Rita di Ghent: "rita's Parlour" at Jazz Bistro

“Rita’s Parlour: The Traveling Show” … close-up jazz, repartee, and pistol-packin’ blues!”

Rita di Ghent was born in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, and raised in Chicago, Illinois, USA. At the end of the 80s, singer-songwriter di Ghent began what eventually became known as the Sprawl Project. Unlike many of her contemporaries, di Ghent, who has been described as a street poet of Toronto, includes in her repertoire songs that deal with social issues concerning inner-city dwellers. She offers an unusual take on contemporary music and poetry, incorporating jazz with a form of hip-hop that is distinctively her own. Although rooted in the jazz vocal tradition, her independent and original thinking has created something that is very much of today. Often unrehearsed and spontaneous, her music has a potent vibrancy that demands attention. After making her debut in New York in 1990, in an appearance with trumpeter Mark Ledford, she established a considerable following in her homeland and in particular in Toronto. In 1999 she composed a new work for the Toronto Tabla Ensemble. In the early 00s, she was nominated for the Montreal Jazz Festival’s Prix De Jazz. Her CD Sprawl Indigo made the list of Top 15 Canadian Jazz Albums of the Year....

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“Rita’s Parlour: The Traveling Show” … close-up jazz, repartee, and pistol-packin’ blues!”

Rita di Ghent was born in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, and raised in Chicago, Illinois, USA. At the end of the 80s, singer-songwriter di Ghent began what eventually became known as the Sprawl Project. Unlike many of her contemporaries, di Ghent, who has been described as a street poet of Toronto, includes in her repertoire songs that deal with social issues concerning inner-city dwellers. She offers an unusual take on contemporary music and poetry, incorporating jazz with a form of hip-hop that is distinctively her own. Although rooted in the jazz vocal tradition, her independent and original thinking has created something that is very much of today. Often unrehearsed and spontaneous, her music has a potent vibrancy that demands attention. After making her debut in New York in 1990, in an appearance with trumpeter Mark Ledford, she established a considerable following in her homeland and in particular in Toronto. In 1999 she composed a new work for the Toronto Tabla Ensemble. In the early 00s, she was nominated for the Montreal Jazz Festival’s Prix De Jazz. Her CD Sprawl Indigo made the list of Top 15 Canadian Jazz Albums of the Year.

Rita di Ghent – vocals/piano
Mike Daley – guitar
Rich Brisco – drums

Music Starts at 7pm
Music Charge $15.00

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