Category Archives: Reviews

Concert Review: TomChess Bandit Hat… a band of virtuosos whose music must be experienced!

Date: October 18, 2013
Venue: Spectrum (NY)

Review and videos by Dawoud Kringle

Friday afternoons are an unusual time of the day to hold a concert. CMJ was holding a big shindig at Arlen’s Grocery and you get your occasional concert in the park. But it’s still not conventional: at least not for music venues. However, Spectrum (a music/art/science venue on Manhattan’s lower east side that combines a fearless urge to present the best of New York’s underground elite in a comfortable home-like setting) had other ideas. One Friday I ventured to attend the performance of Tom Chess‘ ensemble Bandit Hat (Tom Chess; oud/ney, Jimmy Mngwandi; bass, and Daniel Kurfirst; drums/percussion).

The music started with some free, atonal smokiness from the bass, which was shattered by a scintillating punch in the sternum from the oud, and directed the formless sounds toward its own tonality. The percussion eased in, and it all coalesced into a Moroccan sounding 6/8 groove. From there, the audience was swept up in a modern magic carpet ride.

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Concert Review: Suwon Civic Chorale… The question of the price they paid for mastery of western music was answered.

Suwon_230_385[18204]Venue: Alice Tully Hall, at Lincoln Center (NY)
Date: October 19th, 2013

Concert Review by Dawoud Kringle

When I was offered a ticket to attend the performance of the Suwon Civic Chorale at Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Centre, I was intrigued. It has been my experience with Koreans (South Koreans, that is) that they devote a great deal of their energy to mastering the arts and music of the west. And while there is nothing inherently wrong or blameworthy about this, I cannot help but wonder if Korea has done this at its own expense. I cannot, in my entire life, recall hearing traditional/classical Korean music.

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CD Review: Uri Sharlin and the DogCat Ensemble… a fine musical experience

DogCat_BTTWAlbumCoverArtist: Uri Sharlin and the DogCat Ensemble
Title: Back in the Woods
Label: Folk Dune Records
Genre: fusing jazz and classical influences with Balkan rhythms, Arabic modes and Brazilian harmonies

CD Review by Dawoud Kringle

Uri Sharlin (accordion, piano, and wurli) and his group the DogCat Ensemble (Gili Sharett; bassoon, Matt Darriau; bass clarinet, Kyle Sanna; guitar, Jordan Scannella; bass, Rich Stein; percussion, John Hadfield; percussion, and special guests, Ital Kriss; flute and alto flute, Ze Mauricio; Pandeiro, and Michael Lavalle; zabumba) have presented a nicely composed and executed musical offering.

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CD Review: Van-Anh Vanessa Vo’s “Three Mountain Pass”… a master of the silence between notes

Van_ThreeMountainPassCoverArtist: Van-Anh Vanessa Vo
Title: Three Mountain Pass
Label: Innova Recordings
Genre: Vietnamese folk music

CD Review by Dawoud Kringle

The first track of Three Mountain Pass leaps out at the listener. A solo piece performed on the danTranh (a 16-string Vietnamese zither with movable bridges and the springy, bending tones, resembling the koto), adopted from a traditional opera by Cải lương. Silvery threads of sound leap about in a primordial dance. Notes glide and bend into each other with precision and beauty. One is drawn into this arcane poem of slippery metallic tones and almost indefinable notes, leaving the listener wondering why this strange language speaks so eloquently to one’s spirit. In a time when highly skilled Asian musicians (not to mention attractive female Asian musicians) seem in a surplus, Van-Anh Vanessa Vo stands out as someone with something unique to offer.

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CD Review: Tomas Doncker Band…It is powerful and joyous, hopeful without being sentimental, connected to its roots without slavishly imitating them.

Tomás-DonckerArtist: Tomas Doncker Band
Title: Power of the Trinity​.​.​.​A Slight Return” (The Global Soul Mixtape Vol​.​1)
Format: CD EP
Label: self released
Genre: global soul/funk

Review by Dawoud Kringle

An explosive drum beat, a vocal chorus by famed Ethiopian singer Gigi, a combination punch from the horn section, and a funky backbeat lay the groundwork for Tomas Doncker’s newest effort. The groove stays solid throughout. But now and again, an unmistakable Ethiopian / East African spirit possesses the song, infusing it with a contrast that nonetheless seems not only to work, but was always hiding within the essence of the whole genre.

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