Last Waltz Ensemble at The Maple Leaf in
New Orleans March 13 with special guest C.R.Gruver

It's really no wonder Atlanta's Last Waltz Ensemble has rapidly become
the show to catch at venues nationwide. The core line up of the group
is comprised of the best musicians in the southeast.

But perhaps the most innovative and fun aspect of The Last Waltz
Ensemble, is organizer Kris Gloer's uncanny ability to secure a
plethora of stellar special guests for each performance. Past shows
have included appearances by what Gloer cleverly calls "associates";
Oliver Wood, Susan Tedeschi, Doug Wannamaker, Colonel Bruce Hampton
(ret.), Jeff Mosier and members of the Dirty Dozen Brass Band among
many others have played with The Last Waltz Ensemble. Each show
portends surprises in material (lately they've been covering, or
rather uncovering the earliest songs of the pre-The Band group The
Hawks) and musicians, as the best of the best join them on stage.

Despite its ability to duplicate the music of Bob Dylan and The Band,
The Last Waltz steers itself away from lingering in coverland. Each
show is designed to give musicians room to breath.

"Some of our arrangements are really true to the originals, but some
are great departures. We don't claim to be a reenactment of any sort
or to play specific roles on stage. We leave the whole thing open to
experimentation." says Gloer.

The Last Waltz Ensembles greatest skill, however, lies in allowing
audience members to relive the specialness of the music.

"Our show brings out private memories from people. Hundreds of folks
have e-mailed me their personal stories about Dylan or Band shows they
attended back in the day - or pilgrimages to Big Pink (the house in
Saugerties, N.Y. where Dylan and The Band secretly recorded 1967's
fabled Basement Tapes). "Gloer is adamant about his place in this
music and his respect and dedication to the people he plays with as
well as his audience."The hair is standing up on my arm as I tell you
this, because I've heard so many heartwarming tales. That just goes
back to our conditioning as humans and our need to share the things we
admire and respect and love."