Carolyn Cruso and Larry Murante
Friday, Sept. 17, 2004 - 7:30 p.m.
$7 cover
Make a reservation for this show by calling (509) 826-5836.
Carolyn Cruso is an accomplished multi-instrumentalist, composer, singer and songwriter with a base flavored by the Irish.
Over the past 15 years she's toured widely in both the United States and Europe, as well as having produced six CDs. She is equally at home on hammered dulcimer, flute, guitar and vocals. She performs a diverse array of original tunes and songs as well as traditional material.
Her instrumental compositions are mainly for the hammered dulcimer. They are inspired by her strong connection to nature, her extensive travel and the many cultures she's encountered. Carolyn's unusual and lyrical approach to the dulcimer especially delights audiences.
Most of her traditional material has been gleaned from her two-and-a-half year sojourn in Europe with late partner Robert Almblade, with whom she performed and wrote with for over a decade.
Their material was largely Celtic and her involvement with that genre continues to color her work.
Carolyn's been described as a poetic lyricist, a powerfully expressive singer and a strong guitar player.
Her lyrics explore love, loss and regeneration and convey a compelling sense of longing. She regularly uses open tunings that allow her to find rich voicings to her chords.
In the past three years Carolyn has been focusing more on her singer/songwriter talents. She is now celebrating the release of her first CD in that genre, As Clear A Hue, a body of work developed over the last seven years.
Seattle-based Larry Murante, with numerous songwriters awards, is fast gaining a reputation of one of the finest contemporary singer songwriters to emerge from the Northwest in recent years.
LarryÕs two CD releases, Kiss Me One More Time (1994) and WaterÕs Edge (2000) have garnered critical acclaim from all over the country and parts of Europe.
As for awards, in 1999 Larry placed first at the Wildflower Song-writing Contest in Richardson, Texas. He was a showcase finalist at the 1999 Falcon Ridge Festival in Hillsdale, NY. In his home state, Larry was the first-place winner at the 2002 and 1998 Tumbleweed Festival Song-writing Contest in Richland (he took second in Ô99) and was a top five winner at Lakewood's 1998 Lakefolkfest Song-writing Contest.
Larry was raised in the rural town of Nazareth in Pennsylvania, where he got his start singing in high school. He later sang in a wedding band, was in rock cover bands and with top 40 groups.
"And when I wasnÕt doing that, I was listening to and playing acoustic folkrock music," said Larry at his web site. "My biggest influence from that period (and even today) were the early 70Õs singer/songwriters like Joni Mitchell, James Taylor, CSNY, the Eagles and Jackson Browne.Ó
LarryÕs voice today is a testament not only to good pipes but to years of training Ñ which heÕs done, logging over a decade of study with opera, jazz, and musical theater stylists among which was Metropolitan Opera veteran baritone, Frank Guarerra (Larry continues to lead a double life as a jazz/rock/R&B singer in his ten piece variety band, Second Wind, which has been together for over 15 years).
His songs are full of the sense of how lucky and fragile our lives are (most of us): to have music, companionship, family, a roof overhead, a semblance of mental health, food on the table and the opportunity to grow Ñ these are gifts that in LarryÕs songs seem tenuous, revokable, and tender.
Larry tours nationally, performing a mix of folk concerts, festivals, radio interviews and house concerts.
He has shared the stage with Peter Mulvey, Greg Greenway, Pierce Pettis, David Broza, Cosy Sheridan, Laura Love, Michael McNevin, TR Ritchie, Joanne Rand, Jane Gillman, Darcie Deaville, Jim Page, Orville Johnson, Lisa Koch, Karen Pernick, David Maloney, Heidi Muller, Annie Gallup, Dana Robinson, Janis Carper, Johnathan Kingham, Caren Armstrong, Dave Nachmanoff, and Marjorie Richards.
Visit the Carolyn Cruso website.
Visit the Larry Murante website.
