The Ryan Driver Sextet @ Transac
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Please join us for the following three things that will happen simultaneously.
• A celebration of 50 years of Ryan Driver living!
• A celebration of 25 years of The Ryan Driver Sextet (formerly Quintet / Quartet) performing!
• A special performance of the Ryan Driver Sextet with a star-studded lineup of special guests!
Ryan at the grand piano and human voice with:
Martin Arnold – electric guitar
Rob Clutton – bass
Nick Fraser – drums
Brodie West – alto saxophone / clarinet
Michael Davidson – vibraphone
with special guest vocalists:
Robin Dann
Alex Lukashevsky
Sandro Perri
Alex Samaras
John Southworth
Doug Tielli
Felicity Williams
maybe Jennifer Castle
and even more!
The Ryan Driver Sextet specializes in the psychedelification of popular (and lesser known) American songs from the 1920’s through 1960’s. They have been engaging in this task monthly since 1999, when they started playing as a quartet at Graffiti’s in Kensington Market. The sextet plays only ballads, and almost always very slowly. That said, the interpretations are wildly adventurous, brimming with wonkiness, tangents, sweetness, heartbreak, ecstasy, and a kind of interplay that could only arise in the company of several odd / brilliant musicians with a long history of developing a unique sound together.
The Ryan Driver Sextet provides a captivating “lounge” ambiance unlike anything else you can find anywhere, and an oasis of relaxedness, weirdness, and beauty that seems almost unimaginable.
