COLIN PERRY (Guitar, Vocals)
Guitarist and vocalist Colin Perry was born and raised in Kentucky. While there he absorbed the rich musical heritage that was around him, including blues, bluegrass, fiddle music and jazz. Colin's gutiar playing draws on the rich and largely untapped styles of the early American archtop players like Eddie Lang, Teddy Bunn, and Dick McDonough. Since arriving in Montreal, he has worked with many great musicians, both resident and passing through. They include Micheal Jerome Browne, Stephen Barry, Robert David, Dan Livingstone, Bharath Rajakumar, Susie Arioli and Jordan Officer (with whom he collaborated on the Juno-nominated album Thats For Me), Jamie Wood (U.S.A.) Frank Schaap (France), Julien Brunetaud (France), Barbara Morrison (U.S.A.), Junior Watson (U.S.A.), Kenny Blues Boss Wayne (B.C.) Joe Murphy (Nova Scotia), and The Polyjesters (Alberta).
BEN CAISSIE (Drums)
Ben Caissie beats out the tempo like a young Gene Krupa, Vic Berton, and Zutty Singleton all rolled into one. Not simply a great jazz drummer, he is a great traditional jazz drummer, utilizing temple blocks, washboard, and any other found objects to keep the time. When not playing with The Houserent Serenaders, he divides his time between the bands Blind, Bharath and His Rhythm Four, The Howlin' Hounddogs, and Lil’ Andy and Karaoke Cowboy. He has also toured Europe three times with the legendary Sun Records recording artist Eddie Bond.
BERNADETTE FORTIN (Violin)
Growing up in a family of musicians where she honed her fiddle skills, Bernadette Fortin has applied her extraordiary talent to world beat, cajun, jazz, and blues. Recreating jazz blues & Cajun fiddle with extraordinary versatility, she breathes new life into this almost forgotten genre. Taking inspiration from such fiddle greats as Joe Venuti, Harry Choates, "Stuff" Smith, and Johnny Gimble, Bernadette is an exciting musician who seems to play each note even better than the last. She can also be found playing with Blind, The Dan Livingstone Trio, and Grouyan Gumbo.
JEAN SABOURIN (Sousaphone)
After completing two B.A. degrees (one in trumpet playing at Concordia University, the other in music teaching at the Université du Québec à Montréal [UQAM]), Jean Sabourin continued his training at Musitechnic in computer assisted sound conception. As a sousaphone player, he has been a fixture for the last twenty years on local and international stages, with groups like TUYO, Tap Souza, Les Projectionnistes, the Orkestre des Pas Perdus and Asa Misi Nasa. Jean Sabourin has participated in no fewer than twenty sound recordings, and has been a member of Montreal's Le Dixieband since 1987.
MATTHIEU BELANGER (Clarinet)
Matthieu Belanger can play it sweet like Benny Goodman, hot like Sidney Bechet, soulful like Pee Wee Russell, and ourageous like Wilton Crawley. A very active jazz musician in Quebec, he can also be found in the groups of Normand Guilbault and Yves Levielle, and Le Dixieband. In addition to playing with these groups, he can be found on recordings by Charles Papasoff, and Bob Walsh.
ROGER WALLS (Trumpet)
A fixture in Montreal Jazz for many years, Roger Walls resume reads like a who's who of Jazz music. His career has included stints with Cab Calloway, the Ellington Orchestra, Tony Bennett, Rosemary Clooney, and John Pizzarelli. Roger is a master trumpet player, and a true exponent of the growling trumpet sounds of players like Bubber Miley. He can also be found leading his own jazz combos around town, and with the group Sweet Dixie.
