Here's some video of ELM Collective's encore at Burning Coal Music Series (Meymandi Theatre in the Murphey School) last Sunday. I arrived late because of a start-time mixup, but still caught about 3 cool songs. Great venue for music. Hm, how about holding a dance in here?
ELM Collective is a world jazz fusion band I wish I could hear more often. They feel their way into some unique territory, based on the talents of 7 international musicians. Middle Eastern, Eastern European and Latin American styles and meters mingle unpredictably. Oud, accordion and funk bass? You betcha. Plus jazz guitar, flute, drumset and world percussion. They share a common love of Chick Corea, but beyond that, don't try to pigeonhole these guys. Loud, soft, classical, dance-oriented...their wide range of original repertoire can work in a lot of different settings.
New Feature: Chartgawking
Snooping through sheet music, snagging set lists that are left on stage--rarely viewed by non-musicians, these tools and detritus of performance fascinate me. Here's what I scoped out at ELM's show, and interpreted with guitarist Alex Gorodezky's help:
Songs change over time; handwritten notes in ELM Collective's sheet music (on the left side) illustrate the evolution of "Samba 65" from the way it was originally written, right down to the provisional title (right side). Click on the photo to see a larger version.
Here's a brief update on Los Pleneros de la 21's two-day residency at UNC-Chapel Hill this week. The premier bombiplena group from New York, performing Puerto Rican folkloric music and dance, will be arriving Thursday (10/15).
The free concert in UNC Memorial Hall on Friday (10/16) at 7 pm is already "SOLD OUT." This means all the advance tickets have been distributed. I don't know if any tickets have been held in reserve. In other words, I DON'T have any insider info, but if you feel you need to be there, and you don't mind taking a chance on not getting in, I'd advise going early to see if any more tickets or open seats become available at the door. TICKET UPDATE: Havana Grill in Cary has been distributing some of the tickets for Friday night's Memorial Hall concert; I just called over there (3 pm Wed) and apparently they still have about 40 tickets left. Another distribution point is Caribbean Cafe in Raleigh; as of 5 pm Wed they have 3 tickets left, call ahead: 919-872-4858.
Non-ticket-holders should also consider attending the free Community Bomba y Plena Workshop which LP 21 will hold Thursday (10/15) at 7 pm in the Sonya Hanes Stone Center for Black Culture on UNC campus.
It will be a smaller group (not all of the musicians will have arrived yet), but the event will be informal and participatory, so you will get to interact with the musicians and dancers up close. It is open to anyone, adults or children, no experience is required. On Wednesday noon I was told there were about 50 spaces left in the workshop. Reservations are recommended; to do so, call or email Ursula Littlejohn, ulittlej@email.unc.edu or 962-9001.
Today in the first hour of Azucar y Candela, I'll be interviewing some members of The Beast (guests TBA, but most likely Pierce Freelon and Eric Hirsh) about their new album and recent collaboration with Orquesta GarDel.
WHAT: Interview with THE BEAST WHEN: 6 pm (First hour), Wednesday (10/14) WHERE: AZUCAR y CANDELA, 6-8 pm ET 88.7 FM WXDU and www.wxdu.org
A high school was the last place I thought I'd be dancing to a live charanga band on Friday night. But that was precisely the scene at Durham Academy's Fiesta Latina last week: Young friends and old going back to Salsa Carolina days, moving and grooving to the sounds of Orquesta Broadway and Los Van Van...I had to pinch myself.
This is what happens when you get one Puerto Rican from El Barrio on your board.
That thought makes Bela Kusin smile. Member and former head of the DA Board of Trustees' Diversity Committee, Kusin started out as just another parent whose son attended Durham Academy. But when the Trustees asked her to join, she was eager add her energy and commitment to the school's diversity initiatives.
"It was because the school was so committed to doing something about diversity that I said yes," Bela recalls.
Charanga Carolina plays a tune dedicated to Puerto Rican youth, as bomba dancers approach the drums.
That "something" turned out to be the Fiesta Latina, a community celebration during Hispanic Heritage Month, now in its fourth year.
"It's our gift to the community," Bela says.
Local talent at the free, public event included Colombian trova singer Juan Carlos Echeverri, folkloric dance groups representing Colombia and Puerto Rico, the UNC Charanga Carolina and members of Mambo Dinamico dance company.
Juan Carlos Echeverri dedicated this song celebrating the vital role of singers in every culture to Argentinean folk icon Mercedes Sosa.
But the sensation of the evening had to be Pavelíd Castañeda, just back from France where he performed a dual harp concert together with his son, Edmar Castaneda.
"I've never heard so much music from a harp," opined one listener from Hillsborough.
Pavelíd's harp became an orchestra for dance standards such as "Moliendo Cafe," earning him a standing ovation. One teacher sitting near me closed her eyes and drifted in the rhythm of "Oye Como Va," a faraway smile on her face.
With the Fiesta Latina growing in participation and success each year, Bela is already thinking ahead to make next year's bigger and better.
"I'm not satisfied. I want to pack the house," she says.
Brava. If education takes a village, count me in.
--- Ed. Note:Bela Kusin was misquoted in an earlier version of this story. Onda Carolina regrets the error.
UPDATE / CORRECTION: Yes, the show will air! For digital cable package customers, UNC-ED airs Latin Music USA on 11/17 and 11/24 in two 2-hour segments.
WUNC-TV will air Latin Music USA on four Fridays in November beginning 11/6.
My apologies, UNC-TV! Your website is very hard to search, however, when I enter "Latin Music USA" on a general search I get no records. On the calendar search I had to pre-select the correct day (thanks, Georg) in order to locate these. New Link Added:New York Times review of Latin Music USA episode 1
****original post below***** I just realized that Durham Time-Warner Cable PBS station WUNC-TV is not showing Latin Music USA, a new 4-hour documentary series scheduled to start airing across the country Monday, Oct. 12. This new documentary promises to be a definitive landmark, produced by WGBH Boston and the BBC, and containing interviews with some of the most important living figures in Latin music.
The omission is egregious when you consider that it's Hispanic Heritage Month. Preview screenings and concerts with musicians from the film have been going on in cities around the country leading up to this premiere.
I'm really disappointed that it does not appear to be on the WUNC-TV schedule at all, either now or at a later time. (They recently cleared a whole week of regular programming for the Ken Burns National Parks series.) Does anyone know if it is the same story in surrounding areas? Raleigh, Chapel Hill, etc., is it airing on PBS stations where you are?
Is anything hotter than The Beast these days? Advance copies of next week's CD release, Silence Fiction, can be snapped up now at their Shakori sets. Catch them again Saturday at 4:15 pm.
The Beast sings the gospel of "Interfaith Dialogue" at the Meadow Stage on Friday The Beast's intensity is as taut yet agile as Pierce Freelon's physique, which was partially bared Friday night as he pounced around stage like Rilke's panther unleashed, and even sent a loaned hula hoop careening around his waist at one point.
But The Beast isn't driven by Pierce's undeniable physical charisma alone. Creativity is instrumental, pun intended: this band takes it to another level, complementing Pierce's unbounded thought universe with mood swings and tempo changes that open up these tunes like nested boxes, or turtles on top of turtles on top of more turtles. (Hint: It's turtles all the way down.)
More to come... UPDATE 10/12... Silence Fiction drops 10/16
This will make me sound crazy, but while listening to The Beast's new Silence Fiction CD on my way to the Farmer's Market today, I wept. I was walking around the produce stands, picking out apples and eggplants, with tear-streaked sunglasses. Had anyone asked me what was wrong, I would have said: "I just listened to a really great album."
Let's get to the bottom of this. The musicians of Orquesta GarDel are close to my heart, and hearing the amazing way they are integrated into this production was both moving and really satisfying.
Bringing the Triangle's premier salsa band in to the studio to record "Translation" was a natural extension for GarDel co-leader and Beast arranger Eric Hirsh. I love that song's point of view character, who isn't a cultural insider, but just stumbles into a club with his date on "salsa night." The authentic sound texture emerges like a memory and takes over the song, just as it shapes the couple's insouciant romance. The "translation" that matters isn't getting across a few phrases of Spanish, it's the message that love and culture are both border-jumpers. Once they surround you, they will transform you.
That brings us to another point. The Beast's music stirs emotions as well as thoughts, especially when I contemplate how Pierce's rhymes and Eric's arrangements complement each other. Pierce raps about freedom, and Eric freely alludes to all the different musical styles under his belt, from classical to Afro-Cuban. Beethoven or bembe, nobody cares the places we go.
This whole crazy tapestry of languages makes me wild. The Beast is speaking.
The core musicians in this combo know each other so well that the interaction is smooth and palpable, even through tricky gear shifts. Stephen Coffman's drumming is both powerful and shimmery. I also love the funky bass wisdom of Pete Kimosh, who has made so many of my nights danceable with his stylish tumbao (that's a Latin bassline, y'all) in GarDel.
At Shakori, two more Gardelites Andy Kleindienst and Tim Smith formed a horn section for the latter half of the Friday set, and Tim contributed vocals on an uplifting Al Green cover.
And speaking of Tim, when was the last time the Tim Smith Band played Shakori? (2 and half years ago, since you asked.) Seems he's always out there gigging with someone else; hope they invite him back with his own band one of these days.
I've heard Silence Fiction at least a half dozen times now, and The Beast is still speaking to me. How on earth are people supposed to wait until Friday's CD release party at Duke Coffeehouse?! If you must hear it before then, try WXDU 88.7 FM; my promo copy went into rotation tonight.
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