JAZZ Music at the McMillan Arts Centre presents the return of Ralph Barrat and Marty Steele this Friday, Oct. 23, beginning at 7 p.m. After a successful June performance at the MAC, Barrat and Steele will renew their collaborative efforts and share their renditions of classic standards. Barrat is a jazz singer and piano player from the Comox Valley and is well known for his work as a soloist or in a duo or in many jazz groups such as the Ralph Barrat Group and Ralph Barrat and the Sharp 7, which plays the following night in the 2015 fall concert series at Fanny Bay Hall. Steele is “the Piano Man” and he jumps effortlessly between standards, bebop, fusion and blues, bringing the audience along with him. Nanaimo’s most versatile and busiest keyboardist, Steele performs with his own original jazz group NAVICA, the MARTYS, and his Jimmy Smith Tribute Band.
Friday’s MAC performance starts at 7 p.m.; doors open at 6:30. Tickets are $12 for OCAC members and $15 general admission. Advance tickets are available at the McMillan Arts Centre, 133 McMillan Street, Parksville, or call the MAC at 250-248-8185. For more information, visit www.mcmillanartscentre.com.
Saturday's appearance by Ralph Barrat and the Sharp Seven is the third in the four-concert fall series at Fanny Bay Hall. The Sharp Seven will pay tribute to Frank Sinatra on what would have been Sinatra's 100th birthday. Showtime is 7 p.m.; advance tickets $15 available at Mulberry Books in Qualicum and Salish Sea Market in Bowser.
— Submitted by the MAC/Fanny Bay Hall