photo: Ben Strothmann

Singer Allison Crowe is in Courtenay next month for a KATTALIST fundraising concert.

      Allison Crowe will share her music in Courtenay with a fundraising concert at the Theatreworks Centre for Performing Arts.

      The special April 14 concert, also featuring guest Joey Clarkson, is being presented by Kids Acting Together to Assist Lives in Suffering Times (KATTALIST).

      The Vancouver Island-born vocalist and pianist, and now a concert attraction across North America and Europe, will perform at TheatreWorks' 2703 Kilpatrick Ave., Unit J venue, to help KATTALIST, which was born Dec. 27, 2004 to raise money for the Red Cross Tsunami Disaster Relief Fund.

      KATTALIST has supported a variety of charity groups and organizations since the Tsunami Disaster of 2004.

      You may have witnessed their enthusiasm selling baked goods at Moonlight Magic, or singing at the lighting of the Christmas tree in Comox.

      These are only some of the many different fundraisers they have held in order to support their cause. These inspirational youth are working incredibly hard to achieve their aspiration of sponsoring a house to be built in Mexico through Habitat for Humanity.

      In order to do so, they must raise just under $8,000. Already, they're more than one-third of the way to reaching this goal.

      In the intimate, arty, TheatreWorks venue, at 8 p.m., the evening will begin with a performance by Clarkson, whose soprano voice is heard throughout the Comox Valley in choral and concert settings.

      A recipient of A-Channel's Save on Foods Amazing Kids scholarship, Clarkson is active in the community on a range of fronts and serves as president with KATTALIST.

      The repertoire of Crowe is an uniquely original blend of rock, jazz, folk, gospel and soul. It's a joyous sound that one music critic describes as "Elton John meets Edith Piaf."

      The concert upcoming in Courtenay will feature the sounds of "This Little Bird", a newly-released collection of Crowe's passionate originals alongside covers of songs by Joni Mitchell, The Loving Spoonful and Aretha Franklin.

      Bob Muller, of JoniMitchell.com, says: "Allison really comes into her own on this CD . her wonderful songs, supported by her emotive vocals, strong and confident, navigates them with feeling and strength.

      "I mean, it takes a lot of self-confidence to tackle Aretha's version of 'I Never Loved a Man...' but Allison does and nails it just as good as the Queen of Soul herself. Her piano playing is equally exquisite. Treat yourself to one of the mightiest talents on the singer-songwriter scene today."

      Crowe's band on the bill features a pair of top-flight rhythm-makers: Nanaimo-based jazzer Dave Baird on acoustic and electric bass, and percussionist Laurent Boucher, renowned for his playing with Salt Spring Island's Sunyata and other combos.

      Advance tickets are $15 general and $10 students/seniors at: Alley Cuts (Cumberland), Blue Heron Books (Comox) and Laughing Oyster Bookshop (Courtenay) .

      For more information dial 334-2208.

 © Copyright 2007 Courtenay Comox Valley Record