Jacky Molard Quartet: Photo by Bryan AakerRoma di Luna: Photo by Karen MoonSince his first appearance at the Minnesota sur Seine Music Festival in 2005 with singer Erik Marchand, violin virtuoso Jacky Molard, together with the Jacky Molard Acoustic Quartet, has been musically questioning assumptions about traditional Celtic Breton music.
Molard has been one of the main instigators of the reshaping of Celtic music in France, willingly combining elements from several folk traditions—Irish, of course, but also Spanish and Central/East European--and also from jazz. Molard also plays with Gwerz, one of the most innovative of the Breton folk bands, and in a duo with jazz violinist Dominique Pifarély. So it is no surprise that Molard’s compositions incorporate subtle touches from this variety of inspirations. In order to work in these diverse directions, the violinist has surrounded himself with musicians immersed in tradition, yet open to other horizons. Sax player Yanick Jory and accordionist Janick Martin both play traditional music as well as contemporary music, gypsy tunes, and jazz. Acoustic bassist Hélène Labarrière brings to Molard’s quartet her wide experience in jazz, from be-bop to free improvisation.
Described by Christopher Matthew Jensen as “stark acoustic folk originals with a tranquil American gothic beauty,” (City Pages, Sept. 5, 2007), the music of Roma di Luna is the New World complement to the Jacky Molard Quartet.
This Twin Cities-based acoustic duo first came onto the scene at the downtown Minneapolis Farmer’s Market, where Alexei Moon Casselle (guitar, vocals) and Channy Moon Casselle (vocals, violin, guitar) began busking weekly in 2005. Originally performing folk music deeply rooted in the tradition of the musicians recorded by Alan Lomax in the American South, eventually the duo began to focus on writing and performing their own music. Like their first recording, “Face of my Friends” (2006), Roma di Luna’s second CD, “Find Your Way Home” (2007), was released independently and received enthusiastically by local, national and international press. They will be celebrating the release of their next recording, “Casting the Bones” at the Cedar on June 14.
PRESENTED BY MINNESOTA SUR SEINE FESTIVAL
Tickets: $17 advance, $23 at the door ON SALE NOW from Indie Tickets
