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Updated 2/1/2024

Club d'Elf

  • M

    MA

Institution/Business Type: Artist / Creative (Individual)

Club d'Elf has been helping audiences lose track of time for twenty five years with its mesmerizing synthesis of Moroccan traditional music and electronic, dubbed-out funk. Circling about bassist/composer Mike Rivard and drummer Dean Johnston, each Club d'Elf performance features a different line-up, drawn from a constellation of some of the most creative improvisers from the jazz, DJ, rock & world music scenes of Boston, NYC and beyond. The band's music draws from a startlingly wide spectrum of styles, including jazz, hip hop, electronica, avant garde, prog-rock and dub. Under the tutelage of member Brahim Fribgane (who hails from Casablanca) the band has absorbed Moroccan trance music, which is now an essential part of the mix. Diverse audiences are drawn to Fribgane’s mesmerizing oud stylings, and Rivard’s commanding playing of the Moroccan sintir. Trance forms the central core of the Club d’Elf aesthetic, weaving together the band’s various influences.

In April 2022 the band released its latest album, 'You Never Know', which rose to #2 on the Relix chart. The record unfurls upon kaleidoscopic clouds of spiced smoke, shifting from chopped dub-jazz through trance epics that reimagine Boston as a city of bazaars. Club d’Elf pay tribute to the music and musicians who have been primary influences, with half the album being covers of gnawa, Miles Davis, Joe Zawinul, Moroccan band Nass el-Ghiwane, and Frank Zappa. The other half consists of original music inspired by Rivard's personal journey into darkness following a near death experience in the remote jungle of the Peruvian Amazon.

Find Me

Michael Rivard (He/Him)
Job Title: Composer / Band Leader
Phone: 617-513-7976
Address:
PO Box 300185
Jamaica Plain, MA 02130

Additional Content:

About

Overview

Institution/Business Type:

Artist / Creative (Individual)

Legal Status:

Commercial / For profit - Sole proprietorship

Year Founded:

1998

Overview

Institution/Business Type:

Artist / Creative (Individual)

Legal Status:

Commercial / For profit - Sole proprietorship

Year Founded:

1998

Disciplines

Primary Discipline:

Music - Jazz

Activities and Services

Activities and Services:

  • Arts and Health
  • Creation of a Work of Art (Including Commissions)
  • Public Art Projects (In Free, Public Spaces)
  • Arts Instruction / Lessons
  • Residency - In School
  • Workshops / Demonstrations / Master Class
  • Performance / Concert / Reading
  • Residency - Community
  • Wedding / Parties / Private Gatherings
Seasons Active: spring, summer, fall, winter
Events Per Year: 35

Communities

Populations Engaged:

  • Adults
  • Artists
  • General Public
  • Families

Languages Available:

  • English

Geographic Reach:

  • National
  • International
  • Multi-State Region

Accessibility of Services

Accessibility of Services:

N/A. Club d'Elf is a musical group and these accommodations are taken care of by the venues where the band performs.

Media Gallery

I Have Worked With

Affiliations and Accomplishments

Awards

Awards:

  • Jazz Act of the Year, Boston Music Awards (2023 )
  • Best Jazz Act, New England Music Awards (2022)
  • Best Jazz Act, Boston Music Awards (2007)
  • Best Jazz Act, Best of Boston, Boston Magazine (2004)
  • Best Jam Band, Phoenix Editors and Readers Poll (2001)
  • Best DJ/Electronica Act, FNX Best Music Poll (2001)
  • Best Cutting Edge Band, Best of Boston, Boston Magazine (1998)

Awards

Awards:

  • Jazz Act of the Year, Boston Music Awards (2023 )
  • Best Jazz Act, New England Music Awards (2022)
  • Best Jazz Act, Boston Music Awards (2007)
  • Best Jazz Act, Best of Boston, Boston Magazine (2004)
  • Best Jam Band, Phoenix Editors and Readers Poll (2001)
  • Best DJ/Electronica Act, FNX Best Music Poll (2001)
  • Best Cutting Edge Band, Best of Boston, Boston Magazine (1998)

Artist Info

Touring Artist

NEST Eligible Artist

Technical Requirements:

  • Minimum 5 Monitor system with 5 discrete mixes
  • 6 DI Boxes for Keyboards (2), DJ (2), Oud and Bass
  • 18 high-quality stage microphones (w/ adjustable stands) for Drums (6), Vocals (2), Keyboard-Melodica, Guitar Amp and Percussion (minimum 4 booms)
  • House Console with minimum 24 channels

Fee Range:

Tour fees depend on type of performance, number of performers & location.

State of Residence:

Massachusetts

Minimum Number of Performers:

2

Maximum Number of Performers:

8

Touring Artist

NEST Eligible Artist

Technical Requirements:

  • Minimum 5 Monitor system with 5 discrete mixes
  • 6 DI Boxes for Keyboards (2), DJ (2), Oud and Bass
  • 18 high-quality stage microphones (w/ adjustable stands) for Drums (6), Vocals (2), Keyboard-Melodica, Guitar Amp and Percussion (minimum 4 booms)
  • House Console with minimum 24 channels

Fee Range:

Tour fees depend on type of performance, number of performers & location.

State of Residence:

Massachusetts

Minimum Number of Performers:

2

Maximum Number of Performers:

8