Rita Chiarelli at the Water Tower Inn

NEWS RELEASE

BLACK FLY JAM

*************************
WHO: Blues diva Rita Chiarelli - Cuore: The Italian Sessions

PRESENTED BY: Black Fly Jam

WHEN: Friday November 17th, '06

WHERE: The Pavilion at Algoma's Water Tower Inn

TIME: Doors open 7 p.m., show starts 8:30 p.m.

TICKETS: $25 advance, available at the front desk of The Water Tower, and at all three TD Canada Trust locations, Cambrian Mall, 421 Bay and Market Mall. Tickets at the door will be $30, if available.

INFO: Please call 649 2880 or email [email protected]

Cuore means "Heart" in Italian - and that is just what this magical night's performance will consist of!

Singer -songwriter Rita Chiarelli is very well-known as "The Canadian Goddess of the Blues" (Shelagh Rogers of CBC Radio - listen in on November 7 or 8th for Rita talking with Shelagh on Sounds Like Canada).

But what many do not know about Rita is that she is a first-generation Canadian, and has always had a strong alliance with the music of her Italian parents' homeland.

Rita's most recent recording and touring project, Cuore: The Italian Sessions is a collection of wonderful music from the Roman and Neopolitan regions that Rita remembers singing within her family.

These old folk songs have incredible emotional impact, especially when delivered by Rita's amazing three octave voice - even for those who do not understand Italian!

Rita will be backed by the exceptional George Koller on bass, John King on guitars, and Damon Dowbak, mandolin.

Of special interest will be the fine selection of Italian wines that will be available this evening, by the bottle or glass!

Wine experts will be on hand to help guide your selection.

Black Fly Jam is proud to be supported in part for this event by The Water Tower Inn, Lucidia Studios Ltd., TD Canada Trust and other community partners soon to be announced.

Official Rita Chiarelli biography

RITA CHIARELLI - She's been compared to everyone from Bonnie Rait and Melissa Etheridge to Tom Waits, Lyle Lovett and Janis Joplin.

Singer-songwriter Rita Chiarelli is a consummate musician whose style defies definition - she performs mainly original material but in addition has a huge repertoire of blues and R&B tunes.

Or she can croon an Italian folk song or wail an Elvis Presley cover tune.

At first listen it's her voice - and that three octave range - that garners all the attention!

But Rita's songwriting is also a force to be reckoned with, and her four Juno nominations have been for roots albums that consist largely of original material.

Ronnie Hawkins (with whom she toured in the early years) noted "Once in a lifetime you hear a voice so blue it makes the angels weep. That voice is Rita Chiarelli."

An exceptional songwriter of stunning vocal skill, Rita Chiarelli is also gifted storyteller, lyricist and master of poetic imagery.

A recent review put it this way "Rita Chiarelli has a voice that can growl at her demons or soar with the angels, a gift for lyric, an ear for melody and the heart to combine them"

After spending most of the 1980s working and performing in Italy, Chiarelli returned to Canada where her independent single Have you Seen my Shoes was included in the soundtrack of Bruce McDonald's 1989 film Roadkill, now a cult classic.

Along with touring extensively in Canada, the USA and Europe throughout the 1990s, Rita released three albums: Road Rockets (Stony Plain - 1992) the Juno nominated Just Getting Started (Stony Plain -1995) and What a Night - Live (Stony Plain- 1997).

Released in the spring of 2001 Breakfast at Midnight (Northern Blues) is a collection of 11 original compositions - spanning blues, rock, rockabilly, roots, country, Cajun and jazz - which earned Rita another Juno nomination for Best Blues Album.

No One to Blame, Rita's 2004 tribute to the blues, pays homage to some of the great blues masters whose music has influenced her over the years, and earned her yet another Juno nomination.

Rita's vocals are up front and centre stage and the common thread linking the eclectic offering of tunes on No One to Blame is that amazing golden voice which permeates the entire album.

During the past decade Rita has toured continuously, playing festivals and concert halls throughout North America and Europe.

She has earned numerous Maple Blues Awards and has been nominated repeatedly as Female Vocalist, Entertainer of the Year, and Songwriter of the Year, while Breakfast at Midnight earned nominations for Recording of the Year and Producer of the Year.

The Manitoba Blues Society has made her an honorary lifetime member and in 2002 Rita was honoured by Canadian fans, receiving the Great Canadian Blues Award awarded annually by CBC Radio.

*************************