“The aim of the Vision Festival is to keep alive in hearts and minds, all of the idealism, integrity and sense of responsibility that lay at the heart of the creative movements in the 60’s.”
– Patricia Nicholson Parker
Artist: M.A.K.U. SoundSystem
Title: Mezcla
Label: Glitterbeat Records (Germany)
Genre: Cumbia/Afro Beat/Club
Review by Dawoud Kringle
The self described “immigrant band from New York City” M.A.K.U. SoundSystem has released a new album; Mezcla. The members are Liliana Conde (vocals, percussion), Juan Ospina A.K.A Prodigio Arribetiao (vocals, bass), Camilo Rodriguez (guitar, gaitas), Robert Stringer (trombone), Felipe Quiroz (synthesizers), Moris Cañate (tambor alegre), Andres Jimenez (drums), and Isaiah Richardson Jr. (sax, clarinet). Since their beginning in 2010 M.A.K.U. has released two albums, an EP, and toured the U.S.
Date: May 7, 2016
Venue: Castillo Theatre (NY)
Text by Dawoud Kringle
Even Under Bitterness is an avant-garde, multi-media performance piece that shows a fascinating perspective on the poems written by the Guatemalan poet and activist Otto Rene Castillo (1934-67). The performance was directed by Munich-based Hans Melzer. The American premiere ran May 6-16, at the Castillo Theater (which was named for the poet).
Photo by Photo by Kendall Reeves
Be a part of a very special celebration of the life and music of jazz composer, author, and educator David Baker. Claim your recording now or join at any other reward level and support the recording, production, and major national release of Basically Baker Volume 2: The Big Band Music of David Baker by the Buselli-Wallarab Jazz Orchestra. Your contributions are tax deductible as funds will go to the Patois non-profit organization.
Upon release, 100% of all proceeds generated by sales of the recording will go directly to the David N. Baker Scholarship Fund.
Text by Banning Eyre
Photo by Banning Eyre
As reported last time, there is plenty of music going being played publically in Malian cities, especially Bamako, despite a State of Emergency. But the impression is deceptive. Crowds at nightclubs are thin. There are almost no foreign visitors to support clubs, festivals and concerts.
While street weddings are on, the families who sponsor them have less to spend, and are more
and more inclined to cut costs by hiring lower-rung artists, often not griots as they would have been in the past, and there is less money changing hands. For musicians, there is hardly any point in recording, unless you are one of the lucky few to have an international career. Cellphone technology has made swapping music files so easy that even the pirates who used to undermine artistic careers with cheap cassettes and CDs have a hard time making sales.
