Where’s Warren, All Over Again(?)
Hello, Music Diggers,
Are we or are we not on the brink of major upheavals if not already mired in them? It may be time to compose a brand new song…
Some battles are just signs of things to fix; some are truly necessary to win; Wisdom picks its battles.
One of my battles with myself is to balance music and mundane. Looks like I’m gonna have to now…
After all the voracious touring in September, in Brazil, Moldavia & Ukraine, Moscow, India, Colorado,
NYC, Jersey…
After October in Taiwan, in Amsterdam, and back home to Hartford, I had to ask myself all over again:
What is it that we musicans performers and artists from all other discplines alike must do to help change come alive?
The answer: take a gander at the list of Upcoming Performances, and take special note of Sun., 11/16, The Warren Byrd Group Featuring saxophonist Salim Washington, Htfd, Ct., Black-Eyed Sally’s 350 Asylum st., 5:30pm—It’s been some time since I’ve had the chance to work with Salim, leader of The Harlem Arts Ensemble, Harvard graduate, and highly personal and unique composer, multi-reedist (including oboe), and it’s part of series of experiences reawakening me to what it means to be a musician. Along with him and myself, we’ll consist of Stephen Porter on Bass and Joesph Palmer, drums.
This will be presented by the Hartford Jazz Society as a part of their fall series “ Jazz Dinner” for more info check it out at www.hartfordjazzsociety.com and also http://www.salimwashington.com/bio.html
As you may have heard, David Chevan and The Afro-Semitic Experience have been rewarded a composer’s grant for one of my concepts, “The Road That Heals the Splintered Soul”. We have some tours coming up in December and January where we will get to workshop many of these new works. See the list below. Also click on http://www.chevan.addr.com/news_calendar.html
Once again, I will fly to faraway places with strange sounding names with Saskia”Baby”Laroo, Lady Miles of Europe, including a CD release of her latest work Really Jazzy in Warsaw, Poland, and yet another India Tour to Mumbai, Pune, and Goa. Take a click on http://www.saskialaroo.nl/wb/pages/concerts.php?lang=EN
In between all that and the other concerts, there’s Thanksgiving, laundry, dishes to wash, daily prayer, etc.
I’ll see you on the Balance field. WB
P.S. A special shout out to Norman Gage and Kenny Reed, one of many of the paymasters of this year with one of the most outstanding tune books on the Eastern Seaboard.
9/5/2008
It’s been a challenging but busy year and right inside of a crucial election term too. So I’ve tracked myself as missing updates from about March of this year. Well let me tell you, it’s for good reasons…and tedious ones including one big monster I may have to share about at sometime. For now, think “labyrinth” and “jigsaw” as to how this year’s hustle-and-bustle has been. Yet, indeed, in terms of music, think “cathartic”, “eclectic”, “powerful”.
Here are some not-so-quick highlights:
- In the beginning of 2008, The Afro-Semitic Experience covered some serious ground concertizing and workshoping in Ohio, D.C./Virginia, Maine, Boston, and home state of Connecticut and began building momentum toward a new release. Onto a busy April with a couple of interfaith seders, including the yearly visit to Dickinson College at Carlisle, Pa., a multi-culti fest at Manchester Community College, and a premeire of the Yizkor by David Chevan, with some co-composition throughout the work by myself. By late-spring/early Summer we were kicking it twice in DC, including two wild, fun appearances at DC-JCC’s Jewish Music Festival, one of them strictly for wee kids and their parents. Then yelps for joy and peace at New Haven Festival of Arts and Ideas, July in Ithaca, NY at Cornell’s Schwartz Center for the Arts, two boonies concerts, including a stellar performance at the Music Mountain concert series(to be broadcast on National Public Radio), and culminating August-ly in the CD presentation of Yizor for Martyrs at The Museum on Elridge Street in Manhattan, featuring Cantor Alberto Mizrahi, and guest appearances from Saskia Laroo(my baby), and also, the venerable cantor Jakob Mendelsohn. So far, we’ve gotten some nice props from press. Will there be more? Link up to www.chevan.addr.com
- Needless to say, I’ve been doing some heavy duty traveling with Saskia Laroo and she’s put out her new CD Really Jazzy which features myself on it liberally as well as some other brothers, like Frank Lacy, Ron Wright, David Chevan, Steve Porter, some great rappin’, and lots of groove. We spent a good deal of the Fall of 2007 right up to the New Year laying down tracks and concepts. In March, after we got back from the Mosaic Jazz Festival in Singapore and a short tour in Cannes, we boombusted the big hall at the Paradiso in Amsterdam for her CD Release Presentation rife with psychedelic lighting to a packed house of enthusiastic fans…and family. Here’s a rote list without all the cute commentary of where we’ve been so far in 2008: February—Halle, Germany, Women’s Jazz Festival. March—Singapore, Cannes, The Netherlands. May—Dnepropetrovsk, Ukraine, June—Senegal, Dakar Jazz Festival, Goree island. Most recent is in my face as I write: a hectic ten-day tour which took us from Colorado Rockies at the Nedfest to India for a four-city tour on Chivas Regal’s National Festival to Moscow with our ol’ pal up there Vartan puttin’ on the ritz. I feel like a may have forgotten something besides omitting what’s to come. Link up to www.saskialaroo.nl
- A scan of 2008’s highlights would not be replete without touting the Hartford Jazz scene and without me praising my higher power for a key passenger’s seat in it. There has been those blazing Monday nights at Black-Eyed Sally’s sponsored by a revitalized Hartford Jazz Society along with JPS and his crew which are still going strong; there are the Wednesdays at Tisane which Obie Gereau and Lummy Spahn respectively have been alternating monthly appearances of sheer youthful fire, and sittings-in by some of Hartford’s finest young lions: Javon Alexander, Dezron Douglas, Jason Fitch, Johnathan Barber, Joe Palmer, Josh Breneau, some others who names I fail to recall whose sound is as resplendent as nuclear plasma. Scotty Sasanecki, a guitarist with whom I’ve made gloriously swinging sonorities in 2008, and my nephew, and one of my musical soulmates bassist Steven Porter at the Russel and various splatters of Hartford venues. Also, this year saw the release of an album on which I play some challenging pieces by Bevan Lawrence on his album Infinite Possibilities.
- How could I leave out those Early Sunday morning drives down to Brooklyn to play at Pastor Locke’s Salvation Army Services? Lately, J.L.’s been joining me in the trip. Sometimes, AC and Mike join in too. Besides, what’s wrong with Brooklyn?
- And Last but not least, honorable mention of a bunch of friends in music without whom I would not be able to pay my rent: Ed West, Pastor Travis Locke, Alvin Carter, Nita Zarif, Nick Mathis, George Blackman, Jean-Louis, Paul Fuller, Rich McGhee, Margaux Hayes, Bob Paskowitz, Paul Brown, Sinan Bakir, Steve Davis, Kris Jensen, Charmagne, Paul Lewis, Steve Clarke, Heshima, and a myriad of fans, supporters, and music diggers.
So, despite many loose ends, 2008 has been a year full of action. As you will see, the action isn’t about to be done yet…