Taking Action Spotlight Update - The Three Jacks & Breffni Dancers in Nicaragua!
On August 14th, 2010, Fabretto hosted a Celtic rock concert featuring The Three Jacks & Breffni Dancers at Nicaragua's Teatro Nacional Rubén Darío.
The evening was a great success and included warm introductory remarks from U.S. Ambassador to Nicaragua, Robert J. Callahan, as well as a performance by Fabretto's student choir from the Estelí center. The venue is a historic national institution, and both the musicians and audience were energized by the group's unique Irish jigs and beats.
The benefit concert was the first major fundraising event Fabretto has executed in Nicaragua, and it successfully increased visibility and awareness through local and national media coverage for the programs.More importantly, the concert was an opportunity for students and their families to attend a unique cultural event. Additionally, thanks to donations from US supporters, Fabretto also was able to send approximately 200 students and some of their family members from the Fabretto San Isidro and Acahualinca centers to the concert! For many of them, this was their first time entering their own national theater.
Fabretto is tremendously grateful to The Three Jacks & Breffni Dancers for selecting Fabretto as one of the international beneficiaries they support. Fabretto also would like to thank the US Embassy to Nicaragua, the Osorio Montealegre family, the Arguello family, Comunicación Corporativa Ketchum, the Cardwell family, Carl Marinacci, Cesar Dubois, the Rubén Darío Teatro Nacional, TACA, Arte Publicidad Etcétera, La Brujula, Claro, Crowne Plaza Managua, Palo Rosa Galería Santo Domingo, VosTV, and Zacate Limón for helping Fabretto make this a successful event for the children and youth of Nicaragua.
The Three Jacks: Press
Musician Husband Raises Money For Hospital
POSTED: Wednesday, October 28, 2009UPDATED: 2:44 pm EST November 3, 2009In Pippa Milne's life, medicine and music are in perfect harmony. She said she realized that more than ever last year when doctors found a tumor in her spinal cord."I probably had it for 20 years, so it had been growing and getting bigger, and finally, it had started to cause damage," said Milne.The benign tumor needed to be removed before it caused permanent paralysis. Neurologist Dr. Michael Wang of Jackson Memorial Hospital performed the risky, five- hour surgery, which was captured on a surgical camera."We have to split the spinal cord to get these tumors out, but eventually, with proper therapy and nursing care, patients will typically do quite well," said Wang.After only a few months of therapy, 56-year-old Milne transitioned from a wheelchair to a walker. Eventually, she regained complete independence.Her recovery inspired her husband, a prominent attorney by day and a musician by night, to fundraise for the Jackson Memorial Foundation.Henk Milne and his band, The Three Jacks, are not new to charity work. They began in Peru playing their American Celtic tunes in packed concert halls to raise money for a children's hospital."We're going to Peru next year, because the clinic will be built in March in the earthquake area," said Henk.Because of his wife’s medical condition, Henk moved the cause closer to home.Last month, the band's performance at the Gusman Center in Miami netted about $70,000 for the Jackson Memorial Foundation."We get to do something we love, and we get to do it for a really good reason, so why not do more of it," said Henk.The Three Jacks will soon be fundraising for The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis. They expect their performance will yield tens of thousands of dollars.
CORAL GABLES/DOWNTOWN MIAMI
Coral Gables Celtic rocker to play benefit concert for hospital foundation
A Coral Gables man, who by day is a downtown Miami commercial litigator and by night a Celtic rocker, will play a benefit concert for Jackson Memorial Foundation.
BY CARLI TEPROFF
cteproff@MiamiHerald.com
When Henk Milne's wife needed emergency surgery for a tumor on her spine, Jackson Memorial Hospital was there for her.
And now Milne, who lives in Coral Gables, says he wants to return the favor by raising thousands of dollars for the hospital's foundation.
``Jackson is everyone's hospital,'' said Milne, a downtown Miami international commercial litigator by day and Celtic rocker by night. ``They gave me my wife back.''
Milne's band The Three Jacks -- which often plays at local dives like Tobacco Road and Churchill's -- and Irish dancers from The Breffni Academy of Irish Dance will put on the benefit concert 8 p.m. Saturday.
``This is something we can do to show our support of the hospital,'' Milne said.
Milne is hoping to fill the 1,500-seat Gusman Center for the Performing Arts, with all proceeds from the tickets going to the Jackson Memorial Foundation as a ``thank you.'' He has received sponsorships from several South Florida law firms and residents, which will help pay the $10,000 it will cost to put on the show.
For at least two hours Saturday, Milne said his band -- including a bassist, drummer, fiddler, guitarist and singer -- will rock the stage with traditional Celtic folk songs, including The Star of the County Down, and The Work of the Weavers. They will also perform original songs.
``We've taken the last 400 years of Celtic folk music and turned it into rock 'n' roll,'' said Milne, whose band has members that have played for Shakira.
Milne said he got the idea to do the fundraiser shortly after his wife recovered from emergency surgery.
In 2008, Milne was set to go to Peru with his band to raise money for a clinic there. But his plans changed when he found out that is wife Philippa ``Pippa'' had a tumor on her spine.
She underwent nine hours of surgery with neurosurgeon Michael Wang. She spent a week in the intensive care unit, followed by three weeks in Jackson's rehabilitation hospital.
``I was so impressed with the care,'' Milne said. ``After what they did for my family, this is the least we can do.''
The money will go to the Jackson Memorial Foundation, an organization set up to raise money for the hospital
Foundation spokesman Larry Clark said Milne's efforts are appreciated.
``They have really gone out of their way to do something cool,'' Clark said. ``It's a generous and unique offering.''
It’s been a while since I’ve attended such a wonderful and intimate concert like last night. Three Jacks entertained me and about 500 other guests in the concert hall of Colegio Santa Ursula. I had “only” expected to enjoy some Irish/Scottish Celtic music and see some beautiful dancers, but I got much more that I had bargained for, when the band, 4 women and two gentlemen entered the stage and offered us a journey full of wonderful music, dances and great stories. Despite the fact that the performance was in a concert hall, the band was able to turn the environment into something cozy, and during the concert I started thinking of a bar in Killkenny back in Ireland that I visited more than 10 years ago. There I had the privilege to attend a night (not an evening) , where all the city’s musicians met at the bar of my hotel and started playing/jamming together as they arrived. I’ll never forget that night and the Three Jacks reminded me last night why. Ireland is beautiful.
There is a good reason why some of the best musicians like Van Morrison, U2, Sinead O’Conner and others have been able to conquer the world with their music in the past – last night it was the Three Jacks that conquered Lima and I can only recommend you to attend this evenings EXTRA concert (almost SOLD OUT).
Tickets are available from S/. 50 to S/. 135 at Teleticket
Where When : 7 PM tonight at the Concert Hall of Colegio Santa Ursula, San Isidro
I almost forgot. Not only do you get an excellent concert, but all the money you pay for your ticket is spend wisely with the help of Rotary Club Lima Sunrise to build a clinic in Pisco, where the inhabitants still don’t have a hospital after the big Earthquake back in August 2007 destroyed most of the city.
Los Jacks En Lima
Uno de los actuales exponentes del llamado “American celtic rock” es el grupo 'The Three Jacks', quienes actuarán en el auditorio del Colegio Santa Úrsula los días 15 y 16 de mayo próximos. Ellos combinan la tradición céltica hecha con banjos, mandolinas, “low whistle” o flauta traversa irlandesa y una especie de tambor llamado “bodh-ram”– con ritmos modernos como el rock y el pop. En su performance limeña –coordinada por Angels With a Mission Foundation– estarán acompañados por las bailarinas del Breffni Academy of Irish Dance. El total de los fondos recaudados se destinará a beneficio de la construcción del Policlínico de Rotary “Paul Harris” en Pisco.
The Three Jacks are an amazing Irish/Celtic/Folk/Rock band, a Dade County Dropkick Murphy's with better musicians. . . . Do yourself the favor of checking out the band's tunes at myspace.com/thethreejacksonline, for it is the foot-stomping, whiskey -drinking, Miami-style Irish party music your Guinness dreams are made of.
The month of May just got merrier in Lima for fans of Celtic music and dance.
Acclaimed U.S. Irish-rock band "The Three Jacks" and champion dancers from the "Breffni Academy of Irish Step Dance" will perform two benefit concerts, Friday, May 15, and Saturday, May 16, to raise funds for the earthquake-ruined community of Pisco.
Led by singer-songwriter Henk Milne, The Three Jacks is one of America’s most entertaining Irish-rock bands with well over 15 years of packed-out shows in clubs, pups and auditoriums in the U.S. and abroad. The “Jacks” are known for their dynamic interpretations of traditional Celtic music, merging 17th-century melodies with foot-stomping rhythms from rock and blues. The band’s latest album is the award-winning “Treachery, Lust and Misfortune” (Dancing Bear Records).
Joining The Three Jacks on their first Peru tour is special guest violin virtuoso ShaSha Zang from the Republic of China. ShaSha has performed with Andrea Bocelli and Sir James Galway and has toured with Gaelic Storm, the party band from the major motion picture “Titanic.”
The high-kicking Irish step dancers on The Three Jacks tour will include 16-year-old champion Kiera Daley, fresh from her stellar performances at the 2009 World Irish Dancing Championships, in Philadelphia.
Presented by “Angels with a Mission, Inc.,” The Three Jacks Peru Tour is sponsored by the Consulate General of Ireland and the Royal Norwegian Consulate General of Miami. All funds raised by the concerts will be donated to construct the Policlinico “Paul Harris” in Pisco, a project of the Rotary Club, Lima-Sunrise.
To date, the band has raised more than $78,000 toward its goal of $250,000 for the Pisco medical clinic.
Come join us for two nights of unforgettable Irish-style fun and help support this worthy cause to bring much-needed medical care to the community of Pisco.
For information on The Three Jacks click here!
The benefit concerts will be held at 7 p.m. at the Santa Ursula Auditorium located at Calle Santo Toribio 150, in San Isidro, Lima. Tickets are on sale for S/.50, S/.75, S/.105 and S/.135 soles, and are available at TeleTicket sales outlets and online at www.teleticket.com.pe.
Boston has quite a bit of Irish blood, and I’ve got some running through my own veins as well. Right around the corner from the Firstgiving office is a lovely little Irish pub called the Burren where they serve up traditional fare and even have weekly Irish dancing lessons! I could get my celtic music fix any night of the week at this pub, but a few days ago, I read about an out-of-town show I wished I hadn’t missed:
The Three Jacks & Amigos, a Miami-based celtic rock band, recently played a sold-out benefit show for victims of a powerful earthquake that hit Peru last year. Today is the 1-year anniversary of the quake, and the band has set a goal to raise $250,000 to build medical centers in two Peruvian cities, Chincha and Pisco.
Earlier this month, we blogged about harnessing the power of music to fundraise for causes. The Three Jacks & Amigos are doing just that; they’ve created a Firstgiving.com fundraising page and have already raised over $77,000 to help rebuild these Peruvian communities. The band will be touring Peru this month along with dancers from the Breffni Academy Of Irish Dance. Irish-Peruvian fusion: sounds like a rockin’ good time.
Hundreds of Celtic-music and dance fans packed the Arsht Center for the Performing Arts, in downtown Miami, Florida, August 1, to cheer on "The Three Jacks & Amigos" in their first benefit anniversary concert for victims of the 2007 Peru earthquake. The sold-out concert raised funds and boosted awareness of the need for continued reconstruction efforts in southern Peru.
One of Miami's best-loved live bands and award-winning recording artists, The Three Jacks rocked the Arsht Center with their high-energy interpretations of traditional Celtic tunes such as "Whiskey in the Jar," "Work o' the Weavers" and "Matty Groves." Many songs celebrate bravery and endurance in the face of disaster - qualities also exhibited by the survivors of the 8.0-degree earthquake that shook Peru last August 15.
Sharing the stage with The Three Jacks last Friday night were champion Irish step-dancers from the Breffni Academy of Irish Dance, whose high kicks and leaps electrified the standing-room-only audience.
"We are thrilled that the concert was such a success, both musically and as a fundraiser," says Henk Milne, the band's leader singer. "So many people have opened their hearts and wallets to help children and families in Chincha and Pisco. One year after the August 15 earthquake, the people of southern Peru have not been forgotten."
Under the banner of the "Angels with a Mission" fundraising tour, The Three Jacks have raised nearly $80,000 toward their initial $250,000 goal to help build medical centers in Chincha and Pisco. The medical centers are being built by the Peruvian American Medical Society (PAMS) and PAMS Para Peru (PPP).
The Three Jacks' online fundraising site at FirstGiving has raised over $77,800 to date, under the auspices of the Angels with a Mission Foundation, Inc. Online donations can be made at http://www.firstgiving.com/jacks4kids .
The Miami concert is the first in a series of planned concerts to take place in Lima and Chincha at future dates in 2008 (TBA). While touring Peru, the band will combine their talents with those of members of the Afro-Peruvian musical community of El Carmen.
Notes Milne: "We are so looking forward to coming to Peru and working wth dancers and drummers from the El Carmen tradition. This will be a tremendous fusion of culture and spirit."
No strangers to musical fusion, the multi-talented members of The Three Jacks have played with many legendary musicians such as Bob Dylan, Richie Havens and Chuck Berry. Guitarist Jack Shawde performed with Enrique Iglesias at the Latin Grammy Awards; fiddle player Jack Stamates can be heard on Shakira's platinum-selling CDs "Donde Esta Las Ladrones" and "Latin Laundry" and J. Lo's "On the Six."
In addition to ticket sales and private donations, the "Angels with a Mission" effort has received generous donations from the Bounty Group, Fyffes, American University of the Caribbean, and others.
For information on The Three Jacks and the Angels with a Mission fundraising effort, visit http://www.thethreejacks.com and click on "Peru Tour."
To listen to excerpts from The Three Jacks' album "Treachury, Lust & Misfortune," and to purchase CDs, visit http://cdbaby.com/cd/threejacks
To learn about the Irish step dancers of Breffni Academy, visit www.breffniacademy.com
For information about PAMS, visit www.pamsnational.com
All photos courtesy of © 2008 robertstolpe.com
Three Jacks Walk into a Bar ...
And the resulting Irish rock act winds up heading to Peru to benefit earthquake victims.
By Greg Baker
Published on July 31, 2008
Here's a funny thing about the universe. Not only is everything relative, like Einstein said, but also most things are morally relative, and it's only in the details that sense is found, or made. Which is a grandiose way of introducing the confluence of lands and sounds and notions that compose the latest chapter in the story of the Three Jacks. One year ago, an earthquake measuring 8.0 on the moment magnitude scale ruined parts of southwestern Peru, a nation where 40 percent of the population lives below the poverty line, where the public water will sicken you, where concern in the rest of the Americas seems as far removed as, say, Galway or Dublin.
And here's the beginning of the confluence: Two years ago, three jacks walked into a bar. Henk "Jack" Milne (of the Volunteers), Jack Stamates (of Avalon), and Jack Shawde (of The Diane Ward Band) spontaneously formed a trio to replace some had-to-cancel act during a fest at the since-shuttered Main Street Café in Homestead. Milne says the impromptu show was such a kick, and the reaction of the packed house so enthusiastic, that a permanent arrangement made sense.
Taking the name the Three Jacks, the group continued the vibrant tradition of Celtic rock that had made Milne's band, the Volunteers, a favorite in South Florida since the early Nineties. They were soon invited to play an Irish festival in the Keys, and enlisted another local star, Diane "Jill" Ward, to play drums. (Although noted as a singer-songwriter, Ward began her musical endeavors as a drummer and has retained, and maintained, her powerhouse percussive skills over the years as a member or guest of various bands and performers.)
The lineup was now solidified — Milne on guitar and vocals, Shawde adding guitars and other strings, Stamates providing fiddle and what Milne calls "a Medieval orchestra's worth" of instruments (crumhorn, rebeck), and Ward on drums. The Jacks then brought in guests such as Iko-Iko bassist Mitch Mestel and erstwhile Volunteers Homer Wills (harmonica, bagpipes) and Barbara Drake (penny whistle) to record a remarkable batch of tunes released under the title Treachery, Lust & Misfortune. A second Jill, much-sought-after veteran bassist Debbie Duke, since signed on as the fifth member.
The album is a lively and beautifully crafted indulgence (with superproducer Looch Delgado at the boards) in the reeling, pealing sounds of Ireland filtered through the global rock sensibilities of the players. It kicks and bounces like a hurley swinger after a bucket of Jameson and more than a bit o' the bitter, without sacrificing high art or inducing any sort of sonic hangover.
While this music can be enjoyed as boisterous and blatant, there's actually a deep confluence (yes, another one) at work. Songwriting chieftain Milne knows his Éire airs, but prefers something more jiggy, adding the bone-crush and foot-stamp of his previous band to reworkings of traditional tunes as well as Volunteers material ("18th-century folk songs we wrote last week," he calls 'em). The Jacks draw comfortably from the slightly mad baroque folk of Turlough Carolan (1670-1738) and from Elizabethan dance tunes (at Stamates's insistence) to create stuff the Pogues (an inevitable comparison) wish they'd written.
All of which, with the addition of fleet-footed step dancers from the celebrated Breffni Academy, should go over at a series of fundraising shows beginning in Miami and continuing in Peru. This odd mix of lands, sounds, and notions began incubating a year ago. Milne was jetting back to his Miami home from Lima at the same time Volunteers pennywhistler Drake was flying with her family to their new home in the Peruvian capital. (She will join the tour in Peru as the third Jill.) Three days later, on August 15, 2007, the earthquake hit, killing more than 500 people, injuring thousands, and destroying nearly 60,000 homes. Misfortune would be an understatement; the treachery comes in the form of reported malfeasance and bureaucracy that has sapped donations and hindered relief efforts.
Milne has been careful to avoid such leeching by working with a number of organizations and individuals in both Miami and Peru. A secured trust and nonprofit charity have been established with the help of the Angels with a Mission Foundation. The goal is to raise $250,000 for the Peruvian American Medical Society to build medical centers in Pisco and Chincha, two of the hardest-hit cities in Peru. Perhaps confluences happen for a reason, after all.
There is a great tradition, or at least a stereotype, of an association between storytelling and drunkenness among the Irish. With his new project, the Three Jacks, Henk "Jack" Milne proves musically there's much to be said for tradition. And storytelling. And drunkenness. But let's be clear here: The Three Jacks are actually a quintet, and they're not all guys. But they do make solid music, and a certain complex renaissance of instrumentation is draped all over their devoutly Celtic debut, Treachery, Lust & Misfortune, as Milne's Guinness-stout rock tells their elaborate lyrical tales. Traditional Anglo songs are woven into the mix here and so are reworked Milne originals such as "The Bare-Ass Girl" and "The Volunteers." Milne, fiddle master Jack Stamates, and guitar star Jack Shawde formed the Jacks as "the acoustic wing of the Volunteers." (Those who missed out on the 15 years of pub glory, and two albums, provided by that Milne-fronted South Florida C-rock collective should dropkick Murphy themselves.) Drummer Diane Ward (yes, that Diane Ward) and beloved bassist Debbie Duke signed on and have been dubbed "the Two Jills." Treachery ranks as magnificent, but if you know anything about Celtic rock, or the characters involved, you know this stuff will really kill live. That's a fact of history. And drunkenness.
"Treachery, Lust and Misfortune" by The Three Jacks is pub friendly American Celtic Rock. Grab a Guiness and get ready to dance. The musicianship is tight and driving. The vocals are throaty and fun. The song structure is strong and has sing-along quality. You can't ignore the fiddle breakdowns either. Highlights are "Work O' The Weavers," a house burnin', sweaty number with a couple of those fore-mentioned fiddle breakdowns. "The Bare-Ass Girl" has some fun lyrics, as you can imagine. It also features some nice recorder work. The wavy "Si Bheag Si Mhor" wraps up the album nicely. If you like The Fenians or Celtic Rock in general, you will like this one.