Singer, guitarist, percussionist and dancer Okaidja Afroso is a true musical polymath. His evocative and soulful original music charts a journey from the traditional songs of his youth, through to an immersion into the music of the African Diaspora, integrating the influences and sounds of international collaborators in pursuit of global harmony.
One of today's most exciting soloists on Japan's national instrument, Yumi Kurosawa's koto repertoire includes classical Japanese compositions, as well as her own innovative and enchanting original works — "mesmerizing." (The New York Times)
CHAMA, Cyro’s new project, is a non-stop, carnivalesque journey going from one mythical town to the next; a surrealistic journey with its cast of heroes, demigods, freaks and monsters. The wonder of this program lies in its exquisite musicality and its capacity for leapfrogging from genre to genre, each marked by his haunting, soulful wit.
Two celebrated instrumentalists ruminate on their common roots and shared loves of traditional Balkan, classical, and the romantic, mournful music of sevdah—sometimes called 'Bosnian blues'.
Tango maestro Pablo Ziegler — the Buenos Aires-born, Latin Grammy-winning pianist and composer who helped shape the modern tango — delivers stripped-down, intimate arrangements of his essential repertoire, offering a raw, elemental concert program. — "nuevo tango's leading living exponent" (All About Jazz)
Combining deep grooves with sophisticated contrapuntal lines, Fox and his Inventions Trio create a striking musical collage that is at once stirring, visceral, imaginative and intellectually curious. Fox mines the rich resources of jazz and classical literature, crafting an expanding repertoire of original compositions seamlessly wedded to the undeniable pulse of Afro-Cuban jazz.
Fusing traditional Taiwanese influences with a global sensibility, A Moving Sound (Sheng Don 聲動), features the distinctive timbres of the erhu (fiddle) and zhong ruan (lute), lifted by the transcendent vocals of Mia Hsieh. Their music is a whirlwind that veers between the meditative and the exuberant with irrepressible spirit.
Two outstanding virtuosos meet in an intimate duo setting over Fox originals, as well as signature arrangements of Brahms, Schumann, Monk, Coltrane and more, for a high voltage excursion teeming with depth, swagger and improvisational grace — "Brilliant... each echoing the swift runs of the other." (All About Jazz)
Rufus Reid’s 2022 CD release, Celebration, features the Rufus Ried Jazz Trio with Sirius Quartet. Reid can be heard on recordings with Dexter Gordon, Andrew Hill, The Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Quartet, Kenny Barron, Stan Getz, J.J. Johnson, Lee Konitz, Jack DeJohnette and many others. Celebration is now being offered for touring.
Àbɔɔ Édíŋ (Melanin Earth Garden in the Gãdangmé language of coastal Ghana) is the next installment and second chapter of Okaidja Afroso’s Ancient Africa Wisdom Trilogy music series, falling in the footsteps of the first chapter, Jàkú Mũmɔ - Ancestral Spirit.
Grammy-nominated star David Krakauer and acclaimed composer/performer Kathleen Tagg present a passionate, eclectic and highly personal musical journey called “Breath & Hammer”. Their program offerings range from completely acoustic programs, to programs with loops and samples to large-scale projects with live visual projections, visual design and surround-sound.
With an encyclopedic ear and ravishing technique, Fox expertly fuses jazz, Afro-Latin and classical idioms into intricate new works and electrifying performances. — "Ingenious artistry... improvis[ing] on several hundred years of musical tradition with aplomb and veracity" (All About Jazz).
In this exciting new concert program, tango maestro Pablo Ziegler – the Buenos Aires-born, Latin Grammy-winning pianist and composer who helped shape the modern tango – brings the rich Argentine musical tradition into a chamber music setting — "rapturous." (The New York Times)
For this trio Yumi is joined by violinist Naho Parrini and percussionist Yousif Sheronick. The program features exhilarating new compositions from Yumi alongside striking reinterpretations of favorites from her oeuvre, highlighting the shared affinity between these seemingly disparate instruments.
The ever-evolving group of composer-performer-improvisers "boasts an outlandishly diverse repertoire" (Time Out NY) and offers a suite of unique collaborations with artists Tracy Silverman, John Escreet, and Richie Beirach, alongside their visionary program New World,
Rob Schwimmer is the master of his own musical kingdom where he, playing alone, conjures a sound world created by his singular virtuosity at the piano, theremin and Haken Continuum – a rarely heard combination which allows him to bring audiences to beautiful and mysterious new sonic territory.
Performing live on a pair of huge invented musical instruments, the Duo of acclaimed composer, performer & instrument inventor Paul Dresher and percussionist-extraordinaire Joel Davel consistently generates "an exciting sense of mystery and surprise." (Portland Press Herald)
The Grammy-Award winning pianist/composer, Pablo Ziegler started two piano programs with world-renown artists including Emanuel Ax, Kevin Kenner, and Christopher O'Riley. During the pandemic, a new piano duo with an award-winning Japanese pianist, Masae Shiwa was born.
Rufus Reid’s 2022 CD release, Celebration, features the Rufus Ried Jazz Trio with Sirius Quartet. Reid can be heard on recordings with Dexter Gordon, Andrew Hill, The Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Quartet, Kenny Barron, Stan Getz, J.J. Johnson, Lee Konitz, Jack DeJohnette and many others. Celebration is now being offered for touring.
Clarinetist/composer David Krakauer and composer/pianist Kathleen Tagg come together in a passionate, eclectic and highly personal musical journey called Breath & Hammer: The Ties That Bind Us. Krakauer & Tagg share a constant quest to redefine the sounds and roles of their instruments and push far outside the boundaries of the traditional clarinet and piano recital by including extended techniques, loops and samples (all generated from either the piano or the clarinet) in a program of pieces by the duo and a host of performer-composers from around the globe. Featuring an immesrive video design by Jesse Gilbert.
Okaidja Afroso ushers in a fresh breeze of musical flavors from the shores of Ghana’s Atlantic Gulf of Guinea, drawing from the ecological knowledge of the indigenous Ga-Dangme fishermen - the power of the nature-based rituals, and the connections that his ancestors had to the elements, particularly the Ocean. With his new project “Jaku Mumor” Okaidja’s distinctive musical style extends ancestral traditions and creates a contemporary African oral tradition, combining percussion, guitar, dance, and native language vocals.
From Ikaluktutiak (Cambridge Bay, Nunavut), internationally celebrated artist Tanya Tagaq is an improvisational singer, avant-garde composer and bestselling author. A member of the Order of Canada, Polaris Music Prize and JUNO Award winner and recipient of multiple honorary doctorates, Tagaq is an original disruptor, a world-changing figure at the forefront of seismic social, political and environmental change.
Composer, singer and violinist Jenny Scheinman invites us into the captivating visual world of Depression-era filmmaker H. Lee Waters, offering her original live score to Waters' footage, masterfully compiled in a new film by director Finn Taylor. The project depicts the human potential for joy in times of hardship, in segregated towns; a timeless story of perseverance and hope.
The Good Vibes Explosion is created for these uncertain times as a chance to come together to celebrate our common humanity. Conceived and created by Grammy-nominated “ebullient clarinet wizard” (Time Out NY) David Krakauer and multi-instrumentalist/producer Kathleen Tagg, this project showcases an international crew of high-octane musicians from the USA, Canada and Iran.
Audience members are invited to interact with, explore and improvise on fifteen newly invented musical instruments and sound sculptures in this remarkable, hands-on installation designed for audiences of all ages — regardless of musical experience — as well people on the autism spectrum.
The beloved Brazilian percussionist, Cyro Baptista, reinterprets the music of Brazil's most celebrated classical composer, Heitor Villa-Lobos. For this special program, which translates to "Villa-Lobos Gone Crazy," Baptista leads a thrilling, six-member mixed ensemble — "a homage and a romp, meticulously arranged and ready for anything." (The New York Times)
Seeking fulfillment outside of their parallel lives as virtuoso soloists, composers and model sidemen of utter sobriety, Rob Schwimmer, Mark Stewart and Melissa Fathman created Polygraph Lounge where they offer up inspired lunacy/anarchy fired from a veritable arsenal of original instruments & vocal stylings.
Contemporary percussion virtuoso Steven Schick stars in this solo contemporary music-theatre work created by composer/instrument inventor Paul Dresher and writer/director Rinde Eckert — "the sounds are fresh and surprising... Schick's playing is often mind-blowing." (The Los Angeles Times)
Theremin Noir features an all-star trio consisting of Rob Schwimmer on theremin and Haken Continuum, pianist/composer Uri Caine and violinist/composer Mark Feldman. The album “Theremin Noir” was released 20 years ago and this program along with a re-release of the album is timed to coincide with the 100th anniversary of the invention of the theremin in 1920.
Lume is a collection of 10 love songs from different parts of the world and one cycle of 5 songs composed by Ključo, based on Romanian, Croatian, Kosovo and Sephardic traditional pieces. The magnetic connection between accordionist Ključo and vocalist Milušić takes us on a dream-like journey through diverse worlds of strong, expressive and subtle music.
The Rebirth of Apsara investigates the relationship between art and war exploring how Cambodian arts and in particular Apsaras, fabled female celestial beings, have embodied the essence of Cambodian culture from ancient mythology to its post genocide resurrection. Choregrapher Charya Burt sets her re-imagined classical dance gestures to a musical score by renowned Cambodian-American composer Chinary Ung.