Posts Tagged ‘world music’
The Music Hall
Intimately Yours Introduces
A Night of Blues and Afro Pop
Double Bill with
Righteous Babe Records star Toshi Reagon
“Mixing folk, rock, funk, and gospel this soulful socially conscious
singer-songwriter speaks truth to power.” – Acoustic Guitar
&
Subpop Records’ Bassekou Kouyate + his band, Ngoni Ba
First US tour for band from Mali, touring behind its latest CD
BBC World Music Award nominee, Best Newcomer
“One of top 12 albums to watch” – National Geo
Outreach Partner: Rain for the Sahel and the Sahara
Thursday, April 1, 2010 7:30pm.
Toshi Reagon (l) & Bassekou Kouyate (r)
The Music Hall’s latest installment in its Intimately Yours series is A Night of Blues and Afro Pop on Thursday April 1, 2010 – a double bill with Righteous Babe Records (Ani DiFranco label) star Toshi Reagon and Subpop Records (Nirvana label) “Malian Maestro” Bassekou Kouyate and his band, Ngoni Ba. The selection is a new twist to The Music Hall’s wildly popular pop concert series, Intimately Yours – Intimately Yours Introduces. And, it’s an interesting double bill since American blues traces its roots to West Africa and to the Sahel region of modern-day Mali where Kouyate and Ngoni Ba are from.
Explosive Taiko drumming, acrobatic choreography
On their North American Tour
Thursday, March 25, 2010 7:30pm
“Powerful, dynamic and unique” —Time Out
“Extraordinarily talented…incomparable muscular zeal” —Chicago Tribune
Tao drumming doin' his thing...
From the mountains of Japan Tao: The Martial Art of Drumming will bring its explosive Taiko drumming and innovative acrobatic choreography to The Music Hall stage, Thursday, March 25, 2010 7:30pm. These powerful acrobats, who have trained intensively in martial arts for years in the mountains of Japan, use extraordinary precision, energy, and stamina in their young and vibrantly modern take on a traditional art form. According to Patricia Lynch, Executive Director of The Music Hall, “This will be an exciting evening out on the town – the show is breathtaking in both sight and sound. There are still tickets available – don’t miss out!”
About Tao: The Martial Art of Drumming
Athletic bodies and contemporary costumes meet explosive Taiko drumming and innovative choreography in this show that has critics waxing lyrical about TAO’s extraordinary precision, energy, and stamina. With hundreds of sold-out shows and more than a million spectators, TAO has proven that modern entertainment based on the traditional art of Japanese drumming, has massive international appeal. The stars of TAO live and train at a compound in the mountains of Japan, reaching the highest level of virtuosity only after years of intensive study. However, these performers each bring nontraditional flair to the group by drawing on their diverse backgrounds: for example, one as a hard rock musician, another, a gymnast, and yet another as a composer. They offer a young and vibrantly modern take on a traditional art form.
Two new Music Hall Intimately Yours concerts
Herbie Hancock
Wednesday, June 16 at 7:30pm
Electronic and acoustic funk, jazz, rhythm + blues
“blessed with genius…brilliant.” – Rolling Stone
Afro Cuban All Stars
Wednesday, June 30 at 7:30pm
Powerhouse 12-piece big band
“remarkable” – New York Times
Tickets for both shows
On sale to members noon Saturday, February 27
On sale to the public noon Saturday, March 13
“Intimately Yours: the best and brightest…in one of the best venues in the Northeast”
– Portsmouth Herald
The Music Hall, the landmark Victorian theater in downtown Portsmouth, New Hampshire, has just announced two additions to the Intimately Yours roster – Herbie Hancock and Afro Cuban All Stars. Hancock, the Multi-Grammy Award winning modern music icon – from acoustic and electronic jazz and R&B – will make his Portsmouth premiere Wednesday June 16, 2010 at 7:30pm. Afro Cuban All Stars, the big band introduced to the world in Buena Vista Social Club and responsible for stoking the worldwide infatuation with Cuban music, will appear Wednesday June 30, 2010 at 7:30pm.
According to Kathleen Soldati, Director of Marketing at The Music Hall, “Our Intimately Yours series is reaching new heights – having Herbie Hancock on our stage will make for a unique intimate evening with a master. And, Afro Cuban All Stars have made it their business to bring together into one group longtime legendary musicians, they’ve blended traditional with new Cuban music, and they’ve been responsible for driving the appreciation of Cuban music around the world. Another great show on our stage!”
Herbie Hancock
About Herbie Hancock
A musician since the age of seven, Hancock is known for breaking uncharted territory with his acoustic jazz styles. He recently celebrated his 35th year in the record business, and this June his fingers will be “dancing across the keyboard” here at The Music Hall, blending funk, jazz, and pure musical genius on stage. His accessible style and ability to fuse both electronic and acoustic jazz piano styles will be sure to please concert-goers of all ages.
Known for being a “true icon of modern day music,” Hancock once had four albums on the pop charts at the same time. He has won Grammys, MTV awards, and an Oscar. He has been associated with acclaimed musicians such as Miles Davis, Chick Corea, Wynton Marsalis, and many other jazz deities. A lover of the hip-hop genre, Hancock’s musical style differentiates from more traditional jazz musicians. With his eclectic combination of funk, jazz, electric, acoustic, rhythm and blues, it’s no wonder that The Rolling Stone Album Guide claimed he is ‘blessed with genius…brilliant.’ There are few artists in the entire music industry who have gained more recognition and respect than Herbie Hancock. In the words of the distinguished Miles Davis, “Herbie was the step after Bud Powell and Thelonius Monk, and I haven’t heard anybody yet who has come after him.” NPR claims that Hancock is “arguably the most influential practitioner of modern jazz piano since Thelonious Monk.”
About Afro-Cuban All Stars
Afro-Cuban All Stars
The Afro-Cuban All Stars, featuring “stars of the golden age of Cuban music” will be coming to Portsmouth led by the legendary Buena Vista Social Club member Juan de Marcos González known as the “unsung hero of Cuban music.” For more than a decade, the group has made an extraordinary contribution to raising the profile of Cuban music throughout the world, blending the heritage of Cuban music in order to “create a sound for the future.” The All Stars are particularly known for resurrecting the careers of several legends. Featuring singers Manuel Puntillita Licea, Pío Leyva, and Raúl Planas, bass player Orlando “Cachaito” López, and the legendary pianist Ruben González, Juan de Marcos González assembled the band he had always envisioned for their debut album, A Toda Cuba Le Gusta. Released in 1997 and recorded at the Buena Vista Social Club sessions, the album brought the band international recognition. The All Stars work to combine music from the old masters with music from the new generation of Cuban musicians. For their second record, González brought in even more legendary Cuban musicians, such as Omara Portuondo, Lina Borges, Polo Tamayo, Jesús Aguage Ramos, and Amadito Valdés. The group has evolved from “being a musical dream, to a one-off-recording, to the formation of a full-time touring and recording group.” The New York Times claims the music “is always joyous, with a sense of humor that’s palpable whether one understands the words or not
Tags: afro-cuban all stars, funk, herbie hancock, jazz, world music | 
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Wednesday, February 3, 2010 7:30pm
The Legendary Wailers come to The Music Hall
Caribbean Night @ The Music Hall!
Doors open at 7pm: Pre-concert in the Founders Lobby: signature cocktails and Blue Mermaid Island Grill appetizers
Just Announced: Opening for The Wailers: Green Lion Crew
“At the forefront of reggae, dancehall and party vibes, Green Lion can rock the party with exclusive beats,
up to the time hits and a respect for the roots reggae musical foundation”
Can’t afford to go to the Caribbean this winter? The Music Hall has the perfect solution! It’s Caribbean Night @ The Music Hall with The Wailers Wednesday February 3, 2010 at 7:30pm. The greatest living exponents of Jamaica’s reggae tradition, The Wailers are the latest installment in the Music Hall’s popular Intimately Yours concert series. The evening starts off in the Founders Lobby at 7pm with appetizers provided by Blue Mermaid Island Grill, and signature cocktails. Then, it’s upstairs for a hot concert!
The Intimately Yours series, sponsored by 92.5 The River, has been hailed as a “crowd-pleaser” by The Portsmouth Herald: “bring(s) the brightest and best the music industry has to offer to…one of the best venues in the Northeast. To date, they’ve brought in artists that were on the cusp of blowing up (Ray LaMontagne, Brandi Carlile) to seasoned veterans that you’re hard pressed to find playing a venue as small as The Music Hall (The Neville Brothers, Bruce Hornsby, Rufus Wainwright, etc.)…a series that continues to bring compelling offerings to Seacoast music fans.”
According to Therese LaGamma, Music Hall Programming Manager and Curatorial Associate, “The Wailers are one of the great reggae institutions. There is an authenticity to these guys that has been exciting audiences since they began performing alongside Bob Marley in the late ‘60s. On a cold New England night, where else would you rather be but at Caribbean Night @ The Music Hall?!”
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Friday, February 19, 2010 8pm
“extraordinary singers…a unique and wonderful world; once you enter, you will never want to leave”
– The Guardian
Umalali means "voice"
Striking singers, African drums, electric guitars, saxophone, keyboards, bass -
an entrancing journey into the heart and soul of a unique and inspiring culture
The Music Hall truly does “bring the world to Portsmouth.” Several years ago, The Music Hall curatorial staff learned of the Garifuna – descendants of shipwrecked slaves who married Carib and Arawak Indians – who live primarily in small towns and villages on the Caribbean coasts of Belize, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua. The Garifuna are renowned for creating a unique brand of music and dance blending rock, blues, funk, African, Latin and Caribbean rhythms. Their songs tell stories of their community’s struggle to survive and to retain their unique language, music and tradition in the face of globalization. The Garifuna group appearing at The Music Hall Friday February 19 at 8pm is known as Umalali – the Garifuna word for ‘voice.’ Of the Garifuna, The Guardian has said “extraordinary singers…a unique and wonderful world; once you enter, you will never want to leave.” Umalali includes three female singers, with five supporting musicians, led by the mother-daughter team of Sofia and Sylvia Blanco from Livingston, Guatemala, and Desere Diego from southern Belize.
“We have been intent on bringing them to The Music Hall,” said Executive Director Patricia Lynch. “Imagine our stage filled with striking, entrancing singers, percussionists on traditional African drums, combined with familiar Western pop instruments such as electric guitars, saxophone, keyboards and bass. It will be an evening to remember!”