Category Archives: NY Musicians

“Nu Iranian Vs. Nu Arabic Music” At SoSaLa’s Nu World Trash Cd Release Party in NY!!

Photo by Tasja Keetman

The CD release party for SoSaLa‘s Nu World Trash  is set for March 6 at Manhattan’s Nublu (62 Ave C, between 4th and 5th Street in the Lower East Side. 9pm to 11pm – Ticket: $10), with Sohrab Saadat Ladjevardi on sax and vocals, Damon Banks on bass, Michael Wimberly on drums & dembe, and Sinan Gundogdu on oud  and new member Brian Prunka on guitar. Guest appearance by Sylvain Leroux on fula flute who played on three songs in the CD with openers Al-Amar Ensemble.

The Al-Amar Ensemble is a new group to hit the NY scene, assembled by Timba Harris of Secret Chiefs 3 on the heels of his recent move from Seattle, in collaboration with drummer and percussionist, April Centrone (New York Arabic Orchestra, Secret Chiefs 3), and featuring Harris’ longtime colleague / renowned composer Gyan Riley on guitar, and stunning oud player and luthier, John Vergara (NY Arabic Orchestra). The combination is a new avant-garde, marrying Arabic music and tarab with rock, soul, sensuality and intense energy.

Continue reading →

Remembering Paul Motian: Larry Blumenfeld talks about Paul Motian

Yesterday, we learned that drummer, bandleader, and composer Paul Motian had died. Yesterday writer Larry Blumenfeld talked about Paul Motian today on John Schaefer’s “Soundcheck” on WNYC-FM. Available streaming of the radio show:
http://www.wnyc.org/shows/soundcheck/2011/nov/23/remembering-paul-motian/

 

Continue reading →

Musician in NY Feature: Hendrik Meurkens “My mission is simple…I want to create music of great beauty.”

Text by Sohrab Saadat Ladjevardi

Caricature by Felix Wagner of the old, old Samba Jazz Group back in Berlin in the late 80s, with Felix Wagner, piano; Guilherme Castro, bass: and Zito Ferreira, drums.

Today I would like to introduce you to Hendrik Meurkens who is from my hometown Hamburg, Germany but now based in New York. I met him in spring at MICHIKO STUDIOS’ when I was the studio manager there. Because we had a cat in the studio and Meurkens was allergic to cats, I  always gave him the “cat free” studio upstairs.

Meurkens was first a two-mallet player in the tradition of Milt Jackson and Bobby Hutcherson, but when he heard Toots Thielemans’ harmonica, he changed to this instrument which he taught himself. He’s also a composer whose compositions have been recorded by other artists and featured in the Hollywood movie “Dolores Claiborne”.

Continue reading →

Some Thoughts About a guitar legend: Tell the Children that Jimi Hendrix Once Walked the Earth!

Text by Dawoud Kringle

On November 27th, 2011, Jimi Hendrix would have celebrated his 69th birthday. In honor of this, I offer some thoughts, observations, and meditations on the late master.

I will not waste your time with redundancies, nor repeat what has already been written about him (and if biographical information is needed, one has only to google his name, and the pages at your disposal will be saturated with all the information one could want. Instead, I want to explore the more arcane aspects of his historical significance.

Continue reading →