Artist:

Earthy notes spill from an oud, like raindrops on ancient wood. A saxophone seeks out an exotic note somewhere between an equally tempered E and an Eb, and seduces it into a counter melody. The two voices converse, sharing each other’s ideas and passions. Percussions hang ornaments in the air, and the bass reaches under this dancing visceral language between two cultures, and lifts it into flight. Eventually, the oud asserts itself and makes a final statement.

Thus begins Brandon Terzic’ Xalam Project.

“Xalam” is a Wolof word for a West African string instrument that  is believed by some to date back to ancient Egypt, and may be an ancestor to the American banjo. Terzic’s use of the word evokes a connection with ancient traditions and brings them into a contemporary setting. In fact, many of the tracks have a distinctly African vibe; such as “Fode” with its unmistakable West African Manding flavor, the hypnotic undertow of “Butterfly,” or the joyfully Madagascar drenched “Morengy.” One would think that being an American who plays the oud he would be married to the Persian / Arab tradition (which, by the way, is also noticeable in his music, as in the track “Taxsim Skura”). This is not the case. Terzic navigates his way freely between different cultures, paying homage to each without being overshadowed by any.

This is all well in keeping with Terzic’s mindset, considering his upbringing. After having been exposed to the music of Jimi Hendrix by his father, Terzic began playing guitar with local rock bands. Abandoning this to travel, he lived a nomadic life in Europe for a time, and settled in New York City where he studied guitar with Mordy Furber and Dave Fiuscznski. Later, while traveling in Israel, Egypt, and Cyprus, he embraced the oud. Returning to New York City, he established himself with the local scene, playing with the likes of Hassan Haoukman, Max ZT, Tomchess, and Sylvian Leroix.

Date: Friday, February 3, 2012
Time: 8pm & 10pm
Venue: Asia Society (725 Park Avenue, New York)
Ticket: $30
Genre: Persian classical music

The legendary Hossein Alizadeh, composer, tar and setar player, and renowned percussionist/tombak player Pejman Hadadi come together to share and perform an evening of passionate and meditative improvisations in Persian classical music. The concert title is inspired by the two artists’ extraordinary collaborative CD by the same name released in 2009.

This program is part of Asia Society’s ongoing initiative Creative Voices of  Muslim Asia, made possible by support from the Doris Duke Foundation for Islamic Art.

Recommended post: Three Generations of Persian Masters In NYC!

Date:

Alex Waterman’s production of Vidas Perfectas is a new Spanish translation of Robert Ashley’s 1979 opera, Perfect Lives. It’s a Buddhist soap opera, a series of visual and vocal images simultaneously held together and pulled apart by illusion.

In addition to the eloquence of the libretto, a recent performance at the Irondale Center in Fort Greene brought together an amazing cast of characters. Ned Sublette’s Raoul de Noget was an incredible creature, a lounge lizard dressed in black, never obscured by the brim of his Stetson but casting a large shadow with his physical presence and his voice. Elio Villafranca coaxed beautiful sounds out of the piano at center stage, embodying more than merely playing the role of Buddy, The World’s Greatest Piano Player. Ably supported by Elisa Santiago and Abraham Gomez-Delgado as a chorus of other roles, de Noget and Buddy propel us through a series of worlds.

Alex Waterman is to be congratulated on the spare elegance of the staging as well as the beautiful and thought-provoking use of Spanish. Coupled with Peter Gordon’s sound design, set design by artist Sarah Crowner, text projections in English, and the anchoring force of the omnipresent neon emblem of the work – a symbol that is at once trident, pitchfork, vanishing point, and an intersection of roads representing an intersection of worlds – the performers enacted their roles in flesh and blood as an eager audience filled the Irondale. Yet at the same time, there was a distinct other worldliness to the experience of witnessing the performance. This is not entirely surprising, given that it’s an opera about liminality, set in a motel room, the moment before marriage, the doorway into a backyard.

The range of references Vidas Perfectas evoked was doubtless unique for every participant, but for me, the holy roller sounds of organ vamping blues, the poetic libretto with its fractured poetry and campy melodrama, and the simple visual elegance of the production at various moments called to mind the sturm and drang of Dallas and Dynasty, the Carnival of Souls, and Chris Marker’s La Jetee. Vidas Perfectas juxtaposes characters as all-American as the captain of the football team and the homecoming queen with a shout out to Giordano Bruno, the monk, mystic and mnemonist who held firmly to his belief in multiple worlds even as he faced death at the hands of the Catholic Church. But, above all what struck me was that the collision of these elements resulted in something far more affecting than the sum of its parts.

Without Perfect Lives, it’s been remarked that there would be no Laurie Andersen or Spalding Gray, the spoken word artists inspired by Robert Ashley who took us swimming to Cambodia and beyond, but it’s the piece itself, rather than its history, that tantalized me so much in December that I’m still thinking about the performance a month later. Even in this fragmented form – only Part I, The Park; Part VI, The Church; and Part VII, The Backyard were presented in this installment of Vidas Perfectas – it’s an astounding piece of work. I can’t wait to hear more. I’m also looking forward to Ashley’s newest opera CONCRETE: The Next Generation, which will be presented at Roulette in April. And I’m just as excited to read the libretto of Perfect Lives and to see the televisual version of the translated Vidas Perfectas. How will it evoke the images that are so indelible in my memories of the Irondale performance?

How will it render the moment, near the end of the opera, when Elisa Santiago (as Isolde) sang, poised in the doorway between the house and the backyard:
“Dear George…
What’s going on? I’m not the same person that I used to be.”

There’s something particularly ghostly and evocative about this moment. Isolde is suspended on the threshold between death and life, standing in the doorway deciding whether to fade away or commit to inhabiting her body fully.

Just couldn’t help myself – had to send this performance from Jan 5, 2012 through to you. So inspiring. Just a glimpse of what Meshell has been getting into + a nice way to go through her latest gift to us, the album, WEATHER. Hope you enjoy as much as I did. – Love, Kim

Recommended post: Special women around us: Meditations on Meshell Ndegeocello by Dawoud Kringle

Review by Matt Cole

On Thursday, 5 January 2012, the Jessica Lurie Ensemble opened up a 4-band pre-2012 NY Winter Jazzfest concert at La Poisson Rouge with a very strong set, which was dominated by selections from her upcoming album, Megaphone Heart. Naturally, this band is led by multi-instrumentalist Jessica Lurie, who is known for her saxophone pyrotechnics in Living Daylights and The Tiptons Saxophone Quartet. In addition to Ms. Lurie on the saxophone, flute, and vocals, the band consisted of longtime JLE stalwarts Allison Miller on drums, Erik Deutsch on keyboards, along with frequent collaborator Will Bernard on guitar and a (so far) rare appearance by Chris Lightcap on double bass.

It is very hard to pin down the JLE with regards to genre or style. The band can go from Balkan sounds, to avant jazz, to rock, to gentle ballads and back again in the space of a set (and sometimes within the space of one song). All of the musicians are virtuoso players on their respective instruments, and have excellent listening and communication skills.

The evening started with ‘Bells,’ one of the songs from Megaphone Heart. This piece starts slow, with the piano entering first, gradually joined by the other instruments. By the time it was over, it had energized into a smoking jam. ‘Bells’ was followed by ‘Boot Heels,’ also from the upcoming release. ‘Boot Heels’ is in 11 (with a 2-2-3-2-2 subdivision), and manages to groove very nicely. After the head, we first were treated to a call-and-response musical conversation between Mr. Deutsch on piano and Mr. Bernard on guitar, before Ms. Lurie joined the fun. The music then sped up, still in 11, and the band played a Balkan-sounding theme in unison before the song ended.

The title track, ‘Megaphone Heart,’ was up next, and began with a slow, sad flute introduction. Like its predecessor in the set list, ‘Megaphone Heart’ is in an odd meter (in this case 7). This song showcased Ms. Lurie’s vocal talents, and included a flute solo between the verses. Next up was ‘Maps,’ which is, Ms. Lurie informed us, “about getting lost in more ways than one.” ‘Maps’ rocks very hard, and featured a ferocious sax solo from Ms. Lurie.

With 3 more acts to follow, it was inevitable that the JLE would only play a short set, so after the band introductions, they started on the final song of the night, ‘Mexico,’ a slow, sad song from Ms. Lurie’s 2005 release Licorice and Smoke. Ms. Lurie opened the song by making eerie sounds through a MegaMouth (a toy megaphone with several interesting effects), before the band came in. After the first verses, Chris Lightcap played a strong solo on the bass with spare backing from the drums, piano, and guitar; after which Ms. Lurie played a high energy solo and didn’t miss a beat despite some technical trouble with her clip mic. The last verse followed, with very spare accompaniment from the band. As the song neared its finish, Ms. Miller built tension with her bass drum, leading to an intense climax, followed by a melt, which faded into naught but an ominous beat sung by Ms. Lurie through the MegaMouth.

In all, this was an excellent and varied set from a versatile and highly talented band. My only complaint was that Ms. Lurie’s saxophone mike wasn’t turned up nearly enough; this could have been a problem with the mike itself or an oversight on the part of the sound person, but it wasn’t nearly enough to put a dent in an outstanding show from an excellent band.

Megaphone Heart will be released in March. There will be a pre-release show at the 92Y TRIBECA on Saturday, February 18.

For more information about Jessica Lurie, including tour dates and a discography (Ms. Lurie has appeared on over 2 dozen releases as a leader and side woman), check out her website: www.jessicalurie.com.

This is Azam’s story broadcasted on April 22, 2011 on NPR.

Video p.1: http://youtu.be/Et7PRFaoD9A
Video p.2: http://youtu.be/8gYVsW2QVnA

This is an inteview which was done after the NY show last year done in Farsi.

Date: Friday, January 20, 2012
Time: 8pm
Venue: Barbes (376 9th Street, Brooklyn, NY)
Ticket: $10
Genre: Jazz/World/improve

Line up: Anders Nilsson – guitar, Brahim Fribgane – oud and percussion, Daniel Kelly – piano and synth, David Ambrosio – bass and Satoshi Takeishi – drums and percussion

Guitarist Anders Nilsson moved from his native Sweden to New York in 2000 and has made an impression as a versatile guitarist and band leaser. He performs regularly with singer Fay Victor as well as with William Parker, Sabir Mateen, Paquito D’Rivera, Eugene Chadbourne and many others.

2. The Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra Turns 10

Date: Friday and Saturday, January 20 and 21, 2012
Time: 8pm
Venue: Peter Jay Sharp Theatre/Symphony Space  (2537 Broadway at 95th Street, New York, NY 10025-6990)
Tickets:  $100/$80/$60
Genre: Cuban and Latin Jazz

Arturo O’Farrill and the Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra have defined the cutting edge in big band Afro Latin jazz for a decade. Don’t miss this opportunity to hear the best moments from their earliest Jazz at Lincoln Center beginnings to their latest commissions. A special world premiere will celebrate the commitment the Orchestra has made towards progressing this vital art form. Their album 40 Acres And A Burro is currently nominated for a GRAMMY for Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album!

For the January 20 performance only, a star-studded lineup of some of the world’s leading musicians will join the ALJO on stage in celebration of its 10th anniversary, including Ray Santos, Randy Weston, Dafnis Prieto, Claudia Acuña, Donald Harrison, Edmar Castaneda, and Fernando Otero, among others.

Benefiting the Afro Latin Jazz Alliance, the Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra’s non-profit organization committed to Afro Latin jazz performance, education, and preservation. $100 tickets include admission to post-performance VIP party.

3. Gripping and Friends at Don Pedro!

Date: Sunday, January 22, 2012
Time: 8:00
Venue: Don Pedro (90 Manhattan Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11206)
Ticket: $5
Genre: noisy world trashy rock/indie rock

A night of Avant experiMENTALism and indie rock, come brave the cold, let the sound beat away your chill…

Line up: Gripping (w. Jim Hoey/ Serious Heart Attack on guitar, Sohrab Saadat Ladjevardi/SoSaLa on sax & vocal, April Centrone/NY Arabic Orchestra, The Secret Chiefs 3, SoSaLa on drums and percussion, and Dylan Ricards/Serious Heart Attack on bass), Tenrec and Multitudes (tba).

Text by Jim Hoey