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On December 1st at Koerner Hall, Canada’s string wizards, Sultans of String, release their high octane worldbeat-jazz-symphonic mash-up, simply and perfectly titled Symphony!
Known for dizzying roots music jams, poly-rhythms and revved up riffs, the Sultans of String sound can't be pinned down — it's Sable Island meets the Silk Road, with detours through the Gypsy-Jazz coffeehouses of Eastern Europe, next an East Coast Kitchen Party, then over to the majestic Arctic and bustling markets of Lebanon.
Fiery violin dances with rumba-flamenca guitar while funky bass lays down unstoppable grooves. Throughout, acoustic mastery meets with a symphony of sound, deepened by world rhythms that inspire whole audiences to get up and dance.
Sultans of String’s symphony Pops show was developed under the direction of luminary John Morris Russell, (Conductor-Cincinnati Pops Orchestra), and was scored by illustrious arranger/composer Rebecca Pellett (Toronto Symphony Orchestra, IMAX & Hollywood film productions). They recently performed a triumphant 8 show run with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra at Roy Thompson Hall for their Education Series, and have release concerts with SO’s already scheduled well into 2015.
Kicking things off as a dynamic duo playing tiny cafes in 2007, this fiercely talented and hardworking indie act has been on a meteoric rise, with an astonishing number of awards and accolades in tow. Invitations to play world stages and with such legendary artists as The Chieftains and David Bromberg are recent highlights. The Chieftains’ very own Paddy Moloney also appears on Symphony!
Symphony! is distributed on SONY/RED through Red River Entertainment. Bob Frank, chairman of Red River (former President of Koch/EI Entertainment) states, "We welcome the opportunity to work with one of Canada's most innovative groups and look forward to expanding their music and footprint in the US."
Sultans of String are also represented in the US by acclaimed promoter David Wilkes (Koch Records, Emmylou Harris, Bela Fleck). "I have worked with numerous top ten chart songs and #1 Pop Billboard and Country music hits”, Wilkes says. “In all that time, I have not worked with composers more talented than Chris McKhool and Kevin Laliberté from Sultans of String. Not only are they a superb writing team, they are also amazing arrangers & musicians. Symphony! is a gigantic leap forward."
The band is led by JUNO-nominated 6-string violinist Chris McKhool (Jesse Cook, Pavlo) who grew up in a Lebanese-Egyptian (Makhoul) house bursting with music and diversity. Growing up, Chris was fed a steady diet of delicious musicality alongside Middle Eastern cuisine and violin lessons.
When McKhool first heard founding guitarist Kevin Laliberté’s rumba rhythm, their musical synergy created Sultans of String’s signature sound – the intimate and playful relationship between violin and guitar. From this rich foundation, the dynamic duo has grown, featuring such amazing musical friends as 2nd guitarist Eddie Paton (Robert Michaels), bass master Drew Birston (Chantal Kreviazuk, Amanda Martinez), and Cuban percussionist Chendy Leon (Parachute Club, Alex Cuba), as well as special guests such as Palestinian oud master Bassam Bishara, folk-pop darlings, Dala, The Chieftains’ Paddy Moloney, ukulele giant James Hill, and others.
Classically-schooled McKhool thought “why stop there?” With Symphony!, Sultans of String have brought the glorious and majestic sound of a full orchestra to their feisty world-jazz compositions, to create the ultimate crossover concert and recording.
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WHEN: Sunday, December 1, 2013, 7pm
WHERE: Koerner Hall
273 Bloor St W, Toronto
INFO/TIX: 416-408-0208 Tickets start at $25
http://performance.rcmusic.ca/event/sultans-string-cathedral-bluffs-symphony-orchestra
https://www.facebook.com/events/177130242448767
BAND WEB: http://www.sultansofstring.com
CAREER HIGHLIGHTS:
• 2013 ISC International Songwriting Competition Finalist – Instrumental
• 2013 SiriusXM Canadian Indie Awards nominees – World Group of the Year
• 2013 Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal Recipient – Chris McKhool
• Indie Awards nominees – World Group of the Year
• 2012 Canadian Folk Music Awards winners– World Music Group of the Year
• 2012 Canadian Folk Music Awards nominees – Instrumental Group of the Year
• 2012 Canadian Folk Music Awards nominees – Pushing The Boundaries
• 2012 Canadian Folk Music Awards nominees – Producer of the Year (Chris McKhool)
• 2012 Festivals & Events-Entertainer of The Year
• 2011 Ontario Contact – Artist of the Year
• 2011 International Acoustic Music Awards Finalist – Instrumental
• 2011 Independent Music Award Finalist – Instrumental Album
• 2011 Independent Music Award Finalist – World Beat Album
• 2011 ISC International Songwriting Competition Finalist – Instrumental
• 2011 ISC International Songwriting Competition Finalist – World Music
• 2010 JUNO Nominees – "Instrumental Album of the Year"
• 2010 International Songwriting Contest 1st Place Winners – Instrumental
• 2010 Indie Awards Nominees – Favorite World Artist/Group
• 2009 Canadian Folk Music Award winner – Instrumental Group of the Year
• 2009 Canadian Folk Music Award nominees – Ensemble of the Year
• 2009 Canadian Folk Music Award nominees – Pushing The Boundaries
WHAT FOLKS SAY ABOUT THE SULTANS…
“…a new fusion of roots and classical…the results are mind blowing. Even though the instrumentation is different, you get the feeling this is Strunz & Farah or Willie & Lobo or Gypsy Kings taken to the next level of the game, sometimes all at once… any fan of world beat or contemporary instrumental music is sure to absolutely flip for this gem. Hot stuff throughout and a sure bet to notch a Juno and any other award winning hardware to come its way. “
Midwest Record, Chicago IL
“Chris McKhool and the boys are fantastic!"
Bob Ezrin (Producer–Pink Floyd. Kiss)
“What this band does is not only good fun, it’s stocked wall-to-wall with irresistible international musics – gypsy jazz classics, flamenco music, Inuit melody, ukulele raveups, visiting musicians from the Chieftains…Lebanese music, you name it. If it’s got strings and fingerboards, count them in. What they never forget to provide, though, is enough melodic charm to beguile almost anyone. The large orchestra certainly does give them gravitas but, on their own, they’ve got as much charm as they need.”
Buffalo News
“The aptly-named Sultans of String have notched a Juno nomination and multiple Canadian Folk Music Awards for earlier releases, and they’re a popular fixture on the world and folk music circuit. The genre-bending group spread their musical wings further on Symphony!, an album featuring a full orchestra plus guest appearances by The Chieftains’ Paddy Moloney, Dala, and ukulele giant James Hill. SoS will tour extensively behind it for the next year, often appearing with local orchestras throughout North America. A Dec. 1 Koerner Hall concert in Toronto promises to be a career highlight.
New Canadian Music
“Folk/world music group Sultans of String have forged an intelligent, creative, and seamless integration of some pretty wild world musical forms: flamenco, Arabic folk, Cuban rhythms, gypsy-jazz, Celtic music, and roots among them. Now, they’ve added a classical symphony to the mix with their new album, the appropriately titled, Symphony. It’s a testament to the songwriting prowess of Chris McKhool and Kevin Laliberté that the essential dynamic of the band – the interplay between McKhool’s six-string violin and Laliberté’s flamenco guitar – is never lost under the power of the symphony, which is wisely used to just add depth and richness to the band’s sound. The result is an impressive attempt to bridge the gap between folk and classical.”
Wired
“Since they started out working as an instrumental duo, violinist Chris McKhool and guitarist Kevin Laliberte have kept adding players and guests, even occasional singers. Now there’s a whole orchestra backing the global fusion project on their new fourth album Symphony! But whether it’s four or 40, the band taps an irrepressible enthusiasm.”
Calgary Herald
[“There’s chemistry] in the violinist’s classical touch and Lebanese ancestry and the guitarist’s feel for rumba-flamenco grooves and jazz or rock jams. Today touches of Celtic, Gypsy jazz, Klezmer music and other influences fill out the mix… Symphony! manages to swing very nicely and the orchestra doesn’t sound like aural wallpaper for the band.”
Edmonton Journal
"Sultans of String are one of Canada’s hottest new musical exports, dynamically embodying their homeland’s values of tolerance and respect for diverse cultures. … they weave a gorgeously-hued tapestry of Folk, Spanish, Arabic, Latin, French and gypsy strands."
International Celtic Connections Festival, UK
“Sultans Of String co-founder/violinist Chris McKhool grew up playing in youth orchestras and has long held dreams of taking his celebrated Canadian quintet—known for its mix of global music traditions—into the symphonic sphere. What’s unusual is how well it works to have a 55-piece, hand-picked orchestra backing and boosting the group’s wide-ranging grooves and melodies. In short, they swing…making Gypsy-jazz, Arabic, Latin, Celtic and flamenco streams work in such a situation is no small feat… There’s real attention to dynamics, from big moments that use the orchestra to those spare, intimate solo features for McKhool, guitarist Kevin Laliberte and occasional guests like The Chieftains’ Paddy Moloney on Sable Island.
Penguin Eggs
"Impressive… the fusion is of a sort that could come from few places other than highly multicultural Canada. The Symphony! album includes, as the name suggests, a full orchestra, apparently assembled for the occasion rather than borrowed from an existing ensemble (which tells you something in itself about how this group has caught on in its Canadian homeland). Still, the vaguely Arabic six-string violin of leader Chris McKhool remains central to the sound, adapting itself effortlessly to Gypsy music, flamenco, and various kind of Canadiana jazzed up with ethnic percussion."
AllMusic.com
“Love those Sultans of String!”
CBC Radio, “Fresh Air”
“Kings of the strings!”
METRO Toronto
“If there’s a string, chances are these guys can tear it up!”
Vue Weekly
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