1. South African Jazz: Roots of South African Jazz
Date: Tuesday, July 14, 2015
Time: 7pm
Venue: Maysles Cinema (343 Malcolm X Blvd, New York, New York 10027)
Ticket: $10
Genre: docu film/jazz
South Africa’s Jazz history is nearly as long as America’s own. From its early origins in marabi culture in the burgeoning townships to its 1950s. “Golden Age,” to present day, the great South African Jazz artists have found ways to perform music that is recognizably Jazz, but also uniquely South African. How did they do it? What should you listen for? And who are some of the great masters of South African Jazz? Join us for a Listening Series as we walk you through the history of this beautiful music, and introduce you to some incredible recordings, old and new.
Roots of South African Jazz: American influences, marabi culture, townships, and the birth of South Africa’s Jazz scene.
Host: Seton Hawkins w/ guests
As the first Jazz 78s made their way across the Atlantic to South Africa, they met up with South Africa’s own marabi culture, and a new musical styles was born. Join us as we listen to some of the earliest South African Jazz records, and music that would come to inspire and inform masters like Hugh Masekela, Miriam Makeba, and Abdullah Ibrahim.
2. Mem Nahadr – Oficial CD Rrelease Celebration “FEMME FRACTALE – AN OPERA OF REFLECTION”.
Date: Wednesday, July 15, 2014
Time: 6:30pm
Venue: Cutting Room (44 E 32nd St, New York, New York 10016)
Tickets: $20
Genre: avant-pop/elctronica/chill out
In an era where aesthetic is political, the love for music is the spokesperson for the beauty and brains of Mem Nahadr. A woman who has transcended all boxes with her presence, passion and position in the music world, Mem, also referred to as “M” brings a divine element to jazz orchestra and the world of symphonic sounds.
As an albino woman, she has been mentioned as the “African American woman with white skin” which she recognizes as an attribute to bridge people across continents. Representing a facet of beauty that is not considered “mainstream” or “conventional,” M has broken barriers in demonstrating what it means to be in love with your humanity with appearances in publications such as Elle, People Magazine, MAXIM, National Geographic and even the American Smithsonian Institute.
Her latest creation, Femme Fractale – An Opera of Reflection, which is set to debut this year, is the evanescence of all boundaries and lines placed on women. As a composer, a vocalist, an image connoisseur and a human being, M transforms herself into the all that makes her who she is, welcoming the source of her authentic sound to be the face and body of her music.
M brings so much to the table that from the music to her stage performances and playwrights to even anime such as Cowboy Bebop, she is one to be welcomed as she is forever changing the way the world views women and the arts. Never sleep on Mem Nahadr as she invokes a sense of oneness through her demonstration of self-love in every note and melody presented on Femme Fractal as it is truly as if your eyes are watching god.
Related Posts
3. The Bill Cole Untempered Ensemble
Date: Thursday, July 16, 2015
Time: 7pm
Venue: The Commons Brooklyn (388 Atlantic Ave, Brooklyn, New York 11217)
Tickets: $15
Genre: jazz/improv
Progressive jazz with…
Bill Cole – Sona, Hojok, Piri, Nagaswarm, Flutes, Didgeridoo
Joe Daley – Tuba, Euphonium
Warren Smith – Percussion
Althea SullyCole – Kora and Voice
Gerald Veasley – Bass
Ras Moshe – Tenor Sax & Flutes
The Untempered Ensemble was founded in 1992 by Bill Cole as a trio. The first members of the group were Bill Cole, Warren Smith and Joe Daley. Later, in the 1990’s, bassist William Parker and multi-instrumentalist Cooper-Moore joined the group. Soon after that, the reed player Sam Furnace was asked to join and then, at the end of the 1990’s, Cole’s son Atticus became a member of the group, playing hand drums. This group recorded four CDs for Boxholder Records during the early 2000’s and gave numerous performances, including at the Weil Recital Hall at Carnegie Music Hall in New York.
Following his untimely death in 2003, Sam Furnace was replaced by flute, alto and soprano sax player Ras Moshe.
The Untempered Ensemble had appeared in the Vision Festival in New York City seven times when, Most recently, percussionist Lisette Santiago and bassist Gerald Veasley have respectively replaced Atticus Cole and William Parker’s successor, Shayna Dulberger.
4. Gnawa Diffusion & InnoVe Gnawa
Date: Thursday, July 16, 2015
Venue: David Rubenstein Atrium (89 Columbus Ave, New York, NY 10023/entrance is 61 West 62nd St on Broadway Ave.)
Time: 7:30pm
Ticket: free
Genre: Gnawa music/music + live video remixes of Gnawa music
Led by the incredible Amazigh Kateb, Gnawa Diffusion will be joined by NYC favorites Innove Gnawa for a night of ecstatic music + live video remixes of Gnawa music by officerfishdumplings!
InnoVe Gnawa is a gnawa band comprised of artists hailing from different cities of Morocco. Led by master Maalem Hassan Ben Jaafer, InnoVe Gnawa celebrates this ancient spiritual music of North Africa in NYC with an innovative, hypnotic, and ecstatic take on this trance-inducing folk tradition.
Gnawa Diffusion – Founded in 1992 during Algeria’s “Décennie Noire” (the civil war that lasted for most of the 1990s), Gnawa Diffusion explores themes of globalization, exile, identity, and immigration with a socially conscious, high-energy, reggae and rock-infused take on traditional North African gnawa music. Based out of Grenoble, France, the band is made up of Algerian immigrants and led by Amazigh Kateb, the son of one of Algeria’s most famous playwrights and novelists Yacine Kateb, and sing in a mixture of Arabic, Tamazight, French and English. The group will have CDs for sale after the show.
Related Post
Concert review: InnoVe Gnawa Band & Faith at Mercury Lounge (NY)
5. The Freedom Garden Records’ Fifth Anniversary Show
Date: Thursday, July 16, 2015
Venue: Max Cellar (2 Knickerbocker Ave, Brooklyn, New York 11237)
Time: 7:30pm
Ticket: $7
Genre: free rock/noise/experimental
The Freedom Garden Presents: JAMES T PSYCHO PATH • TONGUES • NONOKO YOSHIDA • WINDHORSE (TAPE RELEASE) • BEARS • XANDRER NAYLOR
DJs: DEAR LEADER • RYAN KRAUSE • DJ TCHOTCHKE
6. Brooklyn Raga Massive Presents – Jay Gandhi and OmGam Ensemble
Date: Thursday, July 16, 2015
Time: 8:15pm
Venue: ShapeShifter Lab (18 Whitwell Pl, Brooklyn, NY 11215, 646-820-9452)
Ticket: $12
Genre: from Indian Classical to Traditional African, Arabic and Jazz musical backgrounds
8:15pm – Jay Gandhi – Bansuri flute with Shiva Ghoshal -Tabla
9:30pm – OmGam Ensemble featuring Arun Ramamurthy – violin, Pawan Benjamin – Saxophone, Kane Mathis – Kora & Oud, Shiva Goshal – Tabla, Michael Gam – Bass & Composition…
Om Gam takes it’s name from the mantra for the Hindu deity Ganesh – “Om Gam Ganapataye Namaha.” Ganesh is often referred to as the “remover of obstacles” and in reference to this, Om Gam Ensemble seeks to remove musical obstacles by bringing together musicians and influences from Indian Classical, Traditional African, Arabic and Jazz musical backgrounds. This group features Kane Mathis (kora & oud), Arun Ramamurthy (violin), Pawan Benjamin (saxophone), Shivalik Goshal (tabla), and is led by Michael Gam (bass & composition)
7. Dervisi
Date: Thursday, July 16, 2015
Time: 8:30pm – 10pm
Venue: Espresso 77 (35-57 77th Street, Jackson Heights, NY 11372, 718-424-1077)
Ticket: t.b.a.
Genre: Greek traditional music/Rembetika music
DERVISI performing exotic Greek Gangsta Blues called Rembetika. Rembetika originally the songs of hashish clans and outlaws; and Smyrnaika, the elaborate oriental cafe music of the refugees from Greek Asia minor.
CHECK them out on SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/barba-yiorgi/sets/dervisi-live-2014-3-songs
Related Post
Interview: George Barba Yiorgi and Dervisi…Greek Gangsta Blues and PunkRembetika
8. Sweetcane
Date: Friday, July 17, 2015
Time: 10pm – 12pm
Venue: The Shrine (2271 Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Blvd, NY)
Ticket: donation
Genre: reggae/Afro Beat
Sweetcane delivers REGGAE & AFROBEAT rhythms in innovative MODERN BLENDS. Masterfully crafted songs come charged in a highly dynamic performance, from REGGAE SOUL BALLADS to UPTEMPO AFROBEAT JAMS with melodies that keep you humming days after!
Fronted by lead guitar playing singer-songwriter MARKO PANKOVICH, Sweetcane features NYC premier afro jazz drummer HARVEY WIRHT (from Angelique Kidjo, Hassan Hakmoun etc…) & deep Reggae bass from Rochester’s rootsy jam band scene, the incomparable ANCELMO JAMES (quickly quietly & SoSaLa), with ADO COKER‘s sultry female presence doubling on vintage keyboards and melodica while singing harmonies – quite a feat!
Sweetcane BandPage on Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/sweetcane
Related Post
Concert Review: Sweetcane… invokes the setting for friends and lovers to celebrate and enjoy life.
9. VINYETTE
Date: Friday, July 17, 2015
Time: 10pm
Venue: B.B.KING (237 West 42 St., New York, NY 10036)
Ticket: $12
Genre: indie/ alternative grunge
NYC-based indie/ alternative grunge quartet Vinyette will be performing on 7/17 at BB King’s in Manhattan.They released two new singles, “Just to Get Away,” which was recorded at New York City’s legendary Magic Shop (featured in Foo Fighters’ HBO series Sonic Highways) and produced by Jimi Zhivago (Norah Jones, Rufus Wainright), and “Charlie,” a track the band self-recorded in Michigan during their retreat away from NY.
Listen to “Just to Get Away HERE. “A “jangly dallop of exhilarating power pop.” (PopDose)
10. Abjeez
Date: Saturday, July 18, 2015
Time: 7:30pm
Venue: Le Poisson Rouge (158 Bleecker Street, New York, NY 10012, Phone: 212- 505-3474)
Ticket: $25
Genre: Reaggae/nu Iranian pops
One of the most successful Iranian music groups of the 2000s, ABJEEZ were founded by Iranian sisters Safoura and Melody Safavi in Sweden—universally recognized as the first Persian Reggae band and the only female-led Indie band of Iranian-origin in the world, Abjeez style of performance carries forward the best of Swedish theatrical performing arts and their music is a colorful mix of Jamaican reggae/ska and Spanish flamenco in Persian/English. Their lyrics often carry humorous messages. The band has performed at sold-out concerts and festivals across Europe and North America, incl. at the legendary Roxy Theater in L.A.
Related Posts
Abjeez – two Iranian sisters – two young Iranian women who want to speak out!!
Abjeez’s (Iran) New Video: “Shahamat” – A Persian Star Wars Parody
11. New Revolution Arts X: Andrew Barker Trio, Chris Pitsiokos Trio & Amirtha Kidambi-Darius Jones
Date: Saturday, July 18, 2015
Time: 7:30pm
Venue: New Revolution Arts (7 Stanhope Street, Bushwick/Brooklyn)
Ticket: $15
Genre: free jazz/improv
The 10th New Revolution Arts show that will have three bands playing.
7 pm — Doors open
7:30 pm — Andrew Barker Trio with Michael Foster, James Ilgenfritz
8:30 pm — Chris Pitsiokos Trio with Max Johnson, Kevin Shea
9:30 pm — Amirtha Kidambi-Darius Jones Duo
Andrew Barker has been a mainstay on the experimental music scene since the late 1990s, leading a number of exciting bands through the years. The Chris Pitsiokos Trio just released their debut record, which is certain to be on many best-of-2015 lists, so come get your copy at the concert before they are all gone! Amirtha Kidambi and Darius Jones have performed together before in larger ensembles, primarily in the Elizabeth-Caroline Unit, but this is their first performance as a duo.
12. Secret Chiefs 3
Date: Saturday, July 18, 2015
Time: 8pm & 10pm
Venue: The Stone (Ave C @ 2nd Street, New York, NY 10009, (212) 473-0043)
Ticket: $20
Genre: free rock/improv
SC3 plays selections from Masada Book III, The Book Beriah with Trey Spruance (baritone guitar), Eyvind Kang (violin), Matt Lebofsky (keyboards), Toby Driver (bass, keyboards), Kenny Grohowski (drums) and Jason Schimmel (guitar)
WORLD PREMIERE!
Related Posts
Interview: The Secret Chiefs 3′ Trey Spruance dreams of performing in Iran?
13. Nepal Relief Concert – Friends of Jazzmandu
Date: Sunday, July 19, 2015
Time: 7pm
Venue: Le Poisson Rouge (158 Bleecker Street, New York, NY 10012, Phone: 212- 505-3474)
Ticket: $25
Genre: various music styles: from jazz to funk to Indian classical music, etc
The evening will be hosted by Simon Rentner from WBGO Jazz 88.3 FM.
Featuring: (See below for full line-ups)
-John Hollenbeck’s Claudia Quintet minus 1
-Trio Urbano feat. Susan Pereira, Jamie Baum and Dario Eskenazi
-Joel Harrison/Anupam Shobhakar Quartet: Multiplicity, plus Dave Liebman
-Beat Kaestli Quartet
-KJ Denhert Band
-Xiomara & Axel Laugar
-Goonj Beyond Borders – feat. Jamie Baum, Matt Moran, Manu Koch plus Dave Liebman
-Pawan Benjamin Group (traditional Nepalese music and jazz)
Eight bands, five of which have performed at Kathmandu Jazz Festival (Jazzmandu), will perform for approximately twenty minutes each.
Following the catastrophic earthquake in Nepal, flautist Jamie Baum, Manu Koch and others resolved to organize a benefit concert, and in consultation with the founder and artistic director of Jazzmandu, Navin Chettri, reached out to bands who had performed at the festival as well as other allies in the jazz community. The night promises a wide variety of delights: the ever-intriguing compositions of Claudia Quintet; KJ Denhert’s funk and soul, Joel Harrison and Anuparm Shobhakar’s mix of North Indian classical music and jazz; Goonj’s earthy Indian-based groove music, Beat Kaestli’s French-flavored jazz vocal; Pawan Benjamin’s visionary saxophone immersed in Nepalese traditions; and the renowned mother/son Laugart team leading their Cuban quartet.
Two bands will feature jazz legend Dave Liebman, honored guest on soprano saxophone. Liebman has listened to and been inspired by Indian music since the 1960′s and has played on the continent several times with his own bands.
14. Dervisi
Date: Sunday, July 19, 2015
Time: 6pm
Venue: BrandedSaloon (603 Vanderbilt Ave, Brooklyn, New York 11238)
Ticket: $ t.b.a.
Genre: Greek traditional music/Rembetika music
DERVISI performing exotic Greek Gangsta Blues called Rembetika. Rembetika originally the songs of hashish clans and outlaws; and Smyrnaika, the elaborate oriental cafe music of the refugees from Greek Asia minor.
CHECK them out on SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/barba-yiorgi/sets/dervisi-live-2014-3-songs
Related Post
Interview: George Barba Yiorgi and Dervisi…Greek Gangsta Blues and PunkRembetika
