See you in September

It's September and the newest batch of freshmen are discovering the city. I overheard one American student ask what the equivalent of CVS is here. With this influx of new blood comes a lot of music-making.

Wednesday September 2 (tomorrow) I'll be a featured guest with Athésia & The Gentlemen at La Sala Rossa (4848 St-Laurent). Athésia is the recipient of a grant to take her and her core trio of guitarist Jim Bland and percussionist Daniel Emden to Brazil. This is her send-off show with an expanded band. If you stick around, I might even be spinning tunes after. Facebook event here.

Athésia - vocals; Jim Bland - guitars; Daniel Emden - percussion; with Kweku Kwofie - vocals; DRR - keyboards; Paul Johnston - bass; André Martin - percussion.

Friday & Saturday September 4 & 5 guitarist Stephen Johnston is kicking off Labour Day weekend at Upstairs (1254 rue Mackay). We'll be playing his original, groove-focused compositions in a quartet setting. It's a similar repertoire to the SJProject6 show from this summer's OFF Festival de Jazz, but just a tad more subdued. Facebook event here.

Stephen Johnston - guitar; DRR - piano & keys; Fraser Hollins - bass; Evens Baptiste - percussion.

Thursday & Friday September 10 & 11 Trio Bruxo hits the road for the first time. The 10th will see us at Toronto's Trane Studio (964 Bathurst St.) at 10:30 pm, joined once again by my old buddy Brownman. After our sold-out shows at Upstairs, Brown said, "We must unleash this on Toronto!" The following evening we'll be at Ottawa's Mercury Lounge (56 Byward Market) at 8 pm. My friend Rommel Ribeiro, a former resident of Ottawa, will join us on a few tunes. Facebook events are here (Toronto) and here (Ottawa).

DRR - keys; Nicolas Bédard - bass; Mark Nelson - drums; with guests Brownman - trumpet (Toronto) and Rommel Ribeiro - vocals (Ottawa).

Saturday September 12 is Michael Reinhart's return to The Yellow Door (3625 Aylmer). After a summer of global travel, Michael is back with new tunes. He'll be performing two sets: one of instrumentals, and one of his urban-fingerstyle-folk songs. As always with Michael, I'll be getting my sporadic accordion practice. The wonderful Katie Sevigny opens. Facebook event here.

Michael Reinhart - guitar/vocals; DRR - keys/accordion; Jérémi Roy - bass.

Sunday September 13 marks the end of the craziness with the return of OthnielBand, singer-songwriter Othniel Petit-Frère's original, bilingual soul project. We're playing as part of the Apollo Nights series at Le Tapis Rouge (1252 Bleury). In addition to Othniel's tunes, some co-written with guitarist Dave Goulet and vocalist Nanny Roy, we'll toss a few covers into the mix. Facebook event here.

Othniel Petit-Frère - vocals; DRR - keys; Dave Goulet - guitar; Martin Letendre - bass; Seb Fauvelle - drums.

See you on the other side!