HMC Presents: Mandy Lagan with Origins

Featuring:

Mandy Lagan (Vocals)

Even Farncombe (Piano)

Ted Quinlan (Guitars)

Andrew Downing (Bass)

Derek Gray (Drums)

Matt Lagan (Sax, EWI)

Kevin Turcotte (Trumpet)

Series Tickets on sale Friday August 23 2024 9:00am

Individual Tickets on sale Friday September 6 2024 9:00am

Tickets: $45 / $25 (student)

Purchase a Series Ticket and save 15% on each show here.

Check out the rest of the fall series here.

Please choose your seats at check out!

Doors at 7:00PM, show at 8:00PM (two sets).

Thanks to our charcuterie sponsor Sam's Cheese & Meats! Find them in the Hamilton Farmer's Market.

About Mandy Lagan

Reimagining material from two of the most influential composers of our time, Canadian vocalist Mandy Lagan returns by popular demand to celebrate the song books of Paul Simon and Joni Mitchell. Joined by her seven-piece band Origins, Lagan is “no mere jazz vocalist” (CBC Radio). Lagan “rises to the challenge of honouring Mitchell’s legacy…” with her ambitious project The Joni Book, heralded as one of the top 20 CDs of 2018 by JAZZ.FM91.

Singer-composer-arranger-band leader, Mandy Lagan created the Origins Ensemble with the mandate of using pre-existing artistic work and redefining it through a musical, creative process.

In 2005 Ms. Lagan embarked on a project of creating songs using poetry from Robert Louis Stevenson’s “A Child’s Garden of Verses”. Verses was the first project of this nature.

Verses was a very personal project for Ms. Lagan. “A Child’s Garden of Verses” has been appreciated and loved by her family for three generations. Verses is an extraordinary collection of songs that took years to create as she worked closely with David Occhipinti, Joe Lagan, Nancy Walker, Carl Horton, Kevin Turcotte, Blair Mackay, Andrew Downing and Blair Mackay.

The Joni Book, also a project very close to the heart, Mandy assembled the Origins ensemble once again to help her to realize the arrangements she imagined for some of her favourite Joni Mitchell songs. Andrew Downing, Blair Mackay, and Kevin Turcotte continue to contribute to the Origins projects along with newcomers Dave Restivo, Ewen Farncombe, Ted Quinlan and Jim Vivian. “The Joni Book” was heralded as one of the top 20 CDs of 2018 by Jazz FM 91, where it receives regular airplay. It has also been featured on CBC Radio’s “Jazz with Laila Biali”. The press has praised Mandy’s imaginative arrangements, and her earnest, stunning vocals. She has truly made these songs her own, while honouring the stories, melodies and harmonies that make Joni’s music so powerful. The result is a wonderfully mature collection of playful and creative arrangements that clearly come straight from the heart.

THE PAUL SIMON PROJECT is the most recent endeavour for Mandy and her band, ORIGINS.The band consists of some of Canada’s finest jazz musicians, Ewen Farncombe-piano, Ted Quinlan-guitars, Kevin Turcotte-trumpet, Matt Lagan-sax, Andrew Downing-cello, Jim Vivian-bass, and Blair Mackay-percussion/drums. Once again Mandy and her band members are reimagining material from one of the most influential composers of our time, bringing their own unique flavour and approach to these iconic songs from The Paul Simon Songbook. This will be the 5th recording project under the leadership of Ms. Lagan.

Mandy began taking herself seriously as a singer in 1990 when she moved from Hamilton to Toronto and formed a band in order to play songs of Joni Mitchell’s as well as her own writing. In 2002 she released her first CD, “I Thought About You”, a collection of jazz standards and two originals. In 2003 she released her second CD, “You See Me”, a selection of five jazz standards and five originals. In 2007 she released her third CD, “Verses”, a collection of Robert Louis Stevenson’s poetry which she collaboratively set to music. The “Verses” project awarded her financial support from the Canada Council for the Arts and The Ontario Arts Council.

After 30 years in Toronto Mandy has returned to Hamilton where she continues her teaching, writing, recording and performing.

“Mandy’s new recording the Joni Book, is one of the most successful takes on Joni’s music I’ve heard. Great arrangements that keep the integrity of Joni’s tunes but makes them sound fresh and new. Also the laid-back and confident vocal approach from Mandy that makes this recording very strong.”

Brad Barker – JAZZ FM 91.1

“Folksinger was too limiting a term to describe Joni Mitchell, just as Mandy Lagan, in pushing the boundaries in new and original ways, is no mere jazz vocalist. This combination makes Lagan’s project “The Joni Book” a must-listen — make that “must” experience – for music fans from both schools.”

Mark Rheaume – CBC Radio

“Lagan rises to the challenge of honouring Mitchell’s legacy…. [she] wraps her voice around the layers of lyrical meaning and shading embedded in these great songs.”

Barry Livingston – WholeNote Magazine

--

Join Hamilton Music Collective for our 10th anniversary jazz concert series, showcasing top Canadian and international musicians in jazz, blues, and improvised music. Step into our cozy jazz lounge at 141 Park Street, featuring a top notch sound system (brand new in 2020), wine selections, and an attentive audience. It all comes together in the perfect venue to hear world-class jazz in downtown Hamilton!

All proceeds from ticket sales support the An Instrument For Every Child (AIFEC) program.

For more information about the Hamilton Music Collective and An Instrument For Every Child visit: hamiltonmusiccollective.ca

Parking is available in the parking lots. Read more here: https://www.thegasworks.ca/parking/

Host or Publisher Hamilton Music Collective