Transition Town

Big Pink Lily

Jarmo Jalava & NAFTE @ Aeolian Hall, London - Oct. 11 2011

Thanks to everyone for showering us with such warm and enthusiastic vibes at our “Southern Ontario Small World Tour” shows!  It is truly a joy and a privilege to make music for you.  And thanks to the wonderful folks behind the scenes who made the concerts such a success — Laura and Mark Donelan (Vienna); Sandy Clipsham (Paris); Anne Melady and Steve Goettler (Dublin); Erica and Jim at Back Eddies (Paisley); Mary Ann Cassidy (Lion’s Head); Brian Craig and Paula Jongerden (Delhi); Marc Fortin (Durham); the staff at Lula Lounge, Cafe con Pan, and Catherine Hume and Jeff Beardall (Toronto); staff and volunteers at Aeolian Hall and Carolinian Canada Coalition (London); Barb Fulton and Paul Shilton (Stratford); and the wonderful Stephanie Aykroyd and David Boyer (Huntsville).   And with my hand on my heart I thank my masterful music-making compadres: Charly Pena, Paul Shilton, Mark Mariash, Alison Wearing….and Brent Jones.  To my soul, all of you are manna.

Charly after the Paris show

On Thursday the 29th, Charly and I played to a warm bunch at the Cedar House in Paris — a “Friends of the Carolinian Canada Coalition” event — the first of many! Great food, great fun, great company and a great cause! Then Alison, Charly and I played to an overflowing house at Goettlers, in Dublin, Ontario. Thanks millions to Anne Melady for almost single-handedly handling everything related to the event, and to Steve Goettler for hosting us in the beautiful room with its great acoustics! Gotta run — the Road to Damascus, Paisley and Lion’s Head await…

Alison & Jarmo in Dublin

Buy your advance tickets here (and save 20%) for the October 9th “Jarmo Jalava & his North American Free Trade Ensemble” concert at Lula Lounge in Toronto. Your Paypal receipt is your ticket, so please print and bring it with you to the door. Dinner reservations guarantee seating (call Lula Lounge at 416 588 0307). Dinner 6:30 PM, showtime 8:00 PM.

Touching Down!

We’ll be touching down for our southern Ontario “World Tour” with dates in Vienna (September 24), Paris (September 29), Dublin (September 30), Paisley (October 1), Lion’s Head (October 2), Delhi (October 5), Durham (October 7), Toronto (October 9) and London (October 11), and others to be announced soon.   Some will be small (duo or trio, with Alison Wearing www.alisonwearing.com and/or the inimitable Charly Pena), and others with a full band, including Juno-winning drummer, Mark Mariash.   Along the way, we’ll be celebrating and promoting conservation causes and groups that are working toward resilient, sustainable and healthy communities.  Hope you can join us!

Transition Town (the single) will be available on iTunes by late June, and we’ll be doing a targeted radio release over the summer.  Part of the proceeds of sales of the single will be donated to charitable organisations involved with conservation and transition initiatives.

Jarmo with Javier Carasusan (left) during Mextitla concert, March 19, 2011

What can I say? The past couple of months in Tepoztlan have been as magical as ever — an endless feast of friendship, festivities and culture in this sacred valley. And I’ve been so lucky, again, to be blessed with the support of such stellar, kind and committed musicians in concert and with the start of a new recording project — “Transition Town”. They are: the usual North American Fair Trade Ensemble members Charly P. and Jimi Doney, along with Alison Wearing, as well as our dear friend and multi-instrumentalist, Javier Carasusan, who has returned to his Basque roots and is playing accordion with a heart as big as the accordion itself. Grammy-award winning bassist Marco Renteria (Jaguares, Lila Downs) joined the “Transition Town” project with gusto, and, if the gods are willing, will be part of the next road show when it happens! Stay tuned for YouTube links, concert photos, and the announcement of tour dates, as well as the digital release of a new single!

I have a couple of shows in Ontario yet to come this fall, then we’ll be performing as a trio again in Mexico through March, and another spring tour is planned for the north in May and June, during which we’re hoping to dip our toes in at least two oceans!