Author Archives: Sohrab Saadat Ladjevardi

Music Listings – 10/12 through 10/18/2015

1. The Ganawa: Abdellah El Gourd and Randy Weston Present the Traditional Music of Morocco

Date: Tuesday, October 13, 2015
Time: 7pm to 10pm
Venue:  John L. Tishman Auditorium, University Center (63 Fifth Avenue, Room U100, New York, NY 10003
Ticket: free, First Come First Seated
Genre: Gnawa music

The Ganawa in Morocco, like African-Americans in the United States, were taken as slaves from sub-Saharan Africa and developed a unique and very spiritual music and culture. On October 13, Abdellah El Gourd will talk about and demonstrate aspects of traditional Ganawan music, and New School Jazz Artist-In-Residence Randy Weston will consider how this traditional music influences his own music. They will also perform together, along with Dar Gnawa of Tanger, a group of traditional Moroccan musicians led by El Gourd.

Ganawa music is one of the major musical currents in Morocco. Moroccans overwhelmingly love Gnawa music and Gnawas ‘Maalems’ are highly respected, and enjoy an aura of musical stardom.

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Recommended Concert: Ancient & contemporary music from the Middle East & beyond: Kamran Hooshmand & SoSaLa w. Special Guests

DesktopDate: Sunday, October 18, 2015
Time: 7pm
Venue: CA Music Room (218 E. 25th Street, NY, NY 10010, Tel#: 212-686-4220 or 845-758-5919)
Ticket: $20 (including wine & snacks)
PLease call 212-686-4220 or 845-758-5919 for advanced reservations as space is limited.
Genre:  a mix of Middle Eastern/Balkan traditional & early music pieces and original contemporary Persian songs/nu world trash

Line up/show times: Doors @ 7:00 pm
SoSaLa: 8pm – 8:45pm
Kamran Hooshmand: 9pm – 9:45pm

About the artists

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Concert Review: Ghosts Appearing Through the Sound – Kosi’s Tribute to Abbey Lincoln Enters the Post Abbey Lincoln Era of Jazz

Date: September 10th, 11th, & 12th 2015
Venue: WoW Café Theater (NY)

Concert review by Dawoud Kringle

On the weekend of September 10th, 11th, & 12th 2015 (an auspicious occasion) NYC’s WoW Café Theater hosted master singer / songwriter Kosi’s (nee’ Akosua Gyebi) musical and theatrical tribute to Abbey Lincoln. She was joined by Brendon Biagi (tenor saxophone), Aron Marchak (guitar), Christopher Hall (bass) and Isaiah Pierce (drums).

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Music Listings – 10/5 through 10/11/2015

1. Iva Bittova

Date: Monday, October 5, 2015
Time: 9pm
Venue: Quinn’s (330 Main Street, Beacon, New York 12508)
Tickets: donation
Genre: jazz/world/improv

Iva Bittová is a Czech avant-garde violinist, singer, and composer. She began her career as an actress in the mid-1970s, appearing in several Czech feature films, but switched to playing violin and singing in the early 1980s. She started recording in 1986 and by 1990 her unique vocal and instrumental technique gained her international recognition. Since then, she has performed regularly throughout Europe, the United States and Japan, and has released over eight solo albums.

Bittová recorded her first full length solo album Iva Bittová in 1991, followed by River of Milk, her first United States release. In 1997, she began exploring classical music with a series of concerts and recording an album of Béla Bartók’s violin duets with Dorothea Kellerová. She collaborated with Vladimír Václavek to record a double album Bílé Inferno (White Inferno) in 1997, and the success of this release lead to Bittová and Václavek establishing Čikori, an association of musicians involved in improvisational music.

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