Tag Archives: MFM

Keyna Wilkins

MFM Member Keyna Wilkins (Australia) US Mini Tour 2023 “Musician with Attitude”

Keyna Wilkins, MFM’s first international member, is a pioneering Australian/British composer-musician. She was one of three finalists for the Australian Art Music Awards for Individual Excellence in 2021 and 2018 (APRA/AMCOS). As an innovative soloist her solo show explores stream-of-consciousness improvisations alongside her composed pieces, often using loop pedal and visual projections and inspired by contemporary human rights issues, astronomical phenomena and philosophy.

She has collaborated with six detained refugees from their prison cells via zoom, victims of Australia’s brutal mandatory refugee detention laws for nine years, on music, poetry and art collaborations. She has performed her solo show around Australia including Phoenix Central Park, MONA, Sydney Women’s International Jazz Festival, Melbourne Digital Concert Hall, Australian Flute Festival and many other venues.

She has released 4 solo albums on piano and flute and 5 ensemble albums. Her works are published by Wirripang and performed internationally. While classically trained in UK, Germany and Sydney Conservatorium, she has branched into jazz, flamenco, live theatre and has studied intuitive conceptual improvisation with Tibetan Buddhist musician Tenzin Cheogyal. www.keynawilkins.com
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As “Musicians with Attitude,” we can and will – with absolutely no fear of consequences – say F**k You!

An Editorial by Dawoud Kringle

(Disclaimer: I respectfully ask the reader to forgive my use of ungentlemanly language.)

I like movies, and am absolutely fascinated by the art of cinema. But not all efforts to produce a great (and profitable) movie go according to plan. One example of this was in 2014 when Paramount tossed approximately $30 million into a remake of The Gambler. And it was pretty much a train-wreck.

However, as is often the case, there were a few gold nuggets in this cornucopia of brain candy. One was the scene where Mark Wahlberg‘s character, a reckless and probably suicidal gambler, borrowed $2.5 million from a charming but remorselessly vicious leader of a criminal organization brilliantly played by John Goodman. In this scene, Goodman’s character gave a magnificent discourse on an important life lesson: always put yourself in a position of F**k You.

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Book Review: David Belmont “World Gone Zoom”…Musician Flexes his Poetry Skills

David BelmontAuthor: David Belmont
Titel: World Gone Zoom – Notes from the American Epicenter
Publisher: The Poetry Box
Buy here: https://thepoetrybox.com/bookstore/world-gone-zoom?mc_cid=390686209d&mc_eid=88475f6457

Book Review by Dawoud Kringle

The fact that musicians also delve into other art forms is nothing new (Miles Davis and Yusef Lateef were painters, for example). So, in May 2021, when David Belmont released a book of poetry titled World Gone Zoom, it was clear that another dimension of a talented musician was brought to the light of day.

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MFM and Manhattan Producers Alliance Present “The Art of Hearing what you See – Composing Music for Film, Television, Theatre, and Dance” (ZOOM Webinar #3) with composers Eleni Lomvardou and Christopher North

Date: Sunday, March 7
Time: 5pm to 6pm EST
Venue: ZOOM
Ticket: free

Joint event by MFM and Manhattan Producers Alliance

Please RVSP here.

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Sohrab Saadat Ladjevardi

“MFM Speaks Out” EP 23: Sohrab Saadat Ladjevardi on the Founding of Musicians For Musicians (MFM)

Sohrab Saadat Ladjevardi

(Photo by Dawoud Kringle)

“Musicians With Attitude…in order to be active collectively you have to change as a person. So in order to become not only a better musician but also a better human being, you must change yourself.”

In this episode of MFM Speaks Out, Dawoud Kringle interviews Sohrab Saadat Ladjevardi (a.k.a. SoSaLa). Ladjevardi is a saxophonist, composer, improviser, producer, entrepreneur, activist, and the founder and president of Musicians For Musicians (MFM). He has lived in and performed in Germany, Switzerland, Japan, and the United States as well as releasing several independently produced albums. The topics discussed focused on MFM, the ideas and philosophies behind it, its founding and history, Ladjevardi’s music and how it interrelates to the message of MFM, and the future of MFM and its place in the music community.

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