Author Archives: Sohrab Saadat Ladjevardi

Have you heard of the Pakistani band “Noori” pioneers of the Pakistani rock music scene?!

Noori (“light” in Urdu) is an indie rock band from Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan, formed in 1996. The band is known for being one of the pioneers of the Pakistani rock music scene. It was formed by songwriter, vocalist and guitarist, Ali Noor, along with his younger brother Ali Hamza on rhythm guitar and back vocals. After many member changes they recruited John L. Pintoon on drums and Muhammad Ali Jafri on bass in 2012. Meanwhile Noori has put out three studio albums:

Though influenced by Western pop, rock and jazz music such as Abba, Elvis Presley and John Coltrane, Noori’s music is  still rooted in their native music tradition. During a summer tour in America in 2012, Asia Society New York‘s Rachel Cooper and Vivek Gupta were able to sit down with the band’s members — Ali Noor, Ali Hamza and John Louis ‘Gumby’ Pinto — at Asia Society New York to talk about their approach to music.

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Concert Review: THE RED MICROPHONE performing protest jazz music

Date: February 5, 2013
Venue: Shapeshifter (NY)

Text by Dawoud Kringle

On a cold winter night in Brooklyn,THE RED MICROPHONE brought its special brand of new revolutionary jazz & poetry to Shapeshifter Lab. Red Microphone consisted of John Pietaro (vibraphone, percussion), Nicolas Letman-Burtinovic (bass), Rocco John Iacovone (saxophones), and New York mainstay and master musician Ras Moshe (saxophones, flute, percussion). For the first set, Italian poet Erika Dagnino joined the group.

The vibes started with mysterious chords, saxophones answered. A conversation began between instruments. Poetry insinuated itself into
the music, its hardened sophistication daring you to listen. Instruments made comments, affirmations, and suggestions. At one point, the bass took center of music, then Ras took over, and his dialogue was joined by soprano sax. Suddenly, the poetry morphed from Italian into English, delivered in dramatic smoldering passion, underscored by Erika’s thick Italian accent.

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Union effort continues to pay off – Winter Jazzfest musicians enjoy a second year of a hard-won union contract

Reprinted from the February 2013 issue of Allegro, the magazine of the New York City musicians’ union (AFM Local 802). For more information, see www.Local802afm.org. The original article can be seen at this link: http://www.local802afm.org/2013/02/union-effort-continues-to-pay-off/

This January marked the second year of the contract between Local 802 and the NYC Winter Jazzfest. The festival, now in its ninth year, showcases a wide variety of jazz artists over two days in several Greenwich Village venues.

The union agreement was organized in 2011, when a committee of musicians who had played the festival, along with Local 802, brought the festival’s promoters to the table though an online petition drive.

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Justice For Jazz Artists movement: Speak truth to power – Lorraine Gordon, the owner of the Village Vanguard, still isn’t returning our calls. So we paid her a visit on the night of her awards ceremony…

Reprinted from the February 2013 issue of Allegro, the magazine of the New York City musicians’ union (AFM Local 802). For more information, see www.Local802afm.org. The original article can be seen at this link: http://www.local802afm.org/2013/02/speak-truth-to-power/

Text by Todd Bryant Weeks (Tweeks@local802afm.org)

Members of Local 802 and the Justice for Jazz Artists campaign came together on Jan. 14 to leaflet the 2013 National Endowments for the Arts’ Jazz Masters Awards ceremony. The goal was to draw attention to an injustice being perpetuated by one of this year’s honorees – Village Vanguard owner Lorraine Gordon.

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