Winnipeg folk band CASATI will continue their western tour that began on July 17 when they hit the stage in Cochrane at The Gentry Espresso and Wine Bar on July 20.
Like three hearts beating in perfect time, the music of CASATI is a living thing, constantly changing, evolving and reinventing itself. Grace Hrabi, Jesse Popeski and Quintin Bart search for stories waiting to be told and collaborate in bringing them to life. Songs about love found or lost, cautionary tales of time slipping away or even a whimsical tune about bicycle rides.
"This will be our first time in Cochrane," said Jesse Popeski. "We have no idea what to expect from Cochranites, but we love espresso and wine so The Gentry Espresso and Wine Bar seems like it will be our kind of venue."
"We write our own music, and tell stories about what inspired the songs. We sing three part harmony, and play several acoustic instruments, from ukuele to the hurdy gurdy. Our songs cover a variety of subjects, always searching for a unique perspective, whether it's a love song, a topical song, or a funny anecdote. People will laugh, cry, and enjoy a memorable night of music."
"All three of us studied jazz in university, and the intricacies of that music are a part of what we do. We started off as a jazz trio performing standards in fancy restaurants, but as we began working on original music our sound changed to a folkier style, where the music served the songwriting, putting the lyrics and the story at the forefront. We love all kinds of music, and we get compared to everyone from The Carpenters to The Everly Brothers to newer artists like Norah Jones."
CASATI began as The Grace Hrabi trio, arranging jazz standards and dabbling in songwriting on their release Afraid of Heights in 2014. As the band made collaborating on original music their priority CASATI found its own voice as a unique blend of folk and jazz that strikes a balance between sincere and direct words supported by musical inventiveness. CASATI brings their music to life with lush three part harmonies and rich textures created with ukulele, guitar, double bass sometimes a hurdy-gurdy.
Audiences have come to expect complete honesty from CASATI and the trio unwaveringly delivers in their lyrics and banter. The band tells stories to set the tone of the songs, engaging the audience before a single note has been played. The lyrics are not used to mask the meaning but to elaborate on it. CASATI’s songs cover a range of emotions, from realizations that took years to put into words to moments of pure happiness and humour, painting a complete picture of life.
CASATI focuses on making every piece a collaboration between all three artists. It is extremely important to the trio that each arrangement represents all three artistic voices and therefore some arrangements can take months to develop. The culmination of these pieces is captured on CASATI’s debut album, “There Will Be Days,” released April 2017.
"This tour isn't our longest but might be our busiest; we will be performing 11 concerts in 11 days," Popeski said of the tour. "Though the long days of driving can be tedious, we love the opportunity to perform the music we have put so much thought and creativity into for audiences across Canada night after night. We're looking forward to meeting the people of Cochrane and sharing our music."
The concert will start at 7 p.m. with tickets being $15 each.
