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18- North Shore News - Friday, June 23, 2000

Morrison blaze

Van’s daughter connects with
Slide guitar wiz for fest show

Michael Becker

News Editor
mbecker@nsnews.com

At 29, Shana Morrison
is on her way.

Shana is the child of show
biz giant Van Morrison and a
semi-famous songwriting
mother, Janet © Morrison
Minto, Minto is the woman
Van dubbed Janet Planct and
who he was inspired by during
the crucial Astral Weeks-
Moondance-Tupelo Honey
phase.

Shana has faced a special
challenge since she decided to
follow her musical muse
rather than cash in on a busi-
ness administration degree
from Peperdine University.

The question is how do
you foliow an act like Van
Morrison? What you do is this
— you don’t. You join him.

Shana Morrison officially
launched her musical career in
December 1993, joining Van
Morrisor’s Rhythm and Soul
Revue as a featured artist. You
. can hear her on A Night In
San Francisco _ singing
Beautiful Vision. The tour
continued through!994.

Back home in Marin,
Shana founded her own band,
Caledonia. She had some

- material to bring to the pro-~

ject. They were the songs she
created back in college to

keep her from going math

crazy. Caledonia honed its

chops in the San Francisco

* Bay Area, recorded a CD and
released it in1998 on Shana’s

own label, Belfast Violet

Records. ;

Along the way Shana came

to support the American

Legends cause in Oakland.

She is among the musicians

“ who perform benefit shows to
raise money for many of the

older blues. musicians who _

were jerked around by the sys-

‘tem. The ‘shows directly.

‘helped ‘people - like Brownie
Magee and Charles 8rown so
that they could pay their bills.

It’s in this arena where
~ Shana met the man she’s cur-

“rently touring with. Roy

. Rogers: isan.“ accomplished
bottleneck slide - guitarist.

‘When he’s not playing with

- his band, The Delta Rhythm
.Kings or Norton Buffalo, he’s

with |Shana..They play: in. J

Vancouver on Monday, June
“ .26,-at’ the were catre,
- “opening ‘for Keb. Mo

Jazz, Festival. ae
-: Roy Rogers” and . Shana
“2 Morrison will be wavelling a
-Jot this summer to promote

their new CD,. Everybody's
Angel.

<r Tt goes without saying that
© Shana has been surrounded by
music forever. Ie’s built in at a
cellular ievel. Growing up she
also spent a lot of time in her
‘grandparents’ Marin’ County
record shop. “That wes my

__ first job, working at the cash —

register. I was doing that trom
the time I was cight years oid
on the weekends. Pd work
through the day and at the
end f got to pick a record for
my pay.

“Ar thar vice Twas listen-
ing to a fo: ss Rickie Lee
jones, Steely Dan. If] tried to
pick something like AC/DC
or KISS) my = grandfather
wouldn't let me. He was
always taking me over to the
jazz section, but my dad lis-
tened to cnough of that. I
wanted to have my own stuff,
but if my grandfather thought
it was horrible then J couldn’t
get it,” she remembers.

Both of Shana’s parents are
supportive in their own ways
of Shana’s path. “If he (Van)
likes a particular song or
something that I do he'll tell
me so. My mom has seen us
(Roy Rogers and Shana). She
loves it and is very support-
ive,” says Shana.

Shana sang some of che
demo versions of songs that
Janet had written and was
shopping around to musi-
cians, “She’s had some really
big success with a band out of
Sweden called Alien. They
had major chart action over
there about 10 years ago. She
was doing hard rock.”

Meanwhile Cecitic music
was a fundamental influence
for Shana. “When I first start-
ed singing I was really leaning
toward those influences and
I've just kind of evolved my
own style through that.”

Caledonia bass guitarist
Scoop McGuire will join
Shana and Roy for next

} photo du Maurier international Jazz Festival Vancouver
ROY Rogers and Shana Morrison play the Vogue

Theatre on June 26.

weck’s Vancouver show. Says
Shana, “It’s really nice for us
to just be able to put on a
show that focuses on the
songs. You can hear the words
and every nuance, it’s really
like being in a living room. We
have to de a couple of blues
because the audience wants to
see Roy do his thing, bur
we're really trying to carve
out our own style -— it has a
fot of influences, country,
Americana, a little bie of
everything.”

Saturday & Sunday
#.<from 9:00pm

-Open.for Lunch & Dinner

ae Er

during: 8
the du ‘Maurier’ International |

“OaSstaura
ameus 61

at

t
t's 6.8.0.8tEs

A¥enue—just outside the Quay
Vancouver « 964-3337

“CD REVIEWS.
From Page 18

B &&*& Taj Mahal — The
Private Years (BMG).
Everybody has a favourite
Taj Mahal record — mince is
the Caribbean-flavoured Mo’
Roots *t%&*& (Columbia
1974). Like his carly band-
mate Ry Cooder Taj is first
and foremost 2 musicologist
eager to explore sources.
He moves through
African, Caribbean and
American roots music with a
seamless stvle that ignores
borders but is receptive to
cultural specifics.
The Private Years contains
the best of his recent output
(including a brilliant rework-
ing of Horace Silver’s “Senor
Blues”) with guest appearances from many of his musical bud-
dics including Eric Clapton and Bonnie Raitt. If vou aren't
going to tonight's sold our show at the Commodore this is
your ticket to Taj Mahal’s music.

@ keke The Peter Brotzmann Sextet/Quartet — |
Nipples (Atavistic/Unheard Music Series).

One of the definitive recordings of the European free jazz
movement is available again thanks to John Corbett’s Unheard
Music Series on Chicago’s Atavistic label <www.atavistic.com>.

Tenor saxophonist Peter Brotzmann leads two ensembles
through blistering takes of energy jazz in these 1969 sessions.
One side was taped at Conny Plank’s studio while the other was
recorded by ECM founder Manfred Eicher. History in the mak-

See CD Reviews Page @

| Comé:to Gibsons-Landing | Ist Annual Ffyg Yds Fastha

August 14-19, 2000
Take A Workshop: Weaving, spinning, rug hooking, quiiting, knitting, monoprinting,

block printing, beading, etc = _
See Great Outdoor Displays: by the seaside ti yy eerEy y
Attend a Dinner Theatre: Murder mystery ¢ Je te

Shop: for a wide variety of fibre-related goods in offr Merchant Mall

Visit our website: www.suncoastarts.com/fibrearts.himl _;

phone 604-886-0663 / 886-3752":

You and your friends are invited to attend |

Folktest performances at |

; Centennial Theatre

2300 Lonsdale Avenue, North Vancouver
from Saturday June 24 to

Wednesday June 28
 7320pm
8 Free Admission

Don't miss these
other great
Foikfest events:

Saturday June 24 & Sunday June 25
Noon to 4pm in the outdoor plaza

Sllver Harbour Min+-fest
144 East 22nd Street
Sunday June 25 from Ipm-3pm

Folkfest Craft Fair
sponsored by
NV Community Arts Council
Saturday June 17 to Sunday June 25
r : at the Civic Centre Plaza
LE, C Oe ete ath and Lonsdale
’ SCRAIL ee

Sth

Heritage Walk of Lower Lonsdale
Venue sponsored by
ce City of North Vancouver Museum & Archives
_ Sunday June 25 at 2pm

“North Shore Arts Commission Meet at Presentation House
-North Vancouver Community Arts Council -

+North Vancouver Recreation Commission

- North Varcouver Chamber of Commerce -

+ City of North Vancouver:
+ District of North Vancouver: ;

Canada Day Performances |
Saturday July ist at Waterfront Park .