Category Archives: Concert And Event Reviews

Concert review: META – proved again to be a well-blended confection of jazz and African (both Subsaharan and Northern) musics and sensibilities

Date: April 27, 2013
Venue: Nublu (NY)

Review by Matt Cole

On Saturday, 27 April, META played the early set at Nublu, giving a high energy performance to an attentive and willing-to-dance crowd which grew as the show went on. META is a multinational band which consists of frontman Meta on multilingual vocals and occasional percussion, Ari Hoenig on drums,  Francois Moutin on bass, and Thomas Enhco on keys.

manhattan_1-150x150META‘s sound draws from many influences. While overall, they usually maintain a jazzy sensibility on song structure and improv, often with a predominantly jazz over Subsaharan pop feel, the rhythms often veered into funk territory, and the band occasionally steered into dubby spaces, and even gave a few hints of prog rock (and the jam bands which drew influence therefrom). The band is notably tight and together live, even when mixing styles or melting into chaos, and displayed a talent for grooving well in odd meters. On occasion, two of the instruments (including Meta’s soulful voice) would play in unison together. They tended to stay inside more than a straight-up downtown unit might, but went out sparingly and tastefully; that is, not for show, but in service to the music.

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Concert Review: Akshara – has proven themselves to be master musicians, whose work is exemplary of beauty and sublimity.

Date: April 30, 2013
Venue: Cornelia Street Café (NY)

Review by Dawoud Kringle

DSCF1318Akshara is a percussion-based group whose compositions and improvisations combine Carnatic and Hindustani classical genres. The group performs original compositions by Bala Skandan, demonstrating the powerful and complex rhythmic structures inherent in South Indian classical music. The leading percussion instrument, the Mridangam, was played by Skandan. The group also featured Sriram Manesh on hand percussion, Mithun Radhakrishna on mandolin, Jay Ghandi on bansurai, and special guest Richard Bennett on piano.

They began with a composition in a 5 beat cycle. The percussionists did a duet within the rhythm; at times bringing triplet phrases into the 5. The percussion and bansurai / mandolin traded back & forth. They would explore all the permutations of the phrases and melodies. Bansurai & mandolin would play variations on the main melody so that it would expand and contract. They came together and wove the piece into several intricate teehais.

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Concert Review: Marc Ribot’s Ceramic Dog barking out a nuclear meltdown alarm – loud and ferocious but tranquil and beautiful at times

Date: May 5, 2013
Venue: Le Poisson Rouge (NY)
Review by Ancelmo James

Last week I headed down to Le Poisson Rouge to see Marc Ribot perform for my first time since 2004, and then, it was with Los Cubanos Postizos. This time it was with Ceramic Dog – Ribot accompanied by Shahzad Ismaily on bass and electronics, and Ches Smith on drums. This particular show was the CD release party of their new album Your Turn (Northern Spy) and was also the band’s first night home from a tour of Japan. A point which Ribot commented on by asserting that they didn’t suffer from jet lag because they spent all of their 7 days in Japan operating “on New York time” a feat which takes a good amount of “well…something” according to Ribot.

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Concert Review: SoSaLa – A Young Band Whose Sound Still Has Great Potential To Grow And Develop…

Date:  Thursday May 2, 2013
Venue: Nublu (NY)

Review by Ancelmo James (soundcloud)

Last Thursday night I made my way across the Williamsburg Bridge to check out SoSaLa – a band lead by Sohrab Saadat Ladjevardi. The show was interesting for a number of reasons the first of which I shall point out being that the band is comprised of a unique arrangement of instruments. Sohrab, the leader and front man of SoSaLa plays the saxophone accompanied by Michael Wimberly on drums and djembe, Dave Ross on guitar, John Pietaro on vibraphone and Bradely Madsen on trombone, and at times Jeremy Danneman on clarinet as well. As the preceding list indicates, SoSala, is without a bass player.  Although this, as I understand is not a stylistic choice, and rather a matter of circumstance, it certainly pushes the band’s sound in a certain direction. To put it bluntly, SoSala is missing out on some low end frequencies. In lieu of no bass player, it appeared as though the trombone player, with the aid of some effects through a mic, was experimenting with some synth-like bass tones.

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Event Review: Fred Ho – a Night with the Dragon. Film Screening & Book Signing at Museum of Chinese in America

20130425_MOCA_HO_v4Date: April 25, 2013
Venue: Museum of Chinese In America (NY)
Event review by Dawoud Kringle and video by Sohrab Saadat Ladjevardi

When someone lays claim to the title of “Dragon,’ it is automatically assumed that they can back it up, or else. Fred Ho backs it up.

Ho cuts a flamboyant figure; a large and powerfully built man who wears clothing of his own design, Ho is a true renaissance man. He is a saxophonist, composer, bandleader, playwright, writer, and social activist.

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