“I went to see the musician, Sohrab Saadat Ladjevardi of SoSaLa a few nights ago, and I must say, that I was totally impressed by his honesty and sincerity.
That’s perhaps one of the things that is missing in many practitioners of the music.
It was quite refreshing to experience his concert presentation.
Billy Harper
PS. It is sometimes good to get “outside of oneself” and see what someone else may be experiencing about his music.”
Date: December 20, 2017
Venue: CA Music Room (NY)
Photo by AMNH, R. Mickens
Honoring the 70th year of a Cuban music legend, Bronx Arts Ensemble welcomes acclaimed virtuoso clarinet and sax player of Paquito D’Rivera. a winner of fourteen GRAMMY Awards, celebrated for his artistry in Latin jazz and achievements as a classical composer. Paquito is also the first artist to win Latin GRAMMYs in both Classical and Latin Jazz categories for Stravinsky’s L’Histoire du Soldat and Brazilian Dreams with New York Voices.
Artist: George Crotty and Kirk Starkey
Title: Vidi Aquam
Label: self produced
Genre: electronica/nu music
CD Review by Dawoud Kringle
Vidi Aquam is the name of an antiphon (a short Psalm-texted chant), which is sung during the Roman Catholic Mass. It is also the tiltel of the recent release of the collaborative project between George Crotty and Kirk Starkey.
Global Takeover of Times Square: globalFEST Uncovers Bold Sounds and the World’s Hidden Musical GemsOn one of the busiest and most iconic streets in the world is a forgotten gem of a theater. On January 14, 2018, the lights will go on, the doors will open, and New York and its myriad visitors will discover the unexpected beauty of The Liberty, one of three stages which will host some of the most intriguing music in the world, along with the iconic BB King’s and Lucille’s.
globalFEST is moving the 15th anniversary edition of its flagship festival to Midtown, to add a new collection of sounds to the crossroads of the world in Times Square. The leading US-based world music service organization and its eponymous festival/showcase specializes in uncovering gems hidden in plain sight and in showcasing the wonders of a world brimming with music that’s both innovative and deeply rooted and putting them on the road and in theaters and venues across the country.
A Cultural Commentary By Dawoud Kringle
There was a scene in the movie Collateral, where the whole of modern popular musical culture was eloquently represented. A professional assassin (played by Tom Cruise) took a cab driver (played by Jamie Foxx, who Cruise forced his assistance in a series of assassinations) to a jazz club. The assassin loved the live jazz performance in the club. He was fascinated by the unpredictability of the music. The cab driver disliked the performance and found it incomprehensible for the exact same reason. His conditioning to accept uniformity and predictability in music – and life itself – could not allow him to let go of his illusion of control and allow the music to be itself.
