WHAT ARE PEOPLE SAYING ABOUT CanUS?
"CanUS is a one-of-a-kind group.....Toni Blodgett has created a group with a sound unlike any other on the scene today, which is a tremendous accomplishment."........Paige Van Vorst, Reviewer, The Mississippi Rag
"You did it! The Kennedy Center concert was just wonderful. Your audience loved it, and no one more than me."....Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, Supreme Court of the United States
"CanUS Sound Pleases Your Ears
No band in the country sounds like this band - and Toni Blodgett likes it that way.
CanUS has a sweet sound, as we have known from years of listening to it at Jazz Society gatherings and at festivals. Sweet as in the Boswell Sisters, who were the inspiration that prompted Blodgett to form the band.
CanUS combines five players and three voices to fashion its sound. Blodgett, Armstrong and Smith provide the three part harmony. The experiences of the players are as varied as their musical styles - Dixieland and ragtime (Blodgett), big bands (Ackerman & Leppard), cruise ships (Ackerman and Smith), traditional jazz (Armstrong), military (Leppard) and television (Leppard).
CanUS includes a tribute to the Boswell Sisters in its sets, plus a variety of other styles of hot jazz. Ellington, a smidgen of Broadway, Waller, songs from the 1920's, the 1930's, ragtime, the blues, and even a French tune now and then "........Curt Beard, Puget Sound Traditional Jazz Society "Jazz Soundings" Dec. 2005
"I do truly enjoy your band. Your approach to music is very refreshing & unique and I particularly like the nice three-part harmony that you sing. Your rhythm is exciting and in a way you are the swing version-mirror image of the High Sierra Jazz Band was - a talented two man front line accompanied by a hard driving rhythm section. I enjoy listening to your band PERIOD!"........Dave Ruffner, BLUE STREET JAZZ BAND
"CanUS - a new version, maybe, but still a hot band with a swinging rhythm section and a great front line. Wonderful vocals and the most diversified book of music in the business. I'd hire them anytime for anything!"........Tom Rippey, TRIANGLE JAZZ
"I think the additions to the band are outstanding. CanUS did a great job for us - we were sold out for our Portland Labor Day event. They are a superlative band and they'll be back for our Portland Jazz Festival.".......Harry Carpenter, OREGON CITY TJS
"I love CanUS because the band is such a pleasure to listen to. I could just sit and listen to set after set! The band can be very dynamic without ever being frantic or just plain loud, which is a distinction that escapes many musicians. Call me a perfectionist, but when a band sounds messy, I have to leave. I never get that feeling when I listen to CanUS!"....Al Smith, HIGH SIERRA JAZZ BAND
"Things I like: champagne, Monk's music, Mexican food, festivals where I can hear the CanUS Quintet, rain......." Bob Finch, CHICAGO SIX
"Toni Blodgett has, in CanUS, the only group around who bring back the great tradition of a mix of male and female vocal harmonies so popular with audiences today.".....Igor Glenn, IGOR'S JAZZ COWBOYS
"The kind of music they bring back can only be properly handled by superbly qualified and dedicated musicians. CanUS' uniqueness is a cut above the average one comes to expect at festivals."........Larry Crawford, JAZZ EDUCATOR AND BAND LEADER, PENTICTON, BC.
"In the presence of so many festival bands, CanUS stole the show! They played hot, they played swing & blues, ragtime and they sang - oh, did they sing - in three part harmony, harking back to the days when we all sang and danced......"
San Diego Dixieland Jazz Festival
Newsletter, 1994,.
HOT, JAZZY CanUS THE CONCERT SEASON SLEEPER
The lingering impression left by the group was that these are musicians who
play together solely because they enjoy it!"
Terrace Review, 1996.
"If you don't think you like Dixieland Jazz, give their CD's a try.
I guarantee you'll want to hear CanUS live. And try it on your kids, too.
"Dance Around In Your Bones" is my six-year-old's current favorite."
Joseph Blake, Times Colonist
Entertainment Section, 1996.
"Then there was CanUS, one of the handful of bands regularly appearing
on the festival circuit that, in my code, rates a 'double check' on my
program making attendance at that festival a must if at all feasible."
Paul Roly, Jazz Me News, Bellingham,
Washington
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For booking information contact: Toni Blodgett, 555 View Royal Ave.,
Victoria, B.C., CANADA V9B 1B9, Phone:(250)479-8861 or
E-mail: canus@islandnet.com
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