Author Archives: Sohrab Saadat Ladjevardi

Chinese indie rock label: Genjing Records (Beijing)

Text by by Metal Postcards Rec‘s Sean Hockings

3_21_XP_WEBWe thought it was probably time to tell you about other indie labels based in China other than bang on about Metal Postcard the whole time .First up we ought to let you know about Genjing who are Beijing-based record label that specializes in releasing vinyl of Chinese artists.They write on their website. “We aim to promote vinyl and DIY culture in China while creating links between the Chinese scene and DIY scenes around the globe. The bands retain all rights for their works and we aim to serve more as a promotional resource in support of the Chinese DIY community, spreading information about Chinese bands abroad while raising awareness of international DIY scenes within China.”

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CD Review: Pedra Preta…a promising CD by a tight band, filled with diverse music played at a high level of musicianship

lrgArtist: Pedra Preta
Title: Your Choice
Label: Unit Records
Genre: Afro-beat / Dub / Jazz

CD review by Matt Cole

Pedra Preta is an international trio, with members from Brazil, Italy, and Switzerland, and with a sound rooted in jazz but with many influences and components.  Their album Your Choice was released in 2010 on the Swiss label Unit Records.  The band includes Munir Hossn on guitars and vocals (and most of the songwriting), Toni Schiavano on electric bass, and Flo Reichle on drums and percussion.

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Music listings: 3/25 through 3/31

1. GO: ORGANIC ORCHESTRA

Date: Monday, March 25, 2013
Time: 8pm
Venue: ShapeShifter Lab (18 Whitwell Pl, between Carroll St & 1st St, Brooklyn, NY 11215, 646-820-9452)
Ticket: $15
Genre: jazz/jazz orchstra improv

Composer Adam Rudolph returns with another series of Go: Organic Orchestra to Shapeshifter. In concert he will conduct between 20 – 35 musicians in a spontaneous way, using a newly created score of music/letter grids, language themes, tone rows, traditional and synthetic scales, diadic and intervalic harmonies, The compositions will also utilize Rudolph’s rhythm concept of “Cyclic Verticalism” to generate form and weave what he calls an “audio syncretic music fabric”. The music is “organic” in the sense that the compositions and conducting exist as an inspiration and context for the musicians to express themselves by using their instruments as an amplifier for their inner voice.

2. Vital Vox Festival | Vox Electronics: Philip Hamilton / Loom Trio / Sarah Bernstein

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Concert Review: Shelley Nicole’s blaKbüshe… in the presence of a strong, larger-than-life personality.

Date: March 16, 2013
Venue: BAM Cafe (Brooklyn)

Review, video and photos by Dawoud Kringle

There was high energy in the packed venue. Tension rose as the musicians drifted toward the stage, making last minute preparations. Then, after the MC spoke to the crowd introducing Shelley Nicole’s blaKbüshe a blues pulse drew the audience into its hypnotic undertow. The band moved toward their places, and held up the rock solid pulse the bass drum invoked.

Shelley profileThen Shelley Nichole took the stage. When Shelley takes the stage, there is nothing subtle about it. You know you’re in the presence of a strong, larger-than-life personality. Her powerful voice and indomitable presence are impossible to ignore. Working the crowd like a Baptist preacher, she deftly combines the old time streetwise vibe of a blues singer with the flamboyance of the classic R&B soul funk singers such as LaBelle, Grace Jones, etc.

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Recommended Event: A Tribute to Paul Motian @ Symphony Space (NY)

thumbDate: Friday, March 22, 2013
Time: 7 pm
Venue: Peter Jay Sharp Theatre /Symphony Space (2537 Broadway at 95th Street, New York, NY 10025-6990)
Tickets: $45
Genre: jazz

An all-star cast of jazz greats come together to pay tribute to their colleague, legendary drummer and composer, the late Paul Motian, voted number one in the 2012Downbeat Critics Poll Hall of Fame. One of the most influential jazz musicians of the 20th century, Motian played with Joe Lovano, Bill Frisell, Bill Evans, Keith Jarrett, Charlie Haden, Paul Bley, and many other bandleaders, including Lee Konitz, Warne Marsh, Mose Allison, Tony Scott, Stan Getz, and Johnny Griffin.

The concert, curated by Bill Frisell and Joe Lovano, features performances by Andrew Cyrille, Ben Monder, Ravi Coltrane, Ben Street, Bill Frisell, Billy Drewes, Jerome Harris, Billy Hart, Chris Cheek, Ed Schuller, Marilyn Crispell, Gary Peacock, Bill McHenry, Greg Osby, Tim Berne, Ethan Iverson, Jakob Bro, Joe Lovano, Joey Baron, Chris Cheek, Larry Grenadier, Mark Turner, Masabumi Kikuchi, Petra Haden, Steve Cardenas, Tony Malaby, and Billy Hart Quartet (Ethan Iverson, Ben Street, Mark Turner).

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