2007 has been a hugely busy year for Tom and the band. The Spring saw the release of the first live DVD video "Live at the Throckmorton Theatre" and the new live CD as well. These have been getting rave reviews from critics and fans alike and should be added to your collection without delay.
Flambeau had a great summer, with memorable performances at the Mammoth Lakes Jazz Festival, the Yerba Buena Gardens Festival in San Francisco, and the Alaska State Fair, where the band played two beautiful nights on the Main Stage with a magnificent backdrop of the surrounding mountains and the Columbia Glacier.
The
performance at the Yerba Buena Gardens was a co-bill and collaboration with
Dr. Loco's Rockin' Jalapeno Band--a show appropriately named "Tabasco
Meets Jalapeno 2007". In addition to showcasing both bands in a kaleidoscopic
mix of styles ranging from Salsa to Tex-Mex to Cajun to New Orleans to Blues
and R and B, the show concluded with several songs by the combined Bayou Jalapeno
Orchestra--all the members of Flambeau with the addition of two percussionists
and three horns and accordion from Dr. Loco's band--a rousing and truly memorable
finale with Tom and his old friend Dr. Loco (Jose Cuellar) driving the
band to a dizzying level of energy and intensity. It is hoped that the New Year
will bring more opportunities for these great bands to work and play together...
Tom also had the great pleasure of performing with Senegalese kora master, Solo Cissokho, in his first West Coast appearance. The venue was Berkeley's venerable World Music club, Ashkenaz, and Tom was the evening's surprise guest. Introduced to Solo only when he was brought up onstage during the show, Tom and Solo created an improvisational blend of kora (double-necked West African harp) and violin, a mix of West African tradition and American roots, a meeting of two musical minds and spirits that brought the audience to its feet, stomping and cheering for more.
And one final memorable collaboration from the end of summer: Tom and the band have, in the past three years, become one of the most popular bands at the Pentastic Jazz Festival in Penticton, British Columbia. This year, as part of the festival's closing ceremony, Tom invited world-renowned clarinetist Bob Draga, one of the masters of traditional jazz, to join him onstage with Flambeau for a performance of the Gershwin classic, "Summertime". It was a hauntingly beautiful and passionate version of this great tune, with the violin and clarinet singing and weaving around each other--a performance that Tom considers one of the finest musical moments of his career. Flambeau was then joined onstage by no less than a dozen horn players (from all the great bands featured at the festival), piano, banjo, and percussion, for a roof-raising Bayou Orchestra version of Tom's classic "Goin' Down to New Orleans". A great finish to a fabulous weekend and a fabulous summer!
This fall, in addition to an extensive performing schedule, Tom will be puttin the finishing touches on a new acoustic blues album--"Back Porch Blues"--that should be released in early 2008. This new disc will feature a great selection of songs from the old time blues and country blues repertoire, and a handful of new Rigney compositions as well. Guest artists on the sessions include Roy Rogers, Norton Buffalo, Bob Brozman, Michael Peloquin, Caroline Dahl, Steve Parks, and many others. Watch for news and previews here in the coming months.
2008 will bring a number of new projects--new compositions of Tom's and new collaborations with a number of great musicians. Stay tuned!