What do you get when you combine an infamous folkie with a rising star, seasoned expertise and youthful exuberance, old school groove with Broadway chops? Rick and Nico blur all boundaries, in a word, they cook! Forty years apart in age, self-taught dulcimer player and classically trained pianist blur all boundaries in a smorgasbord of folk, blues and soul. In a word, they cook! ROOTS & GROOVES is a multi genre conversation across the generations spiced with improvisation, innovation and humour. Rick Scott says… “This is a deep dig into the roots of songs I made up as far back as the ‘70s, rejuvenated and enlivened with Nico’s tasty grooves. Over the years these tunes have been graced by many great musicians and I never imagined a re-visitation could be so raucous and original, but then who could dream up an artist like Nico Rhodes?” Nico Rhodes says… “How many people have their childhood dreams come true? The mixtape of my youth was Beethoven, Charlie Parker and Rick Scott—and to collaborate with one of your musical heroes is beyond serendipity.” Producer Valley Hennell says, “This combo of elder self-taught folk artist and young classically trained jazz musician is an alchemy ranging from exuberant Texas blues to tender heartbreak ballads. After our first 8 shows we set out to make an archival studio recording and captured this unadorned audio polaroid live from the floor in a single day.” This collaboration has been decades in the making. At age 8 Nico wrote Rick a fan letter and at age 23 he orchestrated Rick’s music for symphony. Equally proficient on keyboards and woodwinds, he’s in constant demand across Canada as an arranger and musical director for stage shows when not playing jazz with his own trio or touring to promote ‘Full Circle’, his duo CD with renowned chanteuse Joelle Rabu. “Nico Rhodes is astonishing, not just an accompanist, you have to hear and see him caress, cajole and at times almost punish the piano. Breathtakingly fresh sounds and style radiate from this young musician whose hands effortlessly fly across a keyboard leaving us in utter amazement and jumping to our feet at the end of a solo!” Since pioneering rogue folk in the 70s with iconic Canadian trio Pied Pumkin, Rick Scott has released 18 recordings and performed in nine countries. Singer, songwriter, dulcimer master and raconteur, he has forged his own genre combining music and humour to uplift and refresh the human spirit. With separate repertoires geared to adult and family audiences, he`s been honoured with three Juno nominations, Western Canadian, Parents’ Choice, NAPPA Gold and Canadian Folk Music Awards. He’s Goodwill Ambassador for the Down Syndrome Research Foundation and curator of the Protection Island Museum. “Rick Scott is an enchanter, creating gold out of dross with music as his catalyst. He uses every fibre of his being to translate private experience into shared experience, a day-glo yo-yo of theatre, music, mime, philosophy and confession spinning on a string of laughter.” PLAYLIST: ROOTS & GROOVES 1 OUTSIDE (4:23) Simple solutions to life’s complexities dished up on a platter of rock and roll. “Sometimes late at night I’m wondering why, all this living just gonna die…” 2 MIDDLE OF NOWHERE (6:18) Who says you can’t have musical fun with a bad relationship? Aa little jazz, a little rock and an abundance of rip it up piano. “Ride that train, only way you think of get a little room, you can be alone…” 3 LOST SOUL MAN (5:37) Country blues for a hurtin’ heart. “Sometimes late at night when I’m all alone like a lost wolf you can hear me moan…” 4 LET's MAKE IT RIGHT (4:56) A blues ballad bemoaning why the worse it gets the harder you try. “What is the matter with this heart trying so hard to get back to the start of that long and lonely night?” 5 IT'S ONLY WORDS (5:26) “It’s only words, no thing will ever be heard…” A waltz that is actually more than words, one of the first songs Rick ever wrote in 1971 beautifully articulated by Nico’s arrangement, never recorded until now. 6 HURT SO LONG (3:56) “I’ve been hurt for so long can’t tell the right from no wrong…” To bounce back from being crushed by a friend, try humming this song of many grooves! 7 FUNKANATOMY (3:24) “Woke up this morning the side of the bed was wrong, I’ve got excuses they run a mile long…’’ An emergency ward for feeling sorry for yourself. 8 COME HOME (4:17) “Cut out them things that cut your life, don’t wait around for no doctor’s knife…” Rocking out about the intense emotions of theatre from an actor’s point of view. 9 THE MYSTERY (3:54) “If you forget to breathe we’re gonna have to ask you to leave no matter how much you believe in the dollar…” The only song not written by Rick but by his mentor Max Ochs, we’d tell you what it’s about but that would spoil the mystery. Can Nico play any faster? 10 BOTTLE PEOPLE (4:35) “Seems to be a lot of people who need to have bottles so they can eat.” An attempt to find the true heart of those we call homeless, set to variations on Pachelbel’s Canon. 11 QUEEN OF DREAMS (4:54) “There are so many things in this world that are hungry and they just want a big bite of you…” A jester’s cry for more matriarchy in a dulcimer duet uplifted by Nico’sl soprano sax. 12 PEOPLE I LOVE YOU (5:57) “I get so excited I can’t help myself, I have to jump, I have to shout I have to call for help…” A Pied Pumkin favourite reimagined with Nico’s raucous piano animating Rick’s swamp jam rhythm. Nico Rhodes says, “The mixtape of my youth was Beethoven, Oscar Peterson, Edith Piaf and Rick Scott. His music has been part of my life for as long as I can remember. I wrote him a fan letter when I was 8 and when I was 23 he hired me to orchestrate his music for symphony. Performing with my childhood hero is a dream come true!” Rick Scott says, "Nico Rhodes is on fire. At 27 I was touring far and wide with Pied Pumkin and this harkens back to that kind of unfettered inspiration. Every time we play it’s a new musical conversation.” www.rickscott.ca/roots-grooves