Get ready for another night of great jazz at the McMillan Arts Centre this Friday.
Performing songs from the encyclopedic book of classic standards, keyboardist and keyboard bass master Marty Steele will accompany vocalist Ralph Barrat.
Barrat is a jazz singer and piano player hailing from the Comox Valley.
Formerly of the Georgia Strait Big Band, Jazztet and the Jenn Forsland Group, Barrat currently performs around the Island at weddings, restaurants, theatres, clubs, hotels and seniors centres as a soloist or as part of bigger combos.
Among his many influences are singer/keyboardists Nat King Cole, Harry Connick Jr., Mose Allsion and piano players Keith Jarrett and Bill Evans.
“Some folks think I sound like Tormé, Bublé, Baker, and Sinatra all rolled into one,” he said. “I’ll take that as a compliment!”
Joining him in Parksville will be the talented Marty Steele.
One of Nanaimo’s most versatile and busiest keyboardist, Steele has played at almost every venue possible in the Hub City over the last three and a half years. He has also played the Victoria Jazz Festival and the Chemainus Jazz Festival with his groups Navica and the Martys.
Like the great jazz organists of old, Steele plays the bass lines at the same time as be plays the piano.
The Island duo will play on Friday, June 26, with the doors opening at 6:30 p.m. and the performance beginning at 7 p.m.
Tickets are $12 for OCAC members and $15 for general admission. They are available for purchase now at the MAC or by phone at 250-248-8185.
—NEWS Staff/the MAC