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Montreal jazz musician 'happy' to return to area

A renowned Montreal chamber jazz-folk quartet is coming back to Bragg Creek and this time they are here to charm the woods. Mark Berube and his band are performing on Feb.
Mark Berube and his band will play a Bragg Creek Performing Arts show on Feb. 9.
Mark Berube and his band will play a Bragg Creek Performing Arts show on Feb. 9.

A renowned Montreal chamber jazz-folk quartet is coming back to Bragg Creek and this time they are here to charm the woods.

Mark Berube and his band are performing on Feb. 9 as the opening act of the Bragg Creek Performing Arts (BCPA) 2013 spring season.

Berube’s February performance is not the first time he has visited Bragg Creek. He has a cousin in the area, who he stayed with for a few days years ago.

“I’m happy to come back to Bragg Creek to give a concert,” he said. “It’s a very beautiful part of the country.”

The singer/songwriter plays piano, organ, and accordion. Bass player Amélie Mandeville, cellist Kristina Koropecki and drummer Tonio Morin-Vargas round out the band.

BCPA volunteer Dawn Godfrey saw Berube perform at the Calgary Folk Festival last July and said she had fun watching his live show because he was a consummate professional — poised and spontaneous.

“He was absolutely brilliant,” she said. “Bragg Creek is in for a treat.”

Berube just finished a European tour with shows in Germany, Austria, Liechtenstein and France to promote his latest album June in Siberia.

“The European tour was fantastic,” he said. “The song Above the Ground has received a fair bit of airplay over here, and the shows have been very well received.”

Berube said it is difficult at times to juggle work and family life while on tour, but he seems to have found the perfect balance.

His wife and daughter visited family in Europe while he toured, but did not join him on the road. They sometimes attend his summer festival performances.

“I love touring. I love the travel, the new places, and the new experiences,” he said. “I keep a pace that keeps the home life healthy and happy, and ditto for the music.”

Berube does not have one singular message he is trying to convey with his music.

“That would be limiting and not interesting,” he said. “A bit of everything seeps in, but I’m mainly a fan of the folk tradition and how it can be modernized.”

Berube went to elementary school in Swaziland, South Africa and this early musical education has influenced his sound.

Berube’s father listened to many South African jazz musicians including Hugh Masekela and Miriam Makeba.

“I love their music and the spirit behind it,” he said. “That has always stayed with me.”

While in school Berube sang in class every day and was also a member of the choir.

“We sang all the time and I loved it,” he said.

His piano teacher in South African, Noel Khumalo, was his childhood inspiration.

“I had a great piano teacher,” said Berube. “He showed me what you can do with music when you love it.”

Berube took private piano and voice lessons most of his young life and was a jazz program student at North Vancouver’s Capilano College for one and a half years.

While Berube has grown as an artist with each new album, his ambition is to continue to evolve.

“I hope to keep pushing myself and getting better at what I do as a composer and performer,” he said.

After his tour is over, Berube and his band plan to spend March and April composing their next album, which they hope to release in Canada next fall.

Then, he will complete a composers residency at The Banff Centre from April 30 to June 11, sponsored by the Quebec Arts Council.

The Bragg Creek show starts at 8 p.m. For tickets and information visit braggcreekperformingarts.com or call 403-949-4114.

To learn more about Berube go to markberube.com.

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