Music Series: Sultans of String

Bandleader and Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal recipient Chris McKhool (Jesse Cook, Pavlo) comes by global roots music through deep ties to his ancestry – his father’s name would have been pronounced Makhoul in ancestral Kfirmishki Lebanon, and his Egyptian-born mother happened to play piano, teach classical theory and feed her young son as much music instruction as she did Middle Eastern cuisine. From there, the powerful violinist developed a taste for multi-genre string sounds and found a like-minded crew of all-world enthusiasts. When McKhool first heard the rumba rhythm of founding guitarist Kevin Laliberté (Jesse Cook), their musical synergy created Sultans of String’s signature sound – the intimate and playful relationship between violin and guitar. From this rich foundation, the dynamic duo grew, featuring such amazing musical friends as in the pocket bass master Drew Birston (Chantal Kreviazuk), singer to the stars Rebecca Campbell (Jane Siberry, Parachute Club),  and the virtuosic nyckelharpa playing of Saskia Tomkins (Celtic music consultant for the Broadway hit Come From Away).

 

Equally at home in a concert hall, music festival, folk or jazz club, the Sultans have gigged at JUNOfest, the legendary club Birdland in New York, Celtic Connections Festival (Glasgow) and London’s Trafalgar Square. Sultans of String have also collaborated with such diverse luminaries as Paddy Moloney & The Chieftains, Sweet Honey in The Rock, Richard Bona (Paul Simon), Alex Cuba, Béla Fleck, Crystal Shawanda and Ken Whiteley.