Silk'n Jazz

Montreal, April 19th, 2007 - Festival Accès Asie in collaboration with Gesù - Centre de créativité, celebrates Asian Heritage Month with a concert Silk'n Jazz with the remarkable Silk Road Duo from Vancouver. Having performed at the Montreal Jazz Festival, the duo returns to Montreal to present their new repertoire, a result of a modernist interpretation of traditional Chinese music, revisited and liberally embellished with a motley mosaic of world music. During each performance, the Silk Road Duo takes the public on an irresistible musical journey in which their World Fusion style subtly blends oriental tones with occidental rhythms.

Originally from China, Qiu Xia He has lived in Vancouver since 1989. Trained at the Xian Academy, she has taught Pipa since the age of 13. A seasoned musician and composer, well-versed in all musical genres, she has mastered the techniques of the Pipa and infuses World Fusion with Chinese folk music. She has performed on various occasions as the virtuoso soloist with symphony orchestras and alongside infamous musicians such as: Celso Machado, John Reischman, and Trichy Sankaran.

André Thibault, a pioneer of World music in Canada, is an internationally-acclaimed musician from Montreal reknown for his expertise in classical guitar as well as a wide range of instruments. His great talent enables him to work with reputable musicians and to travel the world. As one of the most requested musician in the West Coast artistic scene, he has participated in numerous recordings with various groups. He has also collaborated, among others, with projects such as: Cordes en Folie, ASZA, Jou Tou, and Silk Road Music.

Silk Road Duo is a story of harmony and unison between two virtuosic musicians of World Fusion, uniting the intense and spiritual qualities of traditional music with the modern sound. In Silk'n Jazz, the Silk Road duo invites the audience to discover their most recent compositions from their new album, Autumn Cloud. The album is a collection of a dozen folklore pieces as well as compositions of blues, rhumba, flamenca, reel and oriental artistic fusions. The album had been nominated for the Canadian Folk Music Awards in 2006.

Applauded by the audience and the critics, Qui Xia and André are frequently invited to perform for various events and festivals. In 2004, they performed with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra to welcome the Honorable Dalaï Lama. In 2006, they celebrated Asian Heritage Month with the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra and perfomed with the Vancouver Jazz Festival.

At Église du Gesù / Espace Aline Letendre, Saturday May 12, 8p.m (doors open at 7p.m.)
1202, Bleury Street, Montreal
Information: (514)523-1047 www.accesasie.com / www.gesu.net
Ticket office: Gesù-Centre de créativité (514) 861-4036, 1200, rue Bleury, Tue.to Sat. 12 p.m. to 6p.m. Réseau Admission (514) 790-1245 www.admission.com
Tickets: 12$ general admission

Media contact: Andy Carton (514) 575-9436