Carson Valley Arts Council presents Fishtank Ensemble

Staff Reports

The Carson Valley Arts Council presents the Fishtank Ensemble in concert at the CVIC Hall, 1604 Esmeralda, Minden on Friday, Jan. 22. Doors open at 6 p.m., concert at 7 p.m. Tickets are $17 for members and $20 for nonmembers and can be purchased at www.cvartscouncil.com or at the Copeland Cultural Arts Center ticket office, 1572 Highway 395, Minden.

The Fishtank Ensemble is a mix of two violins, a slap bass player, one musical saw, a jazz guitar, trombone, an accordion, and one small banjolele. Together, these instruments produce everything from French hot jazz to wild Serbian and Transylvanian gypsy anthems.

Behind the music four very talented musicians. Fabrice Martinez (violin and trombone) and Ursula Knudson (saw, voice, and violin,) used to travel around Europe in a mule-draw caravan performing and collecting folk music. Ursula also not only sings beautifully, but she can do so in Romanian, French, Japanese, and occasionally English, her native tongue.

Douglas Smolens (guitar) is a composer as well as a performer. His exciting mixture of traditional and modern styles can be heard in his recent album, "Worlds Collide."

Djordje Stijepovic (bass) was formerly a member of world music bands in Serbia and now performs jazz solo.

LA Weekly called the Fishtank Ensemble as "one of the most thrilling young acts on the planet!"