Red Baraat interview
Date: December 28, 2011
Venue: Brooklyn Bowl (Brooklyn, NY)
Interview and videos: Sohrab Saadt Ladjevardi
Archive for the ‘Musicians’
Remembering Paul Motian: Larry Blumenfeld talks about Paul Motian
Yesterday, we learned that drummer, bandleader, and composer Paul Motian had died. Yesterday writer Larry Blumenfeld talked about Paul Motian today on John Schaefer’s “Soundcheck” on WNYC-FM. Available streaming of the radio show:
http://www.wnyc.org/shows/
Musician in NY Feature: Hendrik Meurkens “My mission is simple…I want to create music of great beauty.”
Text by Sohrab Saadat Ladjevardi
Caricature by Felix Wagner of the old, old Samba Jazz Group back in Berlin in the late 80s, with Felix Wagner, piano; Guilherme Castro, bass: and Zito Ferreira, drums.
Today I would like to introduce you to Hendrik Meurkens who is from my hometown Hamburg, Germany but now based in New York. I met him in spring at MICHIKO STUDIOS’ when I was the studio manager there. Because we had a cat in the studio and Meurkens was allergic to cats, I always gave him the “cat free” studio upstairs.
Meurkens was first a two-mallet player in the tradition of Milt Jackson and Bobby Hutcherson, but when he heard Toots Thielemans’ harmonica, he changed to this instrument which he taught himself. He’s also a composer whose compositions have been recorded by other artists and featured in the Hollywood movie “Dolores Claiborne”.
Interview: Sarah Rayani And The Band – Jazz, Lounge vocals delivered in a soulful manner, meets an old school Hip Hop and Funk band.
Text and interview by Sohrab Saadat Ladjevardi
The Brooklyn Independent Music Fest took place at Littlefield’s in Brooklyn from September 16th to 18th. For three days over 60 bands took to the two stages to perform music which ranged from Alternative Rock to Pop, Blues, Soul and Rap. I checked out the festival on the 16th. Listening to about 10 bands Sarah Rayani And The Band, a Jazz/Soul band, was the one which impressed me most. When I talked to Sarah after her performance I found out that almost all her songs were written by her. She told me how much she was into Jazz and Motown backing vocals. She also occasionally uses Indian tonality with heavy Hip-Hop samples and synthesized pop elements. But what makes her different from all the other singers of this festival is her laid back, sexy and cool voice.
About Sarah Rayani
NY Street Musician – A Cowboy Plays Bach?!
Text by Sohrab Saadat Ladjevardi
Yesterday, when I changed trains at 14th Street on my way back home from my rehearsal in Williamsburg, I saw a guy in a cowboy outfit playing classical music on a keyboard which was kind of funny. Instantly I took out my iPhone from my pocket and thought this could be something for the “Musicians In New York” page. Before shooting him I gave him some money. He said “Thank you” with a big smile and started playing. I don’t know what he was playing, maybe Bach? After a couple of minutes I tried to start a conversation with him and asked for a short interview which he for personal reasons rejected. But I felt that he didn’t like to do an interview. So I just stopped shooting him and rushed to my C train.
Enjoy the video below!
Video feature: Anders Nilsson’s “Breakfast Boogie/Nightmare Ballad”
Text by Sohrab Saadat Ladjevardi
I have played a couple of times with Swedish guitarist and a film, dance and theatre composer Anders Nilsson who moved from his native Sweden to New York in 2000. I like his guitar playing a lot. He is a unique and very versatile guitarist. In his playing I can hear that he cares about space, sound colors and dynamics. He’s also a very good listener and can respond to other musician’s playing instantly. His characteristic guitar playing can often be heard with singer Fay Victor. He has performed or recorded with artists such as William Parker, Sabir Mateen, Paquito D’Rivera, Eugene Chadbourne, Calvin Weston, Hamid Drake, George Schuller, John Sinclair, Angelblood and has composed music for film, dance and theatre.
His solo album “Night Guitar” is coming out on the SoundatOne label by the end of this year. His friend Arrien Zinghini made a video to the track from the album ”Breakfast Boogie/Nightmare Ballad” (watch above video). It was shot entirely on a Long Island beach after sunset on a series of cold April nights.
Have you heard of NJ’s dälek – complex underground hip-hop from NJ?!
Text by Sohrab Saadat Ladjevardi
Recently during a rehearsal my music buddy Ravish Momin mentioned dälek when we talked about electronics and Hip Hop in general. So I checked this hip-hop crew out!
dälek (pronounced ‘Die-a-leck’) is an American experimental hip hop duo from Newark, New Jersey. The group is composed of MC dälek (vocals & co-producer) and the Oktopus (production). They have often toured with artists from radically different genres, such as Godflesh, Isis, Prince Paul, The Melvins, Tool, De La Soul, RJD2, and Lovage.
Interview: Susmit Sen (India) – India’s Jerry Garcia?
Date: September 14, 2011 – Venue: Drom (NY)
Text, interview and video by Sohrab Saadat Ladjevardi
Last month I got an email from Shampa Chanda inviting me to see her artist, the Indian guitarist Susmit Sen, for whom she had organized a concert at Drom in the Lower East Side. Reading the press kit which described Sen’s music as “…comparable to that of Jerry Garcia and John McLaughlin.” I thought “OK, let’s check the young Ravi Shankar out playing rock music on a guitar instead on his sitar!”
When I entered Drom he had already started his show. Instead of seeing a young Indian rock musician I saw a middle aged “normal” looking guy. No long hair, no leather pants and no R&R attitude, no Marijuana, but a very polite speaking and behaving gentleman.
Didge Project didgeridooing for quite a while in NY
Text by Sohrab Saadat Ladjevardi
- Courtesy of Didge Project
Didge Project, a didgeridoo awareness organization, was founded by AJ BLOCK and Tyler Sussman who left California in the summer of 2008 to challenge themselves and see the world outside of their hometown. Both were originally jazz musicians but when they encountered the didgeridoo somewhere on their trip, AJ and Tyler were transformed by the sounds of this ancient Australian instrument. They found out that the didgeridoo with its emphasis on breath and circular breathing was not just an instrument to play with but also a way of life, a path to self-knowing and self-healing. Short after arriving in NY they founded Didge Project as the head organization of many didgeridoo related projects. It has since evolved into a larger community and movement. Towards the end of 2010, the duo was introduced to drummer Chaim Tolwin. They produced two albums and performed and taught at numerous venues and festivals. Through their music, workshops and collaborations with a number of wellness practitioners and yoga teachers, they intend to build a community that connects people all around the world through the universal language of sound. AJ and Tyler currently live in Brooklyn, NY.
In the video below Didge Project perform Joga which was written by Tyler after performing in Costa Rica with Brazilian musicians in 2010. “The swift samba beats anchored by the rock steady didge pushes the flute to fly high in this playful tune.” Featuring AJ Block on didgeridoo, Tyler Sussman on flute and Chaim Tolwin on drums.”