Category Archives: Musicians

Interview – Bassam Saba and April Centrone speak about their “baby”: the NY Arabic Orchestra


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Text and interview by Jim Hoey
Video camera: Sohrab Saadat Ladjevardi

The New York Arabic Orchestra has quietly been honing their craft for the past three years, after forming out of a series of workshops started by founders Bassam Saba (oud, nay, flute, violin) and April Centrone (lead percussion). What they accomplished on February 12th at the Symphony Space was unique: the only Arabic orchestra in NYC comprised of musicians from the Middle East, the United States, Latin America, and Asia to be joined here by star vocalists Salma Habib (of Palestine) and Naji Youssef (of Lebanon) for a presentation of authentic Arabic songs.

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Interview: Ravish Momin who gave up the opportunity for a bourgeois life for that of a touring musician!


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Date: 2/22/2011
Location: Brooklyn (NY)

Text and interview by Sohrab Saadat Ladjevardi

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David Fiuczynski Interview: Blowin’ A “Fuze” At BAM Cafe!

Date: January 29, 2011
Venue: Bam Cafe (Brooklyn)

Interviewed by Jim Hoey

Catching up with David Fiuczynski after his recent performance at BAM Cafe was really a treat, since I remember catching his shows at the Knitting Factory and Tonic years ago (before they shut down). I was even more excited to hear that his signature exploration of sound through effects and the jazz-funk idiom was still intact after all these years.

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Saluti a Tutti! Tiptons Saxophone Quartet are touring the US and Europe!

The Tiptones Saxophone Quartet is celebrating the release of our newest beautiful recording, Strange Flower. They perform original compositions and arrangements of world music on saxophones, clarinet, voices and percussion.  With concerts that cover musical territory from jazz, Afro-Cuban to Balkan, klezmer and beyond, the Tiptons create some of the most wild and joyous sounds ever to come out of a sax quartet.

Strange Flower is available through:
* Squidco (http://www.squidco.com/)
* Wayside Music (http://www.waysidemusic.com/Music-Products/Tiptons-Sax-Quartet—Strange-Flower__Zipa-spc-592.aspx) and
* CDBaby (http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/tiptonssaxquartet).

US Concerts – with Lee “Free” Frisari on drums!
Sat 25 Feb:     Cafe Orwell party, 247 Varet Street New York, NY 11206
Sun 27 Feb:     House Party / Washington DC – if you are in the DC area and would like to come to this please email me!
Wed 02 Mar:    School concert and lecture at the PS 3 Bedford Village School, Brooklyn, NY
Thurs 03 Mar:  Dweck Center for Contemporary Culture, Dwecklectic with The Tiptons @ Brooklyn Public Library / Brooklyn NY – 7pm
Fri 04 Mar:      The Speakeasy under 121 / Providence RI   http://www.myspace.com/local121
Sat 05 Mar:     improvisation workshop at SUNY, New Paltz, NY (exact detail soon!) &  evening gig at Market Market in Rosendale, NY, 9 pm  http://www.marketmarketcafe.com

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Dana Leong… the “hi-def Yo-Yo Ma”!!

Text by Sohrab Saadat Ladjevardi

Dana Leong………”a musician in New York City who plays the cello and trombone. Rocks out. Lives good. Works harder.”

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An Asian-American artist of Chinese and Japanese descent, Dana studied both classical cello and jazz trombone on double scholarships at Manhattan School of Music. As an official Yamaha artist, Dana gives clinics and workshops around the globe on the use of electronics with cello and trombone, and his unique genre-bending composition techniques.
Dana Leong doesn’t care about music genres. He just fuses hip-hop, jazz and electronics to create a genre less sound. Being often called the “hi-def Yo-Yo Ma,” Dana’s radical fusion of electronic music and ethereal jazz sensualities has earned him critical acclaim and excited audiences around the world. He has worked with top artists, such as Dafnis Prieto, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Wynton Marsalis, Yoko Ono, and Kanye West, to name a few.

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