Monthly Archives: February 2012

Music Listings – 2/13 through 2/19

1. Xalam Project & The Mast + Jam session

Date: Monday, February 12, 2012
Time: 7pm – 9pm (jam session 9pm -10pm)
Venue: PIANOS (158 Ludlow St., New York, NY 10002
Ticket: donation
Genre: Middle Eastern music/oud music

Brandon Terzic is an up and coming oud virtuoso who has not only gotten a firm hold on the tradition, but has begun to add to the language and contexts of the instrument. He leads an outstanding lineup of musicians and they will be bringing there world/jazz stylings to the Pianos. The Lineup: BrandonTerciz (oud), Matt Kilmer (percussion), John Shannon (guitar) and Chris Mees (bass).

The Mast “A promising new Brooklyn duo comprised of mesmerizing singer-guitarist Haale and limber percussionist Matt Kilmer.” – TimeOut NY
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Recommended events: DANCE CLASS with Natasha Blank & CRAZY WISDOM film screening

Date: Saturday, February 11, 2012
Time: 7-9pm
Venue: Laughing Lotus Yoga NY (59 West 19th Street, 3rd Floor, New York, NY 10011)
Ticket: $15
Genre: dance and music

DANCE CLASS is a movement meditation that feels like the best dance party EVER. 2 hours of nonstop grooves in the Dance Hall at Laughing Lotus: bangin system, floors built for bare feet, and an arsenal of beats from dance maven/bass freak Natasha Blank.

This is your invitation to LET GO, surrender your head to the intelligence of your breath, shake out everything that holds you back, and sweat out your week with a family of crazy dancers.

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Film documentary feature: Iran’s Zurkhane culture

Photo by Antoin Sevruguin (1830s-1933)

Text by Sohrab Saadat Ladjevardi

The last time I went to a Zurkhane (or Zorkhana or Zourkhaneh lit. “house of strength”, the traditional gymnasium of urban Persia and adjacent lands) in Teheran was when I was a teenager. 42 years ago? At that  time I still lived in Germany. And every year during my summer school vacation I visited my family in Teheran. During my stay there I spent mostly of my time in the bazaar, museums, mosques, Teheran’s red-light district, went up the Elbrus Mountains and many other places without telling my parents about it. Because they might have stopped me. Some of the places were taboo, but as a young man I wanted to see the real Iran with my own eyes.

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