Monthly Archives: November 2011

NY Street Musician – A Cowboy Plays Bach?!

Text by Sohrab Saadat Ladjevardi

Yesterday, when I changed trains at 14th Street on my way back home from my rehearsal in Williamsburg, I saw a guy in a cowboy outfit playing classical music on a keyboard which was kind of funny. Instantly I took out my iPhone from my pocket and thought this could be something for the “Musicians In New York” page. Before shooting him I gave him some money. He said “Thank you” with a big smile and started playing. I don’t know what he was playing, maybe Bach? After a couple of minutes I tried to start a conversation with him and asked for a short interview which he for personal reasons rejected. But I felt that he didn’t like to do an interview. So I just stopped shooting him and rushed to my C train.

Enjoy the video below!

Continue reading →

Music listings – 11/7 through 11/13

1. Red Baraat w. REBEL DIAZ & The KOMINAS

Date: Monday, November 7, 2011
Time: 8pm
Venue: BROOKLYN BOWL (61 Wythe Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11211, 718-963-3369)
Ticket: $5
Genre: Bhangara/New Orleans Jazz

In just over two short years, the pioneering Brooklyn dhol and brass party juggernaut RED BARAAT have become known as one of the best live bands playing anywhere. Led by dhol player Sunny Jain, the nine piece (comprised of dhol ((double-sided barrel shaped North Indian drum slung over one shoulder)) drumset, percussion, sousaphone, and 5 horns melds the infectious North Indian rhythm Bhangra with a host of sounds, namely funk, go-go, latin, and jazz.

Check out Sunny Jain’s interview in DooBeeDoo Continue reading →

To D.H. Rosen’s Kodo’s Earth Celebration (Japan) PR: is Japan really OK?

Text by Sohrab Saadat Ladjevardi

Daniel H. Rosen was recently featured in a Japanese news story about the Earth Day Celebration in Sado (Western Japan), but what makes him particularly interesting is that he is an American who was put in charge of this celebration after years of involvement on the Japanese arts scene. This appointment also coincided with the aftermath of the earthquake and tsunami that hit in March.

I had never met Daniel H. Rosen when I lived in Japan, but he was there when I was there. Last year in December I got a newsletter from Rosen which made me contact him to find out how he found out about DooBeeDoo. He told me that he found DooBeeDoo via internet just by chance and put us sporadically in the mailing list.

Continue reading →

Video feature: Anders Nilsson’s “Breakfast Boogie/Nightmare Ballad”

Text by Sohrab Saadat Ladjevardi

I have played a couple of times with Swedish guitarist and a film, dance and theatre composer Anders Nilsson who moved from his native Sweden to New York in 2000. I like his guitar playing a lot. He is a unique and very versatile guitarist. In his playing I can hear that he cares about space, sound colors and dynamics. He’s also a very good listener and can respond to other musician’s playing instantly. His characteristic guitar playing can often be heard with singer Fay Victor. He has performed or recorded with artists such as William Parker, Sabir Mateen, Paquito D’Rivera, Eugene Chadbourne, Calvin Weston, Hamid Drake, George Schuller, John Sinclair, Angelblood and has composed music for film, dance and theatre.

His  solo album “Night Guitar” is coming out on the SoundatOne label by the end of this year. His friend Arrien Zinghini made a video to the track from the album “Breakfast Boogie/Nightmare Ballad” (watch above video). It was shot entirely on a Long Island beach after sunset on a series of cold April nights.

Continue reading →