Text by Sohrab Saadat Ladjevardi
Toubab Krewe the Africa-inspired band, Afropop Worldwide and the New York based Malian Cultural Center produced the “Musicians for Mali” benefit concert on Saturday September 22nd at the City Winery.
Text by Sohrab Saadat Ladjevardi
I love Jazz as a music style and a way of life. In Japanese you would say Jazz no michi. Jazz is not just music but also a platform to listen and to speak to your own people. Jazz was created by discriminated people. It was born during their struggle for social justice. Jazz knows what it means to be poor, insecure, powerless and being beaten up.
So when many Jazz musicians vote for Obama they expect from him again that – as a Jazz lover – he will work for the poor and discriminated people in his country regardless their skin colour and religion. If he becomes president again, they expect that he will do and continue all unfinished work. He’s going to do all the things he promised in the past. Am I right?
I’m sure there are also many Jazz musicians who are discouraged by the failure of Mr. Obama’s work during his first four years as president. He caused so much disappointment in many of them resulting in seeing him as another Bush Jr.
OneBeat encourages cross-cultural understanding by illustrating ways music can be used to foster positive community engagement. The music exchange will invite more than 32 young professional musicians and advanced students (ages 19-35) from 21 countries around the world to the U.S. to create and perform innovative work with their American counterparts.
The US’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs in partnership with Found Sound Nation, the social-engagement wing of the New-York based music organization Bang on a Can, will develop month-long programs consisting of a U.S.-based residency and tour. During the residencies, participants will form small collaborative ensembles that improvise across genres, reinvent traditional tunes, compose original work, record in the state-of-the-art OneBeat mobile studio, and prepare for performances and educational workshops.
Date: Sunday, Sept. 16th, 2012
Time: 6:30pm
Venue: Littlefield (622 Degraw St, Brooklyn, New York 11217)
Tickets: $5 in advance / $8 at door
Presented by BMI, The Defiant Giant, Brooklyn Indie Music Fest, and Live in Your Living Room*
The Brooklyn Indie Music Fest, which started last year (read here last year’s festival review), is a celebration and showcase of the community of vast talent and dedication that fuels the independent music scenes of Brooklyn and the surrounding boroughs. At the heart of the Brooklyn Indie Fest impetus is an attempt to unify various local independent music scenes, artists, and fans – in order to help inspire, motivate and promote these groups collectively.
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)
