The 7th Ashkenaz Festival
Aug 26 to Sept 1, 2008
Harbourfront Centre
Toronto, Canada

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Join us for the next Ashkenaz event
Sagapool
Sagapool

Ashkenaz at the Drake, featuring Montreal’s SAGAPOOL
“Best World Music Ensemble, 2008 Canadian Folk Music Awards”
Wednesday July 8, 2009, 8pm
Drake Hotel Underground - 1150 Queen St. West
$15 at the door, for more info call 416-979-9901
Visit Sagapool online at www.sagapool.com or at MySpace


Ashkenaz returns to Toronto’s “hotbed for culture,” the fabulous Drake Hotel, with a terrific young group from Montreal.

With its contagious joie de vivre and its vibrant music, Sagapool has created an original and dazzling repertoire that reflects the colourful influences of Montreal’s cultural mosaic. Conceived in the hallways of the Conservatoire de Musique de Montréal on a sunny day in 1999, Sagapool – previously known as Manouche – recently celebrated its ninth year with the release of its third album, “Épisode Trois.”

Guitar, double bass, accordion, percussion, banjo, glockenspiel, Rhodes, violin, clarinet and piano all shine in the hands of these six multi-talented instrumentalists. With its diversified cultural background, the group defies simple categorization and performs its own blend of joyful and very cinematographic music. With Épisode Trois, Sagapool lets its music travel without borders and preserves the free spirit and exuberance of its first loves – gypsy music, gypsy swing, and klezmer, while adding ska, latin and folk rythms.

Since 1999, Sagapool has played over 300 times in Canada, including 4 major performances at the Montreal International Jazz Festival, and a previous performance at the Ashkenaz Festival in 2004. They have received a number of awards and other critical recognition for their music, including the 2008 Canadian Folk Music Award for Best World Music CD.