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< s > H hH O CN O) CN M arta Marychuk Reporter mmarychuk@oakvillebeaver.com a5 _Q CD Artscene by M arta Marychuk Oakville Beaver Staff "Connected to your Community" (D CO Q C l CD C e le b ra te d g u ita ris t la u n c h e s n e w C D Internationally-known guitarist Johannes Linstead of Oakville has released a new CD that will launch during a concert Sat urday, Oct. 14 at the Oakville Centre for the Performing Arts. The CD, which was released today (Sept. 2 9 ), is called Azul. Linstead said the omnipresent colour of the tropics was the inspiration for the new CD. He travels mostly to the Do minican Republic, his home away from home. He says the new CD is a bit of a de parture from his Latin-based guitar and includes him singing on two tracks. Although Linstead has been a perform er for more than 20 years, he says the gui tar has been his only on-stage voice. As a guitarist, Linstead has won nu merous awards. He was named Canada's Guitarist of the Year, won seven Best Album awards, achieved seven top -10 US Billboard charting albums, and captured the Peo ple's Choice award in the UK. JOHANNES LINSTEAD Johannes Linstead launched his new CD called Azul today (Sept. 2 9 ). | Claire Valjakka photo CD nominated for award His new CD Azul has also been nomi nated for a 20 f 7 Toronto Independent Music Award in the Best W orld category W hile Linstead often wrote songs with lyrics, until now he didn't sing to audi ences, although he often sings while do ing yoga. Linstead is a certified yoga instructor and in 2 0 0 6 he founded Divine Earth, a humanitarian organization promoting meditation, yoga, holistic living and the healing power of music. Even on stage, he didn't even like to talk. "Yoga helped my rediscover my voice," he says. At the Oakville Centre, Linstead's band will be performing on stage. Band mem bers include Jordan Abraham, who Lin stead calls the sexiest man on accordion, Geoff Hlibka on rhythm guitar, Jarrod Ross on bass guitar, and Anastasios Bigas on drums. Cuban violinist Osvaldo Rodriguez will join Linstead and his band. After the concert, Linstead will be available to meet and greet concertgoers and will be signing copies of his new CD. It is available on iTunes, Amazon and his website, http://johanneslinstead.com. «* In centre, Johannes Linstead performs on guitar, alongside band m ates Geoff Hlibka (also on guitar, at left) and Jordan Abraham (on accordion). | Johannes Linstead of Oakville calls the Dominican Republic hom e away from hom e. | Hugo Lacroix photo Martha Ferguson photo