gerber, Jennifer Berezan and Jackie
Greene.
Mumbo
Gumbo's music has been used in the hit TV show "Northern Exposure"
and in director Charlie Matthau's 2005 movie "Her Minor Thing" in
which the band appears on screen.
But
despite their other ventures, the band is the thing, and at this point, Mumbo
Gumbo is both an institution on the NorCal concert scene and an ever-evolving
collective that can fill listeners with both joy and longing - and always makes
sure to leave its audiences dancing their hearts out.
