About this event
Raphael McGregor (lap steel guitar) and Oran Etkin (clarinet and other reeds) play a concert of jazz, swing, country, and Americana songbook standards, played in non-standard ways, in a Woods Hole living room on Saturday, April 25 at 4:00 PM.
Ticket holders will learn of the concert's location, and other important information, by email about 24h before the show.
I first heard Raphael McGregor as a member of Dennis Lichtman's neo-Western Swing band "Brain Cloud." (Brain Cloud played in Woods Hole in 2014.) Raphael's deft slide work is integral to the band's Western flavor. His improvization teamwork helped make the band breath-takingly good.
I first heard Oran Etkin many years ago when he sat in on Mona's Tuesday night jam. I was impressed by his presence as much as by his playing. One review says Oran's work is a, "gloriously global musical mélange. . . alternately gripping and grooving." He's known for bringing Japanese, Yiddish, Israeli, Brazilian and New Orleans influences to his music.
The duo has played with Herbie Hancock (Oran) and Willie Nelson (Raphael) and other musical superstars who've recognized their genius. Both have spent time in Brazil playing and recording.
One review of an album led by Raphael, and with Oran in the band, describes the music like this: "A peaceful ambling cadence, notes refracted like a setting sun through an evening haze, and a glimpse of the darkness about to descend . . . a prowling nature and a haunting beauty." (This review out-adjectives anything I could write.)
Raphael writes that he and Oran started playing together while attending Brandeis University, where they were frequently mistaken for brothers. After their graduation in 2001, they both moved to NYC to pursue careers in music. One reviewer writes, "When they perform together it is impossible to miss the sense of warmth, spontaneity, and shared creativity."
Here's a video of Oran playing bass clarinet: https://youtu.be/uWpN2t5dpEU?list=RDuWpN2t5dpEU
Here's one of Raphael doing an improvizational version of Dolly Parton's "Jolene" https://youtu.be/dUCTTOIhbwY
I've never heard these two not-quite-brothers play together, but having been deeply impressed by each of them, I can't wait to hear them as a duo!
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Woods Hole Music, Inc. hosts musicians from New Orleans, New York City, Nashville, Brazil, Europe, and wherever it can find mind-blowingly amazing players. The best way to find out about these concerts is to join the mailing list by sending a request to isen@isen.com. Woods Hole Music, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit and a registered Massachusetts charity that welcomes (but does not require) appreciative donations.
