Category Archives: Listings

Music listings – 2/11 through 2/17

1. Asuka Kakitani Jazz Orchestra

Date: Monday, February 11, 2013
Time: 7:15pm
Venue: Drom (85 Avenue A, NY, NY 10009, Ph: 212- 777-1157)
Ticket: $10
Genre: big band jazz

At the forefront of Brooklyn’s burgeoning big band scene, the Japanese-born composer Asuka Kakitani has attracted some of New York’s finest jazz artists with her adventurous, melodically charged charts. After several years of regular performances around New York City, the dynamically supple 18-piece Asuka Kakitani Jazz Orchestra makes a stunning debut with Bloom, due out January 26 on Nineteen-Eight Records.Asuka’s compositions are often inspired by art, literature, and nature. She tries to capture this inspiration in orchestrational color and melodic development via extended through-composed forms. Asuka attempts to balance her composed music with a palette for her incredibly creative soloists to express themselves. Asuka also interprets traditional Japanese children’s music, which she “re-composes” by utilizing many of their simple motives for thematic development filtered through the language of her distinct harmonic and melodic concept.

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Recommended Concert: Bark and Scream Series – Frank London / Jeremiah Lockwood’s SONG’S OF ZEBULON

Photo by courtesy of Firehouse Space

Photo by Anna London

Date: January 31, 2013
Time: 8pm
Venue: The Firehouse Space (246 Frost St., East Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY 11211)
Ticket: $10
Genre: Jewish music and mysticism

The Klezmatics’ Frank London and Sway Machinery’s Jeremiah Lockwood have long been trespassing on sacred ground. For this special collaboration, Lockwood & London resurrect the sounds and spirit of the golden age of khazones – Ashkenazic religious singing – and explore the music of Zebulon Kwartin. Both artists are adept at exploring Jewish music and mysticism, bridging tradition and modernity. This new collaboration allows them to explore their mutual obsession with Cantorial music, and is part of the current zeitgeist resurgence of interest in classic Cantorial music.

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Recommended Concert: Damon Banks’ “Travelguides” @ the STONE this Wednesday!

Date: Wednesday, December 19, 2012
Time: 10pm
Venue: The Stone (is located at the corner of Avenue C and 2nd Street)
Ticket: $10
Genre: music for imaginative people

Photo courtesy of Damon Banks

On Wednesday, December 19th, Bassist / Composer Damon Banks (and key member of SoSaLa) unleashes his new project entitled “Travelguides” – a collective that blurs the lines between world, experimental and cinematic music. This evolving project reflects the sights and sounds of Damon’s experiences traveling the world as a professional musician. Some of his colleagues call this music “the street corner where world, jazz and free improvisation meet … and fall in love” or better yet “a fresh approach to multi-media where compelling visuals and beautiful melodies connect with intense periods of group improvisation” …

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Concert Recommendation: Sylvain Leroux “Quatuor Creole” CD release concert!

Date: Sunday, December 9, 2012
Time: 8pm – 9pm
Venue: ShapeShifter Lab (18 Whitwell Pl, between Carroll St & 1st St,Brooklyn, NY 11215, 646-820-9452)
Ticket: $10
Genre: world/jazz

On Thursday, November 1, 2012 Downbeat Rising Star Sylvain Leroux will present a live performance of his latest project “Quatuor Creole” featuring legendary vibist Karl Berger. Released in June, the CD has been well received by critics, eliciting such comments as: “… perfect contemporary music release…” (Dustin Garlitz, JazzTalent.com); “… gentle as a river in the afternoon sun.” (Thurston Hunger, KFJC); “… worthy addition to the canon of the world- jazz…” (Hrayr Attarian, All About Jazz); “… mellifluous acoustic quality…” (Howard Mandel, Jazz Beyond Jazz); “…belongs to a lineage of precious recordings […] such as CoDoNa, Oregon, Steve Wilson, Don Cherry, Dollar Brand and Chico Hamilton…” (Dan Behrman, Magazine Son & Image–translated from the French).

With Quatuor Creole, Leroux reexamines the fusion of European and African music that took place in the Americas and informs it with his deep experience.

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