1. Rana Farhan
Time: 7:15pm
Venue: Drom (85 Avenue A, NY, NY 10009, Ph: 212- 777-1157)
Ticket: $20
Genre: Iranian nu jazz & blues
Rana’s mission to bring unity and understanding through the arts has taken her around the globe, from Dubai to London to San Francisco. Her stand out performance in the critically acclaimed film “No One Knows About Persian Cats” solidified her icon status with the young musicians of Iran who download her music religiously over the internet.
2. AcquAria: Sea/cily – a performance of Sicilian folk and rots music dedicated to the Sea.
Date: Wednesday, November 14, 2012
Time: 8pm
Venue: Music Room (218 East 25th Street, NY, ph: 212-686-4220)
Ticket: $20
Genre: Sicilian folk music
AcquAria is Michela Musolino & Vincenzo Castellana. The rich musical tradition of Sicily includes many songs that speak of the sea, sing its praises or are sung by those whose work connects them to the water. Michela Musolino and Vincenzo Castellana join together to pay tribute to Sicily’s sea. Musolino, a vocalist known for her performances of Sicilian Roots Music, and Castellana, a noted percussionist of the Sicilian drumming tradition, present a theatrical work of song, percussion and recitations which illustrates the intimate connection of Sicily, her history and her culture to the sea which surrounds it. The Music Room of NYC is the perfect ambiance for their performance of Sicilian songs in homage to the sea.
Castellana, who worked with Ennio Morricone , and Musolino, who sang with renown Sicilian singer-songwriter, Pippo Pollina at his United States debut, are excited to be working together to bring Sicilian Music and a bit of Sicily’s sea to New York.
3. M.A.K.U. SoundSystem
Date: Thursday, November 15, 2012
Time: 11:30pm
Venue: Joe’s Pub (425 Lafayette Street, New York, NY 10003, 212-967-7555)
Tickets: $15
Genre: Colombian Nu music/dub/latin/electronic world
Comprised of 8 members, hailing mostly from Colombia, M.A.K.U. SoundSystem makes big music that begins in traditional Afro- Colombian rhythms and ends somewhere in the punk-jazz stratosphere. Clarinet, trombone, sax, guitarra, and Latin percussion supplement a rambunctious, driving rock core, creating a sound familiar enough to be danceable but always surprising.
4. Ikhlaq Hussain
Date: Friday, November 16, 2012
Time: 8pm
Venue: New York Insight Meditation Center (28 W 27th Street 10th floor New York, NY 10001, Phone: 212-213-4802 )
Ticket: $25
Genre: Indian classical (sitar) music
Ustad Ikhlaq Hussain Khan is a virtuoso sitarist from a centuries-long line of influential musicians of the Delhi Gharana, dating back to the very creator of the instruments ‘sitar’ and ‘tabla’ in the early 13th century, Sufi Saint Hazrat Amir Khusrao.
While his lineage is known for their proliferative work in the field of tabla and rhythmic expression/composition, Ikhlaq’s grandfather, Ustad Ahmadi Khan, was the first to choose a different instrument, sarangi. In turn, Ikhlaq’s father, the eminent Ustad Imdad Hussain, chose to devote his musical life to sitar. Ikhlaq’s immediate family was relocated to Pakistan during partition, and still resides in Karachi.
Ikhlaq Hussain, now a resident of New York City, was granted permanent residency in the U.S. on the basis of his extraordinary music ability; a category reserved for individuals with unusually exceptional talents. This has been a testimony to his virtuosity. Ikhlaq Hussain has followed in the footsteps of his forefathers, captivating audiences worldwide with his highly artistic sensibilities and skillful playing.
Naren Budhkar will accompany on tabla.
5. Rebeca Vallejo & Hadar Noiberg
Date: Friday, November 16, 2012
Time: 6:45pm-8:30pm
Venue: Drom (85 Avenue A, NY, NY 10009, 212- 777-1157)
Ticket: $15
Genre: Mediterranean jazz
“Mediterranean Jazz Live” will showcase the distinctive musical vision of two Mediterranean female band-leaders and composers, Rebeca Vallejo and Hadar Noiberg. Within the common thread of their Mediterranean roots, these artist will present their respective project in collaboration with each other.
From Madrid, Spain, Rebeca Vallejo, a versatile and innovative vocalist, known for combining her ancestral flamenco roots, her deep love and understanding of Brazilian music, with the language of jazz, creating a sound that is truly unique. – From Tel Aviv, Israel, Hadar Noiberg, flutist, composer and arranger has established herself as a major force in the Cuban, Jazz and World music scenes. With a language that transcends her Middle Eastern roots, she fuses styles seamlessly, distinguishing her as both innovative and highly skilled. Hadar’s original material is being performed by her trio which has a daring and unique instrumentation: flute, double bass (Edward Perez) and drums/percussion (Ziv Ravitz) which allows sliding in and out of Jazz improvisation and Western harmonies with Middle Eastern and North African rhythms and semitones. Watch Noiberg’s video interview here.
6. Super Hi-Fi
Date: Friday, November 16, 2012
Time: 9pm
Venue: Zebulon (258 Wythe Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11211)
Ticket: donation
Genre: dub
You might not associate the trombone with the classic dub reggae sounds of Lee “Scratch” Perry, King Tubby, and Scientist. Super Hi-Fi, the Brooklyn-based ‘Afro-Dub’ band led by songwriter-producer-bassist Ezra Gale, is about to change that. Dub To The Bone, the band’s debut album, uses not one but two trombones to create sonic tapestries drenched in the warmth of analog tape. “Trombones are like violas,” says Gale. “They’ve always been under-appreciated instruments and even the butt of a lot of band jokes. But when you blend the tones of two trombones with the space of dub you get a deep, full sound that is both soothing and striking.”
7. Chuck Starr with Sarah Rayani
Date: Saturday, November 17, 2012
Time: 7pm
Venue: B.B.KING (237 West 42 St., New York, NY 10036)
Ticket: $15
Genre: R&B/Soul/Pop
I’m starving and if I didn’t feel like this, then I guess I didn’t wanna eat this music bad enough, which means that I wasn’t working hard enough, and the next talent would take my place.”I cant have that”. So I have to grind harder. I’m a singer/songwriter/performer that lives in NYC. I am originally from Columbus Ohio, and grew up singing in Church at 5 years of age. I am very hard working, focused, fun. I have a passion for competition. I was also an All American Athlete, so that helps me to perform better because I feel like I can catch a touchdown pass with each note that I hit. I’m looking forward to meeting each and every one of my fans, so I can wake up from my dream – Chuck Starr
Sarah Rayani was born in London, England, to Swedish and Indian parents. From a young age she has been musically inclined, and trained vocally in classical opera and jazz as well as in dance. Now calling New York her home, she is set to conquer the American music market. Sarah has been described as having “a wildly unique vocal character, both playful and teasingly seductive.”She writes almost all of her own songs, blending Jazz vocals, Motown backing vocals and occasionally even Indian tonality with sample heavy Hip-Hop and synthesized pop. The sound is sultry, laid-back and totally original. Watch her video interview here.
8. Ray Blue Quartet
Date: Saturday, November 17, 2012
Time: 8pm
Venue: Cleopatra´s Needle (2485 Broadway Btwn. 92nd and 93rd, New York, NY)
Ticket: t.b.a.
Genre: jazz
The highlight September performance in Paris was tenor saxophonist Ray Blue. This former member of Sun Ra’s Arkestra and student of Ornette Coleman set the Caveau des Oubliettes on fire. Also a member of the Spirit of Life Ensemble, he played for a full and enthusiastic house. The aptly named Blue showed a warm penchant for the blues, with wild forays into some circular breathing. He offered great poetic impact on originals and displayed a thick and multifaceted tone. His music was fresh and captured the mind without straying away too long from the strongest groove. – Downbeat
Line up: Ray Blue – Saxophone, Carlton Holmes – Piano, Beldon Bullock – Bass and Alvin Atkinson, Jr. – Drums
9. Father Figures
Date: Sunday, November 18 through Tuesday, November 20, 2012
Time: 9pm
Venue: Muchmore’s (2 Havemeyer St, Brooklyn, NY, Phone: 917-515-5444)
Ticket: Donation $5 – $10
Genre: jazz
Zombie Jazz outfit Father Figures began as a Brooklyn basement band like any other — or maybe unlike any other. Instrumental jams with wild horns and trance-inducing keys, not to mention a whole host of otherworldly sounds coming from make this combo totally captivating. Father Figures hasn’t been around much this fall due to everyone’s tour schedules.
A special guest will join them every night!
Nov 18- Celestial Shore
Nov 19- The Moth Machine (featuring Ben & Jocie from the Low Anthem)
Nov 20- Relatives
10. Juncal Street Flamenco
Date: Sunday, November 18, 2012
Time: 8pm
Venue: Le Poisson Rouge (158 Bleecker Street, New York, NY 10012, ph: 212- 505-3474)
Ticket: $25
Genre: Flamenco dance
Juncal Street is presented to you by six incredible and renowned performers, prodigies in the expression of their art. They are a multi-cultural medley of North American, French, Spanish and Gypsy performers who fearlessly disregard borders to create a dazzling, urban fusion of who they are and what unites them: their dedication to their craft. The intense and impassioned way in which they feel and perform communicates the essence that this art deserves. Juncal Street has been nominated for 3 Isadora Duncan Dance Award last September.
Juncal Street Flamenco w/ Fanny Ara (Artistic Director), Manuel Gutierrez (Dancer/Choreographer), Jason McGuire (Musical Director/guitar), Jose Cortes (vocals), Joey Heredia (drums), and Tim Lefebvre (bass)
