1. Federico Ughi Quartet

Date: Monday, March 4, 2013
Time: special midnight show
Venue: Rockwood Music Hall (196 Allen Street, NY)
Ticket: free
Genre: jazz

Federico Ughi Quartet will be playing at Rockwood Music Hall a special midnight show this Monday March 4th. This is their first NYC show since coming back from their Italy tour.
Line up: David Schnug (alto sax), Federico Ughi (tunes, drums), and special guests: James Brandon Lewis (tenor sax) and Dan Fabricatore (bass)

Federico Ughi is a drummer and composer based in New York. His music infuses the New York avant garde sound with a sense of melody inspired by the Italian classical and folk traditions of his childhood in Rome. Ornette Coleman has been a major influence for Federico as well as a mentor. Born in Rome, Italy Federico relocated to London at age 21 to play music, from there moving to New York in 2000 again to play music. He has been based in Brooklyn, NY ever since. He has performed or recorded with Daniel Carter, William Parker, The Cinematic Orchestra among others. Federico Ughi has perfomed throughout Italy, the UK, Holland, Belgium, Denmark, Slovenia, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, Austria, Ukraine, Russia, China, Mexico, Canada and the US.

2. Leni Stern

Date: Tuesday, March 5, 2013
Time: 8pm
Venue: Barbes (376 9th Street, Brooklyn, NY)
Ticket: $10
Genre: desert blues

LENI STERN. Acclaimed guitarist and vocalist Leni Stern brings her African music ensemble to Barbés. The music juxtaposes Stern’s trademark inventive guitar and vocal explorations with the indigenous sounds of accomplished African instrumentalists. The result is at once haunting, exuberant, cinematic, personal and resoundingly assured. Featuring Leni Stern (n’goni, electric guitar, vocals) with Mamadou Ba (electric bass) and Alioune Faye (djembe, sabar).

3. “Rise Up 2013: From Brooklyn to Ethiopia” w. TOMAS DONCKER BAND, The Del-Reys, Kendra Morris, Wyatt Cenac, DJ Mengie

Date: Wednesday, March 6, 2013
Time: 7pm
Venue: Littlefield (622 Degraw St, Brooklyn, New York 11217)
Tickets: $25, $30
Genre: funk/soul/Ethiopian funk

“Rise Up 2013: From Brooklyn to Ethiopia” is a fundraiser for the Studio Samuel Foundation – bringing empowerment without pity to 1Hundred Girls in Ethiopia.

A variety of local artists will gather in Brooklyn on Wednesday, March 6 for a benefit event for New York/Addis Ababa-based NGO Studio Samuel Foundation, a fair trade fashion company dedicated to providing life skills and job opportunities to young women aging out of the orphanage system in Ethiopia. Comedian Wyatt Cenac (The Daily Show, King of the Hill) will host, and live performances include Brooklyn’s The Del-Reys, Tomás Doncker and Kendra Morris. All proceeds benefit the Studio Samuel Foundation “1Hundred Girls” impact plan, which aims to reach over 100 girls in the orphanage system in Ethiopia in 2013, inclusive of HIV education, mentoring, healthcare, self defense training, financial advising and career counseling, directly arming these young women with necessary tools for the next phase of their lives.

TOMAS DONCKER BAND performing music from the album Power of the Trinity, based on the life and work of H.I.M. Emperor Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia. It features legendary bassist/producer Bill Laswell, Ethiopian singers Ejigayehu “Gigi” Shibabaw and Mahmoud Ahmed, legendary Ethiopian guitar hero Selam Woldemariam (who also served as production consultant for the project), saxophonist Peter Apfelbaum, trumpet and horn arrangements by Steven Bernstein, electro-dub specialist Dr.Israel, and a host of New York’s finest jazz, funk and rock musicians. Power of the Trinity was released on Mr. Doncker’s own True Groove label in June, 2012, and is distributed by Sony/Red.

4. PushMethod w. Catch Wild featuring I, Revere

Date: Wednesday, March 6, 2013
Time: 8pm
Venue: The Studio at Webster Hall , (125 East 11th Street, NY)
Ticket: $10
Genre: indie rock

In early 2012, PushMethod – Michael Dustin Youree (guitar, piano, vocals), Tavis Sage Eaton (vocals), Michael Lapke (drums) and Chuck Hillwig (bass and synth) – released their debut album, PushMethod Volume I. Fusing together essences of eclectic musical influences such as The Beatles (Youree, Eaton, and Lapke initally came together for a “Love of Lennon” tribute concert), The Notorious B.I.G., Nas, and Rage Against the Machine, the band delivers a high-energy jolt, fueled by strategically plotted percussion and guitar riffs and symphonic stylings built to move your body and soul, with hip-hop infused vocals and socio-political lyrics.

5. Christian Gibbs (aka C. Gibbs from Lucinda Black Bear) / Alana Amram and the Rough Gems

Date: Thursday, March 7, 2013
Time: 7:30pm
Venue: Joe’s Pub (425 Lafayette Street, New York, NY 10003, 212-967-7555)
Tickets: $15
Genre: singer-song writer

A Brooklyn based songwriter by way of San Diego, Christian Gibbs has released over 10 albums under a variety of names. His most active projects being Lucinda Black Bear and C.Gibbs. Sleep The Machines is his first acoustic album under his full name as it is his most personal work. His projects have flirted with many different genres from indie Chamber Psych Folk to the Darker leanings of Americana  and have been praised in the New York Times, Rolling Stone Magazine, NBC News, and other notable publications.  His band,  Lucinda Black Bear, was  featured on NPR’s All Songs Considered. He was also the lead guitarist / keyboardist in the critically acclaimed Broadway Musical Passing Strange and was in the Spike Lee movie of the same name.  Sleep The Machines is his latest album due for release in early 2013 and was produced by Andrew Hollander (Sleep Walk With Me).  A sparse and intimate record relying on the strength of Gibbs songwriting, Sleep The Machines was recorded live with just vocals and guitar and has limited overdubs with lyrics at the forefront and at times vascillates between the more ethereal folk leanings of Nick Drake and the storytelling of John Prine. There are a few guest appearances including Cat Popper (Jack White, Ryan Adams) on vocals and bass, and Jon Graboff on pedal steel (Willie Nelson).

6. Sanchez/Tamez and Eguiluz/Attias/Sanchez

7. Renegade Sufi

Date: Saturday, March 9, 2013
Time: 9:30pm
Venue: BAM Cafe (30 Lafayette Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11217)
Tickets: free
Genre:

Renegade Sufi plays a singular blend of sitar-based electronic jazz. Led by multi-instrumentalist and composer Dawoud—who has performed and recorded with such artists as Lauryn Hill, James Blood Ulmer, and Nona Hendryx—the group expands upon classical raga with otherworldly electronics, hypnotic drum loops, and free-jazz-style improvisation to produce deep, trancelike grooves. He will be joined by Jimmy Lopez (drums), Holly Cordero (bass), and Kelvyn Bell (guitar).