By Dawoud Kringle
On December 11th, 2012 (the day before the arcane and mystically suggestive date of 12/12/12), the world lost a musical giant: Ravi Shankar.
Photo courtesy of m3com
He was one of those unique people who single handedly changed musical history. Yet this was not confined within his culture and musical tradition: he changed it for the whole world.
Date: Wednesday, December 19, 2012
Time: 10pm
Venue: The Stone (is located at the corner of Avenue C and 2nd Street)
Ticket: $10
Genre: music for imaginative people
Photo courtesy of Damon Banks
On Wednesday, December 19th, Bassist / Composer Damon Banks (and key member of SoSaLa) unleashes his new project entitled “Travelguides” – a collective that blurs the lines between world, experimental and cinematic music. This evolving project reflects the sights and sounds of Damon’s experiences traveling the world as a professional musician. Some of his colleagues call this music “the street corner where world, jazz and free improvisation meet … and fall in love” or better yet “a fresh approach to multi-media where compelling visuals and beautiful melodies connect with intense periods of group improvisation” …
Reviewed by Matt Cole
Two recent CDs, Cydonia from New York-based Evil Giraffes On Mars, and Rocket In The Pocket from German trio Hammer Klavier Trio, showcase two somewhat different approaches to making and flavoring modern jazz, while being just close enough to make for an interesting hypothetical double bill.
Artist: Evil Giraffes on Mars
Title: Cydonia
Label: Evil Giraffes on Mars (884501145428)
Genre: jazz
Cydonia, while rooted in jazz, draws sounds and influences from many other musical genres. At times, the sound is almost that of prog (“Where’s Dave,” “Black Tongue”) with odd and angular meters, metal guitar tones, and on the latter an overall sound that reminded me a little of Dream Theatre. Other songs took the feel of modern jazz (“Murky Water”), almost-Southern rock with a twin saxophone lead (“Morning on the Red Planet”), funk (“Merge”), and even a tango (the aptly named “Shango Tango”), while almost always retaining the band’s core sound. The band flows together tightly (but not so much so that it sounds rigid), has a wide and well-used dynamic range, can go from exuberant to ominous in the space of a song, and has a high energy throughout the album. The only thing I might have changed would have been to add a slower number; the frenetic pace does not slow down until the album’s eighth track (“Michael’s Ladder”); however, that is only a matter of taste. In general, the excellent playing by John Cave (guitar), Matt La Von (alto and soprano sax), Doron Lev (drums, percussion, hand claps, and giraffe noises), Jamaal Sawyer (tenor sax), and Ryan Slotnick (keyboards, and most of the songwriting) make for an enjoyable listen. This is a band which could do well both at progressive jazz clubs and prog rock festivals.
1. before the surge – cut up from newscasts
it’s brutal out here
i feel like thousands of small knives
are cutting through me
nothing but white sea foam flying
Date: November 16, 2012
Venue: The New York Insight Meditation Center
Review by Dawoud Kringle
The New York Insight Meditation Center recently hosted a concert by sitar virtuoso Ikhlaq Hussain. Hussain is a musician of the Dehli gaharana (whose lineage dates back to Hazrat Amir Khousro), who plays in Gaykali Ang, a style wherein the instrument takes on the expressive qualities of vocal music. He was taught by his father Ustad Imdad Khan, and by Pandit Ravi Shankar. He performed in US, Europe, Middle East, UK, Pakistan, & India.
