The next performer to fill the slip of downtown municipal green space on 3rd Avenue will be gypsy jazz band Zavan Trio.
This group is made up of Eric Tompkins, Jose Delgado-Guevara and Kenny Ogilvie - all of them accomplished multi-instrumentalists and veterans of the local music scene.
"Zavan Trio grew out of a shared passion for jazz, specifically gypsy jazz, which traces its roots to the clubs of 1930s Paris," said Tompkins. "The band weaves world music played in a swing style into its performances. It's specifically a style called 'manouche' pretty much invented by [legenday guitarist] Django Reinhardt and [violinist] Stephane Grappelli. It has a eastern European characteristic, a sweetness to it, that was a little different than the American swing happening at the same time."
Tompkins is one of the city's most recognizable guitarists from his time in various ensembles and hosting open mic nights, and especially in the Persian-jazz group Navaz.
Delgado-Guevara is the concertmaster for the Prince George Symphony Orchestra. He is also a soloist and violin teacher, as well as a painter with a current exhibition on now at the Two Rivers Art Gallery.
Ogilvie is known for his ensemble work in the area. Lately he has been one of the mainstays in the house band at the Nancy O's jazz/blues open mic nights and was in the backing band for soloist Dawn Boudreau's recent jazz concert.
All three are regular members of Navaz, which also has a number of other members. In this smaller unit they are called Zavan Trio.
"It's Navaz spelled backwards," laughed Tompkins, "because we're all in that group together but we're doing something totally different."
Zavan Trio will animate the small park in between Dale's Wood & Gas Heat and Nancy O's on Wednesday evening at 5:30. Admission is by donation.
These weekly shows (Raghu Lokanathan and Goodnightmare were the first two) are the presentation of the Young Professionals of Prince George and Downtown Prince George to give the public a good reason to hang out downtown a little while after work, enjoy local entertainment, and stimulate social interaction.
After Wednesday's edition with the Zavan Trio, the following two weeks will feature The Transfiguration Good News Band (Aug. 27) and The Statistics (Sept. 3).
