Photo Credit: Paula Jeanine Bennett
Date: November 5, 2013
Venue: Tea Lounge (NY)
Review by Dawoud Kringle
Concert Review: The Richard Bennet Trio – a very American approach to raga
Category Archives: Reviews
Concert Review: Kosi… does not merely sing; she becomes the song
Date: Wednesday, January 8, 2014
Venue: Silvana (NY)
Review by Dawoud Kringle
Not long ago, I reviewed Kosi Gyebi‘s CD One More Cup of Coffee. I’d heard her guesting with a jazz band; now I wanted to hear her as a leader live. So, I bundled up, went toe to toe with a nasty cold night, and headed uptown to Silvana.
Photo credit: Adam Olszewski
Concert Review: Siavash and Kaveh Haghtalab…imagine a garden you’ve never been in before. This music will take your hand, and show you into this garden.
Venue: Cafe Nadery
Date: Saturday, January 4, 2014
Photo courtesy of Cafe Nadery
Concert Review by Matt Cole
On Saturday, the 4th of January, I went down to Cafe Nadery in the West Village to hear some Persian classical music, played by the brothers Siavash and Kaveh Haghtalab. Cafe Nadery is named for an establishment in Tehran which, in the ’40s and ’50s, was one of the spots at which intellectuals gathered. The version in New York is a long, narrow room, with many pictures of notable Iranian writers and thinkers on the walls, and a bookshelf located behind where the musicians were to play, filled with a variety of titles, including books on Iran, chess, film noir, and a large selection in Farsi.
Event Review: globalFEST 2014…a marvelous accomplishment, and service to the musical community
Date: January 12, 2014
Venue: Webster Hall (NY)
Review by Dawoud Kringle
I arrived early at the globalFEST 2014, held at NYC’s Webster Hall. Things were already livening up. People were pouring in and milling about in anticipation of a great musical event.
CD Review: Richard Bennett…interpreting raga through American musical form; and creating a triptych as a framework
Artist: Richard Bennet
Title: Raga & Blues
Label: Mystica Music (India)
Genre: Raga blues?
Review by Dawoud Kringle
The CD begins with a tambura and sparse notes on piano that introduce an alap in Raga Malkauns. This gradually opens up into a rolling swarm of notes somewhat reminiscent of Michael Harrison’s piano work. Above this thick tapestry, melodies would appear and disappear. Occasional suggestions of a teehai would rise.
