I do get a little thrill! We’re not talking numbers by any means, we’re talking locations, a pleasant little journey of the mind on a rainy day is all. Amo, amas, amat, amamo, amatis, amant. There, I remembered my high school latin 😉
I know I know it’s a ways off and all but we can write new music and practice like mad and perhaps dream of an OPERA featuring a Sasquatch with a lisp in there somewhere as well…and why not?! Frankies will be with Holly Burke & The Naturalz on Sunday January 18th, 8 pm. tickets here: http://www.frankiesjazz.com and Valentine’s Day at the Blue Frog will be with Don Stewart and Friends. It’ll be a total blast with lots of room for solos, yes? fun fun fun, and what good company. In other news my poem-song “Love is a Traveller” will be published in the upcoming winter edition of Persimmon Magazine. Yea…it feels good to be fruitful and flute-full, despite life’s challenges. My heart and my flute Seraphina are happy. She’s always been my passport to good things. Let’s see what happens next!
At this interesting and evolving time here in Canada, I am indeed grateful for so much, the band! Kristian Alexandrov on piano, Randall Stoll, drums, Brent Gubbels on bass, Nick Apivor on vibes (that’s the full festival band) and most of all my beloved Bill Runge on saxophone. I couldn’t imagine having more compassionate and talented players to create with, or a more wonderful audience. Our colourful friends and family, my grand-cat Ishi who was lost AND found today (!) for having hands and a brain, any kind of brain, and a body that is able to dance and explore and do things I like to do. It’s so wonderful to be in touch with you and share our creativity with you!
Say…it’s not too late for a fall poem is it? there’s still some sumac out there – like this.
Flames of Sumac
The fall brushed air swirls around my face and ruffles my hair
I see runes written in the moss that grows
along the stone wall by the lagoon
There are dandelions still standing
stretching as long as they can
toward the falling green and golden light
flames of sumac
be inside it
and the wind lifts these pages ))) )))) )))))
Wishing all of you fine folks a very good festive season, and good cheer in 2026 and beyond! 🎄🌹🦒🐰🌈🌟🏆🎹🎷🌎 See you at Frankies January 18th🌟💥 and the Blue Frog on Valentines February 14 ❤️❤️
hb and the Naturalz ~ the end continues...ok I borrowed that from Spinal Tap 2 🤣 – highly recommended!
*merch is available here: please do! https://hollyburkeandbillrunge.bandcamp.com/album/dreamride
https://hollyburkeandbillrunge.bandcamp.com/album/nature-girl
‘The Flute Player’ by Angela Brown
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Well helloo! Springtime friends and Naturals fans…You are warmly invited to come hear us http://www.frankiesjazz.ca in a refreshing new way! that’s right! NEW and IMPROVED! (as they say – lol) You must be curious? I know I am…freshness is exciting, so is poetry. I’m having my first poem published this fall in Persimmon, an online magazine, so happy to say, and an honor for sure. In fact, we’ll be performing the poem/lyric/song ‘Love is a Traveller’ on Saturday June the 7th, LIVE and IN PERSON. Tingle-time!
I encourage you to beat the rush and book your reservations SOON for Saturday night June 7 at FRANKIES ~ our favourite downtown Vancouver jazz club. Here’s Bill Runge ~ one of the best saxophone players in Canada and a true legend in Vancouver. The ubiquitous Andre Lachance will be joining us on bass, Magick Kristian Alexandrov on piano, and master drummer Randall Stoll. What a bouquet of wonderment, yes? YES! superlatives fall short of the experience…
Andre Lachance ~ consummate bassist.
“Music can be made anywhere, is invisible, and does not smell.” W.H Auden
Composing is like making love to the future. Lukas Foss – NY Post
I think the main thing a musician would like to do is give a picture to the listener of the many wonderful things he knows of and senses in the universe. John Coltrane
I’m not online,
I’m not offline,
I’m between the lines…
HB 🦩
Looking forward to seeing your shining faces June 7th!
Hi Dear Readers,
Spring is sprung- da grass is riz
I wunda where da boidies iz?
I’ll try to do better than that at my poetic maiden voyage April 1. Seriously though. Spring is going beserk without much coaxing from the weather at all. Yet there is…more light. Let’s move towards it!
I’ll be reading selections from the collection I’m working towards entitled “Travelogue.” Come on by! there will be four readers. The Montalbano Room, 8th floor. 6:30-8pm. I would leuuuv to see you there!
May you have a Spring in your step, dear reader.
The Poetess of Lost Lagoon*
*(which is not lost – it’s right there on the map!)
Click here for the full event details!
Hi There Wonderful People Third is a funny word now I look at it. Must be a truly ancient brit one methinks. Here I am holding the flute. amazing. next we’re in the pool. very very groovy indeed. Such great smiles! can’t wait to share the Naturals music with you again 🙂 at Vancouver’s premier Jazz Club, Frankies! and warm Season’s Greetings to all 🎄🌟🌲✨🎄🌟
It feels so amazing to be singing and playing again! I mean what’s ten years between friends? I hope this wee note finds you well and happy and full of mischief! We’re alive! and happy to be so. There’s going to be a great outpouring of beautiful Naturals music at our much anticipated reunion Concert Friday January 3rd 8 pm at Frankie’s Premiere Jazz Club 755 Beatty St. Please do join us for this exciting concert and groove to our greatest hits (visualize scrolling titles here with deep male voice-over- lol) thrill to “Serengeti” drift away with “River of Stars” be warmed by “Let me Stand Next to your Fire” as well as gorgeous and tuneful new material as well. Get your tickets ➡️ here ⬅️ for a passionate night of musical magic and mystery with the Naturals!
me actually singing
Bill Runge – saxophones and inspiration 🌟🔱💫👑
Randall Stoll – drums and heartbeat 🥁 ba-doom ba-doom
Kristian Alexandrov – piano – our magic sorcerer – ha!🔥🌪️
Brent Gubbels – bass – holding it all down ⬇️ and 🆙
Nick Apivor – good vibes and percussion
Holly Burke – voice and flute – so very delighted to participate🕊️🪭
So let’s be together and wish each other a very happy New Year and beyond ))) )))) ))))) 🌟🐣🌈🕊️🌴 hb and los naturales sending out love to all but especially you 🆙🌻🐋 pass it along 🙂 and see you there!
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August is the ripest month…
when our fruit becomes heavy and round
and fully sugared ~
so full of yearning and heat and life
you don’t know what to do with it all
like the dusky hues of an August evening
my purple plum’s tangy skin hides the sweet and tawny fruit within
clinging to a stone
and I realize
this is the pinnacle
Perseid meteor showers above
and heat upon the land
nothing could be richer
deeper or more magnificent
than this moment in time
from amber – to umber – to ombre
August is the ripest month
HB 2024
Thanks for reading, friends.
Let me know if you enjoyed it!
holshouse@shaw.ca
Greetings Fine Folks!
We used to do that tune, “What a Difference a Day Made” as a nice bright samba cookin’ along at about 120 bpm. I also sang it in the present tense, using “makes” rather than “made” it seemed more vivid that way somehow. Shirley Granger was the first performer I worked with who did the tune that way and it just stuck. Shirley’s band performed all over Vancouver in the 70’s along with Clive Guard and Gary O’Bray. We played places like the International Plaza, the Cave, and all over Gastown. Shirley had a larger than life pirate-like steel-hulled sailboat with her husband Alex called the Black Eyes, famous for its wild parties. Many a fond memory of Shirley, our gigs together and all the fun in between.
Hurtling from the disco era into the present, Bill and I have been busy creating our latest labour of love. It’s a collection of Twenty Interesting Pieces for the Contemporary Pianist with lots of beauty and character and treasures for the ear. For example, we had just finished one of our new pieces and suddenly found ourselves singing and dancing ‘What a difference a note makes – twenty four little half tones…’all over the living room. Stay tuned for more on these tunes!
Spring starts making her entrance long before the calendar says it’s official and proper to be Spring, eh? It’s undeniable, unstoppable, and the most welcome thing in the world. A signal that maybe the cosmos does care about us, after all. Climate change notwithstanding, is it wrong to enjoy some early warmth in February and March?
Holly Burke Music & Poetry 