“Stunning.” (Goldmine Magazine) “Remarkable.” (Jazz Times) “The real deal.” (allmusic.com). “Extraordinary… Brilliant” (All About Jazz) .....

BETHANY & RUFUS are all these things… Called “a splash of sunlight between the grey cracks of mediated culture” by the UK Guardian, the cello and voice duo have kept their production spare and focused on the depth of soul in the roots music they inhabit like few others. In their hands, old aching mountain songs, gospel cries of redemption and reckoning, and the deep groove chugging of a freight train holler come alive again with an urgency and energy that have electrified audiences all over the world.

Bethany and Rufus first met in 1999 at a friend’s late night gig at the Knitting Factory in New York City. The two of them began experimenting with old folk songs as a lark, but quickly realized that the unadorned cello and voice combined with the rooted power of these old chants was a starkly beautiful sound that reached across musical genres and generations.

On their critically acclaimed debut CD, 900 Miles (Hyena Records 2007) BETHANY & RUFUS pushed the boundaries of American folk music far into unexpected territory. With a minimum number of voices -- guitar, cello, vocal and some percussion -- the duo created colors and textures that “suggested a world of musics coalescing.” (All About Jazz)

BETHANY & RUFUS’ newest project is a TV show filmed for PBS with Bethany’s father, Peter of the legendary folk trio Peter, Paul and Mary. The show, Peter, Bethany & Rufus: The Spirit of Woodstock, grew out of a musical collaboration of Peter, Bethany & Rufus on the CD, “Puff & Other Family Classics” (Salasree Records 2007) which included special guest appearances by Mady Koyate on Malian kora, Bonga Jean-Baptiste on Hatian percussion, and Chuck Campbell of the renowned Campbell Brothers on pedal steel.

More than just a concert, THE SPIRIT OF WOODSTOCK is a tribute to a vision of music and spirit and an enchanted collaboration of friends and musicians from all over the world. As one fan wrote, "the incredible melding of worldbeat and folk was simply mindboggling".... and indeed it was.

The television show also spotlights Rufus’ jaw-dropping solo cello work, for which he well known in New York City. Having played with artists like Aretha Franklin, Odetta, Cheick Tidiane Seck, and Vernon Reid, it is no surprise to that he landed a record deal with Velour Records, who released his solo CD, “Songs for Cello” in early 2008.

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“This is American music that reaches out to invite and include so much more. Most of the songs have a sad undercurrent and yet at the hands of these two artists they emerge as shining songs for a new time.” - ALL ABOUT JAZZ

“I’ve been in the music business for 37 years now and I’ve had my artists perform at amazing shows including Live Aid and Carnegie Hall. I have to rank Bethany & Rufus show for us in my “Top 20” of all time. Mezmerising and inventive...our audience was slack-jawed.”
- MINDY GILES, SWELL PRODUCTIONS

Filled with dust and desire.... their CD gets better and better with each listen!” - AMAZON.COM

“Yarrow has a keen, dusky-voiced musicianship that blurs folk, rock and pop... it is, though, Cappadocia’s brilliance that gives this [music] its remarkable sheen. His palette...is incredibly rich and amazingly clever.” - JAZZ TIMES

“There’s no denying that in a world where a lot of fluffy pop passes as folk, Bethany and Rufus - in taking a more original road - have come up with the real deal.” - ALLMUSIC.COM

“Bethany delivers low, smoky tones that call to mind Nina Simone or Cassandra Wilson. With stunning imagination, Bethany and Rufus move…. in arresting new directions. Bravo!” - GOLDMINE MAGAZINE

MORE ABOUT BETHANY YARROW:

In 2003, Bethany released her debut CD, entitled “Rock Island”, to amazing (and amazed) reviews. Beautifully produced by Kevin Salem (Mercury Rev, Bad Brains, Chocolate Genius) and Knox Chandler (David Gahan, Siouxsie & the Banshees), the CD mixed the gloss of pop production with banjos, dulcimers, harmonicas, slide guitars, gospel choirs, and the sampled ghosts of some of the great blues singers in America. In totally unexpected ways, Bethany took traditional slave lullabies, prison songs, and murder ballads, and turned them into grooving electronic pop for a new generation.

Bethany’s brand of folk has certainly struck a chord across the country, and ears are beginning to perk up noticeably… HBO recently featured her version of “Black is the Color” in their series Cat House, and listeners have been knocked out by her “fascinating” and “dramatic” interpretations. Her voice has been called, “mesmerizing”, “intense”, “powerful”, “spell-binding”…. “A cross between PJ Harvey and Annie Lennox… Dido and Grace Slick…” Bethany has been dubbed a “musical medium”, crossing genres and time, and in re-inventing these deeply American songs, Bethany has not only taken them into the future, she has made them deeply her own.

Although Bethany has dedicated herself to music for the past several years, she started out as a documentary filmmaker. In between her junior and senior years at college, Bethany was awarded a fellowship to go to South Africa to make a documentary about the women in the townships outside of Cape Town. What emerged was the award-winning film, "Mama Awethu!", which aired nationally on PBS and won numerous prizes at film festivals around the world including the the Sundance, Berlin, Human Rights Watch, and Bombay Film Festivals.

"I never planned on being a filmmaker," says Bethany. "I just had something to say, and it seemed like film was the best way to tell that story. Sometimes music is not the best vehicle. But right now the story I want to tell is in music. Maybe one day, when I have another story that needs telling, I'll make another film, but for the moment, making music is more than enough work!"

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MORE ABOUT RUFUS CAPPADOCIA :

Rufus Cappadocia is one of the leading voices on the cello today. He has toured throughout the Americas and Europe with numerous groups and is known for his collaborations with artists from all over the world... from the Balkans to the Caribbean, from West Africa to North America. He has toured extensively with Urban Tap and The Paradox Trio. Cappadocia has just finished recording for Pest Records with Badal Roy (who played tabla with Miles Davis) and Barney Mcall (who plays piano with Gary Bartz); a Canadian release with Hugh Marsh (violin) and Bary Romberg (drums); and is currently recording a new project, Vodou Jazz Ensemble with “Bonga” Jean-Baptiste as well as a CD of unaccompanied solo cello.

Rufus was first introduced to the cello in Hamilton, Ontario at age three through the Suzuki method. By age 6 he had begun his studies with the renowned Czech cellist Zdenick Konicek. He continued to play classical music as a teen but was increasingly inspired to find a voice that would allow him to reach a larger audience and work with contemporary instrumentation.

After years of experimentation and practice Rufus now plays a self designed Five String Electric Cello that extends the bass range of the cello and through amplification expands the tonal possibilities of the instrument. Rufus has made a career of going where few cellists have gone before. He has appeared on CDs with Ross Daly, Kif, David Fiuczynski, The Paradox Trio, Odetta, Michael Blake, and Tamalalou. Rufus has also performed with Kasse Mady, Aretha Franklin, The Black Rock Coalition, Esma, Theodossi Spassoff, Seamus Egan, Eileen Eivers, Cheick-Tidiane Seck, Vernon Reid, and many more.

LOOK FOR RUFUS THIS SUMMER ON THE ROSTER OF IMN WORLD ARTISTS!

www.rufusmusic.com