New concert announcement

Who: Matt Dusk with special guest, Theresa Sokyrka

What: A Christmas concert featuring jazz standards, original duets and Christmas classics.

Where: Kiwanis Community Theatre Centre

When: Tuesday, December 11, 2007

Please contact the Station Mall Box Office at (705) 945-7299 for time and ticket information.

About Matt Dusk

Go big or go home.

That might’ve been Matt Dusk’s mantra as he contemplated the making of his second album.

With impeccable taste to match his formidable talent, Dusk knows that style and sophistication—in everything from song selections and studio choices—are important factors that contribute to successful recordings.

The 27-year-old crooner already had a sensational major-label debut under his belt with 2004’s Two Shots, which was partially recorded at London’s famous Abbey Road Studios with a 42-piece string section from the prestigious Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.

With Back in Town, the Toronto-born Dusk pulled out all the stops.

First, he recorded much of the album in Los Angeles, at the fabled Capitol Studio in Studio A—where the walls have resonated with the voices of singers such as Frank Sinatra, Bobby Darin and Ella Fitzgerald.

Then, as if that magical setting wasn’t enough, several renowned arrangers including Patrick Williams and Sammy Nestico were brought in to provide original arrangements for classic numbers like More and As Time Goes By.

On top of that, the legendary Al Schmitt, winner of this year’s Lifetime Achievement Award at the Grammy Awards, recorded and mixed all of the album’s big band tracks.
 
Back in Town has all the ingredients to catapult the Juno Award nominated singer well into the pop stratosphere: timeless songs, stylish arrangements, cutting-edge production and powerhouse vocals.

Quite simply, Dusk has never sounded better, and it’s the album’s combination of classic and original songs that has clearly brought out the best in him.

Along with big-band material, drawn from the American Songbook, Back in Town features such contemporary pop numbers as the inspirational All About Me and the forceful title track.
 
Although he refrains from divulging many details, Dusk’s personal life has helped to shape both Back in Town and its predecessor.

“The songs on Two Shots were more on the sad side because I was going through a rough time at that point in my life,” he explains. “Most of the songs were about lost love and self discovery. On this album, it’s the exact opposite. The majority of these songs are more about finding love, being happy and laughing, because the pendulum’s definitely swingin’ the other way.”

Swinging is one way to describe Back in Town, which puts Dusk firmly back in the pack of young crooners like Michael Bublé and Dusk’s label mate Jamie Cullum.

“We’ve all got our own approaches to this genre,” says Dusk, about his colleagues. “Me? I’m not here to change the world. You could say my goal is to bring jazz a little more into the mainstream. But basically, at the end of the day, all I really want to do is entertain people.”

With the big, bold and defiantly upbeat Back in Town, Dusk is doing just that.
 
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