Music listings – 4/16 through 4/22

1. The New York Arabic Orchestra – Spring Concert And Fund Raiser

Date: Wednesday, April 18, 2012
Time: 8:00pm
Venue: Florence Gould Hall (of the French Institute Alliance Française, 55 E 59th St, NY, NY 10022)
Tickets: Ticketmaster.com
Genre: Arabic Classical music

The New York Arabic Orchestra is the home of contemporary and classical Arabic music in America. The orchestra, based in the New York metropolitan area, is an Arabic music institution of performance and education co-founded in 2007 by Bassam Saba, a world renowned multi-instrumentalist virtuoso, conductor and teacher of Arabic music; and April Centrone, the orchestra’s lead percussionist. The orchestra brings together a culturally diverse group of musicians around a common passion: Arabic Music.

The 35-piece New York Arabic Orchestra presents contemporary instrumental compositions by Bassam Saba, along with selections of Arabic vocal and instrumental music of Lebanon, Syria and Egypt. The NYAO is comprised of the oud (Arabic lute), nay (Arabic reed flute), qanun (Arabic zither), Arabic percussion, strings, woodwinds, lead vocalists and chorus. Known throughout the U.S. and abroad as one of Arabic music’s finest conductors, Bassam Saba has led the NYAO to prestigious venues such as Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center and has developed an authentic sound that is regarded around the world.

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Recommended YouTube video: Samurai Hip Hop

Text by Sohrab Saadat Ladjevardi

Thirty years in Japan didn’t teach me what Samurai culture is about. After studying, practising Kendo and becoming a high rank Kendo-ka I found out that there is no Samurai culture in Japanese everyday life.  A couple of days ago I heard that Kendo is taught again as a school subject at Japanese public schools. Why I don’t know. Maybe  there are some people there who still believe that Kendo could be taught in a democratic fashion and could be an educational tool to make (young) Japanese aware of their roots. Maybe this video could be helpful as well.

Concert recommendation: Simon Shaheen – The Call: Songs of Arab Pride, Dignity and Liberation at Live@365!!

Date: Tuesday, April 10, 2012
Time: 7pm
Venue: The Graduate Center The Graduate Center Elebash Hall  (365 Fifth Ave., NY, NY 10016, Ph: 212.817.8215)
Ticket: $25
Genre: Arabic music

Marking the First Anniversary of the Arab Spring, the impeccably creative Palsetinian-American oud and violin virtuoso and composer Simon Shaheen will perform an evening of songs and freedom anthems of the 1950s that have found new resonance in the recent Middle Eastern and North African revolutions. He will also perform the New York premiere of his composition “The Call” with a guest dancer. Simon will be joined by Nidal Ibourk, vocals; Najib Shaheen: oud; Bassam Saba: ney; Peter Slavov: bass; Ali Amr: qanun and vocal; Tareq Rantisi, Percussion and guest dancer Elena Lantini.

Concert recommendation: Ostad Mohammad-Reza Lotfi – Songs of the Persian Mystics

Date: Sunday, April 15, 2012
Time: 7 pm
Venue: Peter Jay Sharp Theatre /Symphony Space (2537 Broadway at 95th Street, New York, NY 10025-6990)
Tickets: $35, $45, $60
Genre: Persian classical music

Ostad Mohammad-Rezā Lotfi, one of the greatest living masters of the tar and setar lutes, has been a major figure in the past 40 years in revolutionizing Persian traditional music. His innovative approach of combining the classical with folk elements in his compositions and performances has revitalized an ancient tradition. A prolific musician, he has made numerous recordings as a soloist and with such renowned Iranian musicians as Mohammad Reza Shajarian, Shahram Nazeri, and Hossein Alizadeh. In this program, Lotfi is joined by Mohammad Ghavihelm on tombak (goblet drum). This is Lotfi’s first New York appearance since 1993, when he performed in a concert presented by World Music Institute.

 

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Concert review: Nass Gwana performing the sounds of Moroccan Gnawa music in New York

Date: March 27th, 2012
Venue: Zebulon (Brooklyn, NY)
Concert review by Jim Hoey

Zebulon, on Saturday night, was jumping with the sounds of Moroccan Gnawa music, a mix of Arabic, Sufi, and Sub-Saharan Berber mysticism. The band, Nass Gwana, performed three sets for the night, featuring the 3-stringed sintar (desert bass/guitar), which was shared by two of their players, and lots of droning kalabash (castanets), and vocals by almost all of their members.

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