Joe Trio coming to Key City Theatre in Cranbrook

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If you’ve ever been unsure how to introduce your child or grandchild to classical music, Joe Trio will show you all the diversity, versatility, and a little humour.

For two decades Joe Trio’s genre-bending mix of classical/jazz/folk/pop music has been bringing the masses into the classical fold.

“Our mandate since we started out has been to make classical music more fun and more accessible,” says Cameron Wilson, violinist with the Vancouver-based trio, which also includes cellist Charles Inkman and pianist Allen Stiles.

Designed to avoid the “high-brow” stereotype often associated with classical music, Wilson describes his trio’s interactive approach as “less intimidating” and “user-friendly.”

Unlike groups that go for more physical shtick comedy, Joe’s humour “is in the music,” he says. Serious pieces are interspersed with audience pleasers like TV themes assigned to famous composers – resulting in the likes of Rachmaninoff Sesame Street or The Brady of Seville (based on The Brady Bunch theme) – or their Black Dog Rondo, merging Bach and Led Zeppelin.

There are also stories like their new Maltese Goose, described by Wilson as “a combination of nursery rhyme and film noir,” a take-off on The Maltese Falcon with nursery-rhyme characters.

Since their first album, A Cup of Joe’ , was released in 1997, the trio has been successful to say the least. Their second album, ‘Set ‘em up, Joe’, was recorded with CBC and was nominated for Best Classical Performance at the West Coast Music Awards. In 2003, they joined forces with Canadian broadcaster and writer Stuart McLean when Joe fiddler Cameron Wilson set the music to McLean’s ‘A History of Canada’.  Since then, the trio has collaborated with Stuart on a number of concerts including a broadcast on The Vinyl Café.  Most recently, the trio has just released their third album entitled ‘Cold Cuts’  in 2011, and there is no telling what’s to come next!

Tickets are NOW available by phone or in person at Key City Theatre Box Office.