Steamboats and Tenzin Chopak at Book & Bar

Description

Steamboats is an ensemble of picker-singer-songwriters who combine reverence for the American vocal group with an introspective sensibility all their own. Singers Nick Throop, Mario Rincon and Jon Jaffee hone gospel and a capella backgrounds, their soaring harmonies typically choreographed around a single microphone for live performances. Bassist Patrick Murphy is percussive, persuasive and melodic, supporting rotating arrangements of guitar, mandolin, banjo, and dobro. Their debut EP is a sample of an impressive body of original work and features accordionist Kate Dunphy (Carte Blanche) and drummer Jon Shiffman (Bleachers). Catch them live this fall during their Release Series throughout New York and New England.

"In the most ambitious album from Rockwood Ferry to date, Tenzin Chopak’s Mask Maker is a mature, complex, dynamic and completely engaging demonstration of musical evolution at its finest. Chopak returns as an impeccable story-teller, and shows he has no intention of relaxing his pursuit of excellence.

The prior recordings were undeniably beautiful in their artistry, but Mask Maker exhibits a sophistication of both music and production revealing them as stepping stones. While some musicians are content to repeatedly churn out the same style and presentation that might have garnered them creative and critical success, it takes someone comfortable with stretching the limits - with pushing their personal boundaries - to move beyond and reach new ground. Chopak has proven with this album that he has no qualms about exercising new artistic muscle, and the result is at once satisfying to this long-time listener and at times breathtaking in its freshness, while remaining extremely accessible as a stand-alone work." - Finger Lakes Music Press