Author Archives: Sohrab Saadat Ladjevardi

Ikhlaq Hussain’s THE GIFT OF WISDOM performing @ the Locating the Sacred Festival.

Date: Saturday, September 15, 2012
Time: 2-4.30pm
Venue: Queens Botanical Garden ( 43-50 Main Street, Flushing, NY 11355, Cross Street: Dahlia Avenue,  Subways: 7 to Flushing-Main St – Buses: Q20A, Q20B, Q44 to Main St-Elder Av)
Tickets: $4 Adults, $3 Seniors and $2 Students with ID and children over 3 years of age, (718) 886-3800
www.queensbotanical.org
RSVP by clicking here

In the village setting of an autumnal garden, master artists from the New York Foundation for the Arts’ Folk Artist Development Program present the sacred traditions that have been passed on to them through lineage and legacy. Imbued with reverence for the artists’ teachers, performances will include a devotional Odissi dance (classical dance form of India) by Mala Desai, a Hindustani classical composition on sitar by Ikhlaq Hussain, powerful songs of praise for elders on the kora (African harp-lute) by Alhaji Papa Susso, and a seasonal improvisation on the kayagum (Korean zither) by Yoon Sook Park. These artists, all masters of their own tradition, have collaborated and rehearsed together for the past few months, learning about each other’s traditions, and…having lots of fun in the process! Experience and participate in this spirit of sharing at the enchanting Queens Botanical Garden. All are welcome, including families.

Tokyo Report P.3: Asakusa Jinta – the “Asianican Hard Marching Band”!

Text and photo by Sohrab Saadat Ladjevardi

As you might know before moving to New York in 2008 I had lived for about two years in Tokyo’s old city called Asakusa. Once a while I would go for a beer to a bar called Ginmaku Rock in Asakusa, which is owned by the vocalist. bassist and  leader of the band ASAKUSA JINTA, and became friends with him and the bar’s customers. In the past Asakusa was the entertainment district of Tokyo where jintas (roving Japanese street bands) once filled the streets.

Today I would like to introduce you to one of my Tokyo favorite bands which is located in Asakusa: ASAKUSA JINTA, the six-piece band and calling themselves the “Asianican Hard Marching Band”. Their music style is a mixture of rockabilly, up tempo country, ska, punk, polka and Japanese Enka and Kayokyoku from the 1930′s.

The band was formed in 1999. Eventually the band became very popular in Asakusa playing in the streets and shopping malls of Asakusa. Their music is about joy, sorrow, love, friendship in evryday life and about “giri – ninjo”.

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Event recommendation: The Crossing The Line 2012 Festival (NY)

The French Institute Alliance Française (FIAF), New York’s premiere French cultural center, is pleased to open the Crossing the Line 2012 festival with three unique concerts by Grammy Award-winning guitarist and composer Bill Frisell . In a career spanning more than 35 years and over 250 recordings—including over 40 albums of his own—the guitarist, composer and bandleader has established himself as a visionary presence in American music. This series of events offers unconventional settings in which to experience Frisell’s singular artistry, including his first-ever early morning concert and a Crossing the Line commission in which he, violist Eyvind Kang, and visual artist Jim Woodring will use Frisell’s work notebooks to guide an intimate performance that includes live illustration and musical improvisation.

On Friday, September 14 at 8pm, Frisell opens FIAF’s newly renovated Florence Gould Hall with a special concert uniting two of his groups, the 858 Quartet (featuring Eyvind Kang, Hank Roberts, and Jenny Scheinman) and the Beautiful Dreamers trio (featuring Eyvind Kang and Rudy Royston).

Bill Frisell (photo by courtesy of CTL Festival)

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Event recommendation: Asian American Arts Alliance’s Locating the Sacred Festival explores “sacred” in New York with music, dance, exhibitions and talks.

September 12-23, 2012 | New York City
12 Days – 25 Events – 5 Boroughs – 300 Artists

Discover the festival’s event offerings on the calendar, the map or by searching by category.

(NEW YORK, 20 August 2012)— From an inflatable Buddha on the East River to a flash mob in Washington Square Park, the Asian American Arts Alliance’s Locating the Sacred Festival promises all New Yorkers a chance to glimpse the sublime and the sacred in everyday life. In the wake of the shootings at a Sikh temple in Wisconsin and as the eleventh anniversary of 9/11 approaches, New Yorkers are reminded that opportunities for greater cultural understanding are never more important.

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Tokyo Report P.2 – Asakusa my favorite spot in Tokyo.

Text by Sohrab Saadat Ladjevardi

During my last one year and half I lived in Asakusa which is  is the center of Tokyo’s “shitamachi” (literally “low city”), one of Tokyo’s districts, where the spirit of Edo (prior to 1868, Tokyo was known as Edo) still exists. For many centuries, Asakusa used to be Tokyo’s leading entertainment district. During Edo times (1603-1867), when the district was still located outside the city limits, Asakusa was the site of kabuki and rakugo theaters. And was famous for its large red light district. Modern types of entertainment, including movie and comedy theaters, started in Asakusa in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Even today many Japanese movie, theater and comedy stars started their career in Asakusa.

Today when I passed the Sumida River Boat Terminal at the Asakusa Bashi (Asakusa bridge), I heard some music playing. My ears pulled me to the side of the boat terminal building, and I found a band playing Japanese popular music of the 30s and 40s. The band members were dressed in the fashion of that time. Especially the singer represented perfectly that time. The songs are about sake (Japanese rice wine) and about men coming together and sharing a bottle of sake. I don’t know how you want me to describe the music but how about Edo polka and country music?